History EvenEvilHasStandards / TabletopGames

* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' has several levels of standards, especially considering the players are playing corpses repeatedly engaging in what is essentially rape (and cannibalism.) Most clans despise the Sabbat (for being AxCrazy nutcases with no regard for the {{Masquerade}}), the Giovanni (for being incestuous necromancers) and the Setites (for being dealers in generic sin). These in turn despise the Ba'ali (for being worshipers and servants of powers wanting to end existence). And certain sub-factions of the Ba'ali despise the other subfactions.

* In the D20Modern campaign setting ''Otherverse America'', a DividedAmerica shattered by an abortion issue centered civil war, the Pro-Life faction is portrayed as the villains. Despite this, one of the sidebars makes it clear that any links that they might have had with neo-nazi factions (a modern accusation with varying levels of truth), the 22nd century version has effectively purged.

** [[EldritchAbomination Rovagug]], God of [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal Mania]] tends to invoke this among the other gods. Asmodeus (God of Tyranny), Zon-Kuthon (God of Envy, Darkness, and Loss), and Lamashtu (God of Madness, Monsters, and Nightmares) are opposed to his being released, largely because hey, not even they benefit from the end of the world.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'' has this in regards to Loki. He initially backed Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the hopes that a united Europe would allow him the power needed to stave off Ragnarok (it makes sense in context). Still, when Loki learned about the Holocaust, he was disgusted and had Hel ensure the Nazi top brass received the worst afterlife possible.

* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' has several levels of standards, especially considering the players are playing corpses repeatedly engaging in what is essentially rape (and cannibalism.) Most clans despise the Sabbat (for being AxCrazy nutcases with no regard for the {{Masquerade}}), the Giovanni (for being incestuous necromancers) and the Setites (for being dealers in generic sin). These in turn despise the Ba'ali (for being worshippers and servants of powers wanting to end existence). And certain sub-factions of the Ba'ali despise the other subfactions.

** Many of the more inhuman moralities have this trope in full effect. Two examples would be the path of Lilith and the path of the night. Those on the path of Lilith believe that pain is a good thing, they will happily kidnap and torture people for no better reason than a passing kindness of making them more jaded and realistic. Murder to a lilin is seen in exactly the same light as to a follower of Humanity. The path of the Night views vampires as agents of hell. They choose a victim, investigate them until they find a sin, however minor, then torment and traumatise their victim with the aim of making their life a living hell. Emphasis on living once again, killing is still wrong.

*** Sadly Khorne has been Flanderized, he doesn't really care who gets slaughtered anymore, though he still doen't like Sorcery, Trickery, or anything else that is considered "Using methods that do not rely upon one's own skill set".

* This is how some people view the LawfulEvil [[CharacterAlignment alignment]] in DungeonsAndDragons. He may kill babies, assassinate kings, and plot to take over the world, but many an LawfulEvil villain will never engage in wanton slaughter to no purpose and will never break his word. That being said, there is nothing to prevent a LawfulEvil CompleteMonster from engaging in PragmaticVillainy and finding minimal pretense to do the above ("I won't slaughter these villagers ForTheEvulz, I need living space for my more important countrymen"). Furthermore there is nothing to prevent the NeutralEvil and ChaoticEvil characters from having standards themselves. And the biggest flaw of the LawfulEvil EvenEvilHasStandards view is that Devils, the literal embodiments of LawfulEvil pre-4th Edition, do all these things without the need for standards.

* In ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', you can be an AxeCrazy berzerker, a sadistic torturer, or a demon worshipper, but you ''never'' fire at a melee, because that would hit your own troops. The Skaven are the [[WeHaveReserves sole exception]] in both GrimDark game lines.

* ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' has several levels of standards, especially considering the players are playing corpses repeatedly engaging in what is essentially rape (not to mention cannibalism.) Most clans despise the Sabbat (for being AxCrazy nutcases with no regard for the {{Masquerade}}), the Giovanni (for being incestuous necromancers) and the Setites (for being dealers in generic sin). These in turn despise the Ba'ali (for being worshippers and servants of powers wanting to end existence). And certain sub-factions of the Ba'ali despise the other subfactions.
** Vampire's Humanity mechanic basically allows players to invoke, invert or subvert the trope any way they choose. But they can never really avert it because of the long-term gameplay impact, which reinforces the trope as an essential theme to the game. "Monsters we are, lest monsters we become."

** The ''Guide to the Sabbat'' sourcebook encourages players to play Sabbat characters who go about murdering, raping, torturing, and generally raising Hell, metaphorically at least. But if you literally try to raise Hell...the book mentions in several places that demon summoning is a Bad Thing, the GM is under no obligation to allow the players to do it, and if they do, the GM should be willing to drag their characters off to Hell on a whim.

* In ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', you can be an AxeCrazy berzerker, a sadistic torturer, or a demon worshipper, but you ''never'' fire at a melee, because that would hit your own troops. [[CompleteMonster The Skaven]] are the [[WeHaveReserves sole exception]] in both GrimDark game lines.

* In the eponymous city of {{Mortasheen}}, while the inhabitants will willingly do [[AndIMustScream horrible,]] [[BodyHorror terrible,]] [[FateWorseThanDeath things]] to each other, even they find the [[CompleteMonster Dolfury]] horrifying and evil.

* In the TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}} setting, [[LawfulEvil devils]] are bent on dominating all that is, bringing order to the universe through tyranny and treating mortal souls as tools, slaves, and currency. [[ChaoticEvil Demons]] enjoy desecrating the flesh and warping the souls of mortals, seeing them as playthings. Both devils and demons will [[EnemyMine put their differences aside]] and even work alongside ''angels'' to stop [[OmnicidalManiac daemons]], who only want to eat and destroy mortal souls.
** [[EldritchAbomination Rovagug]], God of [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal Mania]] tends to invoke this among the other gods. Asmodeus (God of Tyranny), Zon-Kuthon (God of Envy, Darkness, and Loss), and even Lamashtu (God of Madness, Monsters, and Nightmares) are opposed to his being released, largely because hey, not even they benefit from the end of the world.
* This is how some people view the LawfulEvil [[CharacterAlignment alignment]] in DungeonsAndDragons. He may kill babies, assassinate kings, and plot to take over the world, but many an LawfulEvil villain will never engage in wanton slaughter to no purpose and will never break his word. That being said, there is nothing to prevent a LawfulEvil CompleteMonster from engaging in PragmaticVillainy and finding minimal pretense to do the above ("I won't slaughter these villagers ForTheEvulz, I need living space for my more important countrymen"). Furthermore there is nothing to prevent the NeutralEvil and ChaoticEvil characters from having standards themselves. And the biggest flaw of the LawfulEvil EvenEvilHasStandards view is that Devils, the literal embodiments of LawfulEvil pre-4th Edition, pretty much do all these things without the need for standards.

