Chapter 5: Heroes and Antiheroes

Illus. by E. Polak Illus. by E. Polak

he player characters in a horror adventure or campaign might be heroes in the traditional sense of the word: good-aligned characters struggling against the evil of the world while remaining true to their ideals and alignment. Such characters might acquire taint through no fault of their own but simply through exposure to so much corruption and evil—but they never embrace taint, instead seeking to purge it from themselves as quickly as possible. They smite evil and turn undead, using all the might that the forces of good have to offer (perhaps drawing on the Book of Exalted Deeds for resources) in the course of their crusade. This type of horror game is closest to a standard D&D game, and it is similar to such examples of the horror genre as the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series. Alternatively, player characters in a horror game might be antiheroes. In literature, fi lm, and comic books, an antihero is a protagonist who commands the sympathy of the reader (or viewer) while displaying fl aws, failures, and questionable moral values. An antihero might have some great tragedy or dark secret in her past, or she might make use of evil means toward an ultimately good end. In D&D, such a character is probably neither good nor evil but a fl exible neutral. A cleric of St. Cuthbert who launches an inquisition to purge evil from the land, killing innocents in the process; a devotee of Wee Jas who animates undead in order to fi ght villains even more evil; a ranger hunting down all the agents, evil or otherwise, of the baron who burned down his childhood home—these are all examples of antiheroes appropriate to a dark, horrifi c D&D campaign. The resources in Book of Exalted Deeds are not for these characters. Characters such as these are certain to acquire taint as their adventures unfold. Unlike more traditional heroes, they might embrace that taint in order to use the power it offers for their ultimately good ends. If Buffy exemplifi es a heroic horror story, its companion series Angel is a fi ne example of an antiheroic story in the same vein. Many of the resources in this chapter—new base classes, prestige classes, feats, spells, and artifacts— are designed specifically for antiheroic characters (as well as for villains). Such evil tools always come with a cost, however, and players and DM alike are reminded that antiheroes in fi ction and cinema rarely escape paying that cost. The classic fantasy antihero, Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, summons the lords of Chaos, wields black magic, and wades into battle swinging the demonic soul-eating sword Stormbringer—and ultimately ends up destroyed by his own weapon after having brought to ruin everything he ever cherished. Characters who embrace taint might fi nd themselves wielding enormous power for a time, but corruption eats at their bodies even as depravity gnaws at their souls. They end up either wholly given over to evil or mercifully slain at the hands of their own companions before the taint can utterly take control. 81