Legion of Doom - Evil Think Tank

[kleomenes]

[ Moderator Edit: Removed forum rule #3 violations. ]

IDK, I get that players of evil characters have a hard road on this server at times (I'd argue people actually playing hardline good characters, rather than something fuzzy in the middle, do too, although definitely not as much), but I don't think having a skewed view of other people's RP is helpful. The server is many things to many people, and a lot of stories are told that not all of us know the details of. That doesn't invalidate those stories.

Better we all play our characters, assume the best in others intentions AND do our best to let people RP their stories while remaining true to our characters (talking here about things like not chasing a necromancer in the cloakwood across the server, like Montleberry flagged up). And better we start thinking collaboratively OOC. NOT demanding our characters are teddy bears IC.

[Nomster]

[ Moderator Edit: Forum rule #1 violation. Please remain on topic. ]


I support evils working together. It is what I tried to do to some extent with evil-Telia. What made it difficult was a clash in goals. Then there is always going to be law and chaos clash, and then open or covert clash.

[Montleberry]

The Legion idea and some of the thoughts put out there had me thinking of an idea I have been kicking around on and off for an evil group that I wonder if could work and be fun here.

I always had the idea of trying to put together an crime syndicate based out of the Gate or maybe another location. Less a thieves guild and more...a mob/organized crime deal.

Seeking profit and political influence. Focused on things like bribing officials, protection rackets, extortion and so on. With a mobish hierarchy. Expectation of kicking a cut of profits upwards. Evil cooperating in a structure because it benefits them. Appears on the surface to be polite or at least mannered, cooperative and willing to be involved with good or neutral organizations should it profit them and vicious and uncompromising when they think they have to be and it will serve their goals in the end. Evil working together to have some RP and success for themselves more than burning down all the "good" parts of the server. Why burn down the new barn when you can show up and tell the family that it was donated to they now are paying you a gold each month in protection. Anytime the payment is short we'll take one of your kids fingers instead. And if you tell the Fist they are gonna find you out back dead with that Old Dodger rat that the neighbor keeps loosing stuffed in your mouth. Have a nice day, and see you next month.

Structured in a mobish way. Evil but discreet and on the surface polite and professional evil clerics, warriors and wizards, thieves and whoever else would be interested. LE and NE mostly, but anyone willing to follow the rules, behave with reasonable discretion, and participate in the crimes might be considered. Not a secret group like a thieves guild although their actual crimes would try to stay hidden along with the identity of the leadership. I'd take that pretty seriously as an organization if was a good character.

Leader - A character that only the adviser and face even knows or interacts with. Has complete power iccly over the organization. The face pays up a cut. Only directly interacts with the adviser and the face. Real effort to keep the identity secret as possible, perhaps to the point of only talking "business" matters by PM or private forum. Walking up to the boss IG and whispering about the last job would be a death sentence for indiscretion.

Adviser - Mage/Cleric type. Wise and respected. Answers to the boss only, but does not give orders to other members. Gets a % out of the bosses cut. Advises the boss and settles disputes of lower ranked members. Not as secret as the boss, but still not widely publicized outside the guild. May take on very important assignments directly.

Face - The face of the organizations leadership. Only he and the adviser should know who the boss is. Takes orders from the boss and is the person the soldiers report to and get orders from. The highest rank a Soldier might directly interact with. Get a cut from all the soldiers. Pays a cut up to the boss.

Soldier - Lead groups of members to carry out the orders of the Face as well as in self identified profitable activities. Pay a cut up to the Face.

Members - Rank and file members. Report to a soldier and pay a cut up to him or her. Lowest rank of full members. As a member violence against them is not tolerated without retribution, as with all ranks above member. A reason for evil to protect each other due to it benefiting them to do so.

Outside contacts - non-members who business is done with that work with the syndicate to make profit or enhance their power. Bribed courtiers and officials, contacts in other guilds, non-member players involved in whatever job is afoot. That sort of thing.

