Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord Hawkeye 04-05-05, 02:46 AM	So I am planning to set-up an evil campaign for some friends of mine and I am pretty much a brand new DM. I have been running a campiagn now for a bit over a year but not in Eberron. I'm just looking for any sage advice to running an evil campaign and particularly in Eberron. I have a few ideas but I am also looking for some experienced wisdom. Thanks
Vharuck 04-05-05, 04:40 AM	Work with the monstrous nations. Darguun works well here. They're known for tribal warfare and mercenary jobs. Or use Sharn. Gang wars are common between Daask and the Boromar Clan. You also have the Tyrants to deal with. Not to mention the Cult of the Dragon Below beneath Sharn with who knows what twisted allies. Last but not least is the assassination-based House Tarkanan. Opportunities for twisted people abound, as evil is more accepted in society in Eberron.
Save-vs-DM 04-05-05, 04:59 AM	One thing to consider is that in Eberron, the shades of gray in alignments are important. That an entire party might be evil is not really a big suprise at all. One important thing to ask yourself is this. Just how evil is this party? Are they simply evil because they are self serving and really don't care too much about most other people? If this is the case, then you really don't have to change all that much. The characters become gritty noire anti-heroes. A few good examples (though you might point out to characters) of good evil but not evil characters are: Garak from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Any ferengi from Star Trek (Quark from Deep Space Nine is probably the best example) Spawn (true he might be a "good guy", but his methods are most decidely evil) Jayme from Firefly (might have spelled his name wrong) In Eberron it's really, really important to sit down and really decide why your character has an evil alignment. Very few characters are evil "just because." If your characters cannot give you a valid reason beyond "its cool" or "I want to be evil," I would seriously reconsider running an evil game, as you're asking for trouble. Some good reason for being evil: 1. Your character is selfish. He doesn't care about the feelings of others and only about his own personal gain. A changeling rogue who simply cares only from himself is a good example of this. 2. Your character does care about others (at least those he likes) but his methods are overly brutal. A cleric of the silver flame who uses torture for the "greater good" is a good example of this. There are more examples, but those are two good motivators. In Eberron, an evil character can do good things, and help people, but their methods are going to be "dirty." This method works well because it fits the setting (there are tons of examples of dark heroes) and the party can still work together and trust each other for the most part, as they have a common goal and can trust one another. Now, if your characters are wholly evil, then you have a different ballgame. These are teh characters who are so black of heart they really embrace evil whole heartedly. I have a few suggestions. Do NOT let your characters play CE unless you are very, very sure you can trust that character and that this character isn't one who plays the "CE madman who kills everything becuase it's cool." Give them a strick chain of command and a boss who is obviously more powerful than they are. Wholly evil characters very rarely work well together, and you're really going to need someone who can force them to work together. Good bosses for groups like this would be: The Emerlad Claw The Blood of Vol The Lords of Dust The Daughters of Sora Kell (really only good for monstrous humanoid games) Merrix d'Cannith The Arum Cults of the Dragons Below (minion boss is a mind flayer, followed by increasing nasty abberations, until you get to a Dhalkyr). For a fun twist, have the party all play warforged and have them work for the Lord of Blades. They're job is to ensure that the "breathers" don't take over theri new home. In this case, I'd hamper them from time to time with the Church of the Silver Flame adn whoever else you think might take an interest. Hope this is helpful. My suggestion is first of all have your players watch a few episodes of Firefly - that's a very good example of a few characters with grey alignments. I'd also recommend reading the Sin City comic, Spawn, Powers and a few other comics. Sandman is also not a bad bet on that too (though a bit odd at times). Cheers, Save vs DM
James Silverleaf 04-05-05, 05:49 AM	it is acctualy fairly easy to run an evil campain. i am doing so myslef, and it works well. The party is working for both the Boromars, and the Blood of Vol. and their methods are overall brutal, selfish and really painfull for the victims. i just give them missions were they can do whatever they want. They have acctually given themselves a sidequest, helping a C-G organisation, eliminating Daask. wich also benefits the Boromars. sp you can say, that they are using evil methods to benefit both good and evil.
Euangelion 04-06-05, 12:30 AM	The Deathgate Guild in Sharn would be a good place for an evil party to start.
Beleriphon 04-06-05, 12:38 AM	The party is working for both the Boromars, and the Blood of Vol. and their methods are overall brutal, selfish and really painfull for the victims. i just give them missions were they can do whatever they want. They have acctually given themselves a sidequest, helping a C-G organisation, eliminating Daask. wich also benefits the Boromars. sp you can say, that they are using evil methods to benefit both good and evil. Playing them up as soldiers for the halfling mafiaso is a good idea for a more evil style campaign. Just keep in mind that working for the Boromar's will never allow them to reach higher than a soldier type level. They can never become capo or equivilent since only halflings can reach those levels. Still one could make themselves and important part of the organization, perhaps even as a recruiter of other non-halflings eventually.
Lord Hawkeye 04-06-05, 01:29 AM	Thanks for the replies. All of that is helpful. I had thought about the C/E deal and was going to NOT allow that alignment...I think it would be a bit crazy. I trust the group Ihave but even with that, C/E is just straight up nuts ;) . I hadn't thought about it, but all of those organizations would be great to connect with and could provide for some very interesting plot lines. Thanks to those who posted and if you have more ideas I would love to hear 'em. Hawkeye
JohnnyONeal 04-06-05, 12:23 PM	One thing to keep in mind is that while there aren't many powerful good-aligned characters in the world, there are plenty of other bad guys. Your players can fight good-aligned dragons, friendly fey, and what have you, but there simply aren't a ton of cut-and-dry good guys around. As suggested by a couple of the above posts, it's a better fit for the world's flavor if you have your bad guy PCs spending most of their time fighting worse guys.