Pretty self-explanatory: I want to run a campaign where the party is evil, starting out as low level thugs and progressing towards toppling governments and world domination.
Anyways, I could use some ideas as to a more thorough plot line. What are some good avenues for them to do evil things as well as become more evil along the way?
You could run a prison escape where the party are inmates on this big island prison or demiplane that gives them enough space to move around and get some 'questing done as they look for things they need or information for their escape.
The thing I like about evil campaigns set in prisons is you can have all types of evil inside, but not necessarily all the characters need to be evil. Some can be good and framed, or maybe enemies of a corrupted state, etc.
This is super unoriginal but the idea just works and I like it. Suicide Squad. With one member being a lawful good that is sent along to make sure they stay on task and whatnot and to add a little spice to the group.
also like Charles said, prison break is great. You could probably do an entire small campaign just inside a prison alone.
Make sure the players are on board. Have an out of character discussion where they, ideally, agree not to hurt or sabotage each other at all. It’s them against the world, infighting will kill everything.
e.g. Escaping prisoners (as mentioned above), criminals sent to black watch (as GoT), a band of soldiers on the losing side of the Great War now mercenaries for hire (evil serenity) etc
now look to all the great fictional villains, not just the iconic ones, the ones with real depth. Evil is as evil does is not long time fulfilling, you want to give your characters more intricate reasons for being evil. Otherwise they are just playing GTA7 : Murder Hobo City. A little less Dr Evil, a lot more Killmonger. Chances are the memorable villains with depth had motivations you could understand, even the chaotic ones
Iago (not the parrot) - jealous hatred of being looked over, while someone he sees as unworthy is rewarded
killmonger - focussed rage at a family he sees as betrayers to him and his people
Thanos - misguided tyrant who is to consumed by his own pride that only he can save the universe from itself to see to monstrosities he carries out for what they are
scrooge (not the duck) - willing to cut himself of from everything for the one thing he feels won’t betray or desert him, greedily hording wealth
Dracula - a monster of a man that became a monstrosity, sewing the world as cattle, below him on the food chain for him to quench his gluttonous hunger and thirst for blood on
Cypher - driven to betray all he believed in and the people he had banded together with so he could return to a life of lazy ignorance.
7 deadly sins are a great place to start as above ;) that way it’s not just a “your evil do whatever” The characters have reasons for their villainy.
another good archetype is falling down/killing joke et al “I had one really bad day”
The party needs to have a good goal that's not just revenge or lust for power to keep them motivated, and to prevent it from deteriorating in to just a practice in depravity. If they're fighting to restore something unjustly lost, or to preserve something being threatened, that realistic motivation grounds the characters and makes them more real, and less likely to go full murder-hobo, which would make any attempt to run a narrative impossible.
Something like the original Blues Brothers movie. Their goal is to save the orphanage where they grew up, but half of everything they do is illegal.
I have a few ideas 1)the party isn’t evil, they’re “evil”. Basically what I mean is the party isn’t necessarily a bunch of crazy murder-hobos but they are just seen as bad. The best example I could give is a Necromancer, Necromancy in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad, its just seen as bad because of its association with death (and all the liches don’t help much). Maybe your party has a necromancer among them, so the whole party is seen as “evil”, or they assisted a necromancer and are now seen as “evil”
2)the party stood up against a tyrant that has control over an empire, and now they have to gather an army to overthrow them. In the process they’ll probably have to kill a bunch of guards and soldiers, or even assassinate corrupt officials. You could also add more evil vibes by making the leader not corrupt, or even the leader is a great leader that wronged the party in some way, so now they want to overthrow/kill them
I have a few ideas 1)the party isn’t evil, they’re “evil”. Basically what I mean is the party isn’t necessarily a bunch of crazy murder-hobos but they are just seen as bad. The best example I could give is a Necromancer, Necromancy in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad, its just seen as bad because of its association with death (and all the liches don’t help much). Maybe your party has a necromancer among them, so the whole party is seen as “evil”, or they assisted a necromancer and are now seen as “evil”
2)the party stood up against a tyrant that has control over an empire, and now they have to gather an army to overthrow them. In the process they’ll probably have to kill a bunch of guards and soldiers, or even assassinate corrupt officials. You could also add more evil vibes by making the leader not corrupt, or even the leader is a great leader that wronged the party in some way, so now they want to overthrow/kill them
I hope this helps your campaign!
That's in line with what I was trying to say. The player-character party needs to be the "heroes" of their own story for the story to work. Giving them a goal to accomplish something that they believe will make things better for people grounds them and gives them direction.
On your note about a good leader who wronged the party, you could make it even more morally grey by having it not be their leader, but rather the honorable and good leader of a neighboring kingdom that attacked in response to some unjust treatment from their lord to the other kingdom, but in that attack the player-characters suffered loss, and now they're looking for vengeance.
