I need some RP advice for playing the iconic evil characters. (They're making an appearance in my Hell's Rebels campaign.) How would you roleplay Linxia Benzekri, Emil Kovkorin, Lazzero Dalvera, Nyctessa, Urgraz, and Zelhara? What would their interactions be like as an adventuring party?
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I would imagine that Linxia would be in charge, or at least see herself as "in charge". Albeit a Hell Knight, she is a Knight, nonetheless... I don't see her taking orders from the likes of any of the others. Linxia and Zelhara would probably get along great. Both are strict and disciplined.
Zelhara and Urgraz, however, probably hate each other, because Urgraz is such a freaking liar. Urgraz and Lazzero get along well, though... despite being of opposing alignment, they find common ground in being bullies.
Emil pals around with Nyctessa, even though she clearly has her own $#!+ going on... Nyctessa has a preoccupied demeanor, because litetally everything her companions have going on means nothing to her unless it gets her closer to her own goals. Nyctessa hangs out with these people because it fits her plan, not because she fits into their plans.
Evil typically turns on itself...
Evil typically turns on itself...
Honestly? Not really. There's plenty of examples where this isn't the case - certainly, there's infighting, but even the Abyss canonically has a perverse sense of hierarchy. At least enough to form armies of demons.
That said, such a diverse group would need a compelling reason to work together, but opposing the party is a great option.
There are official biographies of them, even publicly available at PathfinderWiki (check the Villains line at the bottom for the others). I'd skim them, extract like three adjectives for each NPC and build personalities from there.
IMO most important is interesting interaction with the party. Is an evil NPC triggered by a PC (their deity, behavior, race, gender or whatever) and comments / acts on it? Are they straight-forward or cunning? In battle: Do they fight to the last or rather retreat early? How much do they cooperate? Could be different for each NPC...
Finally I wouldn't spend too much time on it. Most players have no emotional connection to these characters (usually because they simply don't know them), so likely for them these NPCs are just random evil people, not worth much attention. To turn them into something more, they will need multiple appearances, remarkable social behavior and / or an impressive combat encounter.
Evil typically turns on itself...
Honestly? Not really. There's plenty of examples where this isn't the case - certainly, there's infighting, but even the Abyss canonically has a perverse sense of hierarchy. At least enough to form armies of demons.
That said, such a diverse group would need a compelling reason to work together, but opposing the party is a great option.
Those demons will certainly turn on each other the second one shows weakness. I can't think of a single case of evil groups where there is not at least some scheming to topple the top guy going on or at least making other allies look bad so you can benefit.