A Background In Evil
2February 11, 2011 by thebasicsofthegame
Every good villain has a good backstory. He has something about him, that makes him so deliciously evil. Darth Vader fell from grace before he becomes a Dark Lord of the Sith. Sauron, started out as a lesser demigod before he becomes the villain in Lord of the Rings. Everybody starts their path somewhere, even PC bad guys. Are the normal backgrounds in 4th edition not evil enough for you? Are they a little too goody two shoes, for you? Would you prefer a sprinkle of villainy to flavor?
Well we can help. Here are 10, count them 10 brand new, evil backgrounds. Use them like you would any background in 4th Edition. Think of them as good starting points to build a character on.
The Bastard
Two bad you couldn’t be the good son, the one born in wedlock. You may have lived in the keep, sat at the table of power, but they never let you forget your place. Now it is your turn to make them see their place….on their knees.
Associated Skills
Intimidation, Diplomacy
The Lover of Death
They never understood, you see. The cold beauty of the Raven Queen is so divine. They don’t understand that her kiss is a gift, but you will help them. You will let them see her gift one person at a time or by the thousands. You will make the world hers, as it should be. Then maybe, she will speak to you.
Associated Skills
Religion, Nature
Servant of Evil
Power is the result of a contract. You trade one thing, for another. That is the way of the world. You traded to acquire power, position and destiny. You traded to have path in life which you could be sure of. And the cost…. well you traded your obedience, your loyalty, and your soul. A fair trade, if you think about it.
Associated Skills
Arcana, Perception
Cutthroat
You are a simple creature. You are not complicated by philosophy or religion. The world needs such men and women. They need someone who understands life. The world needs someone who gets the distinction between a cut throat, and the one doing the cutting.
Associated skills
Thievery, Streetwise
Black Widow
Life is hard for you. The world has not been kind. It is only fair after all. All those lovers you met, all they wanted was your time and attention. Such things are valuable, but you gave it freely. When the romance ran it’s course, you ended it with no complaints from your lover. After all, you can’t talk much when your dead.
Associated Skills
Diplomacy, Bluff
Seeker of Apotheosis
The world needs help. It needs a new kind of savior. It needs a new force to fix it. It needs a new god. The wisdom of it is so clear and in the end it will work. When all the bodies lay at your feet, and you have achieved your goal, the survivors will be so thankful to their new god….you.
Associated Skills
Arcana, Religion
A Proper Murderer
You were brought up to have class and poise. You were taught by the best to use deception and guile. You were trained to end a life like a proper professional would. In killing, there are so many amateurs, talented or not. It is good that there are people who are professional about the whole affair.
Associated Skills
Stealth, Diplomacy
The Voices Speak To You
HA!HA!HA! That is very funny. What? Oh not you, the other one. Yes, that voice says so many things. The other voices say bad things at times. Tell you that your bad, but you try not to listen to those. You like the pretty voices. You also like the screaming voices, but they may not all be in your head. Shhh now little one. What? Crazy? In a world of gods and demons, how can you be sure?
Associated Skills
Endrurance, Insight
I Am What You Made Me!
Life isn’t fair to you. You did not ask to be this way. You didn’t ask to be the way you are. The men who kept you in the cell, who tried different rituals and different tools on you, they did this. YOu might have been good. You might have lived a normal life, but pain is all you ever knew. Now you are a monster, just like they wanted.
Associated Skills
Endurance, Athletics
Lickspittle to The Dark Lord
“Of course master, let me take care of that mess for you.” ”Master, you know I love only you. How shall I prove my love? Oh? Kill the child master? Are you sure? I don’t mean to be a bother master, but they make such a mess and….Oh. Yes of course Master? What ever you please. I will move the next specimen into the lab master, right after. “
Associate Skills
Diplomacy, History
I had fun writing this little bit. That is all.
There’s a character I played in a LARP, one “Cassio de la Rosa,” who was pretty evil for a long time. The reasons he was evil weren’t quite what you listed above, as it was never a voluntary choice for him, but something he felt like he couldn’t escape. In brief, he was desperately hungry for respect, and didn’t understand how to go about getting that respect, because the only tool at his disposal was violence. He was constantly told that this person or that person didn’t respect him, and that he was Disappointing The Family if he let them go on showing that kind of disrespect. His main evil traits were cruelty and vengefulness. The good news (at least for my purposes as the player) was that it’s possible to redeem this character just by giving him what he actually wants.
Of the archetypes you describe, he was sort of a fusion of the Bastard and the Proper Murderer (or the Cutthroat, either way), but I would call the archetype The Dutiful Son. I would venture the opinion that a huge percentage of people incarcerated for violent crimes are exactly like this, and I found it interesting (and frightening) to arrive at that point through a logical progression of emotions.