D&D, Evil?? [Archive] - Wizards Community

D&D, Evil?? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Ashok_Lal
09-08-06, 12:37 AM While looking for some D&D art I found that about 80% of all the pictures were of Evil charicters.
So what i'm asking i supose is do you think D&D apeals & promotes Evil charicters.
I'm not saying D&D is Evil!!
Steidas
09-08-06, 12:41 AM While looking for some D&D art I found that about 80% of all the pictures were of Evil charicters.
So what i'm asking i supose is do you think D&D apeals & promotes Evil charicters.
I'm not saying D&D is Evil!!
What were you looking for? I've found a lot of images of Good or Neutral characters.
boozerker
09-08-06, 12:49 AM They're only ugly, not evil. They even hug people. to death.
Ashok_Lal
09-08-06, 01:18 AM Im not saying ther are no good charicters.
But if i was looking for a Necromancer my choices are all but endless.
80% of all the pictures i would describe as Evil or Diabolical. This coming from a game that claims to be about HEROES.

It's not like I don't have an Evil charicter myself. They can be Cool.
rudie
09-08-06, 02:00 AM The paladin looks pretty good to me, as does the barbarian.

DnD pictures, in my opinion, don't really focus on "how good can we make this guy look?" They focus more on "How bad ass can we make this guy look?"
That usually means big swords, skulls, magic aura, fire, you know the drill.
Milo HoBo
09-08-06, 02:09 AM The paladin looks pretty good to me, as does the barbarian.

DnD pictures, in my opinion, don't really focus on "how good can we make this guy look?" They focus more on "How bad ass can we make this guy look?"
That usually means big swords, skulls, magic aura, fire, you know the drill.Exactly, not evil, just really hard core.
Nobunaga Oda
09-08-06, 02:22 AM Hardcore Gaming!

D& f´D!

(:p)
Yunt
09-08-06, 02:30 AM Are you referring to just the PHB? Or D&D books in general?

The vast majority of illustrations in the full canon are of monsters or otherwise antagonistic characters, witness MM 1-4 and other monster oriented books. Given that the typical PC is playing a "good" or otherwise "heroic" character of their own design it stands to reason that the antagonist characters which comprise most of the illustrations would be "evil" or at least "villainous". This at least is a reason why illustrations would be mostly of evil-perceived characters.

Furthermore, even the "neutral" characters are going to appear less virtuous by contrast than the "good" characters. If you're assuming that anything that isn't good is evil, there's a lot of evil going around.

Basically, WoTC provides a lot of "evil" for your homebrewed "good" to overcome.
jokei
09-08-06, 02:54 AM [QUOTE=Ashok_Lal]Im not saying ther are no good charicters.
But if i was looking for a Necromancer my choices are all but endless.
80% of all the pictures i would describe as Evil or Diabolical. This coming from a game that claims to be about HEROES.
[QUOTE]
Well, maybe it's because it's down to the players to be good and the majority of the other "characters" you encounter will be adversaries.
Although, if I got the choice between drawing a picture of a zombie or my little pony....
I'd have the zombie eating the pony, but the pony would be evil, it'd just be more fun to draw...
Boramere_Wrath
09-08-06, 03:53 AM It is also noteworthy that illustrations are used to give a fantasy flavor to stimulate role-playing, so they are often about high-adventure, action scenes, or representative places/locations/settings.

Also, picturing an antagonist is easier than picturing a good character since people always want to know what the antagonist looks like, but rarely do they want to see a picture of the “good-guy’s” or representative “party”. This is often so because people have a much better image of what their own personal PC or NPC looks like, and are very attached to their own descriptions. Thus someone else’s representation is very unlikely to look like you imagine your own PC to look like. However, for a wide selection of thumbs to draw upon, don’t miss WotC PC Portraits Online at:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/pc

