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** Players themselves seem to [[Special Snowflake Syndrome|like subverting]] Exclusively Evil tropes (or embracing them) simply because the "evil" races and cultures are [[Evil Is Cool|much more interesting]] than the generic "protagonist" races. As GM and ''Dungeons & Dragons'' translator Andrey Lensky wrote long ago:
{{quote|... my experience suggests: write in Monster Manual that among 100 cambions one is Good, and this one will get into adventure.}}
*:* The Drow of the ''Forgotten Realms'' setting and the Draconians of the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting are classic examples of "evil races". However, as the plot went on, [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|individuals arose]]—specifically, [[Rule of Cool]] scimitar-wielding (and heavily parodied in just about every single fantasy webcomic, due to his being heavily copied by virtually every fanboy at one point or another) Drizzt. Initially based on fanboyism, entire counter-cultures have arisen of differing alignment (as the page quote points out). In the Realms, most "good" Drow are the worshipers of Eilistraee, a goddess of the moon and hunt, whose (almost [[Always Female]]) clerics worship their goddess by [[Fan Service|performing a sword dance naked]]. Though the clerics of the [[Evil God]]dess were all female also.
**::* 4th Edition [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|Dropped A Bridge On Them]] (and many other things) [[Running the Asylum|so that Drizzt remain more "special"]]; which became one of the reasons why FR fans tend to consider 4e [[In Name Only|essentially unrelated to anything]] even more than the rest of D&D crowd.
**::* [[Dragonlance|The Draconians]] are getting more development as well—they were initially introduced as somewhat snazzier Orc-equivalents, but later books reveal that the average Draconian is only a few years old and has been force-fed a [[Religion of Evil]] from birth to create the perfect fighting race. This generally worked, but after the collapse of the dragonarmies, some Draconians began developing more individuality, and the ''Kang's Regiment'' series centers on a group of sympathetic Draconian protagonists who just want to be left alone to build up their race in peace.
*:* [[Planescape]] gets into the details, such as 1/5 (!) of Alu-fiends (half-succubi) being nonevil, even though technically they count as lesser Tanar'ri. The setting more emphasizes general philosophies.
*:* Even back in the days of 2e, ''[[Spelljammer]]'' had some fun with this. It was revealed that Tarrasques - immense creatures existing solely for destruction, only failing to have the Chaotic Evil alignment due to lacking the degree of consciousness having an alignment implies - are naturally docile rock-eaters; the more familiar ones are the result of their being driven insane and constantly hungry by environment not matching the unique composition of their homeworld's. One of the iconic setting NPCs is a non-evil mutant Beholder bartender, and some fairly decent Illithids. In SJ it comes more surprising that there are non-evil Neogi.
*:* Interestingly, under 3e/3.5e, demons are Always Chaotic Evil, even when they aren't - sort of. It's possible - although incredibly rare—for a demon to have an alignment other than Chaotic Evil, but chaos and evil are such an integral part of their being that for magical effects, they ''still'' count as Chaotic Evil in addition to whatever their actual alignment is. Devils work the same for Lawful Evil, and the various celestials work this way for various flavors of Good. Since these creatures are essentially alignment concepts given life, it is rather hard to change them. And yes, this ''does'' mean that, say, the Succubus who was driven by the [[Power of Love]] to forsake her evil ways or the penitent Pit Fiend will show up on a Paladin's Detect Evil. Staying away from them - especially the [[Lawful Stupid|extra-stabby kind]] - is recommended for any reformed Demons or Devils.
*:* ''[[Pathfinder]]'' (the official setting, that is) pretty much plays it straight, with the only significant difference being how much more willing it is to ''describe'' the kind of evil they are, for example, [[Take That|any drow who displayed compassion or altruism would get hunted down and killed]], or bugbears not simply being another goon-monster but an entire species of freakishly large yet uncannily sneaky serial killers who thrive on murder, or the infamous hillbilly rapist ogres.
*:* Overlapping with [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]], [[Snake People|yuan-ti]] are Usually Neutral Evil.
*:* By their [[Necromancer|very nature]], [[Our Liches Are Different|liches]] are Evil because the process of becoming one involves bending the very forces of life and death to your will, and often mass slaughter. Except if you're an archlich or a baelnorn.
{{quote|'''[[The Spoony Experiment|Noah "The Spoony One" Antwiller:]]''' ''"If there's a way of being a non-evil lich, I'm calling bullshit."''}}
:** Well, actually.. [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Baelnorn a baelnorn would disagree.] In fact, an evil wizard ''cannot'' become one.
:* Generally, Illithids are an almost universally evil alien race of psychic slavers. The obvious justification being that they have to be, to survive. Not only does their life-cycle demand the sacrifice of sapient humanoids for new illithid to come to be, but they gain nourishment from sentient brains. Eating the brains of non-sapient animals helps, but not all that much. End result: a species that, to survive as a species and to a lesser degree as individuals, both have to consistently and repeatedly act in ways that the rest of universe classify as evil, and it's easier for them to actually be. The Elder Brains that rule their civilization are even worse. In ''[[Spelljammer]]'' they are not very different, but in general are much less aggressive and more cooperative with the others. The eponymous ship also played host to some fairly decent Illithids who peacefully coexisted with the other races and fed on a special type of mold (that of course was secretly sapient in large quantities, or they wouldn't be able to derive nourishment from it). There's even a [[Lawful Neutral]] Illithid NPC (an obsessive [[Adventurer Archaeologist]]). In the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'', there is ''one'' known good Illithid, and that one is a very unusual case. Fortunately for everyone else, Illithid society is a mere shadow of what it used to be thanks to their former slaves, the Githyanki, rising up against them. As a result, the Illithids are [[Pragmatic Villainy|pragmatic]] enough to rein in their desire to eat brains long enough to trade and make deals with other races. That said, your chances of leaving with your brain intact after running into an Illithid in a dark alley all alone are still next to none.
:* ''Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse'' seems to have done away with such classifications, and applied a [[Rousseau Was Right]] policy for sapient beings, at least for now. The only monsters in the book presented as definitely Evil are unique beings like Yeenoghu and Geryon, who are intended to be [[Big Bad]]s of a campaign. All other monsters who usually fit this Trope (even devils, demons, and undead beings) are labeled "Typically Evil", with Lawful or Chaotic added after "Typically". The book also has information on humanoids traditionally portrayed as Evil (like orcs, goblins, bugbears, and kobolds) used as playable PCs. This is even addressed in the entry for yuan-ti, where it says, "However a yuan-ti looks, they have the power to pursue great good or evil in the multiverse."
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