As my group is gearing up to play WotW I realize as I sit down to create my character that I have never played a remotely evil character (in fact my most played class is definitely Paladin). It seems I am having quite a hard time coming up with a character concept that isn't benevolent. Even when I have something of an idea I end up having a hard time justifying why the character would actually go as far as to take revenge or join with Asmodeus.
Anyone have some cool or interesting concepts they'd like to share, or maybe just advice on creating an evil PC? I feel like my morals are getting in the way a bit, when really it's just a game.
My WotW character is a a cold blooded psychotic serial killer, and an alchoholic. Also a bit of a coward according to my groupmates.
5-10 years ago I also used to play only good characters, but in later years it has been about a 50% mix. Evil characters can be a lot of fun.
We're also going to play WotW soon and we had a few similar dilemmas/moral qualms. So, having thought about it, we came up with some approaches:
1) Pick a really evil stereotype that you'd never normally be allowed to play - Necromancer, Diabolist, Anti-Paladin-type. In particular, consider which undead template you want to acquire later - Lich, Vampire, etc.
2) Realise that you should be Lawful Evil in alignment, so totally honourable, keeps word no matter what, etc are perfectly valid character traits, eg If beseiging a town, offer to let all non-combatants leave if the town surrenders or you'll kill everyone if they don't. And do so.
If you're used to playing Paladins, then ask if you can play a LE Paladin of Asmodeus - mostly, it's similar to playing a LG Paladin. Mostly. Just you see it as your sworn duty to sacrifice someone to Asmodeus every month.
3) Start off as a devout worshipper of Asmodeus, regardless of character class. That way you don't have to justify why you follow him.
4) Vengeance. Your family/loved ones/etc were killed by one of the so-called 'Good' lords and you want him dead.
I've read through part of the first book as I was considering running this. I decided on something else but lots of good concepts came to mind.
1) Anti-Paladin - See if your GM lets you do LE. I've always felt this was the anti-paladin alignment anyway and I don't think most GM's have an issue with it.
2) Necromancer. I like undead lord but there are lots of other paths there. Healing 130 damage with a channel is just insane though.
3) A savage barbarian warlord. The feral gnasher seems pretty cool!
4) A diabolist. This class was seriously made for that campaign! A soul eater also seems pretty thematic.
5) A seriously insane alchemist. Vivisectionist is particularly thematic.
6) An immoral assassin. Not necessarily the assassin class, just an assassin.
Really, if you don't want to be that devout to Asmodeus, just make it because he saved you from death. If its die or join Asmodeus, well I'll pick Asmodeus.
Greeting The Pale King
I am presently playing in a Way of the Wicked campaign with my Asmodean cleric Melkor, and it took me awhile to put together exactly what and how to play my character, so I can relate to what you say. It's only in recent years I've begun playing morally bland character, escalating to full-blown evil with this new WotW campaign.
My advice to you would be to make sure that you do not lose sight of what you'd want to play, in your attempt to create something that you feel fits the campaign. Even the most well-thought-out character will still just be a waste of paper if you don't enjoy playing him :)
I don't know if your GM has provided you with the history of Talingarde, but ask him to if he hasn't because the story gives angles to work with from a character perspective. Without spoiling anything your GM may want to keep secret, let us just say that you can be perfectly justified in creating a character who wants the best for Talingarde in WotW and who is helping the Asmodeans because the present rulers have a doubtful record. I can't really tell you more, in case your GM does not want to volunteer information about Talingarde's history.
Aside from that, when I create morally ambiguous characters I usually ask myself what drove them to become that. It doesn't always have to be a lesson in psychology to create a character who is an a#!%~!+. The benefit of a fantasy setting where magic and plots happen, is that you can sometimes take liberties with how you fashion the characters.
My Asmodean cleric for instance has a source of primordial evil woven into the fabric of his soul, which has caused him to step on the lower rung of the ladder, with each moral decision he's made in his life.
