by Andrew Craig

Created on: December 09, 2009   Last Updated: December 11, 2009

Let's just all admit it right now: Evil characters are fun.  Walking into a town, meeting the king and picking his pockets makes the whole bloodbath through the dungeon to rescue the queen worth it. We're talking about a role-playing game. This is your opportunity to do something you couldn't get away with in the real world.

But if you're not careful, you won't get away with it in game, either. Between the royal guards, the good characters in your party, and that old adviser who you're pretty sure is an epic level wizard, you're going to be rolling a new character before you can say "bluff check".

Playing an evil alignment comes with some responsibilities. There are some things to think about before picking an evil character.

Evil has levels – The alignment system of D&D can be tricky, what with the "neutral this" and "chaotic that" but remember, those titles in themselves are only the framework in the building of your character. Let's say you're Chaotic Evil. Does that mean you'll kill your team on the first night out of town? You could. In fact the description in the books makes it sound like you're obligated to. Doing "whatever your greed, hatred, and lust drives you to do", doesn't have to mean killing. Sowing dissent amongst friends, causing others to doubt their faith, or convincing the party to trust you with divvying up treasure. These are all ways to subtly act out your alignment, and, hey look, no one had to die to do it.

Make it work with your team – Would a Catholic priest sit down and discuss sports with a known satanic cult leader? Probably not. So a Necromancer teaming up with a Paladin is going to go over like a Dwarf in full-plate armour. But that's when you can use your storytelling to justify it. Just because you work together doesn't mean you want to. Perhaps the Necromancer is a prisoner of the church, forced to use his unique skill set to aid the world, as one final atonement before execution, and the Paladin is his guard, making sure he sticks to his end of the bargain. (But check with your DM to make sure he's willing to omit the Paladin's associates rule. I would, but I'm cool like that.) Before choosing an evil character, discuss with the members of your group about ways that your presence could be justified. Remember, your Dungeon Master is part of your team as well. A good DM can always find ways to make an idea work. Don't push it – Killing a defenseless goblin in the woods is one thing.

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