The Psychgeist Of Pop Culture: Dungeons & Dragons

From Vecna to Vlaakith, Dungeons and Dragons has long presented examples of powerful and compelling forces of evil and allowed players to align with them as they so choose, be it as warlocks, clerics, or any form of evil-aligned character. In this chapter we will be exploring some of the psychological and narrative underpinnings that motivate such players and the characters they play within the game. We will discuss the role that playing an evil character can take in identity exploration and formation, the draw of narratives related to power, submission, and existence outside of normalized moral frameworks, and the cathartic potential of exploring darker archetypes. Additionally we will be exploring the ways that charisma, cunning, and other characteristics of evil deities make becoming evil a tempting way for a player to explore morality differences through role playing.