Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Rudysseus 08-01-04, 06:43 PM	Okay, i've got a character in development that is a pretty upstanding person. he doesnt steal, kill without a purpose, or go out of his way to make someone else's life miserable. He is not above being somewhat subtle or misleading in certain situations though, if he feels the need. He won't scam a beggar out of his few possessions, but will tell a little white lie to a guard to get past, or perhaps even slip that guard a coin or two. I'm assuming this isn't a GOOD character, as alignment goes, maybe Neutral, some may say evil. It's hard to categorize every possbile scenario and his equivalent response. What i need to hash out for sure is which part of the lawful/chaotic axis he leans towards. He doesn't have a high respect for law and order, although realizes they do serve their purpose in certain situations. He regards laws for what they are, and to some degree adheres to them. He doesnt break them out of RESPECT for the law and order that they represent, but rather because he fears the repercussions were he to be caught, either the loss of life, money, or spending time in jail. All this in mind, what alignment would tag this guy with? I'm thinking True Neutral, but please help me out.
Kingside_Bishop 08-01-04, 09:26 PM	He looks neutral on the law/chaos axis. On the good/evil axis, he's not evil (if he won't steal from a beggar). Would he help a stranger without expecting compensation? That's the ultimate test for goodness, paladin style. Otherwise, yep, true neutral.
Tsuyoshi500 08-02-04, 04:57 PM	I would definately say Chaotic. If he has no respect for the rules other than the repercussions of not following them, that's a fairly good indicator of chaotic. Of course, if he has his own personal code of ethics, he might be more neutral or even lawful. Bribing a guard is definately a chaotic action. Now, stealing from a beggar is an evil action, hands down, but just saying he doesn't do it doesn't not make him evil, get my drift? If he's more interested in himself than everyone else and, more importantly, has no problem with killing people then he's probably evil. Anyway, just my thoughts.
Tony Vargas 08-02-04, 08:46 PM	Following laws for fear of punishment is a clasic nuetral attitude. You don't respect the laws enough to follow them without threat of enforcement, but, neither you dispise them on principle enough to break them in spite of that threat. That's with respect to law/chaos. I don't know what I could say about his morality, I'd have to hear more. So far, he's certainly not evil. How altruistic he tends to be would help pin down whether he's good...
Rudysseus 08-03-04, 02:28 AM	Ill try to add a bit more to his morality, in some of the most well-known DnD circumstances. - he wouldn't murder someone purely for profit, although in combat is a different story. - he'd rescue the damsel in distress because A) its the right thing to do, B) because there is always the possibility of a monetary reward, although he may or may not ask directly for that reward, and C) for a chance at romancing said damsel, pretty much regardless of her marital status, as an adventurer he kinda lives that "rockstar" life with a different girl in every town. - he likes to play the hero, although seems to have problems with all the things typically associated with heroes (i.e. mercy [in certain cases], altruism), he sometimes does them, sometimes doesn't, depending largely on the circumstances, maybe flips a coin like Two-Face. - he wouldn't consciously work for people he knew to be evil. - enjoys having fun, drinking, dancing, singing, but would also be apt to partake in illegal drugs, although isnt a junkie. - he's a soul knife (if that means anything to anyone) so is naturally stealthy and has little problem with taking out enemies in their sleep. (taken into the proper context, such as dungeon delving. he wouldnt typically just walk into a friends room and gut him) - operates largely within the context of the laws, as he is the DnD equivalent of a lawyer in his society by trade, although as stated before follows laws only because he fears the repercussions. maybe that will add something to help the process. thank you to those who have replied already. =)
Tony Vargas 08-03-04, 01:26 PM	He's sounding pretty much the typical nuetral: he understands morality, and he prefers good, but he doesn't stick to it with the unwavering fantaticism of a Paladin or anything... You could easily tweak this character to be good or nuetral, or have his alignement drift between the two over time. Certainly not evil. Stabbing people (who deserve it) when they're not looking, not withstanding.
Daoud 08-06-04, 04:39 PM	I agree with everyone else: definately neutral on the law/chaos axis(chaotics don't fear the reprocussions of their actions and lawfuls adhere to laws b/c they are laws) When I was reading the "rescue the damsel because it's the right thing to do and hope for but not ask for reward" thing I was thinking good. But then the whole knifing people (even ones who deserve it) in their sleep would lead me back to true neutral (especially now that it is no longer OCD balance everything and kill good/evil if one of them gets the upper hand like it was in editions 1 and 2) so yeah neutral (or if your dm will allow) neutral (good) IMHO