My take on alignment.

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number4096

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Here is how it goes:

-Lawful Good:Follows the law believing it to be inherently good,whatever the law in question may be(It can be something else than law,like a philosophy or a mode of conduct,what remains is that they follow it very rigidly and never step out of its bounds.).Alternatively,if they see the law as evil,they will try to change it from the inside(Political activities,for example.)rather than by brute force.Wants to create a world where everyone is happy.

-Neutral Good:Unconditional kindness(Like maternal instinct,for example.),will always feel nervous and worried if bad things happen to others.Will fight if someone is in any form of danger(Especially kids.),but violence in itself makes them feel uneasy.Always tries to find new ways to make people happy.They always feel warm and fuzzy when someone around them is happy,even if they never met that person before.Has difficulty scolding people.

-Chaotic Good:Intrisically good,but spontaneous and unpredictable.They do things as they come to mind without really considering them.They are prone to visit their friends uninvited and at random,often brings gifts they tought their friends would like.They often treat strangers as if they were longtime friends even though they never met and will start conversations with anyone.Often generous without considerations for what they have left.Are inconsideringly brave.

Lawful Neutral:Robotically follows the law without putting it back into question or considering it(Can be a philosophy or the like,but they always remain completely rigid about it.).If the laws orders them to hang themselves,they will accept it and do it honorably.To them,the law equals absolute cosmic order of things and going against it would equate walking on water or making the sky turn green,it is completely inconceivable and confuses them.

Strict Neutral:Follows logic and analysis of situation rather than emotions.Will behave on survival instinct and/or scientific thinking as well as balancing the pros and cons of any given situations,amongst other things.They are not evil or good,they can sacrifice you if you hinder them and they will not attack you for fun if there would be no consequences for doing so and you were at there mercy.Animals and scientists are usually of this alignment.

Chaotic Neutral:Completely random and unpredictable,one second they burn a fly alive without reason and the next second they give you their lunch without you asking for it.They are spontaneous,unpredictable and out of touch with reality and there is no pattern to what they do,they can elaborate complex,efficient strategies but it is what they are trying to accomplish that is random.People who change alignment all the time are of this alignment.

Lawful Evil:Will try to do motiveless sadism upon people while remaining out of reach from retributions using the law.Will do sadistic things unconditionally whenever they can get away with it and abuse their authority on people without gains being necessary per se.They will find loopholes in the law to excuse their actions and always keep a good image outside.They want to conquer the world to remove all retributions from their actions and abuse their power.

Neutral Evil:Motivelessly sadistic and will do evil without gains or purpose.Seeing someone getting hurt in new,inventive ways attracts their attention.They feel Schadenfreude whenever someone is in trouble.They always imagine the worst thing that could happen to someone and then grow warm and fuzzy over it.Without retributions they would hunt people down like rabid predators and do unspeakable things to them out of liking it.

Chaotic evil:Dangerously insane,are hysterically and motivelessly sadistical and will laugh uncontrollably about it.If they see you,they will smile in hysterical,demented delight and go after you to cannibalise your face or do other insane things for fun,hysterical fun.They do not discriminate and will attack anythings of any strenght and any alignments(They get more excited and thrilled when fighting other evil people or powerful enemies,though.).

What is your take on alignments?

(Other question:Which of these alignment interpretations corresponds to you?)

If mood changes make you switch alignment all the time,you are Chaotic Neutral.These alignments have less to do with ethics and more to do with primal instincts(Except Lawful,which has something to do with both.).If you think generalising is evil and should be purged,then remember that this is my take on Dungeons and Dragons alignments and is done for fun.(Overdefensiveness over small details is allowed,but painfully redundant,this is supposed to be funny,not a political debate over who is right and who is wrong or some other batlle over ideals or an alarm for political correctedness of any sort.Just relax and enjoy.)

Edit:What you do out of fears of retributions or anger is unrelated to alignment.In my interpretation anyway.
 

Frequen-Z

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I don't really have an opinion of them, however I will say that your definitions are quite far-fetched and inaccurate.

For example, Chaotic Neutral? It means having a somewhat hostile disposition while maintaining a lack of bias as to who you aim yourself at. It has nothing to do with giving your lunch away or 'changing' alignment.

