My friend has recently started running an evil campaign. His players are having serious difficulty telling the difference between comitting evil deeds and doing random things that are evil acts.
I stayed to watch one sessions and after the group went to an inn the group waited till midnight and then the rogue of the group went off to rape the innkeeper's daughter, the bard went off to pee in the beer barrels, while their barbarian started to break the chairs downstairs. When I tried asking them what was the point of their actions their response was they had to do it since they were evil.
My question is how do you explain the difference between being evil by helping a villain and being evil by acting like college students on spring break that are extremely high?
Best Answer
Bah! That's the problem with villains these days. They hear about the time Bar'br'shaup the Hideously Vile kicked a puppy and assume that Evil must go around kicking puppies all day. He didn't kick that puppy because Evil required it. He kicked it because it was in his way.
If you're going to allow your moral framework to force you to do things a certain way, then you might as well be good. Evil isn't an alternate moral code: it's an acknowledgement that, while such codes may be of use for keeping the peasants in line, Evil Overlords such as yourself are above such petty restrictions.
Explain to your players that evil adventurers shouldn't be looking for ways to "be evil", whatever that means. They should be looking for ways to further their goals that would be overlooked or rejected by less enterprising adventurers.
Suppose, for example, that a local goblin tribe has kidnapped several children, and the village is offering a reward for their safe return. A good adventurer might not only rescue the little brats, but reject the reward, stating that the village needs it more than they do. A neutral adventurer would at least have the good sense to take the money, so the exercise isn't a complete waste of time. But as an evil adventurer, you realize that if you offer the goblins a 30% cut of the reward money to give you the kids, then not only do you not have to fight, but the goblins are still alive and can kidnap some more kids for you to rescue once every month or so, providing you with a safe and steady source of income.
What your players need are goals. Something to accomplish and a lack of limitations as to how to go about it. If they're intent on being mere thugs, they can keep doing things the way they have been until they draw the attention of the local paladin and get killed off. It seems to be the fate of most would be villains these days. But if they instead decide what they want from the world and seek to acquire it, unfettered by the restrictions that lesser beings impose upon themselves, then they can start on the path to being true Evil Masterminds.