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I would like to know what some suitable forms of "evil" are. I can't think of any more myself and I think my "run around setting things on fire" routine is getting a little stale.

I hail thee fair Mashan Da'hok!

i am quite surprised that somebody would ask such a question but anyways... i am happy to help you :biggrin:

lets see... what about intrigues, obvious hatred towards some particular race and provoking behavior every know and then when such a person comes, lets say, too close? you could also pretend to be friendly, but lure people that believe you are some good character into some nice situation. :biggrin:
or you being a little bit insulting (in a sensitive way) to unknown persons that speak up to you - since they are not giving you the respect you actually demand from such kind?

with such kind of behavior towards others you can easily create a little bit of a havoc without getting involved into it with sword or magic. try it - it may even give you more subtile ways of evil. :biggrin:

i hope, that i could help you.

This is a really great question! I'll try to give my thoughts in as organized a way as possible. I think the problem with "evil" players being nothing but 'grief players,' as you so accurately called them is that...

There is no such thing as evil.

This may bother die-hard fans of cheap fantasy stories and certain presidents, but I sincerely feel that there is no such thing as 'evil.' In everyday life you don't meet people who call themselves evil. Look into (good quality) books and movies, the villain never thinks that they're evil. "Evil" is a really vague term we apply to many of the following traits: hatred, greed, lack of emotion, disregard for the wellbeing of others, blind devotion, or basically anything else that goes against our personal values and goals. Everyone is the hero of their own story, we are only villains to others. People don't have "alignments" (Dungeons and Dragons bothers me for this reason..) they have motives. If my motives conflict with your motives, I am 'evil' to you, and you are 'evil' to me.

I can, however, understand why you would want to play a 'bad guy' (In other words, someone whose goals directly go against those of the major populace), so here are some of my suggestions:

MEGALOMANIA: Megalomaniacs believe that they are superior to everyone else, making them prone to doing things without regard for others. Again, this would require a motive. Decide on something you want your character to accomplish, and then carry it out in any diabolical way you can. Of course, thinking you're better than everyone else could get you in trouble, but hey, that's what you want, isn't it?

SADISM:  Pleasure from inflicting pain. It's easy to see how a sadistic character could quickly turn into a 'grief player,' but that isn't a problem if you're a decent roleplayer. In seeking out potential 'victims' don't think "Oh look, someone new, I bet harassing them would be fun." Look for someone vulnerable. Look for someone who would be easy to manipulate. Lie to them, make them think you want nothing other than the best for them. Then, just when you've built them up, let them fall.

CORRUPTION:  This is one of my personal favorites. Maybe something horrible happened to your character in the past, and caused him to scorn life, love, hope, or some similar concept. Obviously the objective would be to stamp out whatever it is burned you out. If you were betrayed by a lover, maybe you'll seek out to obliterate love, thinking that a cold and unfeeling world would be better than watching everyone around you enjoy the bliss that you can't have.

POWER-HUNGER:  I've seen this tried, and it works best if you realize that power is the means, not the end. An example:

"I will become the strongest mage in all the realms! Nothing shall stand in my way!"

Oh really? And why do you want this power?

"Um... I uh... I dunno, because it would be cool."

That isn't a reason. If you want power and control, you should want it for a reason. Simply because you can is not a good enough reason. Let's say that your mother was attacked by a band of drunken dwarves or something, it would be understandable for you to seek out as much power as you needed to keep this from ever happening again. (This may seem like it would be a 'good guy' thing, but it isn't if you take it to extremes. For example, if the women of the earth killed every man alive, rape would become much less of a problem. This doesn't make it a good idea.)

INSANITY:  This is another one that only works if you can play the character reasonably. Insanity does not mean running around saying "The intergalactic trouser-thieves have stolen my pants! In the name of the gods! Someone stop that flying mushroom!" and then attacking everyone you can. Insanity should be at times amusing, at times disturbing, and at times terrifying. It should not be used as an excuse to run around like an idiot. (Much like "I'm evil." is not a satisfactory reason to run around killing people.)

There are an infinite number of other ways to make your character villainous... Extreme devotion to a god, extreme hatred of all gods, extreme hatred of a particular group of people... the list goes on.

I think it's really fantastic that you're trying to get away from the moronic "Me evil! Me smash you for no apparent reason!" nonsense that is so prevalent. Go give evil a good name! ^.~

or you can be mean (attitude) wise , be greedy, paranoid, and think what would uncle scrooge do and things like that.Telling prank jokes will do also.
im pretty sure i dont want to walk 5 laps around the island looking for a magical temple that the "gods just put up".

....then that would get you somewhat attacked.....y0u can always fun for it though.

pushing is legal....i suppose you can push people out the doors and things.....its all up to you.


@ - "There is no such thing as evil. "

.....he he he.......dont under estimate evil muh ha haha!


anyway, i met some players that has hate for certain "races", im hoping that wont be applied in real life but someone told me there WAS a war in illarion.....
is that a story or did this event take place? fill me in if it did?

@Chyan:  I'm not underestimating evil. I'm acknowledging that it's a completely arbitrary distinction based solely on one's perception of a given situation. Of course, they say the devil will be the first to tell you he doesn't exist.

