The happiness of other people on the other hand has no impact on him . So why shouldn ' t he kill ? Their happiness , their lives , their families , nothing about them holds any meaning for him . They are basically like your party against kobolds . just XP fodder . It can actually provide a fun moment of introspection if you keep up on what the party does once the baddy takes an interest in them and he discusses literally how they behave like he does . I may not hesitate to kill peasants , but did you once for a moment stop to think before you slaightered that entire village of orcs ? without their warriors neither the women nor the children survived a week when other tribes came through , but you did not care one bit because they stood between you and a piece of goldIts also fun running this kind of big bad when your party does horrible things for meager rewards . Like that piece of gold ? Literally a single piece of gold .