Two Sides of the Same Coin

It is easy when playing D&D to think of alignment and morality as bedrock solid. After all, in RPG games the gods tend to be real and their powers are granted only to those who follow their code. I feel that sometimes this can lead characters (especially the ones at the extremes) to be very one dimensional.

When creating both PCs and NPCs you should remember that good and evil are primarily social constructs, varying greatly in scope between societies and individuals. This idea can be applied to D&D pretty easily. A paladin of Hieroneous must protect the weak from oppression by the strong. Think of how many ways this could be interpreted, a paladin could seek out evil men and kill them and still be fulfilling this part of his code. In this way he is now evil and good, but if the Necromancer he killed threatened the lives of thousands he would be called a hero. The idea here is that people are not perfect, they can lose sight of one part of a code in favor of another and they can do bad things to achieve good ends. On the flip side an evil character does not always have to be evil. He/she can engage in good acts to gain trust or to gain fame and influence only to execute a plan using the boons from those good deeds. Instead of thinking of the gods and their favor being granted based on a strict behavioral code have them grant power to characters that achieve the ends they desire. When used with a dose of common sense, this practice not only promotes character depth but also adds an element of intrigue and mystery to the gods.

Here are some examples of what I am talking about:

First a PC

A Paladin is lawful good, defender of the weak, protector of life, destroyer of evil. This character contains a contradiction, he is tasked with destroying evil and protecting life. A real person would not have an iron clad sense of mercy and compassion when faced with darkness on a daily basis. most of the Paladins I have played have difficulty finding mercy in their hearts for truly evil people. One of them became a monster himself when faced off against true evil, fighting with glee and reckless abandon, a villain himself, scaring the rest of the party. In this way he could retain the favor of the God he serves for fulfilling the tasks but he is a flawed, realistic character who represents the contradiction of a lawful good character trained to destroy.

Now for NPCs

lets talk about Villains because I feel many bad guys are designed in a one dimensional and cheesy manner. People think of villains as bad guys, morally bankrupt and without any redeeming qualities. Well I am here to tell you that a villain doesn't need to be a total sociopath in order to be memorable. Remember that real people don't wake up, look themselves in the mirror and say "I am an evil bastard". Usually descents into evil and madness are very gradual, as an individual becomes more and more isolated their thoughts can become more deviant. Events and tragedies push them away from others and warp their goals and outlooks. Remember that villains are the heroes of their own stories, they probably didn't start with evil goals, Maybe they were a lawman who snapped under the pressure of a system that allows bad people to get away. Maybe they were a paladin who watched the weak die despite their heroism and decided that the weak didn't deserve survive. Maybe a eccentric and unsociable wizard loses his wife and becomes consumed with using any necromantic ritual to bring her back, regardless of the cost to others.

all of these villains could be monstrous, callous, and evil without being one dimensional. They have some sympathetic elements that made them more memorable and may make the party feel guilt or pity when they fight them.