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I'm interested in promoting Way of the Wicked for our new campaign, since it's supposed to be well-written and original. I'm wondering, though... Just how evil are the players expected to play? Does the AP work for "likable" villains, or does one need to commit unspeakable atrocities...? The latter would certainly spoil my fun.
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OK, sounds pretty much like what I expected. I certainly expect killing high-ranking "goody-twoshoes" characters. If there's a lot of collateral damage among innocents, I hope the scale of the benefit the villains gain "justifies" the scale of the violence. You know, as opposed to recreational mass murder.
I've only read the book so far, but from what I've seen - it certainly seems so. It's not mindless evil. You're part of a League of Evil. Careful, calculating, well thought out. CE might still work, but this is most definitely a LE to NE campaign.
Leagues of Evil are metal.
Especially Evil Leagues of Evil.
Really its up to your players how far they take it, We played the first two books. Then the DM stopped the game for RL reasons, but we were bad.
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OK, sounds pretty much like what I expected. I certainly expect killing high-ranking "goody-twoshoes" characters. If there's a lot of collateral damage among innocents, I hope the scale of the benefit the villains gain "justifies" the scale of the violence. You know, as opposed to recreational mass murder.
The players are expected to perpetrate large scale crimes on more than one occasion.
But as they're also expected to be more or less aligned with a LE higher power, "recreational mass murder" (the realm of CE or demons or such fiends) is quite out of the league: each act has its meaning in a bigger scheme. Usually, the more heinous the act, the more importance it has in the overall plan.However, as there are a couple of instances in which the players are given pretty much free reign without control from their bosses, the real extenct of the destruction they cause is subject to the desires of the players and the will of the DM.
You play as ex-convict demon worshiping terrorists.
That's pretty evil.
Devil, not demon.
Devil, not demon.
Which is quite a large difference. And they're not terrorists. They're traitors and seditionists.
Your patron is Asmodeus. Think "careful, highly organized plotting" rather than "wanton self-serving destruction."
Push the idea of working together toward evil goals and avoiding inter-party conflict or chaotic rampages and the game will work out great.
This is a game for evil characters like Darth Vader, Thulsa Doom, and Voldemort. Not Buffalo Bill, The Joker or Pyramid Head.
Oh, yeah. That's probably the best advice that can be given here. Just look at your party and go:
"Don't make <insert party size here> Jokers."
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How much evil really depends on how much the players and the DM are comfortable with. For my group it varies, some of the things they want to RP, other things they are quite content with it being 'off stage'.
One of the biggests enjoyments there has been is that the players don't know the abilities of the good aligned monsters. :)
We have had a blast with book 1 and we are coming up to the end of book 2. So far everyone is really enjoying it.
I'd say don't make any Jokers. You want people that are good at working together. LE is the order of the day. NE is fine; self-serving people know when to lump themselves in with others for their own benefit. A character of CE alignment is just asking to be bumped off by the other PCs for making waves. The party is a cog in a well-tuned machine designed to overthrow a regime and its monotheistic church. You're not there to randomly sow chaos and woe.
A lot of people complain when people play "Lawful Stupid" paladins. Well, in this game, don't play "Stupid Evil" characters. Be bad, but do it with style. You're the villains of the piece, after all.