Because of the nature of RP, I firmly believe that playing the villain is a waste of time without a group of friends willing to humor your plot and who trust you enough not to do anything they're uncomfortable with.
Ignore metagaming, OC/IC bleed. Even then, people still have the ultimate say on what happens to their characters, and the simple fact is, many are uncomfortable with not being a badass at all times. No one wants to be tricked, beaten, or hurt in any significant way, and an insignificant villain is no villain at all.
Is it possible? Yes. Like Warren said, its absolutely beautiful when it does. But really, its always going to be a difficult dance, and you're constantly at the mercy of your OOC peers while simultaneously tasked with engaging them. My main, while not strictly a stache-twirling villain, is almost always tasked against most of my most constant RP friends. Sometimes, I'm unable to actually do much of anything, because the situation isn't quite right, or its too disruptive at the moment, or something along those lines. I have fun with it, but its absolutely maddening sometimes.
Ignore metagaming, OC/IC bleed. Even then, people still have the ultimate say on what happens to their characters, and the simple fact is, many are uncomfortable with not being a badass at all times. No one wants to be tricked, beaten, or hurt in any significant way, and an insignificant villain is no villain at all.
Is it possible? Yes. Like Warren said, its absolutely beautiful when it does. But really, its always going to be a difficult dance, and you're constantly at the mercy of your OOC peers while simultaneously tasked with engaging them. My main, while not strictly a stache-twirling villain, is almost always tasked against most of my most constant RP friends. Sometimes, I'm unable to actually do much of anything, because the situation isn't quite right, or its too disruptive at the moment, or something along those lines. I have fun with it, but its absolutely maddening sometimes.
