I think your idea of what 'evil' is, is rather narrow and superficial...very cartoony.. Evil isn't about murdering people just because they're good and you don't like good. That would maybe be the case for a small group of people.. but not most.
People go down the path of 'evil' because it is enticing: there's promise of power, of riches, of getting to your goals faster..... everyone else be damned.
It is about manipulating betraying, backstabbing, deceiving , using and abusing people, be they good or evil, be they your best friend or foe so long as there is something to be gained.
It is about about cooperating with people so long as it furthers YOUR goal.
Or if you want a pragmatic character, it is about being ruthless, making the hard decision, like..idk killing a small group of innocent people to save the many.
D&D definitely also contain the kind of evil that murder good people just because they're good, but then we're talking like Cyricists and Malar worshippers and generally the kind of people (and typically more monsters than people) that are Philosophically Evil and committed to the cause of Evil as an objective philosophy. I think that's outside of the scope of the game
This is why they got rid of alignment. You say it is narrow minded and superficial, incorrect. neutral people can lean any way they don't care about right or wrong, good or bad. They care about themselves, and if helping good achieves this then great, if helping evil achieve it great. If doing nothing achieves it great again.
Good characters have moral fiber, they care about right or wrong, they are more then likely to hunt down evil and won't help evil unless they are being manipulated in some way. Yet once that manipulation ends, they will again be your enemy, and therefore they are a time bomb waiting to go off. When will they go off? Will it be at the worst time? Will they ever go off?
Evil Characters - don't care whats right right is for the morally good people, they want to be bad. yes they can be manipulating, betraying, backstabbing, other things they put. Yet smart ones understand that at heart a good person isn't going to side with you. That Good is against everything you stand for, they will hunt you down and kill you. Why because your bad, you do things thats against their moral code. A smart evil person won't take a chance with the good guy, who is weakened. Wont stand and monlogue will instead simply remove the threat. In the game many of the good people are weak currently, Halsin being captured means he is weakend. Giving him access to his grove (a source that makes druids stronger) is like handing a good king a bigger more fortified castle. which in this case the Grove is also fortified as is commented upon by someone, either you or a companion. Right now he is weak, but it won't be the case why let an enemy. One who has a moral code and can not only hunt you down, but send others after you and supply forces of good like the Harpers live to do these things?
narrow minded cartoony, killing for the sake of killing? Nope it's planning for the future, removing a potentially serious threat when they're weak. Which is why you get the steroetyped murder hobos they don't stop to think why an evil character is doing something, they simply see them killing innocents and think oh yeah thats fun, and evil!
If I went for narrow minded, superficial, or cartoony I'd of problem mentioned that before you stab the good guy monologue, or yell something really cool, or kaaaamaaaahaaaamaaa AAAAAAH!!
Instead I put my partial thought up and let people take it as they wish, in this way I learn about their thought process, views on the matter, to which I can then respond with other questions, or comments keeping the discussion open, and letting others add to it.
I may not let you know all my thoughts, but they go far deeper then murder hobos, and killing for the sake of killing. Each and every one is a plan with alternate plans. Most times I'm merely outlining something letting others take it from there. Some are better at it then others you simply failed, in the thought process you took to arrive at your conclussion. try asking questions next time.
