Pay Evil Unto Evil
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Basic Information

A morality trope that pervades popular fantasy rpg's, this is the idea that it is acceptable (or even heroic) to commit what would otherwise be clearly evil acts when the target is evil. Notably, this is why heroes can barge into a dungeon, kill everyone who puts up a fight and steal everything they want while still being heroes.

Always Chaotic Evil is a common way to (attempt to) justify this.

See also: Alignment.

Sources

Bibliography

Game and Story Use

  • The extent to which this trope is in effect is a defining aspect of your campaign/DM style. Among other things, it serves as a main indicator on how much weight morality carries. Make sure you and your players are on the same page on this one.
  • In settings without an objective alignment system, this can still be part of a character's belief system - just because there is no game mechanic to make all of a given race/species inherently evil, that doesn't necessarily mean that your character knows that…
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