8,347
edits
Exclusively Evil: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
Line 315:
== Tabletop Games ==
* The trope name comes from ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|Dungeons & Dragons]]'', which certainly used the trope, though this particular phrase only came in later on and in fact signalled something of an aversion (see below). The real reason for the use of the trope was, of course, so players wouldn't feel bad when killing monsters and taking their treasure (i.e. home invasion). In fact, the whole ''cosmology'' of the D&D universe used to be based on alignment; Good and Evil (and [[Order Versus Chaos|Law and Chaos]]) weren't morally relative terms, they were ''natural forces'' that influenced most creatures -- very few races (including the Player Character races) could actually ''choose'' their alignments willingly; the rest were doomed to be what they were born as
** Originally, every type of monster or creature would simply have an entry for "Alignment" stating one [[Character Alignment]] or another, without any modifiers; not only did it imply that pratically all creatures of that type had the alignment, but it wasn't even brought up that there could be any other way.
** In-universe, the "usually evil" nature of some races is justified by their racial deities, such as Lloth for the Drow and Gruumsh for the Orcs, being evil. These gods also work very hard to make sure that their worshippers are just as bad as they are, and any that ''aren't'' tend to end up on the gods' hit list. Good deities tend to respect free will more than the evil ones, so their races have evil, good, and neutral people. Human alignment is all over the place since they don't have a racial deity to call their own. In some cases, an evil race will also have been created by an evil god.▼
** In 3.0+ this was relaxed, by inserting "often", "usually" or "always" in front of the alignment descriptor, to indicate how strong a tendency, cultural or otherwise, the race in question had to be of the alignment. This also created the phrase "Always [[Chaotic Evil]]". Later the only races who are always one alignment or another are those who are somehow "tied" to good or evil (or law or chaos), such as demons, angels, and other spiritual creatures; or those without sufficient Intelligence to recognize alignment, which are always [[True Neutral|neutral]] unless the previous rule overrides it. (Lemures, lowest of the devils, don't have an Intelligence score but are still Always Lawful Evil.) Of course, mortal "bad guy" races are still marked as "usually evil", which is probably close enough to this trope as to make no difference.
▲** In-universe, the "usually evil" nature of some races is justified by their
** The ''[[Eberron]]'' campaign setting for ''D&D'' 3.5 has gone so far as to explicitly discourage the use of the alignment section of a monster's stats, even for those who are "tied" to a certain alignment. The core book also makes clear that "evil" does not equal "kill on sight" -- the tavern owner overcharges for draft and cheats on his wife; are you gonna put the sword to his neck like you would with Lord Dark Von Doompantsington XIII?
** On that last note, the supplements ''Book of Vile Darkness'' and ''Exalted Deeds'' make it clear that neither good nor evil can be defined as "nice and naughty", and those that don't devote their life to either actually qualify as neutral. Presumably, this is why a rogue isn't necessarily evil, even though theft is frowned upon.
Line 322 ⟶ 324:
{{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|Evil Goddess]] were all female also.
***
*** [[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
** Interestingly, under 3e/3.5e, demons are Always Chaotic Evil, even when they aren't
** ''[[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
{{quote|'''[[The Spoony Experiment|Noah "The Spoony One" Antwiller:]]''' ''"If there's a way of being a non-evil lich, I'm calling bullshit."''}}
**
* 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 40000]]''. 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.
** Ogres are on this list for a somewhat different reason than other races. They live in a society that is based only on one rule. Might makes right. Their god could easily be a weird mix of Slaanesh and
* For reasons beyond, everyone in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]''. Tyranids want to eat everything organic, no exceptions. Necrons are also all committed to their goal of killing all organic life. [[Black and Grey Morality|On the other hand, everything that is sentient gets a chance to be good, misinformed, or at least a justification to how they got there.]] Still, however, [[Crapsack World|it's only a spark lit in deep space at most.]]
** The Dark Eldar ultimately subvert the trope. They can only stay alive and young by murdering and torturing as many people as possible, so their entire culture is based around killing and butchering people. And if they can't find people of other races to do it to, [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|well...]] However, they are still considered part of the larger race of Eldar by their kin, who vary wildly in [[Character Alignment]]. It is possible for Dark Eldar to get sick of being [[Chaotic Evil]] and join some other Eldar faction, ultimately blending in entirely with their new comrades. With that said, any Eldar living in [[Wretched Hive|Commorragh]] is going to be evil... or prey.
Line 401 ⟶ 403:
** The Legion, Fiends, and Powder Gangers, however, are viewed as the evil factions of the game. Most if not all companions who are sane will turn against you if you side with the Legion for whatever reason (either due to being a complete monster, to achieve Caesar's goals, or because they conflict with the Legion's interests), and even it's former Legate and co-Founder does not look too highly on the Legion and finds the Republic more tolerable.
* The Brutes and Prophets from ''[[Halo]].'' Though the only three Prophets ever characterized in any depth being the three that know without a doubt that humanity must die for the good of the Covenant.
** Averted in the [[Expanded Universe]] and ''[[Halo Wars]]''. The Brutes aren't always evil, if the [[Worthy Opponent|Brute]] [[A Father to His Men|Chieftain]] is counted. Also, some fight dialogue in the series hints that Brutes have personal lives and genuinely think what they are fighting for is right.
*** Also averted with the Prophets in the [[Expanded Universe]] books. There ''have'' been decent Prophets, but [[Complete Monster|Truth]] is not one of them.
* Lurkers in ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' started out like this. They underwent a [[Heel Face Turn]] by ''Jak II'', however.
