History AntiVillain / TableTopGames

* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'': Shocking, yes, but underneath the ruthlessness, ambition and general evilness that being a vampire entails, Vlad von Carstein is actually kind of a decent guy. His past desire to conquer the Empire was rooted in a sincere concern that it was too weak and divided to stand up to Chaos and he would have done a better job of running it, and there's evidence he's right: it is noted in lore that Vlad is quite competent as a leader and administrator and he even understands that loyal human servants who will willingly associate with the undead are priceless, so humans under his rule can live quite prosperously. There's also his humanising and clearly genuine love for his wife Isabella.

* TabletopGame/Warhammer40000:

** Magnus the Red has begun to be portrayed this way after a novel showed his StartOfDarkness.
*** He's always been that way in his backstory; [[CassandraTruth he tried to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal]], [[VanHelsingHateCrimes he sent the Space Wolves to exterminate them as sorcerers]], [[ThenLetMeBeEvil they decided that if they were seen as evil sorcerers, they'd BE evil sorcerers!]]
*** Not ''quite'' on the nail there; the Emperor wanted the Space Wolves to bring Magnus (peacefully, unless Magnus disobeyed) to him to stand trial for his horrible crime he committed ([[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero inadvertently breaking the wards]] that the Emperor had set up to protect Terra from an all-out demonic invasion of Terra through the Human Webway that the Emperor had secretly been working on, simultaneously destroying the project, which would have permanently united humanity when completed. Magnus broke the wards by using forbidden sorcery to deliver the message, and accepted power from Tzeentch to break through the wards protecting Terra, when he was unable to do so... not ''quite'' "in the right" for his actions]]). It was Horus who, by this point already corrupted by Chaos, ordered Leman Russ to invade and destroy Prospero instead. Though Magnus did not know that it was Horus who ordered the Fall of Prospero.
*** The change was that it stopped being "let's become evil sorcerors", instead, he made a pact with Tzeentch to save his legion from extermination and it blew up in his face, killed everyone on his homeworld, and started Ahriman on the path that lead to the creation of [[AndIMustScream The Rubrick]].
*** Speaking of which Ahriman himself very much also qualifies, both in the creation of the Rubric which he intended to use to save his brothers, and his quest for the Black Library which he intends to use to attain godhood so he can free his legion from Tzeentch's control.

* [[TabletopGame/{{WarHammer40000}} Magnus the Red]] has begun to be portrayed this way after a recent novel showed his StartOfDarkness.
** He's always been that way in his backstory; [[CassandraTruth he tried to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal]], [[VanHelsingHateCrimes he sent the Space Wolves to exterminate them as sorcerers]], [[ThenLetMeBeEvil they decided that if they were seen as evil sorcerers, they'd BE evil sorcerers!]]

* The Technocracy from ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' in the TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness are often considered this by some fans, having conquered the world and being hard-liners against too-free thought and "reality deviants" (mages) for the good of humanity. The thing is, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the version of reality they've enforced on the world really IS safer]], given that the prior 'Age of Myth' was a wonderful thing for mages, but a chaotic period of terror for the mundane. Now, the Sleepers do not have to (generally) worry about marauding monsters gobbling them up, but in return every aspect of their lives will be dictated by a group of people who strongly believe in AMillionIsAStatistic. It's a very GreyAndGreyMorality setting.

* In the ''Freedom in the Galaxy'' boardgame, Senator Redmond is that. Although fully aware of the Empire's corruption, he wants to eradicate it by legal means and considers therefore the Rebels as an obstacle - thus lending his considerable diplomatic abilities to the Imperial side.

