How often do you play as the asshole in RPGs?

[Abu Antar]

I usually play the good guy. If the game is worth my time, I'll replay it as a douche bag.

 

[Darkzone]

Arn't you playing evil in every cRPG? Since when is killing hordes of beings a good thing or stealing everything from different drawers or simple enter someone's home to loot his/her cabinet?
While killing and stealing are the most obvious sins, the most vicious character traits that create the sins are pride (Superbia), greed (Avaritia) and ignorance (Acedia).

Not sure if these should count since almost all RPGs are designed to have combat and item interaction in them. And, besides, you just kill tons of people for the "good" cause, right?

Ahh yes the 'greater' good. If i knew where i haven't heard it before. Everyone acts on behalf of the greater good, while committing atrocious things. The communists, the nazis (some fucking law here) and the islamists think they are in the right and are striving towards the "greater" good. USA pilots bombing other people are thinking they are doing it for the "greater" good and to protect their fellow citizens and family. In other words they all think that the goal justifies the means, but they have not read Kant and do not know that the means are in themself a goal.

Its do not murder not kill in Decalogue; of course we do live in times when preventing sodomites from tainting the youth minds and souls by propagand is considered immoral act so no big surprise people confuse commandments with Hippie Diarrhea coming from mouth of Arch Heretic Francisco and such. Its also not stealing when taking items put by game devs in not locked up or guarded arena; its scavenging. If someone in Fallout do tell me to not touch his stuff or leave the room i do so. But again we live in times whe some consider copying stealing too.

Let me ask some questions: Do you take a car if it is not locked and you have just to turn the key to drive it? Or do you enter a home without the permit of the owner, if the door is open and take things out of this home? How would you judge someone who in a fight kills someone and takes his things? What would you do if you found a golden bracelet on a street assume "finders keepers losers weepers" or take it to lost property office and hope the rightful owner gets it back?
Metthew 5:21-22, Metthew 5:40.

I do not play a good or evil character in cRPGs, i play towards an possible outcome that i desire according to my moral values. And one of this values is the truth, especially towards myself. Acts 13:10 and John 8:44.
I'm looking straight in the mirror of truth and i recognise that the moral values and righteousness are a luxury of good and peaceful times, but are most needed and very scarce in dire times, while good and idiocy are as close to each other as evil and smarts.
Don't think about the things that i write they are just the words of the fool (MA).

 

[moon knight]

 

[funkadelik]

I play evil in every game I can, that way I can always just do whatever I want.

 

[Saduj]

I tried to play numanuma as a disingenuous asshole who patronizingly tells people whatever they want to hear because it usually ended up being the path of least resistance in my quest to stop the macguffin from hunting me because reasons. Apparently, even the tides are somehow total suckers because I kept getting the compassionate color anyway.

 

[Luckmann]

Basically never.

 

[Apostle Hand]

I sometimes play as a villain and sometimes as a hero, depending on my mood.

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Pretty much never. Most of the time it is a. doing the good thing and b. while maximizing self profit. I will help you but I will ask a good price for it.

 

[mbv123]

First playthrough is always a "lawful neutral/chaotic good" kind of character for me. Being pure evil usually locks you out of content and fucks your reputation/relations pretty bad so if you don't know what you're doing, you're fucked.
Second playthrough is usually an evil character. Though I never play as pure chaotic evil (that's just boring imo), but as a reserved, affably evil character who wants to first and foremost serve his self interests but not at the expense of being a cartoon villain that takes candy from babies and beats up beggars.
For example, I get a large payment from screwing someone over - no problem. But doing an evil action just for the sake of being evil and edgy - no.

 

[Bohrain]

If evil choices even exist they tend to be badly written, underdeveloped and often poorly rewarding.
I wish more games had the kind of moral ambiguity AoD has without making virtually every character a scheming backstabber.

 

[unfairlight]

It's hard to do it in most RPGs since if I want to be full asshole I gotta join with factions who have unlikable shitty characters who I just want to fucking pavement stomp and I wipe out later, like Caesar in New Vegas.

 

[aweigh]

I don't LARP my games.

 

[Cael]

Badass? You mean like this?

"Why the fuck am I on trial for murdering the whole of Ember? I have a freaking PALADIN at my back. If I murdered Ember, he would be a fallen paladin. You motherfucking shithead! Yo, Casavir, c'mere for a sec." *stabs Nasher* "Heal the punkass shithead motherfucking bitch, please." *Casavir heals Nasher* "I'm outta here. Call me when something important happens, and I don't mean when Lord Dumber Than A Bag Of Hammers there has a bowel movement."

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Few games have satisfying asshole options, let alone evil ones.

 

[Blaine]

Few games have satisfying asshole options, let alone evil ones.

Exactly so.

I very rarely go the evil route, not because I feel compelled to be the good guy (although I do tend to think I prefer the good guy route), but because California-tier librul game developers are almost always unwilling or unable to portray evil in anything other than a stilted, caricatured, hamfisted, unconvincing, unsubtle, and unsatisfying way. In real life, coming to the realization that a (non-infamous) person is in fact evil is usually an eye-widening and surprising event. "Chaotic evil" people are rare.

Kreia is a shining example of evil done correctly and by herself elevates KotOR II above Star Wars' binary morality and the comparatively simplistic format of that type of console-limited action RPG. In fact, she was done so well that Obsidrones and Biotards to this day question whether she was really evil, because she didn't perform hand-washing motions while kicking kittens to signal her evilness at every opportunity. Of course, you can't play as Kreia, but by allowing your character to be drawn in by her you can become complicit/experience it vicariously.