Alignment Part 3 – Worst of the Worst

Yesterday, I talked a bit about the chaotic evil alignment and my interpretation of it. Today, I’d like to talk about the alignment that I think is the true heart of evil, the worst of the worst, neutral evil. In all honesty, this is the one that is what most people do when trying to play chaotic evil. The neutral evil character is often cunning, manipulative, sociopathic, and an awful lot like Jennifer Lopez on speed. OK, so maybe the last one was a bit much, depending on your perspective. However, the point is that neutral evil characters can be the scariest of all nine alignments (for a good character anyways).

Neutral evil characters are tricky. They are often power hungry, but not for political power. Power takes on different forms and the neutral evil character is often the master of many of them. The are the closest thing to your cheesy saturday morning cartoon villains you’ll find. They do simply because they want to. Of all the evil characters, the neutral evil character is the most likely to understand he’s evil, though generally he won’t.

Neutral evil characters are often the most sadistic. They’re the characters who will kidnap your family and create a situation where you can either save your sister or your mother, but not both. They may or may not be after money, but if so it’s only so the money can be used to further their own goals. Rarely are they greedy, though it can happen as well.

Neutral evil characters are the ones who enjoy making you squirm, and like to toy with people before the kill. They could be the serial killer, or the demon’s faithful servant. They could be the mage who wants to become more powerful than even a god. Really, they could be anything, and none of them are good.

In truth, the neutral evil character is, in my opinion, the scariest of any alignment. They’re the ones who destroy villages and topple kingdoms, but not for fun, but for a purpose that you don’t know yet. That makes them truly terrifying in my book, and a terrifying villain is a great villain in my book!