Arthur Morgan is one of the most fascinating characters in video game history. He is a rich and wonderfully complex character who is brilliantly performed and written with incredible depth. And, like most Rockstar protagonists, players can shape him however they so desire.
The game employs a morality scale, and you can manipulate Arthur to your desires. He can be just and noble. He can be morally questionable, completing various atrocities for a greater or more complicated purpose. Or he can be a complete monster.
This is how you turn him into the latter. These are ten ways to make Arthur Morgan as evil as possible.
10 Shoot Up A Town
Given this is a Rockstar game, you have the ability to shoot up an entire town. You are forced to do this at various times throughout the campaign, like shooting up Valentine to help Dutch escape Cornwall or shooting up Strawberry to help Micah get his guns.
But nothing is stopping you from doing this during regular free roam gameplay. You can shoot countless citizens scattered throughout a town, and when the law comes to punish you for your crimes, you can shoot them, too! And why not? The most punishment you'll get is a night in jail and a hefty bounty.
9 Punch Horses
The horses in this game don't do anything to anyone. And here comes Arthur Morgan to punch them in the face for no reason whatsoever. The beauty of these games is that you can do literally anything you can think of. And there is always an opposite reaction ready to meet you and dole out the consequences.
Absolutely nothing is stopping you from waltzing up to a horse and punching it in the face or rear. But then you'll have to face the consequence, and that consequence is typically a swift kick to the face.
8 Leave People On The Train Tracks
Shooting up a town is certainly terrible, but there's something rather impersonal about it. After all, you just mindlessly aim and shoot at the first person you see. But if you want to be a true villain, you need to hogtie a random citizen and bring him over to the train tracks.
It's a horrible act of violence, and worst of all, it gives the person you kidnap time to think and ponder their impending death. That said, we know you've done this at least once. Everyone has. It's just part of the Red Dead Redemption initiation.
7 Feed People To Alligators
What is worse? Kidnapping someone and leaving them on the train tracks to be run over? Or feeding them to an alligator? It might actually be the latter. Unlike the first game, Red Dead Redemption II features a boggy area, and in said boggy areas are lots of hungry alligators.
Should you so desire, you can hogtie someone, bring them to waiting alligator, and plop them down just outside their reach. You can either wait around and watch the resulting carnage or high tail it out of there before the screams can be heard. We recommend the latter.
6 Beating/Killing Debtors
There's just something really evil about beating an already indentured man into submission. Throughout the game, Leopold sends you on various missions to collect debts owed to the gang. While collecting said debts, Arthur typically beats them into submission and steals various items from their modest homes.
But nothing is stopping you from taking this a step further and either beating them to death or simply shooting them after you loot their house. It makes us feel dirty just thinking about it.
5 Harassing The Gang
The Gang will put up with a lot of morally questionable behavior. After all, they aren't above murdering, stealing, or manipulating those around them to get what they want. Most of them even condone the loan sharking, as it is a means of income for the gang. Point is, it takes a lot to tick these people off. And you can do just that. Simply antagonize everyone you see, and sooner or later, your reputation with the gang will plummet.
If it gets bad enough, you may even be punched in the face! And that's when you know you are a truly despicable person. You're so despicable that even the despicable people think you're despicable!
4 Be A Sore Loser
OK, so you've composed yourself enough to head out on the town and partake in a friendly game of poker or blackjack. You know that the chances of you walking away with money are minimal. But that doesn't stop you from going into an absolute frenzy when the dealer draws a 9 instead of an 8 and busts you.
And nothing is stopping you from leaving a parting gift of dynamite on the table.
3 Burn People Alive
The possibilities really are endless when it comes to killing hogtied and defenseless people.
You can leave them on the train tracks to get run over, you can feed them to an alligator, and players can even burn them alive! There are a few ways to do this. You can simply throw a Molotov cocktail at them, but that's boring. What's more exciting is taking them to a fire (or starting a fire yourself) and dropping them in.
2 Treat Animals Without Kindness
We've already gone over punching horses in the face, but there are so many other options when it comes to treating animals like trash. You can hogtie various animals and drag them from your horse while you gallop ahead at full speed.
You can tire your horse out and cause them to collapse from exhaustion. You can run over small animals. You can even treat friendly dogs and cats poorly when they come over to see you. All of these behaviours will severely affect the character's morality.
1 Kill The Monk
Located on a mountain in the Grizzlies East is a meditating monk. He doesn't really do anything aside from sit on the side of the mountain and meditate. And, naturally, players can eliminate him. Now, tormenting, torturing, killing, and/or kicking a monk off a mountain is pretty much the lowest of the low.
Not only is he defenseless and non-confrontational, but he's the very embodiment of peace and goodwill. By killing him, you become the very embodiment of evil. But then again, that is the goal.