Line #2 PlayingWith/EvilIsPetty


1	'''Basic Trope''': The villain is portrayed as a {{Jerkass}} who frequently goes out of his way to KickTheDog, even in ridiculously small ways; or a convention often seen in KarmaMeter-based video games where Evil consists of doing lots of tiny, petty annoying acts.
2	* '''Straight''':
3	** Emperor Evulz, an EvilOverlord who plots grand schemes to conquer the neighbouring kingdoms and unite them under his oppressive rule, also [[SirSwearsALot frequently curses]], [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain spews racist and sexist remarks]] at the drop of a hat, [[BadBoss constantly hurls both emotional and physical abuse at his servants]] as well as his guests or really just anyone who happens to cross his path, regularly goes out of his way to find new ways to make the life of his subjects miserable, commits {{spiteful suicide}}s on the daily just to be BackFromTheDead time and time again just to spite others, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheats at]] TabletopGame/{{chess}}.
4	** In the video game ''Fangblade'', [[DesignatedHero Spyke]] can be played as a decent, straightforward [[TheHero hero]] or a rude, obnoxious {{Jerkass}}, with the former giving him lots of 'good' points and the latter lots of 'evil' points.
5	* '''Exaggerated''':
6	** PokeThePoodle.
7	** Emperor Evulz is StupidEvil.
8	** Emperor Evulz orders [[DisproportionateRetribution the extermination of a man's entire bloodline just because the man beat him at]] [[CrazyPeoplePlayChess chess]] (or in a NewMediaAreEvil example, ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'').
9	** In addition to trying to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy the world]], Emperor Evulz decides to systematically ruin General Drake's entire life -- burning down his house, mutating his wife into a horrible monster, brainwashing his daughter, framing him for murder, and a whole host of other things -- [[DisproportionateRetribution all because he felt Drake was smarter than him]]. Dare General Drake even try and put a stop to Evulz' plan, through lethal means or otherwise; [[SpitefulSuicide Evulz would've already died by his own hand]], and if General Drake were to even ''breathe'' a sigh of relief seconds after Evulz' death, Evulz [[CameBackStrong comes back to life and even more dangerous than ever]], and quadruples down on the previous plan on ruining General Drake's life. And then General Drake tries to stop Evulz, [[SpitefulSuicide Evulz dies]] ''[[TheyKilledKennyAgain again]]'', [[CameBackStrong comes back to life and even more dangerous than ever]] ''[[TheyKilledKennyAgain again]]'', and this ViciousCycle goes on for who-knows-how-long.
10	** ''Fangblade'' has two entirely different paths depending on the player's choices. Spyke can either be TheChosenOne [[MessianicArchetype who saves the world while setting a perfect example for all]], or a [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] {{Jerkass}} who sets half the world ablaze and lets the rest smolder ForTheEvulz.
11	** The protagonist of ''Fangblade'' becomes an epitome of evil at the end when his karma meter reaches "[[CompleteMonster Extreme Evil]]" by doing a series of seemingly minor heinous acts.
12	* '''Downplayed''':
13	** Emperor Evulz is FauxAffablyEvil.
14	** Emperor Evulz is a {{jerkass}}, but the said jerkassery isn’t petty.
15	** Most of the "Evil" choices in ''Fangblade'' are serious, major crimes, but some seem to be being a jerkass for its own sake.
16	** The resident {{jerkass}} has a habit of [[PokeThePoodle poking the poodle]].
17	* '''Justified''':
18	** Emperor Evulz is a {{Troll}}.
19	** In ''Fangblade'', the Ultimate Evil is a TricksterGod who thrives on Chaos, while the [[DesignatedHero Designated]] BigGood is a KnightTemplar: two JerkassGods vying over a CrapsackWorld.
20	** Emperor Evulz is [[ZeroApprovalGambit intentionally trying to piss everyone off]].
21	** Emperor Evulz has lost his entire powerbase and his plans are all in ruins. Petty spite is all he has left.
22	** BlackAndWhiteMorality is in effect.
23	* '''Inverted''':
24	** The villain is [[AffablyEvil cordial and respectful, even to his adversaries]].
25	** TheHero [[GoodIsNotNice is one big]] {{Jerkass}}.
26	** Petty is evil: Bob, the resident {{jerkass}} does stuff like [[BoomHeadshot shooting innocent people,]] [[KickTheDog kicking dogs,]] and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown physically assaulting others.]]
27	** For some reason in ''Fangblade'', doing things like [[MoralEventHorizon bombing an entire city]] will give you [[{{Understatement}} “Asshole” points]].
28	** Doing things like giving compliments to other people in ''Fangblade'' will give you “Hero” points.
29	** In addition to being, well… the hero, TheHero is a {{nice guy}}.
30	* '''Subverted''': Player Bob makes Spyke kick a puppy, but he doesn't gain any evil points for it.
31	* '''Double Subverted''': ...because it was [[AssholeVictim a werewolf puppy, and it was also a pretty big]] {{Jerkass}} to boot. Kicking a normal puppy still gets evil points.
32	* '''Parodied''':
33	** The big actions you can take over the course of the game -- like saving a burning orphanage or being the one who set it on fire in the first place -- have absolutely ''no'' effect on Spyke's KarmaMeter. Instead, it's decided entirely by petty acts like whether you avoid swearing or ClusterFBomb your way through dialogue, petting or kicking puppies, and such things.
