Why Evil?
Written by Alexis Hope   
Monday, 29 December 2008 08:51
This is an important question. Town guards are a silver piece a dozen. Noble kings are just doing
their job. Heroes, when you get right down to it, don't seem to need any more justification than me
good, you bad. But if you're going to be more than just another forgettable cutpurse, you need to know
how you ended up enjoying the cries of your victims and the crunch of your enemies bones beneath your
steel.
    Three basic ways of understanding evil can be followed from the three evil alignments. While
not all evil characters will stem from one of these three paths, some element of them is in the vast
majority of villains.

Most people are ignorant fool, and know what's better for them than they do.

Look at the world, and what do you see? Chaos. Hatred. Stupidity. Millions of people willing to kill
over shades of skin color, or a few inches of boundary map, while greed kills millions more through
hunger and disease. If someone with the will and the power crushes those who allow this in the name of
some absurd concept called freedom, it may be evil, but which evil is greater?
    The seductive path of the lesser evil leads to Lawful Evil regimes, which are perhaps the most
powerful form of evil. Good people may cringe in their homes while jackbooted sadists march
triumphantly in the streets, but everyone has food on the table and the carriages run on time.
Villains with a superiority complex can easily imagine running the world better than the lesser.

There are two types of people in this world. Those who inflict pain, and those who suffer it. I know
which I want to be.

Why are people so fascinated by powerful monsters? Dinosaurs, sharks, badgers, and lions all mesmerize
us with their strength and viciousness. Who hasn't wished to be ferocious and invincible? Is there
anyone who hasn't been hurt and wished that they could avenge themselves without fear? Of course not.
All it takes for Chaotic Evil to take hold is the understanding that either you're a hunter or you're
prey. And who's to say it's wrong to enjoy the fear in your prey's eyes as you prepare to strike them
down?

In the end, everyone finds a way to take what they want. I'm just honest about it.

Heroes and Villains find excuses for what they do. Not these villains. Neutral evil is all
about you, you, you. Who cares about some starving peasants? What kind of fool worries about looking
tough? It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, friend, and if you're not looking out for number one,
you're wearing bone underclothes. The world doesn't care, and neither do people, no matter what they
say. This sort of evil is convinced that no one really cares about anything except themselves, usually
through painful experience. The only smart choice is to do the same.
    So how smart are you?