Methodology is how you play your character. This is what seperates a
truly evil "character" from the annoying pests who roam Sosaria.
The first thing you need to know is that villians have patterns to their crimes.
Most evil characters figure out some type of scheme that works for them
and then repeat it until it quits working. How strict a character sticks
to his current pattern depends on what type of character you are playing.
A rogue will vary his schemes depending on his mood, and often times comes up
with his tricks on the fly. A serial killer will not vary from the pattern
unless absolutely forced to in order to survive (and even then will often choose
death rather than break the cycle).
When you develop your methodology you should remember what type of character
you are playing and especially WHY you are a villian. It would not make sense
for a serial killer who was abused and beaten by his father the blacksmith to
use a cleaver to kill tailors and chop up their body to be fed to bears in the
woods. It would, however, make perfect sense if the serial killer's mother
was a tailor and refused to protect her child from the father and the serial
killer only targetted female tailors and beat them to death with a smith's hammer.
The same holds true for all villians. A rogue who was raised on the street
by other rogues is going to have a soft spot in his heart for his fellow rogues.
A noble who was disinheirited by shocked parents for beating the servants is
going to be a bully and only attack those obviously weaker than themselves.
Even an evil wizard is going to have his behavior shaped by some event in his
past or by his undying quest for more power.
Remember, your methodology, how you play, is what makes a character truly "evil".
Anyone can walk around attacking and stealing from everyone they see.
However, a true villian makes that experience much more memorable by making
it a unique and well-planned encounter.
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Stratics Central
