(09-15-2015, 10:13 AM)Caspar Wrote: That's why they make good NPCs. Granted, a straight up evil villain with a background that explains why they are who they are is no worse than any "criminal" in terms of characterization; that's a matter of taste. If anything I think it makes the monstrous type more interesting. You can look at their backstory, see what happened to them, and realize you still cannot forgive their actions in the present.
Characters aren't people. They *resemble people* and the degree to which other players and readers of your rp sympathize with them can be increased by making them resemble people more. Likewise, the amount they hate them can be as well. Narrative focus may necessitate more or less background attention as their role in a planned plotline may require. If you've going to make your main rp character a villain, having that extra depth will probably reward you just due to diversity of play and the entertainment that comes from doing so. If it is an alt or NPC, you can somewhat get away with not explaining every element of their background, though of course, if you desire to do so go for it. In my case, I've got the background of my plotline NPCs determined from their youth to the present, and there are some who are still completely unsympathetic out and out villains. However, I think that's just me being obsessive, lol.
A lot of that background will only see the light of day in my supplementary fiction that I write occasionally alongside the rp. I figure it's not always the case that the heroes are privy to every detail of the enemy's life. They can find this information if they pry with certain NPCs, but obviously some things the characters will never know. This may enhance the enemy's tragic qualities on the players OOCly, which is something I'd like to test out.
That's why, when anyone ever says that they want to play a villain, my first advice is to watch the entirety of The Wire, if they haven't already. Â David Simon created a show almost completely filled with moral ambiguity done right, and created villains that people relate to so well that they often don't realize they're talking about a villainous character.
Now that's how it's done right. Â So much more mileage out of that than your common everyday Skeletor.
