Let's face it: being the hero, or even the anti-hero, all the time gets boring. Once in a while, we as people need to let our hair down and indulge in our darker sides. Why do you think the Grand Theft Auto games are so successful? Because being a bad guy is fun. Sure, going around saving kingdoms and princesses is enjoyable, but sometimes, you just want to ask "what's in it for me?" That's what most people are really like.
When running an evil campaign, you need to control the character creation more than in other games. I'm running this game in D&D 3.5 (mostly because I have all the books I could ever want and because I know the system pretty well), so I limited the players in several ways. I started the game at a 5th level because I wanted the characters to have some power but not overwhelmingly so. It also allows the players to pick races with an ECL, like Drow. You know, everyone's favorite bad guys. I also limited them to the PHB, DMG, MM (for races) and the Book of Vile Darkness. I remember when the Book of Vile Darkness came out. It flipped my world. They did a book about the vilest villains, but usually (as a player) I was stuck trying to figure out a way to fight it. When I got a chance to look through it, I knew I wanted to be in or run an evil campaign because there was a bunch of cool shit. I also wasn't happy with how long it took them to release the Book of Exalted Deeds, because I got real tired of not having a counter against the Vile stuff...
One other thing I did was I made my setting for the game an evil setting, full of bad people. I'm also talking with the players about their goals, because being evil for evil's sake is boring. The best villains have motivations and flaws. If you haven't seen The Venture Brothers (and shame on you for missing some of the best television that's come out in years), watch it and pay attention to the villains. I think The Monarch is one of the best villains I've ever seen. Why? Because he has a past, he has flaws, he is totally focused on his goals and he has a sense of style. He's a bad guy, but he's also a guy. He spends the majority of the second season of the show trying to win back his ex-girlfriend. And he does it as a villain. I'm also known to shout "MINIONS!" in his voice from time to time...
One of the other restraints I put on my party was in-fighting. Not because it isn't in character, but because I wanted the players to get creative. Sure, you can't punch the jerk thief in the face, but if he's plotting to take over the local thieves guild, you can mess with that plan. In-fighting leads to hurt feelings and maybe even player fist-fights. I'd rather have my players acting like good villains: plotting, scheming, and being creative.
Right now, the party looks like this:
Drow Sorceress
Human Cleric of Scahrossar (Mistress of Pain)
Half-Elf Rogue
Wood Elf Monk
Oh yeah, this is going to be fun... Stay tuned to see what happens.
