Its pretty blatantly clear that my favorite Legion NPC is Braniac 5.  So what I like really is the definitely-good guy that's such a total son of a bitch that he drives people nuts.

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Quote from: RPGPundit;414898Its pretty blatantly clear that my favorite Legion NPC is Braniac 5.  So what I like really is the definitely-good guy that's such a total son of a bitch that he drives people nuts.

RPGPundit

Reed Richards is often that way, too, I think.

I prefer to play the Good Guy. The farthest I will go in the other direction is an Every Man sort of character. But I don't play Bad Guys. There are enough Bad Guys in the real world.

From my experience players like to play 'naughty' characters instead of evil ones.
Something like a pirate who is able to be nasty but their intentions are good.

One example is the Serenity crew out of Firefly or the crew of the Betty out of Alien: Resurrection. They do bad things, especially when considered by the authorities but they are doing the 'right' thing as well.

Let me put this is D&D* terms:

Good or Neutral characters OK, so long as you have a motivation that will involve you in the adventure.

Evil characters, no.

Unless you are talking about the GM. Then its your job to play right bastards. :cool:

*-To include 1e-3e.

Tuco yes, Blondie yes, Angel Eyes once a blue moon, Indio definitely not.

Quote from: Soylent Green;414672Depends. A character can be intelligent and interesting, but to be evil implies a basic lack of basic human empathy which is a clinical personality disorder. I really don't know how far down that road you have to go before it can be considered "crazy", but there is a link.

Of course wearing spandex to fight crime isn't particularly sane either but in that instance you are most going by genre conventions.

But that doesn't mean you are unpredictable and a loose canon. My point is, it doesn't have to produce sheer chaos and predictable characters. Some of the most interesting characters are evil. I agree, an evil character with no redeeming qualities, who kills for fun...that is going to be boring. But more complicated characterizations of evil are possible.

Quote from: Melan;415172Tuco yes, Blondie yes, Angel Eyes once a blue moon, Indio definitely not.

How about Shorty?

Lord Hobie

Quote from: RPGPundit;414898Its pretty blatantly clear that my favorite Legion NPC is Braniac 5.  So what I like really is the definitely-good guy that's such a total son of a bitch that he drives people nuts.

RPGPundit

These kinds of characters can be fun. Where would you put a character like Edmund Blackadder on the list? He is sort of watered down evil and an SOB. But some might still consider him basically good (at least by the last season).

I like playing scoundrels. People who aren't so bad, you could say they're evil, but definitely have a mean streak, or a significant moral failing, or are in a situation that requires ruthless behaviour. Then I like it when they are pushed into situations with lots of moral complexity and seeing which way they jump. I love the moment where something in the scoundrel clicks into place, and he reaches a point where he makes that choice that redeems him, or conversely, irrevocably damns him.

Quote from: danbuter;414504When you game, do you prefer to be the good guy, all heroic and protecting the people; or the evil bastard, killing the helpless and getting rich off their loot?

I prefer to play characters with some depth, be they good or evil.

Batman has depth as a character, Superman doesn't to me, yet both are Good Guys. I'd rather use batman as a PC.

I find either extreme to be boring.

I really don't think of my characters in terms of good or evil, but what I typically find most compelling are basically good people who have been pushed to far, put in situations where 'good' and 'right' are all but impossible.  

For instance one of things I like about the Eberron setting is how most characters have a connection to the Last War and its horrors.  In my group's long-running campaign I play a warmage who's something of a lost soul, an alcoholic and wanted criminal who met up with the party after infiltrating an evil organization but not being able to go through with killing an innocent man.  And then proceeds to blast the unliving shite out of a bunch of vampires, if mostly for personal revenge.

So yeah, 'good but troubled' is how I roll.

Quote from: two_fishes;415231I like playing scoundrels. People who aren't so bad, you could say they're evil, but definitely have a mean streak, or a significant moral failing, or are in a situation that requires ruthless behaviour. Then I like it when they are pushed into situations with lots of moral complexity and seeing which way they jump. I love the moment where something in the scoundrel clicks into place, and he reaches a point where he makes that choice that redeems him, or conversely, irrevocably damns him.

I used to like to conceive my PCs around what I called a "central hypocrisy."

Quote from: Cole;415531I used to like to conceive my PCs around what I called a "central hypocrisy."

What does that mean. I have an idea in my head about what it might mean, but it's kind of vague and may not mean what you want it to mean.

Definitely the good guy. More Han Solo or Rick O'Connell than Luke Skywalker though.