Can you RP evil Dark Knight and have it lore friendly?

[Branson Thorne]

I know they can tap into the darkness, but it's usually done so in some sort of "evil batman" type way, as in serving justice to those who are untouchable.

 

Or, can they forget all that mumbo jumbo and use the darkness for their own evil gain?

 

I'm only at level 35 with my Dark Knight and would enjoy RPing as one but not to sure of the lore for them. Did a quick wiki search and nothing was helpful.

 

Disclaimer: I think I may have seen this topic touched on before, but I could not locate it. So at this point I'm not sure it even existed.

[Val]

I would imagine that you most certainly could. Granted I'm not an expert when it comes to Dark Knight lore or anything of that nature, but as someone else pointed out on the boards here a time ago, they seem more emotion-based than anything. Their powers come from within. I could easily see someone RPing an "evil" Dark Knight that thoroughly believes in what they're doing and still quite capable of manifesting their powers.

[Teadrinker]

Get to 50 and then you will have your question answered. If you give in to the darkness you are no longer you. So you couldn't be explicitly evil but you can definitely walk the line.

[Rufus Wightman]

I feel like alignment falls more to the character than the power they wield. But it's probably the case that a Dark Knight's darkness is quite likely to have an influencing factor, considering they bear their pain, fear and rage on their sleeves.

 

I imagine it would be easier for Dark Knights to fall into the 'evil' category, given those factors, but I don't think it's impossible for a Dark Knight to be of a more pleasant disposition. My own character is just that. He's not going about cleaving at people for no reason, and is generally quite polite in casual conversation, but since the darkness awoke within him, he has become a bit more grey morally.

 

So at the end of the day? I'd say go ahead. Most will think it's a bit stereotypical, or even cliché, but as long as you're happy with the character, then that's what matters.

[Ben Walker]

Actually the pleasant disposition and fighting for good is what makes a Dark Knight a Dark Knight. You RESIST the evil inside you. Because if you do become fully evil, that's not a cliche, that means the Darkside wins and you cease to be.

 

It's like Naruto and Ninetails. If the Ninetails consumes Naruto he becomes a terrible beast that just wreaks havoc and he has no control of his own body. Or your Shadow in Persona 4 that if you don't accept it and learn to control it, it would consume you and you end up daed.

 

Dark Knights channel the darkness inside of them, Warriors struggle to control their Rage. They are similar in that they must not give in to the darker sides of them or they cease to be who they are.

 

Now you could role play the evil side of you that took control, but any semblance of who you used to be is consumed and is no longer available to be in control of your body since you would have fallen from grace too much to come back.

 

Imagine a dark voice whispering in your ear constantly tempting you to become an evil bastard and kill everyone around you. That is the constant struggle of being a Dark Knight.

[SaintEaon]

I don't see why not. Morality is subjective, if you have bad morals you can be a bad person.

[Virella]

You can be the most evil character around, while still being 'good' at the same time. Your character just needs skewed views in terms of morals, and you are good to go. Really, as long he or she thinks she's doing the right thing, you can do a lot in order to let them do atrocious things. And else succumbing to the darkness within is an option as well.

 

 

 

[Branson Thorne]

So to totally give in to the darkside for no reason other than to just be evil would devastate your character physiologically, making it so you would no longer be yourself?

 

Dark Knight is more about walking a thin line of temptation between good/evil where to improperly balance or tapping into the darkside to much forces you to surrender yourself to it?

 

I think I need to find an IC mentor for my Dark Knight, because if not he is going to lose himself to it completely, given his background.

[Warren Castille]

Power source doesn't dictate what you do with it. Dark Knight's fueled by emotion, sure, but you didn't say anything about giving in to the temptation and embracing evil, you just said

 

Or, can they forget all that mumbo jumbo and use the darkness for their own evil gain?

 

That doesn't sound evil more than it does selfish but even then, it's entirely possible to keep a grip on your powers and just use them for ill intentions.

 

I could use clean-burning energy sources to boil orphans. I could use highly wasteful energy sources to cure cancer. They're not exclusive.

[Branson Thorne]

I could use clean-burning energy sources to boil orphans. I could use highly wasteful energy sources to cure cancer. They're not exclusive.

 

You have such a charming way of putting things in perspective.

 

But I see what you are saying and I think I agree. He wouldn't necessarily be evil in the way of killing everyone, but still doing his own thing without worry for right or wrong.

[Hammersmith]

I could use clean-burning energy sources to boil orphans. I could use highly wasteful energy sources to cure cancer. They're not exclusive.

 

You have such a charming way of putting things in perspective.

