I'm astonished that despite writing a weekly column on roleplaying, I haven't actually written about villainy since July 2010.
The key is, as Deirdre is hinting, that no one is ever a villain. Deir herself wasn't a villain; she accepted a job spying on people she didn't know at the time in order to keep her children safe. Rhio worked with (not for) the Empire for a while, but that was part of a ploy to get closer to someone. I've had a character attempt to murder pretty much everyone she knew, because she genuinely believed this was the greatest kindness she could give them.
Unfortunately, the problem here is one of scale. Being villainous with justification doesn't leave your character feeling like a villain, but passing beyond the pale into full-fledged awfulness leaves everyone with a burning desire to perform an impromptu vivisection on your character. You need someone entertaining enough to be worth leaving alive while still being vile enough that people genuinely want to counter their agendas.
In terms of a full shell... I'm not sure if it would work to have a persistent member of a group known to be villainous, but it could work in short doses. You'd be jumping shells a lot, but you could certainly play up the idea that the person in question is basically being kept on a short leash by the group's leadership. Until he or she finds a way to slip the rope, so to speak.
The key is, as Deirdre is hinting, that no one is ever a villain. Deir herself wasn't a villain; she accepted a job spying on people she didn't know at the time in order to keep her children safe. Rhio worked with (not for) the Empire for a while, but that was part of a ploy to get closer to someone. I've had a character attempt to murder pretty much everyone she knew, because she genuinely believed this was the greatest kindness she could give them.
Unfortunately, the problem here is one of scale. Being villainous with justification doesn't leave your character feeling like a villain, but passing beyond the pale into full-fledged awfulness leaves everyone with a burning desire to perform an impromptu vivisection on your character. You need someone entertaining enough to be worth leaving alive while still being vile enough that people genuinely want to counter their agendas.
In terms of a full shell... I'm not sure if it would work to have a persistent member of a group known to be villainous, but it could work in short doses. You'd be jumping shells a lot, but you could certainly play up the idea that the person in question is basically being kept on a short leash by the group's leadership. Until he or she finds a way to slip the rope, so to speak.
Blogging for dollars | The Mog Log | Storyboard (archive) | Telling Stories
In-character: Rhio's dossier | Out-of-character: Player profile
In-character: Rhio's dossier | Out-of-character: Player profile
