Technically another issue I've heard regarding people who play villainous characters it that they're kinda forced to pick and choose where and when they do their villainy. Obviously, that makes sense, but... even something as simple as lifting someone's gil pouch in the Quicksand could apparently be dangerous. Not because of the inherent IC danger of thievery... but the overwhelming counter-response.
There's a bunch of people who are playing heroic characters (or, at least, heroic in their own minds), and what better way to show off their great heroism than stopping a bandit or villain in their tracks? So, not only is there the risk of the villain being godmoded at (ex. every hero in the room apparently seeing this stealthy theft, them grabbing you mid-theft or pinning you on your escape without giving you a chance to react)... but just the chance of being mobbed by all the hero-type characters out to show off how heroic they are.
So, yeah. Apparently another reason there aren't too many publicly active villain characters is because they'll get hero-mobbed.
... but to keep things on the lighter side, there's nothing keeping you from being able to play a villainous character. One of my Lalafells - Gogon - actually had a big ol' villain arc a while back, and is still one of those "darker" types who is willing to use coercion and underhanded deals and whatnot to get the results he wants. It's just something you plan and likely get a group together to have happen, rather than trying for some open-world villainy.
You want a good example of someone else's villain, Roen and them had a villain-ish character named Taeros and that had a really interesting plot going on that I followed from the outside via their forum posts.
There's a bunch of people who are playing heroic characters (or, at least, heroic in their own minds), and what better way to show off their great heroism than stopping a bandit or villain in their tracks? So, not only is there the risk of the villain being godmoded at (ex. every hero in the room apparently seeing this stealthy theft, them grabbing you mid-theft or pinning you on your escape without giving you a chance to react)... but just the chance of being mobbed by all the hero-type characters out to show off how heroic they are.
So, yeah. Apparently another reason there aren't too many publicly active villain characters is because they'll get hero-mobbed.
... but to keep things on the lighter side, there's nothing keeping you from being able to play a villainous character. One of my Lalafells - Gogon - actually had a big ol' villain arc a while back, and is still one of those "darker" types who is willing to use coercion and underhanded deals and whatnot to get the results he wants. It's just something you plan and likely get a group together to have happen, rather than trying for some open-world villainy.
You want a good example of someone else's villain, Roen and them had a villain-ish character named Taeros and that had a really interesting plot going on that I followed from the outside via their forum posts.
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