Evil alignments are rare in Dungeons & Dragons, with only choosing any of the three evil alignments in D&D, according to D&D Beyond. Since evil alignments are so rare, there’s a common misconception that playಞing an evil character is just an excuse to be a jerk at the table. It does not have to be that way, however, and there are many interesting roleplaying opportunities in the Neutral Evil alig𒉰nment.
One thing that is important to playing any character with an Evil alignment is to recognize the boundaries of the campaign. Many DMs don’t even allow characters with evil alignments. Evil alignments may be fundamentally at odds with the story they are trying to tell, or the DM may not want to have to manage evil characters the whole campaign. If you really want to play a Neutral Evil character, talk to your DM and present your character concept and reasoning, but accept even a soft “no” as a cue to rework your character. Remember, the DM is just as much of a participant in D&D as the players, and their enjoymenಞt is as 🔯important as yours.
If your DM allows evil characters, think what makes your character’s alignment special. Many players think of Neutral Evil characters as the vanilla evil alignment, with none of the destruction of Chaotic Evil nor the oppressiveness of Lawful Evil. In reality, Neutral Evil is unique because ch൲aracters with this alignment can work inside or outside of the law. They may not take unnecessary risks, but they aren’t above extortion and blackmail. They may focus on an evil cause that transcends the framework of Law vs. Chaos, or they may be focused entirely on self-interest, focusing on number one by any despicable means necessary.
Neutral Evil characters also don’t have to be your stereotypical puppy-kicking villain. They certainly can be, but doing eviꦗl “just because” will likely get old fast. A Neutral Evil character may not push an NPC in the river just because they feel like it, but they might refuse to rescue a drowning NPC unless they can get something out of it. However, they might push an NPC into a river if they think they can get something out of rescuing them. Neutral Evil characters are never above profiting off of the misery they create.
One thing to keep in mind, however, when gleefully embracing your evil side, is the other players in your party. You should never be having fun at the expense of your fellow players, as a general rule. The best way to apply this is to recognize that Evil characters inherently get into dark areas and that not all Evil is the same. Other players may be perfectly fine with murder, but other topics are uncomfortable to them. It might be useful to ask your DM to figure out some party boundaries. There are several tools that make it easy for every player to let the DM know the topics they feel comfortable covering, which can be used to set some guidꦦelines for the table.
Playing an Evil character can be tricky, but as long as you explore your character and respect the other players iಌn your game, it offers some interesting roleplaying opportunities.