My brother is planning to run a campaign where we play evil characters, and I am greatly looking forward to the idea of playing a Tiefling Rogue with the Div Bloodline. I recall reading somewhere (I believe it was the blood of fiends book?) that these Tiefling don't experience emotion, so my problem with this character is, where does the drive come from? All the PCs and NPCs I've ever made were able to experience emotion on some level and therefore, coming up with drive for something was not a problem at all, but now I am going to be playing someone who CANNOT experience these things. I know he is going to be a cold hearted killer, who never looks back, never regrets, but....the drive, I can't figure that one out. Any ideas. And any interesting things I can throw into this character to make him more memorable?
Devotion to a cause. It doesn't even have to be an evil cause, maybe he sees himself as a necessary evil for his cause's success.
"I will make a better world, even if I am not fit to live in it."
Rivalry. He seeks to outdo some hero or villain, or possibly a party member.
"Twenty-one!" said Gimli.
"Good!" said Legolas. "But my count is now two dozen. It has been knife-work up here."
Wealth carries many benefits, and he wants to enjoy them all. Problem: his only skill is sneaking and killing. So he kills for money.
“A short while later, as I stare down at the bodies of the six men I have just killed, I cannot help but wonder: Do I love killing? Of a certainty, I love the way my body and weapons move as one; I revel in the knowledge of where to strike for maximum impact. And of a certainty, I am good at it.”
Loyalty to a person. Not quite the same as loyalty to a cause, but similar.
Celaena returned Roland’s smile and said, “I bury the king’s opponents where nobody will ever find them.”
& no, drives and ambitions aren't necessarily the same as emotions.
From the description in hero labs they have an innate sense of jealousy and malice, but do not feel pleasure or happiness. It also says they hide the hatefulness that lurks at their core. From the sound of it they do feel emotions just the negative ones.
Their Epithet is Spitespawn. You motivation is to prevent other from experiencing what you cannot.
Firstly PC's are the exceptions to normal rules. Obviously you want to play a character who doesn't have emotions. However at any point in time you can decide to suddenly have developed emotions. Just the confusion of that would be good RP at some point. Not to mention the actual emotions. It doesn't even have to be retroactive or normal folk emotions. Could turn into a sociopath(has feelings but doesn't care about others opinions) or simply not care about murder as it is a common everyday experience akin to brushing his teeth or eating.
Below is someone else's. Can't remember where from. Enjoy
Depending on the version. My favourite Lex is the one who believes that humans will become complacent with Superman around and will never reach their full potential as long as he remains to band-aid problems the human race can work together to solve.
A villain just needs a motivation:
1) Power [obvious]
2) Love [return a loved one, gain love, destroy love or empathy]
3) Vengeance [obvious]
4) Acceptance [feels they've been persecuted, wronged by someone]
5) Greed [obvious]
6) Justice [twisted or otherwise, they want to exact some sort of justice, bring order to the world of chaos]
7) Fear [to spread fear, they're scared]
8) Desperation [see: Arthas the Lich King]
9) Self-Enlightenment [stealing knowledge perhaps, taking identities or memories to become the best they can be]
10) Destiny, Prophecy [to escape it or to become it]
11) Survival [maybe the last of its kind, wants to just live forever, stop a cosmic threat that may or may not be real]
13) Insanity [not touching this one]
14) Grief [obvious]
15) Rebellion [hates the status quo]
16) To be left alone [keeps getting pushed around by lesser forces and lashes out, keeps getting manipulated and used for its power]
Etc.
You can always twist and change things. The villain won't stop to achieve the goal and that line is generally what makes them a villain, but the motivation is what makes them a good one.
"no, drives and ambitions aren't necessarily the same as emotions."
I agree, what I am looking for is the source of the drives, with out emotion.
"From the description in hero labs they have an innate sense of jealousy and malice, but do not feel pleasure or happiness. It also says they hide the hatefulness that lurks at their core. From the sound of it they do feel emotions just the negative ones.
Their Epithet is Spitespawn. You motivation is to prevent other from experiencing what you cannot."
Awesome! Thanks for pointing that out that adds a lot!
Dastis, thank you for that list, I'll be mulling it over!