Sound at all like a fun concept for more organized and successful evil RP? Been kicking around in my head for a while now. BGTSSC: The Sopranos or Star Trek's Orion Syndicate in inspiration I guess..

[Sokolsky]

There's a couple of players here that want to play evil. So agree on a faction, create new characters together and make one of the evil factions big enough to have an influence.

Already have an answer for you:

Knights of the Shield

- The Knights of the Shield, a secretive group of nobility and merchants, aims unknown, are active in this important free port. Baldurian Knights include the silk-and-spice merchant Kestor (NE human male) and the adventurer Tuth (NE human male).

I recently asked the DM Team if they'd consider making this a NPC-led faction, or at least, have an NPC available for which PCs could receive orders, ask questions, get help, etc.. A direct, IC means of interacting with the DM Team. But it didn't hook....

So that means YOU PLAYERS NEED TO DO WHAT THE DMs DON'T WANT TO DO!!! lol.

If that ain't a poke, then I don't know what is!

I probably wasn't clear enough. I did not mean for players to have their current characters join something new, but for them to create new characters, with a predefined faction in mind, perhaps even entangled backgrounds. Not just random characters, but characters capable of cooperation.

Though I am not fully aware of what exactly you have tried in the recent past, I believe this idea might be different in that it is not a faction picked by one player, but decided upon (voted?) by many players that would like to participate, so that it might have a bigger player support.

[Boddynock]

[ Moderator Edit: As above, the removed item was off-topic and a violation of forum rule #1. ]

As for a legion of doom type deal. I think the most realistic way of seeing it work is, as was discussed above, starting a group of new toons who are created from the beginning with the express intent of making this work.

[mrm3ntalist]

[ Moderator Edit: Post removed for violating forum rules #1 and #3. ]

[Storm Munin]

I like your idea in principle Montleberry but there are a few issues with it in regards to how I understand what the OP wanted.

In essence you want to restart something like the Thieves Guild, the Shadow thieves of Amn or the Zhentarim. Keeping it nice and tight and focused on a few goals.
Been done dozens of times and rarely were there any major lasting impact.

Maybe I am wrong but I thought the OP wanted something more of the likes of backroom meetings between the faces of more than one faction, solo performers, deal brokers e t c aiming for the spread of diversified evil with different agendas discussing how to best make profit on the current tidings.
Perhaps leasing out an asset to an associate in order to further your own business while also taking advantage of being forewarned on what play are about to be attempted and where.

That line would also mean more work (fun) for team good when they try to keep track of everyone, everywhere doing everything.

Add a few double dealings, minor sell outs once in a while e t c and things should become rather interesting for everybody.

While the Thieves Guild of themselves can do much to the realm just imagine what could be accomplished if we had sat down a leader of the zhentarim, the thayans, the Hellstorm crew, the thieves guild, the dead crows and all those others in one room to truly contemplate how to set the sword coast straight as envisaged by them all?

Basically team evils version of the Baldur's Gate War Councils, minus the ponies and cheerful thoughts.

I can see a future in this where say the thayans support an elven petition to make a conservative ban on wolf hunting due to decreasing numbe of wolves.
Lets say that good effort gets passed as law among team good.
Well, lo and behold how arsons in the dock district suddenly coincide with rampant acts of piracy on the high sea near Baldur's Gate, a strange disease spread out of the sewers, public officials administrating provision are cut down by assassins and what not else.
Next the Zhentarim arrive at a bedraggled city with an unusually large caravan holding livestocks and food..

So who builds a nwn2 version of the lux nightclub?

/M

[Nomster]

[ Moderator Edit: Forum rules #1, #2, #3 violations removed. ]

[kleomenes]

[ Moderator Edit: Removed forum rule #1 and #3 violations. ]

[Maecius]

Well I did have hope for this thread. Locking it for now though. I can reopen it after we clean up the rules violations if desired. Everyone please review the forum rules (specifically the first three) in the meantime.