#me grins

oh, hyssena, dont be mistakened, i wasnt saying anything about you.
it was a little "aside" i was thinking to myself when i read it.
sorry for the confusion.


heres another thought about acting "evil" think what would the devil do? he he he...
what would the devil do on illarion.....there is a neat question.Mashan Da'hok, maybe you should try it.

If the devil came to illarion, he would have abilities and forces far beyond the mortal himself, no-one would be able to stop him unless one of the gods came down and they kicked off on each other. There is no evil and no good, there are only rules.

.....moderators on the game dont have special powers or extra points?
anyway, if you try to act like "no one can stop you" because your so much powerful, its kind of like what hyssena said :MEGALOMANIA, but a very evil one indeed.
after all, you try to cause destruction and things.

There is no evil!
Evil is what people think is "bad".
Nearly everything which you said isn't evil. It's just different to a "normal behaviour".
Nothing is really evil, nobody who is evil would call himself evil, he acts like he thinks it is "normal".
Play a rogue or something like that, you just want to live, for others you are evil.. in this role!

I agree completely Tatonka. I'm not sure if you were addressing me when you said "Nearly everything which you said isn't evil. It's just different to a "normal behaviour"." but if you were, that's true! I didn't mean to present those suggestions as facets of 'evil' (which you and I both seem to agree, doesn't exist) I was only trying to provide alternatives to torching the town and killing innocent people that would still allow you to be perceived as a villain.

Yes, that was what I meant.

But let's tell the facts:
Nearlay nobody who tried to play an evil role really managed to play it correctly!
You need a really good RP-Knowledge for playing an evil role. In fact I think that a new player wouldn't be able to do so.

Mashan Da'hok is older than he seems...

@Chyan Guo Messenger, I am not one of the "no one can stop me" people. You said "heres another thought about acting "evil" think what would the devil do?" I merely stated that the devil would have forces far beyond the mortal himself (that being why no-one can stop HIM - I DID NOT said no-one can stop ME) and I never said anything about moderators having special powers or that I caused "destruction and things", where did you get that from?

Tatonka Bearpaw Posted on 9:10 am on June 23, 2002
"There is no evil!
Evil is what people think is "bad". "


if there is no such thing as evil, then there is no such thing as good. by what you said it all depends on the person's opinion on whether the incedient was pleasureful, delighting, or upsetting, and discouraging.

then there is vice-versa version.
if you do believe there are evil, then there is a "good". a force of light.

"where there i light, there is a shadow"

i believe a person can be evil. He can behave as Normal as anyone of us. But what is pleasureful to him? cant really say the same for the victim can you? but he satisfied himself, thinking he needed to do what he did. (good for himself) selfish? maybe...not every good thing is done to others.....do good for yourself as well.

in Wars, the side you take on is the side you believe that is right. (or get drafted to defend your country)...
but is murder ever right? killing.....killing is never right. every reason you can come up with that you shouldnt be killed can go to your opponet.
you view always....one side is the side of light and the other darkness.
evil, to me, its is only what is left over from light, a bi-product. Then.....can a light be leftover of shadows? just like light there is a source for shadows too.

evil......what is evil though?
there is no true meaning of evil on the earth.
nor is there a true meaning of good.

its all in your opinion......all in YOUR opinion.


well, like i said....i believe evil does exist, it is as real as your shadow.
(not saying your shadow is evil :biggrin:  he he he)

Quote: from Chyan Guo Messenger on 11:12 pm on June 23, 2002
if there is no such thing as evil, then there is no such thing as good

That's not true. If the universe were to be completely filled with light then there would be no shadows. If there were not a single trace of light in the universe, then every place would be a shadow. The two things don't actually depend on each other to exist. "Darkness" or "Shadows" don't actually exist materially,  they are just places without light that has been given a name, just as evil is just a name given to the absence of good. Evil doesn't necessarily have to "exist" just because good does. Of course I can't prove good isn't just the absence of evil though...


@Hyssena/Tatonka: It's not neccesarily true that everyone is the hero to their own story though, or that if an evil person exists he would think himself to be "normal". When a person decides to do something evil or bad or morally wrong, he might acknowledge that it is wrong or that he's being evil, but does it anyways for self gain or for some purpose of his desire.

@Dyluck: That's a very good point. I didn't mean to say that all 'evil' people consider themselves decent people, obviously there are many who realize the dark nature of their actions, and go about them anyway. I do however stand by my comment that everyone is the hero (or perhaps 'protagonist' would be more accurate than 'hero') of their own story, regardless of how heinous their actions may be (but maybe I've just been reading a bit too much Anne Rice lately...)

a light is there for a reason.

think of it this way. believers of truth and good carries on the light. take away them and the world would be plummited to darkness.

can you say there is a light in a world of hatred and dispare?
not until someone learns to love and care.

just like light, there will be always a shadow, why? there will always be an object. if the "object" disapears.....would there still be a need for a light? maybe, like you said,. the light would over take everything.....but what if not? light isnt needed.........darkness enters the scene....

the universe is not indeed filled with light......even then there is the black holes....even light has its limit of reach. sure......it exist......but its just so weak...unseen. thought to be gone.

same with shadows......they will always exist....just thought to be unseen. my only point is Evil does indeed exist. If not then its back to the opinion of the fact is what ever you believe in.

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Mashan Da'hok wanted to be evil....without going to the killing limit.
just follow his own ideas....if i wanted to be evil.....i would ignore....insult.....not help, be selfish ect.