I even question whether one can really 'have' an alignment. A person acts different on different occasions, changing motive, acts, and bias, I mean, sure, I could go out and be a total cock to strangers in the street and get kicks out of it, thereby being pigeon-holed by your definition into Chaotic Evil, but then when I go home, I could have a pet I care immensely for and think the world of and do anything for, thereby becoming Lawful Good perhaps.

See where I'm heading? This shit doesn't work.
 

number4096

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If you switch from evil to good at random,and your present alignment depends on your mood,then it is Chaotic Neutral.It doesn't mean you will jump off a bridge,but it does mean that the way you will treat people will be unpredictable.Anger,vengefulness and being in a bad mood are unrelated to alignment and any alignments can feel them.My interpretation.
 

number4096

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I discovered that people here are unbelievably touchy when it comes to alignment in people.I wonder why it is so much taboo and people insist on making it vague and unclassifiable.If it is so and is unpredictable,it is just Chaotic Neutral.I am not saying"You are like that,stop arguing.",i just asked which of these do you think you correspond to.
 

Frequen-Z

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number4096 said:
I discovered that people here are unbelievably touchy when it comes to alignment in people.I wonder why it is so much taboo and people insist on making it vague and unclassifiable.If it is so and is unpredictable,it is just Chaotic Neutral.I am not saying"You are like that,stop arguing.",i just asked which of these do you think you correspond to.
I'm not touchy, I just gave my opinion. Would you rather I didn't?
 

Ganthrinor

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Did you ever fucking read a D&D Player's Handbook?

Here's a few examples that are often the most (in my experience) misunderstood.

Lawful Good: The character does what is "right" the vast majority of the time *within the bounds of the law*. You caught someone you suspect to be a serial killer but have no proof? Gotta let him go. Most average people are Lawful Good to a greater or lesser degree, if only to stay out of jail.

Chaotic Good: The Character does whatever is nessecary for the Greater Good. Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 1 & 2 played as a Paragon is an excellent example of Chaotic Good. Kill a baby to save humanity? Baby is so dead, I'll deal with the repercussions later.

Lawful Evil: The Character adopts a "Conform or Die" stance about the world and the people in it. These are the rules, you follow them or we do horrible things to you and/or your family. Christianity and Catholosism is a good example of Lawful Evil... "Believe in our god or suffer for eternity in the fires of hell". (yeah, whatever, send me your religious hate in a PM)

Chaotic Evil: The Character does what they want, when they want for reasons that may only make sense to them. The average gang-banger could be considered to be Chaotic Evil.
 

oppp7

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These are a guide to character creation in RPGs. They don't transfer too well into reality because of mood changes and such.
 

SantoUno

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I think that's too many subcategories, although most of them are well-characterized.
 

number4096

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Ganthrinor said:
Did you ever fucking read a D&D Player's Handbook?

Here's a few examples that are often the most (in my experience) misunderstood.

Lawful Good: The character does what is "right" the vast majority of the time *within the bounds of the law*. You caught someone you suspect to be a serial killer but have no proof? Gotta let him go. Most average people are Lawful Good to a greater or lesser degree, if only to stay out of jail.

Chaotic Good: The Character does whatever is nessecary for the Greater Good. Commander Shepard from Mass Effect 1 & 2 played as a Paragon is an excellent example of Chaotic Good. Kill a baby to save humanity? Baby is so dead, I'll deal with the repercussions later.

Lawful Evil: The Character adopts a "Conform or Die" stance about the world and the people in it. These are the rules, you follow them or we do horrible things to you and/or your family. Christianity and Catholosism is a good example of Lawful Evil... "Believe in our god or suffer for eternity in the fires of hell". (yeah, whatever, send me your religious hate in a PM)

Chaotic Evil: The Character does what they want, when they want for reasons that may only make sense to them. The average gang-banger could be considered to be Chaotic Evil.
Here is how i see it:

Your Lawful Good:Doing things to remain out of jail is influenced by fears of retributions and is unrelated to alignment.Otherwise you understood my interpretation very well.

Your Chaotic Good:pragmatism is closer to my interpretation of Strict Neutral.

