Need help for evil assassin past [Archive] - Wizards Community

Need help for evil assassin past [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Arthur_Pendragon
08-10-05, 01:26 PM I'm posting this for my wife, as she is working on a human assassin-like character for our evil campaign. We are using gestalt rules from Unearthed Arcana (she is a Fighter/Rogue). (If you aren't familiar with those rules its not that important since I'm just concered with working out her character past, you could essentially treat the character as if it was a normal multi-classed Fighter/Rogue).

Essentially, she is struggling to come up with a past for her character that realistically explains how someone could be eventually driven to go from a relatively normal neutral childhood (though it could have been an abusive childhood instead) to having a morality shift as extreme as becoming willing to kill others for monetary gain. (By this I mean, we want a character who starts her childhood out like any other normal child, but some events shape her to becoming this latter, instead of something like she was just born psychotic and without morality).

This morality shift need not happen before the campaign beings (we are second level characters now). She could start the campaign as a Lawful/True/Chaotic Neutral and shift toward evil as she advances in levels. However, we needed to come up with a past that at minimum laid out the seeds for such a morality shift, even if at present her character is just a more normal chaotic neutral rogue.

We've played around with all manner of character pasts so far, but kind of drawn up blanks for anything that would really work well, so we are looking for suggestions on what would shape a young girl to start her down a path that would lead her to becoming a violent killer for hire.
Gingerbread Guy
08-10-05, 06:54 PM Hi Arthur,

It sounds to me like you two are putting a little to much stock into what being "evil" really means. I always try to remind my players that not all lawful good characters are paladins, and so not all evil characters are on par with blackguards either.

You mentioned that this assassin is just someone who kills for money. She's not an out-and-out psychopath, so we don't actually have that much work ahead of us in coming up with a plausible background.

In order to make life easy for us all, I think its also best to break her background down into small pieces. Its more interseting, and I think more realistic, if she came to lose her innocence and moralty slowly, step by step.

I think the first step to becoming an assassin is learning to put your own wants and needs above those of others. The result of this kind of thinking is usually theft. As far as motivation goes, perhaps she was merely poor as a child, and she and/or her family had to steal to survive. This is pretty easy to write into a story as in your typical D&D world many if not most people are living at or below the poverty line. On the contrary, her family might have been rediculously wealthy, and she took to stealing for fun, for attention, out of rebellion, or simply because she had a skewed concept of the worth of money.

The next step is to put your own wants and needs above the basic rights of others - such as their ultimate right to live. Getting involved in minor crimes can be a slippery slope that can sometimes lead to bigger crimes. You know how it is when someone gets trapped in a series of lies - one lie covers the first, and then another is needed to back up the second lie, and so on and so on. In the same way, shoplifting may turn into burglary. Burglary may turn to mugging. Any of these crimes can easily go wrong (no plan is perfect) and perhaps she accidentally killed someone, or was "forced" to kill someone in order to preserve her innocence. In the case of an empovrished would-be assassin, she may have felt that being caught stealing would earn her a date with the hangman. In the case of a wealthy assassin, perhaps she simply made the logical leap from misunderstanding the value of possessions to misunderstanding the value of a life.

They say killing changes you, and that you're never the same afterwards. There are really only two ways to deal with the guilt that comes with severely breaking one's own moral code, such as by taking a life: either you repent in an effort to assuage your guilt, or you redefine your sense of self, and your moral code along with it. Those that take the second path may force themselves to be "okay" with killing, and its only a short step from there to doing it for a living.

Truly perverse assassins may consider even the most basic rights to be utterly forfeit regardless of circumstances, but I find that kind of callousness to be ultimately uninteresting to portray. Rather, I suggest your wife try to play a killer who, to some extent rationalizes her acts. Even evil characters often have their own sick moral code: A necromancer might be okay with raising the dead, and taking lives by snuffing out the very life forces of his victims.. but to him the idea of rape is a horrible violation that he would never dream of committing.

This pattern of rationalization and moral exclusion makes for a very complex and interesting character. I can imagine a lawful-evil assassin who is comfortable with killing (and may even enjoy the rush that comes with the surging adrenaline and feeling of superiority), but who never breaks her word or goes back on a deal. Another assassin might only kill pepole she believes are evil, or perhaps only people who have escaped justice. Yet another might kill only men - the famous "no women, no children" policy. Heck, she might even have a soft spot for some group of people - children, the poor, etc - and she may frequently if not regularly donate money to such good causes, helping to blur the line between good and evil.

Anyway, I've blabbed on enough. I hope that helps a little in terms of motivation, even though there are few ideas in there for actual events. I don't know enough about the game world or the politics in the area, but hopefully the groundwork is there. If you like, we can keep brainstorming for some specific events. ^_^

~Ginger
mikebook
08-13-05, 12:32 AM Try reading Steven Burst(SP) Jerig(SP) series. His character, Vlad, was a cook in a resturant that got tired of being beat on and started to fight back...
He was picked up as a leg breaker for a thieves guild and then they started to groom him as a hitter. It is a really good series.

