Discussion Writing Darksiders

[Kitter Bitters]

Other than a handful of NPCs I have rarely written darksiders. I struggle to come up with reasons somebody would be evil. As I consider new stories I find myself wondering if I should give it a shot?

It just seems like less of the fun slice of life, or nice moments would happen with a bad guy. Maybe I picture it as one dimensional.

What are your tips for writing a darksider? What makes a good villain? What do you like (or not like) to see in a darksider? What even is a Sith? Are there any resources I should read?

Just looking for a fun discussion

 

[Arris Windrun]

Vestra Tane is my dark side aficionado (if she'd like to weigh in on this)

 

[Darth Carnifex]

I've always subscribed to the idea that no person is ever born evil or destined for evil, all the things that amount to a character being evil are informed by personal choices, their interactions with others (and what they learn from them), and the environment they exist in. These material conditions all amalgamate into what makes a character good or evil in a moralistic sense, but morality is also malleable between people and cultures. What is evil to the Jedi is good for the Sith, etc.

When I am writing Carnifex, something I always remember is that he is evil because he basically does whatever he wants and has no ethical or moral boundaries limiting his actions. He fully believes that action in itself is self-justifying, that by the sheer act of doing something retroactively justifies it after the fact. This primarily takes the form of murder, destruction, and genocide in Carnifex's case, but in other characters this extends to what can be viewed as charitable or benevolent actions. For Carnifex, morality isn't determined by the nature of an act, but by the success of the will behind it.

He didn't come to this belief overnight of course, it was informed by a very long span of time being immersed in both Sith philosophy and Imperial dogma. Carnifex is a product of his environment. He views the Sith Code as basically an excuse for an individual to indulge in whatever passion they so choose, because by casting aside societal limitations they break the chains that restrain them as a predatory individual.

Idk if this helps at all but I had a desire to ramble.

Kitter Bitters

 

[Scherezade deWinter]

My tldr version of this is, Evil is not an objective. Few evil people think of themselves as evil. We're effin' heroes

 

[Aether Verd]

The most fun I've had writing slice of life has been on my Sith. Why? Because those are the rare moments when he allows himself to feel human.

Those moments in-between the "evil" are like a reward for him, it's what motivates him to accomplish his goals.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

I've always believed no one is born evil, when it comes to an evil character things have happened (Nature vs Nurture) to make them the way they are, choices that they've made, events that have happened in their lives, circumstances beyond and within their control and the decisions that they made. Being a product of your environment as well. Especially when it comes to Dark Side users or Sith, they are inherently influenced by their own practices, dogma. I always believe the path of the dark side is a corrupt one, and it can influence who you are the deeper you dive into the pool. Even Prazutis didn't start evil. He was a byproduct of his own environment and upbringing, a long series of events built to eventually turn him into what he is today.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

In my experience, darksider are either born into it, or broken by what life threw at them.

A darksider can be good, they don't have to have no morals or no cares about what they are doing, what allows them to dig into the dark side is that they are driven by their emotions.

Take Anakin for example, when his mother died he was driven by rage and slaughtered the entire camp of tuskens. He wasn’t evil, he was emotional and his emotion controlled him which over time corrupted him.

I personally think the best sith are those that have fallen overtime, where each torment life has thrown at them has gradually chipped away at their ability to hold boundaries and moral grounds.

Most of my characters are neutral or dark aligned because i enjoy torturing them so much but I also have the best romances and slice of life moments with them because they feel so deeply and are passionate about what they do.

There are so many different types of Darksiders on Chaos. You have the classic evil villains like Darth Carnifex and Darth Prazutis , you have people like Darth Strosius who believe their way is the only way, or Madrona A’Mia who is simply put, a psychopath who is only just learning how to feel emotion.

It really does depend on the story you want to tell

 

[Aymeric Prendergast]

my view on the Dark Side in Star Wars is that it’s inherently corrupting its practitioners towards evil, and that’s how I tend to write my Dark Siders. the person itself, while they keep pushing boundaries in their acts, most of the time still has some humanity in them. and for me that’s the most interesting part to write, because your character gets to struggle against their own demons, they gets to question their acts and beliefs, suffer in the hollowness of the victory they achieved through the Dark Side, and experience in real time digging the hole deeper and deeper. and this also extend to the slice of life where the character might think at the start that they are doing good for their loved ones, but in actuality they are only dragging them to darkness, and at some point they will realize that they are in a point of no return.

 

[Eira Dyn]

I view it not too dissimilar to how I would approach writing any other character.

What is something that makes them interesting as a character and why would others want to interact with them?