Your Lawful Evil:Conform or die is closer to my definition of Lawful Neutral.My interpretation of Lawful Evil is more"die or conform and die anyway".

Your Chaotic Evil:Corresponds more to my definition of Chaotic Neutral,being random and all.

I am not discrediting your version,though.This is for fun.I am not taking this seriously.
 

Ganthrinor

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Meh. The difference in views about Alignment are so wide-spread between cultures and individuals that it's for the best it was removed from 4th Edition D&D. Not that I play 4th, but whatever.

As a DM I never let my players pick an alignment, I gradually assign one to them as dictated by thier actions and interactions (sort of like what happens in Neverwinter Nights). A lot of people are surprised with what thier alignment winds up being after a few levels or beers.
 

number4096

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Frequen-Z said:
number4096 said:
I discovered that people here are unbelievably touchy when it comes to alignment in people.I wonder why it is so much taboo and people insist on making it vague and unclassifiable.If it is so and is unpredictable,it is just Chaotic Neutral.I am not saying"You are like that,stop arguing.",i just asked which of these do you think you correspond to.
I'm not touchy, I just gave my opinion. Would you rather I didn't?
Oops,seems i am the one who got touchy here.Sorry.
 
Feb 14, 2008
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I like to have my alignment on two axes:
Positivism vs Constructivism X Dogmatism vs Relativism.

Personally I prefer to play Relativistic Constructionist Quantum Philosopher. One of those can kill you like a cat in a box... Maybe.

If you know why this is funny, you should get out more.

OT: Lawful Evil, Chaotic Evil and Chaotic Neutral do for me.
 

Ironsouled

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Strict neutral. If you are my ally, I will aid you, if you are my enemy you will die. These things work for me. If it benefits me, then I am more likeley to help you than if it doesn't.
 

Hurr Durr Derp

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I think the whole alignment system is the worst aspect of D&D, being retardedly simplified and restrictive (especially if you've got a DM who's strict with the rules), but as a role player I do of course have my own view of the alignments:

Lawful Good: Law and order for the good of all.
Lawful Good characters value law and order over everything else. Like all Good characters they honestly want what's best for everyone. They just strongly believe law and order are necessary to make a world where everyone can be happy, and that there must be a strong force to preserve that order, with extreme prejudice if necessary. After all, people cannot live in peace if their safety cannot be guaranteed, and as long as there are people willing to hurt others for fun and profit, there must be a powerful presence of order to protect the innocent. He values order over almost everything else, but mostly out of a strong belief that in the end it's the best thing for everyone. While the nature of such order can be almost anything, I do believe that it has to be something external, be it a law or a deity's commands or a knightly code. Just a personal code of conduct isn't enough to qualify as Lawful Good, otherwise Robin "steal from the rich, give to the poor" Hood wouldn't be the iconic Chaotic Good character.

Neutral Good: Anything for the greater good.
A Neutral Good character just wants to help. Honestly. They want everyone to be happy, and they don't care how this is achieved. One day they'll uphold the law to protect the innocent, and the next they'll break the law to feed the poor. This isn't out of randomness, but simply because to them everything is secondary to doing good. They'll do anything to minimize harm and maximize the amount of people they can help. They don't necessarily mind breaking some skulls if there's no other way, but they prefer a solution where everyone walks away happy. Of course, such solutions are in short supply in most role playing games.

Chaotic Good: Freedom is the greatest good.
Like all Chaotics, the Chaotic Good character has a deep aversion for laws and regulations. They believe such rules only serve to oppress people and limit the freedom which is every sentient being's right. He believes the world would be a much better place if people would just stop bothering each other and live their lives the way they want to. Of course, he's usually not naive and realizes that there are people who would abuse such liberties, but he prefers to deal with them on a case-by-case basis and on his own terms, rather than relying on laws to prevent such behavior.

Lawful Neutral: There must be order.
Like the LG archetype, the Lawful Neutral character believes strongly in law and order. However, unlike the other two Lawful alignments, this order is not a means to an end for him. To him, order is a goal of its own, perhaps a more important goal than anything else. Be it out of a sense of honor, duty, obligation, religion, or anything else, the Lawful Neutral character will follow the law to the letter, and expects no less from others. As always, the source of this law might be different from character to character, but his rigid and uncompromising attitude towards it does not.

