The biggest problems i encounter when playing a villain are the following:
Players who want to be the main hero - Y'know what? This isn't a problem outright if you're in a roleplay where there is one protagonist, but the vast, vast majority of the time, it's one villain versus a large army of good guys. I'm fine with your protagonist having a personal stake in carving my villain up, and it can amuse me to yank that chain in order to drive heroes up the wall, but please don't, as the player of a protagonist, demand that you have a greater right to my bad guy OOC or that you have a special privilege to affect the outcome of my roleplay.
Players forgetting that Villain PCs are still PCs, with all the rights that entails - When I play a villain, it's as a player character who is evil, but put emphasis on PLAYER CHARACTER. You do not get to make a decision on how my character is going to end up without my consent any more than I have any right to your character. If you get uppity, then you don't get a bad guy. I'm always happy to work with players, but given the way any good villain is dogpiled by players looking to take him or her down, I have to play my part very, very carefully. You do not get to decide that you harm my character without my consent. You do not get to decide that you kill my character. Going Super Saiyan Godmode in roleplay will result in my villain withdrawing and you no longer having a villain. I have that choice, and I'm going to stay with it.
Players getting upset that they can't kill me a third of the way, halfway, two thirds of the way, etc., through a full story arc - This is a 'Your Mileage May Vary" thing, but I personally prefer large and involved arcs to have an element of OOC communication in them so that at least some guiding players can know what a scene is about if it's plot-significant. When I'm a villain opening up a whole new arc that's been planned for weeks, you do not get to sneak up behind my villain and stab him or her in the back. At this point, the only thing you're doing is causing a fight scene and causing the roleplay to stretch out while you're either put on the floor so the scene can continue or I have to deal with OOC drama because you've decided you want to take out the Big Bad in the first act. Again, you don't get to kill my character without my consent any more than I can kill off yours. If you get upset and call me a godmoder at this point, you're going to no longer have a villain until you wisen up.
Players who insist that they are as tough/strong/powerful as the villain solo - Look, I'm not going to tell you how to roleplay your character, but in order for a villain to survive longer than about ten seconds in MMO RP, he or she either needs to be hilariously well protected or be several steps above the protagonists in terms of ability just to keep breathing. I've tried to play weak, scheming villains before. They get taken out at range by Raiton in broad daylight even if that results in the bomb in the orphanage blowing up, because then Raiton Guy will somehow either force that to stop or call the villain a monster and be done with it. In order to keep a survivable villain, my bad guys are going to be at least a notch above your ilvl 9000 Monk/Ninja/DRG armed with a transforming Ascian-slaying Blade of Light. That's just the way it needs to be, and the less silly your character's assumed combat ability is, the less silly I have to make my bad guy's.Â
Basically what I'm saying is that my biggest problem playing a good villain is other people - When left to my own devices, I will play baddies who are varying levels of inhuman monster and usually be sending tells to people apologizing and explaining how I'm not really actually this horrible of a person IRL and that I feel really bad for turning that kitten into a living bomb which set someone's baby on fire. My biggest problem is having to deal with heroes who don't understand or feel the need to extend courtesy to the villains whose actions drive the story that gives the heroes stuff to do.
____________________________________________
From an IC perspective, I honestly have no qualms playing characters who are bad, because you know what? Some people out there are just plain jerks who believe that they matter more than someone else.Â
I had a villain, Ryad, who was a complete thug of a Thaumaturge. He cared more about feeling powerful and taking whatever he felt like than he did anything else. The only thing he respected was a power greater than his. He was a vicious, cruel-minded predator, and he died a dog's death during our current arc when I decided that our heroes needed a win that came in the form of a body bag.
I had no qualms at all playing Ryad because he was the kind of person with absolutely no redeeming values. I would have enjoyed the chance to see someone try, just because it would backfire with literal fire.
He THREW A LALAFELL AT SOMEONE. WHAT A JERK!
That being said, I honestly found that playing a Thaumaturge was just not conducive to villain roleplay without going so overpowered that it went into Black Mage territory. I got lore-blocked from him performing his basic survival functions because of the sheer number of people who went at him aiming for a kill, and since he wasn't plot-essential, he died.
Villains aren't hard to play, even the worst and puppy-kickingest. The hard part for me is keeping them alive long enough for them to BE evil. That limits the sorts of villains I'm able to play.
