One of the many allures of playing Dungeons & Dragons is the ability to play any kind of character you want. Although the system and sourcebooks encourage you do play as good, there is absolutely nothing that restricts you from playing as an evil character. For those players who like to think of themselves on the opposite side of good, here are a few tips for role-playing as evil.
From the days of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons to D & D 3.5, the game used a system of 9 alignments to determine what a characters moral leaning was. They were Lawful Good/neutral/evil, Neutral Good/evil, Chaotic Good/neutral/evil or True neutral. The most recent edition eliminates the number of alignments down to 5, eliminating Lawful Evil as an alignment. For the sake of argument, however, let us assume that all three original evil alignments still exist.
Lawful Evil characters tend to have some connection to the state or to religious organizations. They tend to follow two basic patterns. On one hand, they might use their connections or authority to commit evil acts or acquire power unfairly. On the other, the State or Deity they worship may be evil itself and they happily enforce his legacy. Keep these two things in mind when role-playing as a LE character. Is the character himself worshiping an evil system, or is the system he propagates is basically good and is he just perverting or subverting it in his actions?
Either way, it's all about power and abuse with Lawful Evil. An Lawful Evil paladin or warrior will have no problem forcing his “right” in the marriage bed of a newlywed couple or torture a prisoner to gain information. A Lawful Evil rogue will happily work to create false evidence and use it against one of his enemies so his goods and confiscated and sold for the cheap. A Lawful Evil character hides behind the law or uses it as a weapon in his quest to acquire power.
Neutral Evil is an incredibly vague alignment. It might be called the “sociopath alignment”, as it represents a character who will do whatever he can to get what he wants. While this also might be used to describe Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil has that extra taste of malevolence. A Neutral Evil character usually has a goal or ambition that is important to him alone. He is not necessarily out to break laws or hurt others, but will do so if such elements prevent him from getting what he wants.
For example, a Neutral Evil Wizard wants to get into a dungeon, but finds it is being guarded by numerous goblins that would kill him if he faced them directly. He realizes that he needs to get in somehow. Suddenly, a rogue appears. He tells him of the treasure and promises to share with them if they help him get to it. After battling the goblins, the wizard notes that the rogue is weaker and decides to take advantage. With a quick magic missile to the back, the wizard takes all the gold with minimal effort.
Just remember that it's all about opportunity and selfishness with Neutral Evil. If you are uncomfortable about backstabbing others and generally being a selfish jerk, this may not be the alignment for you.
Chaotic Evil puts the rest to shame and really offers the most freedom when coming to evil choices. Chaotic evil is utterly self-centered; simply doing whatever feels good or seems profitable in the moment. They value their own personal freedom, but care very little for the freedom or livelihood of others. Often, they will go out of their way to break laws or destroy innocent lives because to them, doing so it fun.
The important thing to remember about chaotic Evil characters is that they will go the extra mile to hurt people, whether they are innocent or not. Say, for example, the party managed to capture an enemy NPC who, under duress, reveals an important plot element. Even though the NPC complied with the party’s demands, the Chaotic Evil character in the party might choose to torture him anyway, simply because he is bored.
In the end, playing as an evil character may not be the most comfortable decision for an individual player. The important thing to remember is that most characters, as with most people, are not evil 100 percent of the time. Just remember that the 3 evil alignments are simply guidelines for your evil deeds.