True Neutral: Balance in all things, or I just don't give a shit.
I feel there are two types of Lawful Neutral. The most iconic is the version most commonly ascribed to D&D Druids: There is a reason for everything, and the world must be in balance in order to function. They believe that Law, Chaos, Good and Evil are all necessary evils, part of the natural world, and that none is inherently better or more desirable than the rest. They usually prefer a state of peace and inactivity, but they will rise up and take action when they feel the balance is threatened or disturbed.
The other kind of True Neutral is a more passive approach to alignment. They are the people who really don't care about the different alignments. They do what seems like a good idea at the time, but have no real preference for malice or compassion, order or freedom. They act mostly in their own interest, but without getting overly selfish or greedy. They can be mean or kind at times, and they can be obedient or anarchistic, not out of any kind of personal conviction but because it happens to suit them at the time. Non-sapient creatures have this alignment by default.

Chaotic Neutral: My way is the best way, for me.
Allow me to start by saying that I really, really dislike the "lol I'm random and unpredictable and kind of crazy~!" kind of Chaotic Neutral. To me, Chaotic Neutral characters are all about freedom. A Chaotic Neutral character is (not surprisingly) a mix between the TN and CG alignments, in that he shares the CG's love for freedom and dislike for laws that limit such freedom in any way, but also has the TN's disregard for anything but himself. He won't help you get your kitten out of a tree, but he won't beat you up for your lunch money either. He's got a very strong individualist streak, but that doesn't necessarily make him a loner. He lives for his own enjoyment, and it's not surprising if that enjoyment means being around other people. It's just that he won't inconvenience himself to help others, nor will he try to harm them in any way if he can avoid it. That doesn't mean he can't do good or evil if the fancy strikes him, but it's not in his nature to go out of his way for either one, and he'd rather just let people do their thing as long as they let him do his.

Lawful Evil: Law and order for the good of... me.
The Lawful Evil character believes in order as a tool to be used not for the good of all, but for his own benefit. He wields laws as both his weapon and his shield, and manipulates them in such a way that he always comes out on top. He uses the law to get what he wants, and when in trouble will hide behind the law in order to protect himself. After all, others might suspect or even know he's up to no good, but good luck trying to prove it if he never actually broke the law. Lawful Evil characters are often patient and skilled deceivers, manipulating others to do their dirty work for them. That doesn't mean they won't use violence themselves if necessary, but they prefer to let the law do their work for them, with a little help here and there to nudge the proceedings in the right direction. and by "the right direction" I mean "whichever direction is most convenient for them".

Neutral Evil: The more I let you have the less that I'll be keeping for me.
Neutral Evil characters are selfish to the bone. There's nothing they wouldn't do to benefit themselves, and other people are nothing more than potential ways to improve their own situation. They might not usually go out of their way to harm people all the time, but they won't hesitate to kill a person for a bit of money, or even just for fun. They don't see the use in helping other people unless there's something in it for themselves, and even then they are more likely to kill the farmer and take his gold rather than go kill the rats in the cellar for a reward, if they thought it'd be quicker and/or easier. They might not care much for laws and regulations, but they don't have any real trouble with them either as long as they don't conflict with their own interests.

Chaotic Evil: Fuck it all, fuck this world, fuck everything that you stand for.
Chaotic Evil characters are the psychopaths. Like all Evil characters they are utterly selfish, but unlike the others they lack the ability to function in an orderly society. They are wild and unpredictable, able to kill a man just because he looked at him funny, and without any regard for the consequences. The only 'society' they are able to function (and perhaps even thrive) in is an animalistic place where they can exercise the right of the strongest. Other than that they are loners, shunning others as they are shunned by them. Other people are nuisances at best, and squishy things that make funny noises when you gut them at worst. They are completely unable to abide by any rules other than their own violent urges.
 

Hurr Durr Derp

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Parallel Streaks said:
If THOSE are what my choices are I think I'll go either insane or nihilistic. Choices choices.
Unless you're talking about becoming violently insane, I think those would both classify as True Neutral.