Is it ever possible to talk down a nihilistic BBEG who thinks everything is so horrible it should all be destroyed so...

Is it ever possible to talk down a nihilistic BBEG who thinks everything is so horrible it should all be destroyed so nobody suffers again? Or is it always guaranteed to end with a fight?

I'm sure if I broke both of his legs we can have all the time in the world to talk about his traumas.

I'm sure it's theoretically possible, but I feel like a guy that far gone isn't going to hear anything you say. He's not exactly a rational actor.

His power isn't in his legs numbnuts

did you roll 20 on diplomacy? if yes you can fuck his ass.

Not really, no.

Put simply, YOU can not force another person to change.

The person has to consciously decide on the choice to change, and go through with it.

And that requires incredible levels of convincing. You will need advanced understanding of the person, psychology, and other factors. Even then, it is still solely their choice.

At such a point, it is nigh impossible. You're going to need some luck to even get started.

Pretty sure it's impossible normally. It tends on the BBEG and his scale.

Some wizard who is saying that after seeing his wive die is much easier then some enlightened god pulling a numidium and attempting to erase you.

"Sort yourself out"

Either you get him to reason that the capability to suffer is what makes us human and is worth it for all the other emotions we're gifted to experience in this life, or you just kill the bastard.

Why bother? Kill his ass.

With reference to OP's image, he got to meet his girl again after he died. Killing him would have made everyone happy.

Is it possible? Yes, depending on how hard he holds his views.

Is it worth the effort? Probably not.

>I see, maybe you're right after all. Yes, it's clear, you are.
>But I've already gone too far down this path.

Play Burning Wheel, convince him to start up a duel of wits with you, work it up from there.

>so nobody suffers
First, this isn't proper nihilism. Suffering isn't good or bad in that context and there's no impetus (at least not one springing from nihilism itself) to care about someone else's emotional state. Let alone everyone's.

If the nobody suffering part is the motive, I think it would be pretty funny if you talked him down by just convincing him that we're all fine and he's the only one suffering. Or he was before he decided to be such a dick about it.

If actual nihilism, nihilism doesn't really dictate your motives. It's not like they don't still cling to sentiment. In that case, you can talk them down in a way that appeals to their specific motives. Now, if they're wrecking shit they have a reason. And the reason for that might be that they are broken and impossible to appeal to. In that case, there's no talking them down.

There's always talking down to them though.

>BBEG
Ugh.

Turn that nihilistic rage inwards, and have the villain kill themselves instead of killing the world.

>user never played Arcanum
why are you even asking about RPGs if you never touched the classics?

I don't even bother, I just taunt them for being such a giant failure that they think life isn't worth it, and so conceited that they think their experience is universal.

It's a lot more fun to take the wind out of their sails before the fight than to waste my effort trying to convince someone who's so narcissistic they need to take the entire world with them when they commit suicide.

You tell them to either drink bleach or grow a pair of balls and yes it will end in a fight but emo douchebags can't win it is just their nature.

It's possible.


You just have to prove him wrong first.

It depends on the power of talk no jutsu in the setting mostly. Take OP's pic there. Sure Talk no Jutsu was strong in that setting, but Warriors Speak with their Fists, Defeat = Friendship, and If it's stupid but it works it's not stupid after all were the tropes with the highest power level in that setting.

Even when Talk no Jutsu has the highest power level in a setting Like say, Doctor Who when the BBEG is a former big damn hero gone nihilist it they're much more resistant to it, because they almost always reach that state DUE to Talk no Jutsu in the first place. Depends on whether the sit around and brood until they use it on themselves Magneto or if, like pic related, they end up with exactly the wrong mentor. Either way, you're rolling against a talk no jutsu that was good enough to make the paladin fall...so good luck with that.

Yes, but requires too much context about the characters life to just give a blanket answer

a reasonable bbeg wouldn't be nihilistic
in the unlikely case it should be both reasonable and nihilistic it probably didn't have much experience with actually discussing things with other people and it may as well not be prepared to accept being wrong

If they are a nihilist, why are they fighting? Obviously if their goal is universal destruction, they are going with it. Why do they care so much? What is the difference between destroying the universe and just finding a permanent death for themselves? We can happily provide the later.

Unless they have some background reason, or secret anger or something, this is a bad character design.

Works out pretty well in Arcanum.

Emotional suffering is a spook

...

Goddamn, that guy is a fucking retard. Some guy explained his way of thinking perfectly as "A psychologist so in love with himself and his field that he thinks his field can explain everything."

Depends how nihilistic they are.

Are they truly nihilistic or just mislead and scared like pic related?

>BBEG

Ugh.