It could also be a more humane case. Perhaps your character is not interested in seeing Asmodeus rule as much as he wants revenge on the current government? Maybe they wrongly imprisoned him? Maybe they hurt someone he really loved? Or perhaps your character is a devout Asmodean who wants to chain the nation in tyranny, for the glory of the prince of Darkness and for order and prosperity. Maybe your character is greedy and he thinks this plot could be the gravy-train to riches beyond his dreams? Experimenting with the 7 sins and seeing if any one of them could be a motivation is always a good place to start :)
-Nearyn
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It might be just my opinion, but you shouldn't fear "justifying" actions of evil PCs. Of course, I don't mean arguing vehemently that painting the orphanage red with blood was a Good action. What I am saying is that most Evil characters have completely valid reasons for what they do.
You don't have to avoid characters that are misguided, for example, an LE character can have a warped sense of respect and honor where he or she responds to slights violently, and even takes pride in it. Have your PC have a deeply rooted belief, like might makes right, take it a step further and you're on your path to evil. As long as you have internal consistency for some semblance of sanity, deeply held beliefs that are evil by definition or in practice are completely valid and interesting, and not just a mark of low mental stats. After all, Asmodeus is cunning, experienced and incredibly intelligent and made no less Evil by any of those qualities.
Of course, like any of your good characters, they can be agenda-driven. And not just "Well, I worship Asmodeus, therefore I want to help out his cause", but more defined, practical goals, say, some wizard or alchemist who started in the neutral alignments but quickly slipped south by taking bloody shortcuts to gain power, knowledge or to finish their research which by itself might be completely neutral or even benevolent(Crazy doctor who thinks nothing of experimenting on defenseless or "undesirables" to find out how to overcome some debilitating sickness, anyone?). Good parties are often set against characters who are neck deep in evil not by default but because they got blinded by their goals - protecting their family or themselves, retaking some lost lore or land, winning a war.. It can be whatever suits your particular class or or taste, see if you find any inspiration in your favorite pathfinder villains.
Naturally, they CAN be raised surrounded by selfishness, backstabbing or apathy. It's pretty common for people to create characters who come from horrid backgrounds of war torn countries where people have started to turn on one another, but most of the time PCs like that take the higher ground and fight the evil that haunts their memories. However not everyone is like that, some people are too marred by their experiences to re-evaluate their worldviews. You can have someone who thinks stealing some guy's last supper is perfectly valid, cause if he cannot defend it, he doesn't deserve it. After all, this person would expect no better treatment if they were the weaker party in the situation, everyone's out for themselves, right? Added to that, a lot of races have racial prejudices that can easily push someone towards capital E Evil. So if you have a particular race or nationality you want your character to be, dig for nuggets of questionable beliefs or events in that culture and expand upon them.
If you're leaning more ...Impulsive and chaotic, raw emotions are the easiest way. Grief is a terrible, overwhelming emotion that can do horrid things to people's minds and push them to do even more terrible things to others. Have mental scarring from any kind of abuse you feel comfortable putting in your character's sheet and head. For example, pain of abandonment, be it friends, family, romantic love. Show confusion, lack of direction, someone who lives for the moment because they are not able to force themselves to think of the future, to imagine it without pain and sadness. To maintain functionality, you can have your character keep it bottled until something sets it off - threat of being betrayed again, death of companions, maybe even some Evil actions like children being mistreated or a particular type of evil being that has caused the trauma to begin with. This tends to take some serious consideration, so you might want to try to imagine what exactly happened to harrow the character so and what was the immediate follow up, especially internally, within the character's mind. Were they failed by their community or their law? Did they feel left behind by their god, their prayers unanswered? Are they seeking revenge or are they just lashing out?
Either way, I hope my endless rant gave you some vague idea of how you want your character to be. Having a character whose evils are not just something they stab at with their +1 longsword is great fun and can bring a whole new set of roleplay possibilities.