On topic, I think that ultimately for conflict RP of any alignment to be fun you have to work with all of the players (and any DMs) involved to make it fun for each of them. Those who make that effort will probably be rewarded with an enjoyable experience. Those who do not will often be frustrated when other people don't do as they're expected.

All RP comes down to collaboration, and collaboration requires mutual trust and respect. As well as communication.

[Maecius]

I'm unlocking this thread on request, and because I think that players should continue discussing how to carve out a place for evil in the surface world's RP (emphasis on surface world RP, as you'd look weird if you didn't have a zombie army or a pet demon in the Underdark).

Please keep on topic and be respectful and courteous to one another. Failure to do so after being warned may result in a temporary forum ban.

Thank you for understanding that we're all just here to have fun.

[Valefort]

Are you sure there is no perception bias when you feel that "team good" is more numerous than evil characters ? When I used to play I thought 80% of the usual characters were evil aligned.

Also I've been out of the loop for a long time but what kind of environment changing events did happen recently that were done by good-aligned characters ?

I was a very active player and I know my character didn't manage to change things in a better way, he mostly tried to keep the metaphorical ship from sinking from the numerous threats befalling the Sword Coast and alway failed at making things better than they were (or so I think). Playing a do gooder seemed like a desperate rearguard action with no hope of victory, only stemming the tide for as long as you could, that despairing and overwhelming. EMPEROR PROTECTS !

Of course my perception is biased but when I read those heated and passionate comments from evil aligned characters players I remembered feeling the same things, with roles being reversed, so whatever you play try to put yourself on the other side of the fence.

This conventional wisdom was dispensated freely for your sneering needs.

[Boddynock]

Are you sure there is no perception bias when you feel that "team good" is more numerous than evil characters ? When I used to play I thought 80% of the usual characters were evil aligned.

Also I've been out of the loop for a long time but what kind of environment changing events did happen recently that were done by good-aligned characters ?

I was a very active player and I know my character didn't manage to change things in a better way, he mostly tried to keep the metaphorical ship from sinking from the numerous threats befalling the Sword Coast and alway failed at making things better than they were (or so I think). Playing a do gooder seemed like a desperate rearguard action with no hope of victory, only stemming the tide for as long as you could, that despairing and overwhelming. EMPEROR PROTECTS !

Of course my perception is biased but when I read those heated and passionate comments from evil aligned characters players I remembered feeling the same things, with roles being reversed, so whatever you play try to put yourself on the other side of the fence.

This conventional wisdom was dispensated freely for your sneering needs.

There have at times been large groups of organized evil players. Currently that doesn't seem to be the case. You also have to remember that evil players that are infiltrating good factions often do not cooperate with other evil players due to the risks inherent in betrayal of their identity. So that counts them off of team evil, in effect, for the purposes of something like what is being discussed here.

If the infiltration=permastrike rule was relaxed somewhat that might change (though I could be mistaken on the current infiltration rule) which would make an organisation like this more viable perhaps.

Also, I recently decided to permanently retire Boddynock, his story has grown stale for me and instead of bastardizing him into something he isn't to keep me interested, I'm just going to send him away. My new toon, roughly level 15, would be willing and interested in this legion of doom type thing, and is low enough level that even if it was a group of new toons it wouldn't take long till everyone caught up and then he would fit right in. So whoever is interested in really pursuing this, shoot me a PM if you want.

[Garn Greymoon]

I personally would love to get an orc war band together and see what kind of fun and stories we could tell. I'm talking about the kind that shakes up the coast. It would need quite a few players i think and some dm support.

- raids caravans
- enslave border towns
- more subjugation
- building an army as infamy rises
- ultimately making the wild a dangerous place aka wild west

[Calodan]

I personally would love to get an orc war band together and see what kind of fun and stories we could tell. I'm talking about the kind that shakes up the coast. It would need quite a few players in think and some dm support.

I have a build that may be fun to do with this. PM me with details of play times. When you would like to do this and start it up.