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Pretty self-explanatory: I want to run a campaign where the party is evil, starting out as low level thugs and progressing towards toppling governments and world domination.
Anyways, I could use some ideas as to a more thorough plot line. What are some good avenues for them to do evil things as well as become more evil along the way?
Check this video out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFBKCvD5D3o
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You could run a prison escape where the party are inmates on this big island prison or demiplane that gives them enough space to move around and get some 'questing done as they look for things they need or information for their escape.
The thing I like about evil campaigns set in prisons is you can have all types of evil inside, but not necessarily all the characters need to be evil. Some can be good and framed, or maybe enemies of a corrupted state, etc.
This is super unoriginal but the idea just works and I like it. Suicide Squad. With one member being a lawful good that is sent along to make sure they stay on task and whatnot and to add a little spice to the group.
also like Charles said, prison break is great. You could probably do an entire small campaign just inside a prison alone.
Make sure the players are on board. Have an out of character discussion where they, ideally, agree not to hurt or sabotage each other at all. It’s them against the world, infighting will kill everything.
Give them a choice of starting position
e.g. Escaping prisoners (as mentioned above), criminals sent to black watch (as GoT), a band of soldiers on the losing side of the Great War now mercenaries for hire (evil serenity) etc
now look to all the great fictional villains, not just the iconic ones, the ones with real depth. Evil is as evil does is not long time fulfilling, you want to give your characters more intricate reasons for being evil. Otherwise they are just playing GTA7 : Murder Hobo City. A little less Dr Evil, a lot more Killmonger. Chances are the memorable villains with depth had motivations you could understand, even the chaotic ones
Iago (not the parrot) - jealous hatred of being looked over, while someone he sees as unworthy is rewarded
killmonger - focussed rage at a family he sees as betrayers to him and his people
Thanos - misguided tyrant who is to consumed by his own pride that only he can save the universe from itself to see to monstrosities he carries out for what they are
scrooge (not the duck) - willing to cut himself of from everything for the one thing he feels won’t betray or desert him, greedily hording wealth
Dracula - a monster of a man that became a monstrosity, sewing the world as cattle, below him on the food chain for him to quench his gluttonous hunger and thirst for blood on
Cypher - driven to betray all he believed in and the people he had banded together with so he could return to a life of lazy ignorance.
7 deadly sins are a great place to start as above ;) that way it’s not just a “your evil do whatever” The characters have reasons for their villainy.
another good archetype is falling down/killing joke et al “I had one really bad day”
There is a new evil deity that demands to be praised and worshipped and gives your party a mission to convert more people.
A new curse has settled over the land turning people evil your party included and now you think everyone else should comply to new laws.
You are adventuring to gain the favor of those in the Underdark and they send you on different quests to help their evil ways.
You are on a quest to dominate a town, city, or planet and you demand they treat you as Royalty or else.
Hope these few ideas help.
Have them start out as henchpersons to a high level crime boss then gradually work their way to taking over the entire organization
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
The party needs to have a good goal that's not just revenge or lust for power to keep them motivated, and to prevent it from deteriorating in to just a practice in depravity. If they're fighting to restore something unjustly lost, or to preserve something being threatened, that realistic motivation grounds the characters and makes them more real, and less likely to go full murder-hobo, which would make any attempt to run a narrative impossible.
Something like the original Blues Brothers movie. Their goal is to save the orphanage where they grew up, but half of everything they do is illegal.
I have a few ideas
1)the party isn’t evil, they’re “evil”. Basically what I mean is the party isn’t necessarily a bunch of crazy murder-hobos but they are just seen as bad. The best example I could give is a Necromancer, Necromancy in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad, its just seen as bad because of its association with death (and all the liches don’t help much). Maybe your party has a necromancer among them, so the whole party is seen as “evil”, or they assisted a necromancer and are now seen as “evil”
2)the party stood up against a tyrant that has control over an empire, and now they have to gather an army to overthrow them. In the process they’ll probably have to kill a bunch of guards and soldiers, or even assassinate corrupt officials. You could also add more evil vibes by making the leader not corrupt, or even the leader is a great leader that wronged the party in some way, so now they want to overthrow/kill them
I hope this helps your campaign!
That's in line with what I was trying to say. The player-character party needs to be the "heroes" of their own story for the story to work. Giving them a goal to accomplish something that they believe will make things better for people grounds them and gives them direction.
On your note about a good leader who wronged the party, you could make it even more morally grey by having it not be their leader, but rather the honorable and good leader of a neighboring kingdom that attacked in response to some unjust treatment from their lord to the other kingdom, but in that attack the player-characters suffered loss, and now they're looking for vengeance.