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|'''On the [[The Fair Folk|Dark]] [[Our Elves Are Better|Eldar]]''', ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''}}
A common conceit of the sci-fi and fantasy genres (and especially games of those genres) is the notion of not an organization, not a clan, not a city, but an entire ''race'' of bad guys who [[Card-Carrying Villain|brag about how '''''Evil''''' they are]]. All of the racial members behave evilly, because - let's face it - ''[[StarGoblin TrekSlayer]]'' would've been really boring if the [[The KirkDeterminator|Kirktitular character]] had to interview every Klingon[[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|ugly goblin]] he met before, punchingwell, them''slaying'' outthem. This may sometimes go so far that a [[Final Solution]] against the defined-as-evil race is portrayed [[Would Be Rude to Say Genocide|in a quite cheerful light]].
This trope is actually [[Older Than Dirt]]—are there any myths and folk tales that ''don't'' have some creatures that are portrayed as always evil? Naturally, its subversions have also existed for quite a long time.
The [[Defector From Decadence]] typically comes from this stock, usually with [[Good Witch Versus Bad Witch|some qualifier]] or after having become an [[Ascended Demon]]. Having an ancestor from such a race usually qualifies a character's evil (or potential for it) as being "[[In the Blood]]".
It's quite common for a fantasy [[Big Bad]] to have an Always ChaoticExclusively Evil race at the ready to use as [[Mooks]]. It's usually justified as an [[Balance Between Good and Evil|arrangement]] among the various [[Powers That Be]]. The heroes are likely to be from races where good and evil are possible, to [[Alike and Antithetical Adversaries|contrast their differences]].
May be the subject of a [[Genocide Dilemma]]. This is [[Planet of Hats]] when evil is the hat. For evil professions like pirates and hitmen, see [[Villain by Default]]. When a fictional character (whether human or a member of another fictional race) ''wrongly and unreasonably'' believes that a fictional race in his/her world is this trope, it's a case of [[Fantastic Racism]].
A member of a fictional race holding the same unjustified and false belief about humans would likewise be Fantastic Racism. For cases where humanity, aliens, or predators really are this trope, see [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]], [[Aliens Are Bastards]] and [[Predators Are Mean]]. For a trope that includes cases where animals are Always ChaoticExclusively Evil, see [[Cats Are Mean]], [[Wicked Weasel]], [[You Dirty Rat]], and [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]].
Be careful when writing these: may lead to [[Unfortunate Implications]].
** Also, anyone described as "swarthy" is ''not to be trusted''.
* Orcs and goblins in the ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' books are always evil. Dark elves are an interesting case - in most books, they are portrayed as powerful and very, very evil, but in ''Night Dragon'', they become allies against the [[Eviler Than Thou|eviler]] [[Big Bad|Night Dragon]]. The first one the player meets explains that he doesn't want to see his entire race destroyed, just as the PC, a human, would not want to see all human wiped out.
** The book ''Titan'', which serves as [[All There in the Manual|the backgrounder]] for the world that most Fighting Fantasy books are set in, subverts this trope with the Halfhand brothers. The humans Rerek and Myzar Halfhand, and their human followers, invaded and slaughtered a nation of orcs that were living in a fertile territory that the humans wanted. The book [[Lampshadeslampshade]]s the fact that the humans were very much in the wrong in this case, since they were the ones who attacked the orcs first, even though the humans are also celebrated as the heroes!
** 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."''}}
*:* 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."
* As of the most recent edition, ''[[Gamma World]]'' has actually turned several monster species that used to be relatively peaceful in earlier editions (like the Menarls, Grens, Sleeths, and Orlens) into this.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] Fantasy'' is rather dark for a fantasy setting, though not quite to the extent of ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''. There are actually a few good guys. Evil races include Demons, Beastmen, Orcs, Goblins, Undead, Skaven, Dark Elves, and Ogres. Also, one of the few times in which the "chaotic" part of Exclusively Evil plays a part, as pretty much every evil race can be traced back to mutations caused by Chaos, which is a powerful force in the Warhammer world.
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' has a few of such races, given [[Long Runner|how long the story has gone on and how many planes have been detailed]], but the most prominant would be the Phyrexians, who served as the villains of the plot for ''years'' in real-time. With a few exceptions, every last one of them is a [[Complete Monster]].
** Even still, Phyrexians in their newest form seem to move away from this trope. Ever since the Phyrexians took over Mirrodin, turning it into New Phyrexia, there have been five different factions corresponding to each of the five colors, and each being lead by a praetor, each with their own brand of pitch-black evil...Except the red praetor, Urabrask the Hidden, who, true to his red mana alignment, is a lot more individualistic and merciful than the other praetors, and therefore leads the only Phyrexian faction capable of free will and compassion. Probably due to this, he is the only Phyrexian leader who plots against the other praetors not simply to gain power but to actually work against Phyrexia as a whole. This is mainly due to the fact that Phyrexia's primary goals strongly go against two of red's strongest points: freedom and emotion.
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