Line 419 ⟶ 421:
* In the ''[[4X]]'' game, ''[[Galactic Civilizations]]'', roughly half the playable civilizations are always evil. Humans are portrayed as always good, a [[Humans Are Bastards|questionable assertion]].
** Interestingly, status as "good" or "evil" is based only on choices made during random events; your civilization can embark on massive campaigns of galactic genocide and still be considered "good".
* The Grox race from ''[[Spore]]'' are a race of cyborgs and almost always conduct raids on random races, making them being viewed as the galaxy's ultimate evil. {{spoiler|This is actually a subversion, as the Grox are only reacting to the threat posed by oxygen-breathing life forms that gain the power of space flight, and inevitably use terraforming to spread their deadly (to Grox) oxygenated atmospheres to other planets. You can even ally with them, if you both prove yourself willing to spare Grox-inhabited worlds your terraforming AND prove your own race to be a powerful ally against other oxygen-breathing races, mostly by making a complete mockery of intergalactic law, blowing up their planets with wild abandon, and exhibiting the ability to survive in spite of the entire rest of the galaxy declaring war on you.}}
* ''[[Ys]] II'' has some fun with this. Monsters are Always Chaotic Evil, but it's directly stated that they should be pitied, due to living only to fight and kill, rather than having full lives -- and it's stated that despite this, they have varied personalities just like people. The Telepathy Magic-based monster conversations confirm their diverse personalities, and can make them seem sympathetic or likable...until one says something that bluntly reminds you that they're a race of [[The Usual Adversaries]] that are incapable of interaction with humans more meaningful than killing and eating them or holding them captive.
* For ''[[Return to Krondor]]''...Demons, Shadows, Goblins, Trolls, Ghouls, Vampires, Nighthawks, Zombies, Sidi's Necromancers, Izmali Assassins, and Bear's Mercenaries. Does that cover it? Oh, and at least two of these groups will form into alliances against you and James will wonder how that could be.
*
* The [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|Skedar]] from ''[[Perfect Dark]]''. Their only goal seems to be the extermination of the [[The Greys|Maian race]] and they don't seem to care how many humans they have to kill to do it.
* [[Discussed Trope|Discussed]] in ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'' with Paarthunax, a dragon who chose to rebel against [[Big Bad|Alduin]] and aid the humans fighting his rule. He explains that dragons have an innate nature to dominate and destroy, and that he has overcome his own nature through thousands of years of constant meditation, and every day he has to struggle with his own inner nature which is driving him to hop off his mountain, fly down among the humans, and start eating and ruling over them. When confronted for his [[Retired Monster|past crimes]], he replies thusly:
Line 447 ⟶ 449:
** Cubi, on the other hand -- which [[Our Demons Are Different|are not actually demons in the setting]] -- are quite explicitly stated ''not'' to be this in the comic itself, despite reputation -- the evil ones just get all the press, because torturing or seducing people makes for a more exciting story than helping sick children.
** The fae, on the other hand, seem to be Always [[Chaotic Neutral]].
* Some of the early humor of ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' depended upon this concept, as the comic has its roots entirely in older editions of ''D&D''. For example, when the beholder Bob cheats on [[Improbable Species Compatibility|his goblin girlfriend Gren]], he tries to justify it by pointing out that he's evil. Gren points out that they're both [[Lawful Evil]], and goes on to cheat on Bob extensively, as is her right as the wronged party under goblin law. Most of the monster characters are so [[Affably Evil]], though, that it sometimes feels jarring when they get around to doing some ''really'' bad stuff. They also occasionally point out how "good" folk is [[Not So Different]] - either only more hypocritical, or have effectively "out-eviled" them because both end up with the same crap, but "good guys" started farther from this.
* ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' has the Bugs, created as a living biological weapon by a race of [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]] to use as a [[Redshirt Army]] against a race of alien [[Body Snatcher|Body Snatchers]] who are themselves very much [[Exclusively Evil]]. And any organization in this universe with "Security" as part of its name is pretty much guaranteed to be evil.
* ''[[The Challenges of Zona]]'' has the [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orc stand-ins]], the Urtts, who [[Word of God]] assures us are all just plain evil, and we shouldn't give any pity to the ones maimed, charred, and dissected by the Heroes. Yes, even their [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-human bastards]].
* Elves in ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' are all racist, genocidal narcissists whose history has been described as a lovesong to bloodshed and themselves. Their arrogance is also unjustified, as they prove to be no better than other races (for example, having technology on par with other races despite a 9,000 year head start), something that Black Mage and Red Mage tell Thief, the Elven Prince. Their national anthem begins "We're a race of total bastards." An anthem they ''stole''.
** The other races aren't much better. ''8-Bit Theater'' is a [[Crapsack World]], after all.
* Parodied by way of [[Not So Different]] in [http://badgods.com/orc.html this] ''Bad Gods'' comic by Lore Sjöberg.
* In ''[http://www.harkovast.com/?id=17 Harkovast]'', the Nameless Race cannot speak or think but are described as constantly marching to war. They have yet to do anything other than attack people, and are generally killed without mercy by the story's heroes.
* Due to misconception and propaganda, everyone in ''[[Twokinds]]'' thinks everyone else is Chaotic Evil. The [[Petting Zoo People]] only deal with Human slavers and death-squads, human propaganda says the beastmen want to commit genocide (and therefore, the two speces generally treat the other as Orcs), and the other guys - a group of [[Overlord|Brown Minion]] expies - think that everyone else is this.
| |||