Players who want to be the main hero - Y'know what? This isn't a problem outright if you're in a roleplay where there is one protagonist, but the vast, vast majority of the time, it's one villain versus a large army of good guys. I'm fine with your protagonist having a personal stake in carving my villain up, and it can amuse me to yank that chain in order to drive heroes up the wall, but please don't, as the player of a protagonist, demand that you have a greater right to my bad guy OOC or that you have a special privilege to affect the outcome of my roleplay.
Players forgetting that Villain PCs are still PCs, with all the rights that entails - When I play a villain, it's as a player character who is evil, but put emphasis on PLAYER CHARACTER. You do not get to make a decision on how my character is going to end up without my consent any more than I have any right to your character. If you get uppity, then you don't get a bad guy. I'm always happy to work with players, but given the way any good villain is dogpiled by players looking to take him or her down, I have to play my part very, very carefully. You do not get to decide that you harm my character without my consent. You do not get to decide that you kill my character. Going Super Saiyan Godmode in roleplay will result in my villain withdrawing and you no longer having a villain. I have that choice, and I'm going to stay with it.
Players getting upset that they can't kill me a third of the way, halfway, two thirds of the way, etc., through a full story arc - This is a 'Your Mileage May Vary" thing, but I personally prefer large and involved arcs to have an element of OOC communication in them so that at least some guiding players can know what a scene is about if it's plot-significant. When I'm a villain opening up a whole new arc that's been planned for weeks, you do not get to sneak up behind my villain and stab him or her in the back. At this point, the only thing you're doing is causing a fight scene and causing the roleplay to stretch out while you're either put on the floor so the scene can continue or I have to deal with OOC drama because you've decided you want to take out the Big Bad in the first act. Again, you don't get to kill my character without my consent any more than I can kill off yours. If you get upset and call me a godmoder at this point, you're going to no longer have a villain until you wisen up.
Players who insist that they are as tough/strong/powerful as the villain solo - Look, I'm not going to tell you how to roleplay your character, but in order for a villain to survive longer than about ten seconds in MMO RP, he or she either needs to be hilariously well protected or be several steps above the protagonists in terms of ability just to keep breathing. I've tried to play weak, scheming villains before. They get taken out at range by Raiton in broad daylight even if that results in the bomb in the orphanage blowing up, because then Raiton Guy will somehow either force that to stop or call the villain a monster and be done with it. In order to keep a survivable villain, my bad guys are going to be at least a notch above your ilvl 9000 Monk/Ninja/DRG armed with a transforming Ascian-slaying Blade of Light. That's just the way it needs to be, and the less silly your character's assumed combat ability is, the less silly I have to make my bad guy's.Â
Basically what I'm saying is that my biggest problem playing a good villain is other people - When left to my own devices, I will play baddies who are varying levels of inhuman monster and usually be sending tells to people apologizing and explaining how I'm not really actually this horrible of a person IRL and that I feel really bad for turning that kitten into a living bomb which set someone's baby on fire. My biggest problem is having to deal with heroes who don't understand or feel the need to extend courtesy to the villains whose actions drive the story that gives the heroes stuff to do.
____________________________________________
From an IC perspective, I honestly have no qualms playing characters who are bad, because you know what? Some people out there are just plain jerks who believe that they matter more than someone else.Â
I had a villain, Ryad, who was a complete thug of a Thaumaturge. He cared more about feeling powerful and taking whatever he felt like than he did anything else. The only thing he respected was a power greater than his. He was a vicious, cruel-minded predator, and he died a dog's death during our current arc when I decided that our heroes needed a win that came in the form of a body bag.
I had no qualms at all playing Ryad because he was the kind of person with absolutely no redeeming values. I would have enjoyed the chance to see someone try, just because it would backfire with literal fire.
He THREW A LALAFELL AT SOMEONE. WHAT A JERK!
That being said, I honestly found that playing a Thaumaturge was just not conducive to villain roleplay without going so overpowered that it went into Black Mage territory. I got lore-blocked from him performing his basic survival functions because of the sheer number of people who went at him aiming for a kill, and since he wasn't plot-essential, he died.
Villains aren't hard to play, even the worst and puppy-kickingest. The hard part for me is keeping them alive long enough for them to BE evil. That limits the sorts of villains I'm able to play.
Characters: M'sato Tia (Lost Soul Seeker), Soren Walker (Ishgardian Midlander Pilot), Solomon Laguerre (Elezen Mercenary/Bar Manager)
Send me a PM if you feel like RP!
Send me a PM if you feel like RP!
