Most Dungeons & Dragons players are familiar with the Chaotic Evil alignment through the villains in their campaigns. The Chaotic Evil alignment includes demon lords, anc♑ient red dragons, and world-ending sorcerers, and many players see all Chaotic Evil-aligned creatures as equally destructive. However, there are many ways to play Chaotic Evil, and being more than a scenery chewing villain can add a lot to the campaign.
One thing to keep in m🅘ind is that Chaotic Evil is not synonymous with Especially Evil. Chaotic Evil is basically just an intersection of Chaotic and Evil. Chaotic Evil characters do not have to have world-ending designs. They certainly can, but the Chaotic Evil alignment can equally describe a thief who kills anyone who gets in their way or an especially sadistic berserker. Evil can be present on as large or small of a scale as you want.
Otherwise, ho🦹w you play a Chaotic Evil character depends on whether or not you are in a specifically Evil campaign. If you are in an Evil campaign, think about how your alignment will clash with the rest of your party. Remember, not all Evil characters have the same methods, or even the same goals. Your character might find the devious polit𒉰icking of a Lawful Evil character to be bureaucratic and slow, while that character might find your lawbreaking to be imprecise and messy.
In addition, you’re still Chaotic just as much as you are evil. You could have as much of an ideological opposition to an Evil Empire as a Lawful Good character does. Maybe they cramp your style, maybe they get in the way of your plaಌn to usher in an age of destruction, maybe they restrict your gods-given freedom to make a half dozen magical bombs in your shed. These disagreements don’t always have to come to blows – the death of so many Evil campaigns is everyone ba꧅ckstabbing each other – but they can cause discussion, tension, or drama. Or if you do want a little bit of intrigue, you can start plotting against your party on the side.
If you’re not playing in an Evil campaign, check yourself regularly to make sure you’re not ruining the fun of the other players. When you play an Evil character, especially a Chaotic Evil character, in a party full of Good and Neutral characters, you have to think of notꦗ just how you want to play your character, but how you want your character’s dynamic with the rest of the party to be. If that dynamic is “I do what I want and the other players can’t yell at me for just roleplaying,” your campaign probably won’t last long before everyone either quits or votes to kick you out.
To try to determine how you fit in with your party, try to think about why a party of Good and Neutral heroes would tolerate an Evil person in their party. There are many options here. Maybe the party is full of opportunists, and realize ꦑthat having an Evil teammate isn’t that 𓆏bad if you can point them at the bad guys. Maybe your character has a curse or magic effect that restrains them from acting on their malicious urges. Maybe the party doesn’t even know that you’re evil, and you’re playing the long con.
There are many different possible ways that you can play a Cha🐼otic Evil character without derailing a campaign. If you’re wondering which would work best for you, talk to your DM. It can really help to figure out the tone of the campaign you are in, and the DM might even work your character choices into the plot. The Chaotic Evil alignment is ripe for drama and i🏅ntrigue, you just have to know how to play it.