Chaotic Evil / Tabletop Games

• Dungeons & Dragons: The Trope Namer, Trope Codifier, and nearly Trope Maker (though definitely not Ur-Example); makes explicit use of the term all the time, so it's easy to find examples.
  • The Demons have defined Chaotic Evil since the game's beginnings. Their plane of origin, the Abyss, embodies Chaotic Evil as a concept, and it possesses infinite layers, each more horribly evil than the last — think of it as Hell, only messier.
  • Among dragonkind, Red, White and Black dragons are Chaotic Evil, along with Deep, Shadow and Yellow dragons.
  • Even when they aren't Always Chaotic Evil, orcs in D&D are usually portrayed with a Chaotic Evil culture that rewards backstabbing, vicious shows of strength, and no compassion whatsoever to the weak or other races. This is also true for ogres, trolls, bugbears, several (but not all) giant subraces, and various other humanoids. Prior to 3rd Edition, orcs were actually listed as Lawful Evil and portrayed with a rigid social structure; this was later dropped to make them more barbaric, and the Lawful Evil alignment became a more distinctive trait of the hobgoblins.
  • The drow are a race of subterranean elves that, due to the insane level of devotion they have their goddess Lolth, have developed a culture that revolves around subterfuge and treachery. Drow are always looking for ways to increase their own power, while watching their own backs for others looking to depose them. It has been mentioned in the source books that the drow should have gone extinct long ago, due to the constant power struggles, but it is purely through Lolth's will that they remain alive. They were changed to "usually Neutral Evil" in the 3rd edition, however, with Lolth remaining Chaotic Evil.
  • Tharizdun is an Omnicidal Maniac Eldritch Abomination who was Neutral Evil until 4th edition, for some reason (see his entry in Neutral Evil for the explanation). In 4e, he created the Abyss, and as a result of his madness, his angels have turned into giant cyclopean monsters which roam through the Astral Sea eating things. If he ever breaks his chains, most of the universe is screwed. The following might be the best explanation for why Tharizdun wasn't Chaotic Evil in earlier Editions: "CHAOTIC EVIL: The Chaotic Evil creature holds that individual freedom and choice is important, and that other individuals and their freedoms are unimportant if they cannot be held by the individuals through their own strength and merit. Thus, law and order rends to promote not individuals but groups, and groups suppress individual volition and success." — 1st. Editon DMG Chaos as individualism and Evil as brutality and cruelty.
  • Dagon, a sea demon that helps Demogorgon for unknown reasons of his own, is the calm, intelligent, and patient Chaotic Evil. Also, he is intentionally modeled after Lovecraft's Dagon. Only worse. Yes, that Lovecraft.
  • The Archons of 4e are disciplined, regimented, and highly organized, and you'd think they were personifications of Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil. However, they are living weapons whose sole reason to exist is to kill everything else that exists. They're not really sentient, as such, just pure, highly developed, militaristic instinct — they don't squabble over power because each instinctively knows how strong it is and how it relates to other Archons in that regard. They do act as mercenaries, but that's merely a way to acquire treasure (to lure would-be thieves to them so they can fight them) and an excuse to kill. They have no understanding of mercy, kindness, love, peace or anything that doesn't revolve around killing... and they have no capacity to learn to understand such concepts. To live is to kill. To kill is to live. There is nothing else to Archons. They are elemental Terminators.
  • 4th edition also changed Slaadi from Chaotic Neutral to this, on the justification that they are so Chaotic Stupid they are Omnicidal Maniacs. They want to tear apart the very rules that hold reality together; they revere Chaos that much.
  • Forgotten Realms: Cyric, the backstabbing human adventurer turned into the vicious god of lies, madness and strife. He aims to achieve ultimate freedom and power for himself by trying to weaken and eliminate the other gods by having his cult sabotage their clergies, while spreading death and destruction along the way.
• Pathfinder has a couple examples, even without considering the countless monsters and characters with that as their official alignment.
  • Each of the Chaotic Evil humanoids is given their own different take on the alignment (with a few exceptions). Orcs are just stupid and barbaric, living lives of savagery because they can't imagine doing anything else. Ogres are a race of Psychopathic Manchildren who engage in all kinds of depravity to sate their lust and gluttony. Bugbears are perhaps the worst of all, committing mass murder not for the sake of killing, but instead to instill fear in the survivors—they are, in effect, a race of terrorists.
  • Fiends of this alignment are even worse. Demons are the physical manifestations of mortal sins and do their best to foster even greater depravities and evils in order to swell their own ranks. Demodands are an entire race of living weapons made by titans to destroy all the gods have made. The worse of the lot are the qlippoth, the inhabitants of the Abyss before the demons and possibly the oldest creatures in all of existence who have decided that total omnicide is the only way for them to reclaim their home.
• Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 provide some of the most brutally straightforward, Obviously, Card Carryingly, Ax Crazily, and otherwise gleefully and horrendously evil examples of the alignment in all of fiction.
  • The Orks of WH40K are a pure version of this trope. They live for slaughtering their enemies in a giant Waaaagh!
  • Chaos. The name says it all.
    • Tzeentch appears to be the most orderly (relatively speaking) of the Chaos Gods. Except that all of his plans are designed to be mutually contradictory and he makes sure that, ultimately, he can never achieve victory, due to the mutually inclusive goals that he would cease to exist if he ever won and his absolute addiction to scheming. He's probably more Chaotic Evil than any of them... with the possible exception of Khorne, who cares not from where the blood flows, only that it does, and whose followers wage ceaseless, pitiless war for its own sake throughout the cosmos. He has no churches or temples in his honour — the only place to honour and worship him is on the battlefield, and the battlefield must have no limits or end.