* In the eponymous city of {{Mortasheen}}, while the inhabitants will willingly do [[AndIMustScream horrible,]] [[BodyHorror terrible,]] [[FateWorseThanDeath things]] to each other, but even they find the [[CompleteMonster Dolfury]] horrifying and evil.
* In the D20Modern campaign setting ''Otherverse America'', a DividedAmerica shattered by an abortion issue centered civil war, the Pro-Life faction is portrayed as the villains. Despite this, one of the sidebars makes it clear that any links that they might have had with neo-nazi factions (a modern accusation with varying levels of truth), the 22nd century version has effectively purged them out.
* In the {{Eberron}} D&D setting, evil is no dependant on one's personality or goals, but rather, on how much one is willing to compromise. The queen who wages a bloody war to conquer the kingdom is good while the king who tries to maintain peace and security is evil. Why? Because she has standards; she wouldn't stoop to underhanded assassination plots, for instance. The king? He'd throw puppies into a woodchipper to achieve his goals. Evil does not have standards in Eberron.
* Many of the big-name villains of the {{Ravenloft}} setting have standards, even if their other crimes overwhelmingly outweigh them. Strahd von Zarovich, though he preys upon them himself, vigorously protects his Barovian subjects from outside threats; Dr. Mordenheim has treated the injured even if it didn't advance his research to do so; Azalin takes his obligations as a king very seriously, despite the fact that he despises his kingdom.
* In the {{Pathfinder}} setting, [[LawfulEvil devils]] are bent on dominating all that is, bringing order to the universe through tyranny and treating mortal souls as tools, slaves, and currency. [[ChaoticEvil Demons]] enjoy desecrating the flesh and warping the souls of mortals, seeing them as playthings. Both devils and demons will [[EnemyMine put their differences aside]] and even work alongside ''angels'' to stop [[OmnicidalManiac daemons]], who only want to eat and destroy mortal souls.

* This is how some people view the LawfulEvil [[CharacterAlignment alignment]] in DungeonsAndDragons. He may kill babies, assassinate kings, and plot to take over the world, but many LawfulEvil villain will never engage in wanton slaughter to no purpose and will never break his word. That being said, there is nothing to prevent a LawfulEvil CompleteMonster from engaging in PragmaticVillainy and finding minimal pretense to do the above ("I won't slaughter these villagers ForTheEvulz, I need living space for my more important countrymen"). Furthermore there is nothing to prevent the NeutralEvil and ChaoticEvil characters from having standards themselves. And the biggest flaw of the LawfulEvil EvenEvilHasStandards view is that Devils, the literal embodiments of LawfulEvil pre-4th Edition, pretty much do all these things without the need for standards.

* ''{{Scion}}'' has this in regards to Loki. He initially backed Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the hopes that a united Europe would allow him the power needed to stave off Ragnarok (it makes sense in context). Still, when Loki learned about the Holocaust, he was disgusted and had Hel ensure the Nazi top brass received the worst afterlife possible.

* In TheDarkEye, those who forge a [[DealWithTheDevil pact]] with the demon lord of tyranny and vengeance are despite their evil will direct enemies of the servants of the [[GodOfEvil nameless god]]. The demon lords demon subjects may even demand this attitude of their human "masters" no matter how well they are controlled.

*** Sadly Khorne has been flanderized, he doesn't really care who gets slaughtered anymore, though he still doen't like Sorcery, Trickery, or anything else that is considered "Using methods that do not rely upon one's own skill set".

* In ''{{Warhammer}}'' and ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'', you can be an AxeCrazy berzerker, a sadistic torturer, or a demon worshipper, but you ''never'' fire at a melee, because that would hit your own troops. [[CompleteMonster The Skaven]] are the [[WeHaveReserves sole exception]] in both GrimDark game lines.

** Khorne, the Chaos God of rage, murder, and general [[{{AxCrazy}} Ax-Crazyness]] will fuck you up if you try to present him skulls of defenceless people. Although this is less because he has standards and more because he wants skulls of worthy foes (trying to present him a bunch of baby skulls would be cheating). He doesn't seem to have any problems with the actual killing, though.

* In the eponymous city of {{Mortasheen}}, while the inhabitants will willingly do [[AndIMustScream horrible,]] [[BodyHorror terrible,]] [[FateWorseThanDeath things]] to each other, but even they find the [[CompleteMonster Dolfury]] horrifying and evil.

* In the {{Pathfinder}} setting, [[{{LawfulEvil}} devils]] are bent on dominating all that is, bringing order to the universe through tyranny and treating mortal souls as tools, slaves, and currency. [[{{ChaoticEvil}} Demons]] enjoy desecrating the flesh and warping the souls of mortals, seeing them as playthings. Both devils and demons will [[EnemyMine put their differences aside]] and even work alongside ''angels'' to stop [[{{OmnicidalManiac}} daemons]], who only want to eat and destroy mortal souls.