This is a great place to see all kinds of “good guys”.:cool:
MrPiskie
09-08-06, 04:01 AM Practical considerations of how D&D is played aside, I also think that there's something about the human psyche (or maybe our culture) that's fascinated by evil. Going to the bookstore, I see a lot more books about serial killers and brutal dictators than about selfless, virtuous individuals (and don't even get me started about the evening news). This phenomenon is nothing limited to just D&D.
xlivid
09-08-06, 05:07 AM Face it.. the bad guy always looks better.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ashok_Lal 09-08-06, 12:37 AM	While looking for some D&D art I found that about 80% of all the pictures were of Evil charicters. So what i'm asking i supose is do you think D&D apeals & promotes Evil charicters. I'm not saying D&D is Evil!!
Steidas 09-08-06, 12:41 AM	While looking for some D&D art I found that about 80% of all the pictures were of Evil charicters. So what i'm asking i supose is do you think D&D apeals & promotes Evil charicters. I'm not saying D&D is Evil!! What were you looking for? I've found a lot of images of Good or Neutral characters.
boozerker 09-08-06, 12:49 AM	They're only ugly, not evil. They even hug people. to death.
Ashok_Lal 09-08-06, 01:18 AM	Im not saying ther are no good charicters. But if i was looking for a Necromancer my choices are all but endless. 80% of all the pictures i would describe as Evil or Diabolical. This coming from a game that claims to be about HEROES. It's not like I don't have an Evil charicter myself. They can be Cool.
rudie 09-08-06, 02:00 AM	The paladin looks pretty good to me, as does the barbarian. DnD pictures, in my opinion, don't really focus on "how good can we make this guy look?" They focus more on "How bad ass can we make this guy look?" That usually means big swords, skulls, magic aura, fire, you know the drill.
Milo HoBo 09-08-06, 02:09 AM	The paladin looks pretty good to me, as does the barbarian. DnD pictures, in my opinion, don't really focus on "how good can we make this guy look?" They focus more on "How bad ass can we make this guy look?" That usually means big swords, skulls, magic aura, fire, you know the drill.Exactly, not evil, just really hard core.
Nobunaga Oda 09-08-06, 02:22 AM	Hardcore Gaming! D& f´D! (:p)
Yunt 09-08-06, 02:30 AM	Are you referring to just the PHB? Or D&D books in general? The vast majority of illustrations in the full canon are of monsters or otherwise antagonistic characters, witness MM 1-4 and other monster oriented books. Given that the typical PC is playing a "good" or otherwise "heroic" character of their own design it stands to reason that the antagonist characters which comprise most of the illustrations would be "evil" or at least "villainous". This at least is a reason why illustrations would be mostly of evil-perceived characters. Furthermore, even the "neutral" characters are going to appear less virtuous by contrast than the "good" characters. If you're assuming that anything that isn't good is evil, there's a lot of evil going around. Basically, WoTC provides a lot of "evil" for your homebrewed "good" to overcome.
jokei 09-08-06, 02:54 AM	[QUOTE=Ashok_Lal]Im not saying ther are no good charicters. But if i was looking for a Necromancer my choices are all but endless. 80% of all the pictures i would describe as Evil or Diabolical. This coming from a game that claims to be about HEROES. [QUOTE] Well, maybe it's because it's down to the players to be good and the majority of the other "characters" you encounter will be adversaries. Although, if I got the choice between drawing a picture of a zombie or my little pony.... I'd have the zombie eating the pony, but the pony would be evil, it'd just be more fun to draw...
Boramere_Wrath 09-08-06, 03:53 AM	It is also noteworthy that illustrations are used to give a fantasy flavor to stimulate role-playing, so they are often about high-adventure, action scenes, or representative places/locations/settings. Also, picturing an antagonist is easier than picturing a good character since people always want to know what the antagonist looks like, but rarely do they want to see a picture of the “good-guy’s” or representative “party”. This is often so because people have a much better image of what their own personal PC or NPC looks like, and are very attached to their own descriptions. Thus someone else’s representation is very unlikely to look like you imagine your own PC to look like. However, for a wide selection of thumbs to draw upon, don’t miss WotC PC Portraits Online at: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/pc This is a great place to see all kinds of “good guys”.:cool:
MrPiskie 09-08-06, 04:01 AM	Practical considerations of how D&D is played aside, I also think that there's something about the human psyche (or maybe our culture) that's fascinated by evil. Going to the bookstore, I see a lot more books about serial killers and brutal dictators than about selfless, virtuous individuals (and don't even get me started about the evening news). This phenomenon is nothing limited to just D&D.
xlivid 09-08-06, 05:07 AM	Face it.. the bad guy always looks better.