 

But I see what you are saying and I think I agree. He wouldn't necessarily be evil in the way of killing everyone, but still doing his own thing without worry for right or wrong.

 

You could do this, sure.  Ultimately a lot of what the story of Power is the conviction to use it and not be changed with it, or not to use it, or be completely be consumed by it.

 

I think throwing away the Conviction part of the DRK concept is a bad idea, much like saying you're playing a WAR and then being a complete pacifist is a surefire route to mental dissonance.

 

So if you do this kind of thing? What's the drive.  Why is being Selfish the proper Conviction to Use Power?  

 

What pressure keeps you in that facet, what makes that a push that keeps you as a DRK instead of say: A mob boss or a gang leader?  What requires the DRK part of that?  Are you going to "clean" up the underworld under your leadership?  Are you going to wipe out all other gangs and settle things in the violent parts of the city so you can do your whatever-work uninterrupted?

 

What makes criminal, or just selfish, a concept that works with DRK? Why bother with DRK at all when you could just be playing: A Criminal, or A Mob Boss, or A Theif.  You haven't given us any info beyond "Gonna be selfish", which means it CAN happen, but that's no indicator of if it's a Good Idea or not.

 

It's got a lot of potential for "Square hole round peg" syndrome unless you work with the core thematics of DRK which end up being: What drives the emotion that makes Selfish And Profiting Yourself The Correct Path For Everyone Else as well. Why does everyone else need to bend knee?

 

Why is that a Right everyone else could be put to death for?

[Teadrinker]

So to totally give in to the darkside for no reason other than to just be evil would devastate your character physiologically, making it so you would no longer be yourself?

 

Dark Knight is more about walking a thin line of temptation between good/evil where to improperly balance or tapping into the darkside to much forces you to surrender yourself to it?

 

I think I need to find an IC mentor for my Dark Knight, because if not he is going to lose himself to it completely, given his background.

 

An IC mentor for being a Dark Knight would warn you that if you gave yourself over to the darkness you would cease to be. As in, your previous personality is now taking a semi-permanent backseat to the BAMF that doesn't give a crap about killing that baby or running over that puppy. And until BAMF wants to hand the reins back over or you somehow manage to seize control you have to sit there in your own head, watch them do really horrible things and scream.

 

I really can't see being a dark knight as being pleasant in any way - unless you like hearing the whispers of an angry God. It seems like a huge burden.

 

Not to say that a character can't have a sense of humor or personality but I feel it'd be a shell. In solitude, they would be a morose, pensive, tormented person. Or at the very least a disconnected, emotionless one.

[Smagon]

I know they can tap into the darkness, but it's usually done so in some sort of "evil batman" type way, as in serving justice to those who are untouchable.

 

Or, can they forget all that mumbo jumbo and use the darkness for their own evil gain?

 

I'm only at level 35 with my Dark Knight and would enjoy RPing as one but not to sure of the lore for them. Did a quick wiki search and nothing was helpful.

 

Disclaimer: I think I may have seen this topic touched on before, but I could not locate it. So at this point I'm not sure it even existed.

 

I don't see why not. It's your power, no one can tell you what to use it for.

 

That said, RPing an "evil" character can really limit your interaction with others depending on how open the character is with their evil habits. You are going to have a hard time finding people who want to be around your character if he is a mustache twirling psycho that can't tone it down for even a second.

[myahele]

I don't see why not? What you do with that power is up to you, so being "evil" is possible and being a DRK is possible.

 

What's important is how well you control the darkness within you. Just like losing control of your inner beast for WAR is bad, the same can be said.

 

Although I do wonder if your power will be greatly reduced since you're pretty much uninhibited and doing whatever you want?

[Smagon]

I don't see why not? What you do with that power is up to you, so being "evil" is possible and being a DRK is possible.

 

What's important is how well you control the darkness within you. Just like losing control of your inner beast for WAR is bad, the same can be said.

 

Although I do wonder if your power will be greatly reduced since you're pretty much uninhibited and doing whatever you want?

Nah, I feel like if anything it would be increased since you wouldn't be holding anything back anymore.

[Warren Castille]

Considering the DRK story quests completely drop that angle after lv50, it's reasonable to assume that establishing dominance over the shadow once is enough to keep it in check.

 

Edit: To elaborate a little bit more on that, as you're growing in power the Darkside entity is also growing in power. You could draw from that that once you hit a certain threshold you're either controlling it or its controlling you. If you can't handle or manage those powers, you succumb to the bad parts. If you can, you tap into the advanced powers.

[Leanne]

Considering the DRK story quests completely drop that angle after lv50, it's reasonable to assume that establishing dominance over the shadow once is enough to keep it in check.