* The Technocracy from ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' in the TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness are often considered this by some fans, having conquered the world and being hard-liners against too-free thought and "reality deviants" (mages) for the good of humanity. The thing is, [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans the version of reality they've enforced on the world really IS safer]], given that the prior 'Age of Myth' was a wonderful thing for mages, but a chaotic period of terror for the mundane. Now, the Sleepers do not have to (generally) worry about marauding monsters gobbling them up, but in return every aspect of their lives will be dictated by a group of people who strongly believe in AMillionIsAStatistic. It's a very GreyAndGreyMorality setting.
* In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', some of the nicer Lemurians can be this. Quite a few Lemurians are decent people who just happen to be [[MadScientist insane]]. However, they ''are'' insane, so they can turn from "nice, but deluded" to AxCrazy in a hurry. It doesn't help that they can [[PowerBornOfMadness make their crackpot theories actually]] ''[[PowerBornOfMadness work]]''.
** This is acknowledged in the book, which admits that not all Lemurians are sadistic psychopaths, and quite a few of them are decent people. On the other hand, they are delusional, and believing absurdities leads to committing atrocities. It does not help that the Lemurian worldviews are profoundly anti-human, viewing mortals as resources, problems, or enemies, or that Lemuria as a whole is schizophrenic. One day, a Lemurian might sell you 20kg of plutonium, the next, his boss sends 6 men with spiders for hands to kill everyone you love.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Among the praetors of New Phyrexia, Urabrask the Hidden qualifies. His faction, the Quiet Furnace, is empowered by Red mana, the mana that embodies passion and emotion. As such he is not entirely bound by Phyrexia's will. Most significantly, Urabrask is capable of feeling compassion. When the Mirran refugees entered his territory, his orders stunned his followers and the refugees alike:
-->Let them be.
** Depending on who you ask, [[LightIsNotGood Radiant]] from the early days was either this or a KnightTemplar.
* Deceiver Excrucians in ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' love the entire world...it's just that the thing they love is underneath layers of perceived "lies" such as up, down, fish, arms, legs, life and death. One of the metaphors given in their third edition sourcebook is that of a guy watching a friend hang with an abusive lover, except that [[{{Metaphorgotten}} that abusive boyfriend is the entirety of existence]].
* in the Freedom in the Galaxy boardgame, Senator Redmond is that. Although fully aware of the Empire's corruption, he wants to eradicate it by legal means and considers therefore the Rebels as an obstacle - thus lending his considerable diplomatic abilities to the Imperial side.

** He's always been that way in his backstory; [[CassandraTruth he tried to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal]], [[VanHelsingHateCrimes he sent the Space Wolves to exterminate them as sorcerers]], [[FaceHeelTurn they decided that if they were seen as evil sorcerers, they'd BE evil sorcerers!]]

* Deceiver Excrucians in ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' love the entire world...it's just that the thing they love is underneath layers of perceived "lies" such as up, down, fish, arms, legs, life and death. One of the metaphors given in their third edition sourcebook is that of a guy watching a friend hang with an abusive lover, except that [[{{Metaphorgotten}} that abusive boyfriend is the entirety of existence]].

* Chejop Kejak, leader of the Sidereal Bronze Faction in ''{{Exalted}}''. He masterminded the Usurpation, an event which wiped out the Solar Exalted and ended the Age of Dreams, because the alternative was to take a very risky path to redeem the Solars that would, in all probability, have led to the destruction of Creation. Unfortunately, the side effects of the destruction led to the creation of the Deathlords and the Great Contagion, and Creation only survived the backlash by sheer dumb luck and a foulup on a Deathlord's part; the fallout from that event and Kejak's emergency responses led to the creation of the modern Realm, a corrupt dynasty of Dragon-Blooded nobility far degraded from even the Shogunate. To make things worse, Kejak has developed into a KnightTemplar, constitutionally incapable of re-evaluating his standing agenda in light of the current situation. To be fair, that's the effect that the Great Curse has on all Sidereals, IIRC: to be completely unable to see any flaws in their primary motivation, whatever that may be.

*** Speaking of which Ahriman himself very much also qualifies, both in the creation of the Rubric which he intended to use to save his brothers, and his quest for the Black Library which he intends to use to attain godhood so he can free his legion from Tzeentch's control.