However, for a "normal" background, try the movie, "The Professional." Leon is one scary guy. Look at the girl in the movie.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Arthur_Pendragon 08-10-05, 01:26 PM	I'm posting this for my wife, as she is working on a human assassin-like character for our evil campaign. We are using gestalt rules from Unearthed Arcana (she is a Fighter/Rogue). (If you aren't familiar with those rules its not that important since I'm just concered with working out her character past, you could essentially treat the character as if it was a normal multi-classed Fighter/Rogue). Essentially, she is struggling to come up with a past for her character that realistically explains how someone could be eventually driven to go from a relatively normal neutral childhood (though it could have been an abusive childhood instead) to having a morality shift as extreme as becoming willing to kill others for monetary gain. (By this I mean, we want a character who starts her childhood out like any other normal child, but some events shape her to becoming this latter, instead of something like she was just born psychotic and without morality). This morality shift need not happen before the campaign beings (we are second level characters now). She could start the campaign as a Lawful/True/Chaotic Neutral and shift toward evil as she advances in levels. However, we needed to come up with a past that at minimum laid out the seeds for such a morality shift, even if at present her character is just a more normal chaotic neutral rogue. We've played around with all manner of character pasts so far, but kind of drawn up blanks for anything that would really work well, so we are looking for suggestions on what would shape a young girl to start her down a path that would lead her to becoming a violent killer for hire.
Gingerbread Guy 08-10-05, 06:54 PM	Hi Arthur, It sounds to me like you two are putting a little to much stock into what being "evil" really means. I always try to remind my players that not all lawful good characters are paladins, and so not all evil characters are on par with blackguards either. You mentioned that this assassin is just someone who kills for money. She's not an out-and-out psychopath, so we don't actually have that much work ahead of us in coming up with a plausible background. In order to make life easy for us all, I think its also best to break her background down into small pieces. Its more interseting, and I think more realistic, if she came to lose her innocence and moralty slowly, step by step. I think the first step to becoming an assassin is learning to put your own wants and needs above those of others. The result of this kind of thinking is usually theft. As far as motivation goes, perhaps she was merely poor as a child, and she and/or her family had to steal to survive. This is pretty easy to write into a story as in your typical D&D world many if not most people are living at or below the poverty line. On the contrary, her family might have been rediculously wealthy, and she took to stealing for fun, for attention, out of rebellion, or simply because she had a skewed concept of the worth of money. The next step is to put your own wants and needs above the basic rights of others - such as their ultimate right to live. Getting involved in minor crimes can be a slippery slope that can sometimes lead to bigger crimes. You know how it is when someone gets trapped in a series of lies - one lie covers the first, and then another is needed to back up the second lie, and so on and so on. In the same way, shoplifting may turn into burglary. Burglary may turn to mugging. Any of these crimes can easily go wrong (no plan is perfect) and perhaps she accidentally killed someone, or was "forced" to kill someone in order to preserve her innocence. In the case of an empovrished would-be assassin, she may have felt that being caught stealing would earn her a date with the hangman. In the case of a wealthy assassin, perhaps she simply made the logical leap from misunderstanding the value of possessions to misunderstanding the value of a life. They say killing changes you, and that you're never the same afterwards. There are really only two ways to deal with the guilt that comes with severely breaking one's own moral code, such as by taking a life: either you repent in an effort to assuage your guilt, or you redefine your sense of self, and your moral code along with it. Those that take the second path may force themselves to be "okay" with killing, and its only a short step from there to doing it for a living. Truly perverse assassins may consider even the most basic rights to be utterly forfeit regardless of circumstances, but I find that kind of callousness to be ultimately uninteresting to portray. Rather, I suggest your wife try to play a killer who, to some extent rationalizes her acts. Even evil characters often have their own sick moral code: A necromancer might be okay with raising the dead, and taking lives by snuffing out the very life forces of his victims.. but to him the idea of rape is a horrible violation that he would never dream of committing. This pattern of rationalization and moral exclusion makes for a very complex and interesting character. I can imagine a lawful-evil assassin who is comfortable with killing (and may even enjoy the rush that comes with the surging adrenaline and feeling of superiority), but who never breaks her word or goes back on a deal. Another assassin might only kill pepole she believes are evil, or perhaps only people who have escaped justice. Yet another might kill only men - the famous "no women, no children" policy. Heck, she might even have a soft spot for some group of people - children, the poor, etc - and she may frequently if not regularly donate money to such good causes, helping to blur the line between good and evil. Anyway, I've blabbed on enough. I hope that helps a little in terms of motivation, even though there are few ideas in there for actual events. I don't know enough about the game world or the politics in the area, but hopefully the groundwork is there. If you like, we can keep brainstorming for some specific events. ^_^ ~Ginger
mikebook 08-13-05, 12:32 AM	Try reading Steven Burst(SP) Jerig(SP) series. His character, Vlad, was a cook in a resturant that got tired of being beat on and started to fight back... He was picked up as a leg breaker for a thieves guild and then they started to groom him as a hitter. It is a really good series. However, for a "normal" background, try the movie, "The Professional." Leon is one scary guy. Look at the girl in the movie.