[RPG] How does one play a Chaotic Evil character without disrupting the play group

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A follow-up question to How to deal with a PC trying to kill another?

As I understand the answer to that question, PCs killing one another is generally not the intended outcome of campaigns, and the GM simply does not allow PCs to kill one another. In fact if one PC decides to slit the throats of everyone else while they are sleeping, it's a good time to have a talk about how to have fun as a group.

But if that's the case, then how does one play a chaotic evil character without disrupting the game? Chaotic evil characters are unpredictably violent, and sooner or later they are going to turn on other party members with murderous intent. In fact, this description on easydamus.com – which cites adnd1e and 2e sources, Ninjas and Superspies, and various Dragon magazines – makes it sound like chaotic evil characters have to be forced to work in a party, and even then they are always scheming about how to topple the current leader (e.g. by killing other players while they're sleeping). That sounds like a recipe for becoming a problem player and getting ejected from the game, unless one acts out of character, in which case one ceases to be chaotic evil.

How do chaotic evil player characters work? Do players simply not play chaotic evil characters?

Best Answer

Don’t play chaotic evil characters like that

It seems somewhat obvious so I was hesitant even typing this answer, but this isn’t the first time I’ve seen questions of this sort crop up so I might as well.

Chaotic evil characters are unpredictably violent, and sooner or later they are going to turn on other party members with murderous intent.

Well, no. Don’t do that. Certainly such a character is chaotic evil according to most descriptions, but chaotic evil does not necessarily imply “unpredictable mass murderer with zero social functioning”, the same way “lawful good” does not necessarily imply that the person is completely incapable of tolerating infractions to “the law” or will never do anything that anyone might consider evil.

A chaotic evil character doesn’t even necessarily have to be a murderer at all. It’s entirely possible, and in fact likely that such a character would draw the line somewhere. Even if a character is a murderer, that doesn’t mean they’re indiscriminate. Normally people do something with some goal in mind. A chaotic evil murderer doesn’t necessarily enjoy killing, they might just see it as a viable way to get what they want - whatever that might be. In line with that, a chaotic evil character may well like the other party members. They might be the only people they’ve ever met who’ll put up with their antics, and they may well appreciate that.

Put some restraint on the character, some sort of consistent characterisation that makes them function in a party – not really that different from playing characters from other alignments in that regard – and it’ll work out much better.

TL;DR

The problems you’re describing come from playing an evil character like they’re an unhinged indiscriminate murder hobo. Not everyone who can accurately be described as “evil” is an unhinged indiscriminate murder hobo, even on the chaotic end.

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