 

Edit: To elaborate a little bit more on that, as you're growing in power the Darkside entity is also growing in power. You could draw from that that once you hit a certain threshold you're either controlling it or its controlling you. If you can't handle or manage those powers, you succumb to the bad parts. If you can, you tap into the advanced powers.

 

It is just theory, but I'd say that happens because...

 

A. Yoshi-P lost interest in using more darkside shenanigans.

 

B. You are the WoL. Which is like being an embodied 42.

 

From what your darkside said, they will always be there at the corner of your mind, ready to take reins if you decide to end with your "fallacy" of being a hero. I take that is, yes, the darkside is subdued for now, until for some reason you show a glimpse of weakness that he will use to persuade/tempt/force its weight.

 

I admittedly prefer this interpretation just because of the extra flavor that adds to being a DRK. You will be forever having keep yourself on your toes xP

[Warren Castille]

Considering the DRK story quests completely drop that angle after lv50, it's reasonable to assume that establishing dominance over the shadow once is enough to keep it in check.

 

Edit: To elaborate a little bit more on that, as you're growing in power the Darkside entity is also growing in power. You could draw from that that once you hit a certain threshold you're either controlling it or its controlling you. If you can't handle or manage those powers, you succumb to the bad parts. If you can, you tap into the advanced powers.

 

It is just theory, but I'd say that happens because...

 

A. Yoshi-P lost interest in using more darkside shenanigans.

 

B. You are the WoL. Which is like being an embodied 42.

 

From what your darkside said, they will always be there at the corner of your mind, ready to take reins if you decide to end with your "fallacy" of being a hero. I take that is, yes, the darkside is subdued for now, until for some reason you show a glimpse of weakness that he will use to persuade/tempt/force its weight.

 

I admittedly prefer this interpretation just because of the extra flavor that adds to being a DRK. You will be forever having keep yourself on your toes xP

 

Correction: The Warrior of Light's Dark Side said those things. We can't know how any other Dark Knight handles it. That's why I said it's not an unreasonable leap of consideration.

[Leanne]

Correction: The Warrior of Light's Dark Side said those things. We can't know how any other Dark Knight handles it. That's why I said it's not an unreasonable leap of consideration.

 

I think that's the modus operandi of all darksides (weird thing to say.) Be their reasons or behavior different. The temptation to succumb to your darker desires. They'd be your selfishness personified. And we all being humans(or race of your choice in FF), the desire to serve yourself rather than others is always there. Seems fitting to me that likewise, your dark side will be there, waiting for a slip, a weakness to creep into.

 

Which brings the whole idea of an evil dark knight into question, at least to me, that is. If evil, only because DRK can be quite extreme in their methods of dealing justice. Then again, that is my interpretation.

[Smagon]

Considering the DRK story quests completely drop that angle after lv50, it's reasonable to assume that establishing dominance over the shadow once is enough to keep it in check.

 

Edit: To elaborate a little bit more on that, as you're growing in power the Darkside entity is also growing in power. You could draw from that that once you hit a certain threshold you're either controlling it or its controlling you. If you can't handle or manage those powers, you succumb to the bad parts. If you can, you tap into the advanced powers.

 

It is just theory, but I'd say that happens because...

 

A. Yoshi-P lost interest in using more darkside shenanigans.

 

B. You are the WoL. Which is like being an embodied 42.

 

From what your darkside said, they will always be there at the corner of your mind, ready to take reins if you decide to end with your "fallacy" of being a hero. I take that is, yes, the darkside is subdued for now, until for some reason you show a glimpse of weakness that he will use to persuade/tempt/force its weight.

 

I admittedly prefer this interpretation just because of the extra flavor that adds to being a DRK. You will be forever having keep yourself on your toes xP

 

Correction: The Warrior of Light's Dark Side said those things. We can't know how any other Dark Knight handles it. That's why I said it's not an unreasonable leap of consideration.

 

Exactly. It makes me wonder how a less heroic person who never tried to play the hero go would deal with that. Like what would happen if someone who was violent from the start developed a darkside? Would a person like that be instantly consumed or would they not even develop a darkside due to the lack of internal conflict?

 

I have so many questions about dark knights and their abilities and they always seem to get different answers every time I ask.

[Warren Castille]

It's roleplay: Whatever you want to happen, happens.

[Sig]

It's roleplay: Whatever you want to happen, happens.

 

^ This.  Dark knight lore is so vague that there are numerous plausible angles you could take without destroying lore.  An evil dark knight is one of those angles.

[Branson Thorne]

Thanks for all the replies and opinions fellows.

I think I found something that should work out pretty good without the need to be evil.

 

Thanks!