** Dark Eldar can and do become Harlequins, a group completely devoted to fighting Chaos.

* In ''{{Rifts}}'', the ObviouslyEvil Coalition States is lead by Emperor Prosek, who will cheerfully plunge his nation into pointless, horrific wars for the sake of power. He is absolutely ruthless when it comes to destroying non-humans and magic users. He even has a facility used to create mutant animals to be used as canon fodder. However, genetic experimentation on humans is strictly forbidden.

* ''{{Scion}}'' has this in regards to Loki. He initially backed Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the hopes that a united Europe would allow him the power needed to stave off Ragnarok (it makes sense in context). Still, when Loki learned about the Holocaust, he was disgusted and had Hel ensure the Nazi top brass received the worst afterlife possible.

* In the eponymous city of {{Mortasheen}}, while the inhabitants will willingly do [[AndIMustScream horrible,]] [[BodyHorror terrible,]] [[FateWorseThanDeath things]] to each other, but even they find the [[DolphinsDolphinsEverywhere Dol]][[CompleteMonster fury]] horrifying and evil.

* ''InNomine'' features a caste of demons called the Shedim, {{Body Surf}}ing {{Puppeteer Parasite}}s who survive by [[TheCorrupter degrading their hosts to the lowest possible moral denominator]]. While other demonic castes will sometimes hold a grudging respect for one another, not a single one of them wants anything to do with the Shedim if they can absolutely avoid it.

* In the titular city of {{Mortasheen}}, while the inhabitants will willingly do [[AndIMustScream horrible,]] [[BodyHorror terrible,]] [[FateWorseThanDeath things]] to each other, but even they find the [[DolphinsDolphinsEverywhere Dol]][[CompleteMonster fury]] horrifying and evil.

* ''Scion'' has this in regards to Loki. He initially backed Hitler's rise to power in Germany in the hopes that a united Europe would allow him the power needed to stave off Ragnarok (it makes sense in context). Still, when Loki learned about the Holocaust, he was disgusted and had Hel ensure the Nazi top brass received the worst afterlife possible.

* ''InNomine'' features a caste of demons called the Shedim, {{Body Surf}}ing {{Puppeteer Parasite}}s who survive by [[TheCorrupter degrading their hosts to the lowest possible moral denominator]]. While other demonic castes will sometimes hold a grudging respect for one another, not a single one of them wants anything to do with the Shedim if they can absolutely avoid it.

* ''VampireTheMasquerade'' has several levels of standards, especially considering the players are playing corpses repeatedly engaging in what is essentially rape (not to mention cannibalism.) Most clans despise the Sabbat (for being AxCrazy nutcases with no regard for the {{Masquerade}}), the Giovanni (for being incestuous necromancers) and the Setites (for being dealers in generic sin). These in turn despise the Ba'ali (for being worshippers and servants of powers wanting to end existence). And certain sub-factions of the Ba'ali despise the other subfactions.

* In the {{Pathfinder}} setting, [[{{LawfulEvil}} devils]] are bent on dominating all that is, bringing order to the universe through tyranny and treating mortal souls as tools, slaves, and currency. [[{{ChaoticEvil}} Demons]] enjoy desecrating the flesh and warping the souls of mortals, seeing them as playthings. Both devils and demons will put their differences aside and even work alongside ''angels'' to stop [[{{OmnicidalManiac}} daemons]], who only want to eat and destroy mortal souls.

*** Sadly Khorne has been flanderized, he doesn't really care anymore.

* In the Eberron D&D setting, evil is no dependant on one's personality or goals, but rather, on how much one is willing to compromise. The queen who wages a bloody war to conquer the kingdom is good while the king who tries to maintain peace and security is evil. Why? Because she has standards; she wouldn't stoop to underhanded assassination plots, for instance. The king? He'd throw puppies into a woodchipper to achieve his goals. Evil does not have standards in Eberron.