34	** When Spyke is brought to justice, the [=NPCs=] whom he harmed sport no worse injuries than nosebleeds, but all insist that he be hanged.
35	** [[HarmlessVillain Evulz being a petty douchebag]] ''[[HarmlessVillain is]]'' [[HarmlessVillain his villainy in general]].
36	* '''Zig Zagged''': Some very petty acts will affect the KarmaMeter, but other acts have no affect. Some petty acts even count towards ''good'' on the meter.
37	* '''Averted''': While Spyke can choose to be petty, it has no effect on his KarmaMeter.
38	* '''Enforced''':
39	** "People need to understand that Emperor Evulz is such an utterly rotten and mean-spirited person that he doesn't even bother keep up a façade of being FauxAffablyEvil."
40	** "It'd take a lot of time and money to script an entirely separate 'evil path' for this game. Why don't we railroad the player down a single path, but provide 'polite' and 'dick' responses in the conversation trees that create the illusion of choice?"
41	* '''Lampshaded''': "Why does being evil mean I have to be a complete dick to everyone I meet?"
42	* '''Invoked''': "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten"
43	* '''Exploited''': Bob the hero is able to draw Evulz into a trap by performing something he knows Evulz will find annoying, ''because'' he knows Evulz will personally hunt down and kill those he finds annoying.
44	* '''Defied''':
45	** The game has no KarmaMeter.
46	** The GreaterScopeVillain, Wykkyd the EldritchAbomination and Evulz' boss, makes clear that he will do horrible, ''horrible'' things to Evulz if he's a petty dick. Killing a billion people for the sake of conquering the world and stomping down on rebellion is an awful (but acceptable) possibility. Killing that billion people just because Evulz doesn't likes gingers is ''not''.
47	* '''Discussed''': "As a villain, I expect you won't be satisfied burning my house and killing my father. No doubt you'll want to smash my porcelain figurine collection, stomp through my vegetable garden, and give me a wedgie too."
48	* '''Conversed''': "Did he just steal candy from that baby?" "Wow, he must be evil."
49	* '''Deconstructed''':
50	** Spyke quickly discovers that he CantGetAwayWithNuthin: no matter [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer how rudely others treat him for]] [[HalfHumanHybrid being different]], even being the ''tiniest'' bit [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] in response has everyone treating him like that just ''proves'' he's evil, ''including the {{Jerkass}} KnightTemplar [[JerkassGods God]]''. The only one who welcomes such behavior is the Chaos God, meaning he apparently has to choose between putting up with everyone else's crap or go full-blown evil.
51	** Even villains who work for Emperor Evulz are really [[EvenEvilHasStandards appalled]] at their lord's {{Jerkass}} habits when it comes to being the BigBad that they either give him TheReasonYouSuckSpeech or leave him for good because he wouldn't match up to their own [[NobleDemon ideals.]]
52	** Being petty is actually tiring and distracting -- if you spend two minutes to beat the crap out of every person who annoys you (or even five seconds blowing their brains out) and repeat it two or three hundred times a day, then in the aggregate it just steals too much of your time and you get nowhere (and do you know how much it costs to purchase that much ammo nowadays?). Emperor Evulz really does not ''wants'' to become pragmatic with his evil, but if he wants to actually have anything done, he is going to have to.
53	* '''Reconstructed''':
54	** This whole situation turns out to be a game-wide SecretTestOfCharacter: in the end, Spyke discovers that the Gods' personalities are determined by what their worshippers believe, and he can [[TakingAThirdOption take a third option]] of changing how the gods are viewed, rewriting their personalities to something that better suits his sensibilities.
55	** Evulz is a petty little asshole but he's the villainous version of a SmallStepsHero, taking so much time hurting each individual person who pisses him off that he really doesn't spends much time doing anything worthwhile. [[GreaterScopeVillain Wykkyd]] is capable of wiping out an entire city, killing all of its children and raping all of its women in the time frame of your average lunch break. They ''both'' deserve to die [[BetterTheDevilYouKnow but it's easy to see who needs to go first]].
56	* '''Played for Laughs''':
57	** Spyke's consistent [[PokeThePoodle poodle-poking]] runs afoul of his boss' PragmaticVillainy, and he regularly gets bitch-slapped for it.
58	** {{Unsympathetic Comedy\|Protagonist}} VillainProtagonist
59	* '''Played for Drama''':
60	** Evulz is a depraved sadist who enjoys watching his victims suffer; as a result, he preforms minor, yet horrifyingly cruel deeds alongside his more grandiose plans.
61	** Evulz had no reason to kill Jim. He just woke up one morning feeling like he had to kill someone and Jim was the first guy who got in the way. As awful as it is for Jim's family to endure the fact that he was murdered, it is this specific detail that [[DespairEventHorizon makes them lose all hope]].
62	* '''Played For Horror''': Jim the police investigator has to hold in his desire to puke his guts out as he sees in a security tape how Evulz blows a little old lady’s brains out and then spits on the fresh corpse just because she asked him if he could hand her a tub of ice cream she couldn’t reach (and he'd already licked anyway — it pissed him off to be inconvenienced but he could have just let her be the victim of his “prank”).
63	----
64	We will never know why some villains like to waste their time abducting cats and drinking too much water; we can only record specific times at which EvilIsPetty.
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66	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
67	%%
68	%%* '''Implied''': ???
69	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???

Context PlayingWith / EvilIsPetty