    • Chaos Space Marine Legions vary from Lawful Evil to Chaotic Evil. Several of the more disciplined ones are almost Visionary Villains wanting to carry out the legacy of Horus, uniting humanity under Chaos. Some of the others... not so much. You need only look at the eloquent and sophisticated philosophy expounded by Kharn The Betrayer, mentioned just above. Although he's a pretty fun guy regardless. Unsurprisingly, the World Eaters are the purest examples of this alignment amongst the Chaos Space Marine chapters, which is the legion Khârn is part of.
  • The Dark Eldar have partially moved away from this direction in fifth edition. They still have elements of this, but it is mostly restricted to the lower castes and criminals of their society. Indeed, in the retool the Kabals tend to fulfill the Lawful Evil side of the spectrum more, enforcing strict but cruel laws upon their people, as befitting a race of absolute evil. As to this, there is a huge rivalry between the kabals and the lower castes of society, but they do tend to (begrudgingly) work together to commit raids, with many of the criminals and gangs working as cruel mercenaries for the Kabals alongside their actual soldiers.
  • The Skaven of Warhammer Fantasy are giant anthropomorphic ratmen of Chaos whose only raison d'etre is wanton destruction.
  • The Beastmen, also from Warhammer Fantasy, a race of savage, anarchistic goatmen and minotaurs created by the chaos gods with a vicious hatred for humans and anything symbolizing organized civilisation.
• In Magic: The Gathering, many pairings of Red, which is the color of chaos, and Black, which is the color of ambition and selfishness, give us this trope. Every demon costs black, red, or both. That said, not all Red and Black characters are Chaotic Evil, and there are other examples in the color pie.
  • Innistrad vampires (associated with both red and black mana) avert this alignment for the most part, with Stromkirk vampires embracing a Noble Demon artistic approach (both black and red traits) in contrast to some of the other bloodlines that are a lot more bloodcrazed. The Planeshift guide indeed gives their default alignment as Neutral Evil
  • Innistrad werewolves, which are Green and Red, are blood crazed monsters with a malice for humanity. The Planeshift guide does indeed outright state they are generally Chaotic Evil.
  • The Cult of Rakdos (the Black/Red followers of the Black/Red demon Rakdos) are evil enough to torture their slaves for fun and chaotic enough to torture themselves at the same time, also for fun.
  • The Nobilis of War is a rare example of a White aligned Chaotic Evil character, and quite so at that.
  • The planeswalker Garruk Wildspeaker, initially Chaotic Good, slips into a pure Type 3 Chaotic Evil after being cursed by the Chain Veil. He considers Planeswalkers his prey, especially Liliana Vess, the one who cursed him.
  • Kataki is a rare White aligned example.
  • Nahiri is yet another Red-White example, having been driven to a rampage after Sorin's imprisonment of her for thousands of years and seeing her home plane of Zendikar being ravaged by Eldrazi.
• Every willing member of the Rapine Storm in CthulhuTech. As has been said before, the Lovecraftian horrors in that force are nowhere near as bad as the actual humans, and they seem to have no goals besides killing, maiming, raping and burning their way across the world.
• The Wyrm in the original Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Its goal, depending on one's interpretation, is either to destroy the entire universe or trap it forever in an unending state of suffering. Subverted in that it is only trying to break free from imprisonment by the insane Weaver, and the horrors that serve it fit more into the mold due to some of the stuff they do For the Evulz. In essence, the Wyrm is True Neutral; its purpose is to act as the balancing deity between the order of the Weaver and chaos of the Wyld by bringing a blessed ending to their creations.
• The Sabbat is the pinnacle of Chaotic Evil in Vampire: The Masquerade, killing and breaking things for shits and giggles. The only thing that enforces a hierarchy and prevents members from tearing each other apart is the Vaulderie, a rite in which pack members drink each other's blood, which establishes a bond akin to the blood bond. Exceptions exist within the sect, however, particularily amongst those in the sect who choose to follow the Path of Honorable Accord, who are Lawful Evil instead. Interestingly, in a sect that is particularly devoted to chaos and mayhem, this path aactually happens to be one of the most popular paths to follow.
• The Ebon Dragon of Exalted (when he's not being Neutral Evil). Exalted uses a Virtue system to depict the internal integrity and morality of characters. Compassion denotes the character's ability to feel for others and empathy, Conviction for determination to ideals and visions, Temperance for self-control and discipline, and Valor for courage and bravery. The Ebon Dragon, a titan who created the world, has the lowest rating possible for a sentient being in all Virtues. He does not care for anything, possesses no ideals, refuses to control himself and can not stand up against danger. His only motivation is to cause suffering. This miserable thing has cosmic powers.
  • His similarly supra-divine sister, Adorjan, is also Chaotic Evil, but of a completely different variety-she's bloody insane and acts like it, but she'll happily explain that the reason she kills people is to free them of all attachments, which is why she kills what she loves and spares what she hates.
• In Paranoia, some of the secret societies (most notably PURGE and the Death Leopards) are based on wanton destruction either for its own sake and/or out of rage at the setting's overly restrictive dystopian society.

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