Eira is probably the most successful I have been in writing a Sith and the one that I decided to pour more energy into as well since I was really intrigued with the idea that she was an outsider who knew that the life she was raised in was not the life she wanted to live. There was also the sibling tension and the idea that her parents had the perfect representation of their views and morals while Eira was the complete opposite.

While I do agree that no one is born evil, it doesn't take a negative or evil environment for someone to become crazy or capable of committing great evils. And that is something that I desired to explore with Eira.

I also take traits that can be seen as positives, such as ambition, a desire to be seen and respected by others, loyalty and dedication to cause and spin them in slightly or very toxic ways. That way, while she is committing horrendous acts or she is demonstrating cruelty, there are parts of her that others would see as softer and kinder. They just aren't sides of her often seen.

Another important thing is to show the development. Dropping a Sith Lord is fine, but how do you grow as a character from that point and committing genocide or other great acts of evils are all well and good but where is the character moving from that point on? Eira's position allowed for the most growth which is probably why I enjoyed writing her because I am seeing her becoming more twisted but also seeing more of the complexities of her character. She isn't just evil for the sake of being evil.

There are reasons behind her actions, justifications but also at times, an understanding that she doesn't need to justify her acts because she sees others as lesser beings who could not understand her motivations. Which I think is important.

 

[Oz Neru]

A general idea I like to run with is that a "lightsider"/Jedi will be used by The Force while "Darksiders"/Sith use The Force. Choosing to live in disharmony with The Force and currents of the universe. Another thing I think is important to consider is the idea that The Darkside is easier and more seductive but that 'easiness' comes with a great cost.

To me these are just some rudimentary ideas that I try to keep in mind when writing darksiders, and very much just an opinion/two cents on the subject.

 

[Braze]

What a great place to find new targets....

 

[Siyndacha Aerin]

Firstly, what I will suggest is starting from a point that's familiar to you, and drawing it out to its extremes. Or picking a particular type of darkness and asking yourself what it's the least it would take to get a character to that point, from where they've started.

But aside from that, I do find it worth pointing out that evil comes from more places than just 'the darkside' and 'the Sith'. You may or may not find these avenues easier to get into than the typically more overt evil of the Sith.

Allow you to regale you with my experience, lol.

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I wrote Sith for years from the late 90s up until... I wanna say 2017 at the latest. For me that was very much drawing from what I knew at the time. Writing Sith and that darkness came easy, but at some point that resolved for me and it became harder to write. Not because I no longer enjoy the concept of that kind of evil as a genre (I was to somewhat raised on the horror genre and still enjoy it), but it's a heck of a lot more difficult to access now, as creative output. And I think I may have gotten bored with writing it, to some extent.

The kinds of evil I do find easier to access these days are found more in the shades of grey. The less obvious/atypical avenues that don't make use of the darkside or aren't explicitly Sith. Ones that are largely driven by a shared belief between the characters involved.

Belief can be a very strong driver for a character. It drives how characters act and react in many scenarios. Why they believe what they do also matters a great deal, here... maybe something (or several somethings) happened to put them on that path because they weren't resilient enough to weather the trauma (it's worth noting that you don't always need someone to take advantage of your character's weakness or low point. and pull them into the dark; it can happen as a natural outcome of unresolved trauma), maybe they were simply indoctrinated, or they were born into it and raised in it; those are the three most common ways that 'darker' beliefs can happen, here. Some can be simultaneously true for some characters.

But anyway...

Evil driven by beliefs is what I like and have liked about writing:
* Imperial Knights, and Imperialism in general: here the belief can be characterised by the view that both major proponents of the far ends of the Force spectrum (that is, the Jedi and the Sith) are extremists, and in general have failed at bringing a definitive end to the eternal conflict, and therefore, have failed peace. The answer here is effectively peace through ORDER, and that delineates in some rather horrific ways with the lengths its proponents will go to preserve and propagate the Imperial State, but the evil here can also be banal. Many imperial citizens may believe they are serving a good... that's what effective propaganda can do (you've seen Andor, right?). The Force in this case is often seen as a tool, and sometimes, the Force is even seen as property of the State.

* with the Ashlan Crusade for the years that I did: Religious Lightsiders, who saw the lightside as the Goddess Ashla. A faction for whom a core tenet of the founding of the Crusade was the eradication of the Sith, their culture, writings, art, etc. That's genocide in all its forms. There's still Ashlans about, but they are definitely a minority group these days.

* with groups such as the Lightsworn, militaristic lightsiders who have tread along the same lines to the Ashlans, though without the religious component. This one and to some extent the Ashlans tapped into the idea of Jedi Lords/Army of Light.

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I also have to say that the 'bright spots' (the downtime, the slice of life, the sweet stuff, the socials) can and do still happen in these scenarios. I've enjoyed them myself.

I hope this helps.