[Sawrock]

There’s a big book of “rules” I follow by when I play villains (which I do more than protagonists, as I find it more entertaining). I don’t have them written down, except right now.

1. Don’t have a concrete backstory
Have a general idea or some bullet points when you make a villain, but leave some room to flesh things out as RP goes. You’ll surprise yourself about what you’ll learn about your own character when it comes to the point where you want to introduce a plot point, or turn a joke throwaway line into canon. Bloeden wasn’t even a mutant-making mage until I needed a force to attack Cellsvich with, and I wanted something more thematic than a monster rush or bandit attack.

2. Hate most, like some
A villain should have something about them that gets most people on edge, sone way to hate and despise them. Pitecoll thirsted for preteens, Bloeden was a rapist and slaver, Kasan was an idiot and loved to torture people... but each of them had qualities that SOME of the population could attach to. Pitecoll enjoyed fights that challenged him so he befriended Julien who he saw as a worthy opponent. Bloeden was a bit of a quick speaker prone to silly analogies so those who were uncaring of the law appreciated his company as he did theirs. Kasan, despite being 34, had a child-like innocence that people enjoyed. Having more bad traits than good is deeply important though, as otherwise you’re not a villain- there’s no reason for people to be driven into conflict with you.

3. Consent is everything
Attack people like crazy, rob them, kick their siblings. Just make sure you ask them in LOOC first if they’re okay with how roleplay is going. An unwilling RP partner is an unmotivated one, and it’s not good to hold selfish sessions. People will be okay with harm to their characters for the sake of a good story- and if they’re not wanting such a story, don’t force it on them. It takes two to party.

4. Accept all consequences
If you’re playing a villain, it’s best to have a backlist of characters you want to play. People may complain about jail time and executions, but it was honestly worse when people were causing problems in the public square and no guards existed to tone it down. Work with the GMs and your fellow players to make a good story; your character may die, but you yourself will live on to be a better roleplayer and member of the community.

5. Do not rely on events
Use events. Try to avoid them when possible. Having organic roleplay in between big bashes makes for more time to develop your character, making them deeper and more engaging to play.

That’s just how I operate things. There’s plenty of other methods, and different people may enjoy different things about being a villain and thus operate things differently. And that’s fine. In the end, as long as we enjoy the game, villain or no, then we’re having our time well spent in the game here. Thank you all for having given me such wonderful opportunities to roleplay in.