What is this NPC's alignment? [Archive] - Wizards Community

What is this NPC's alignment? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Staple
08-17-07, 12:46 AM I created an NPC today and I'm unsure of his alignment. Mechanically, he's a 13th level Warblade. His name is Mr. Beddes (pronounced "Bed-Ess"). Mr. Beddes is, by trade, an assassin. He is a methodical individual who surveys his mark and becomes familiar with them before moving on him. Beddes is not a rogue type; he's an innate understanding of psychology to provide him with stealth. For example, Beddes would survey someone by following him on a crowded street instead of hiding in his hotel. Beddes works in an urban environment, so his methods are efficient.

What makes his alignment questionable are his other traits. Rather than striking at a mark with a sudden clandestine move, he challenges the mark to open combat, stating that he will defeat them, and they can submit painlessly to him instead. Sometimes this is a painless death, other times it is merely being dropped into a Bag of Holding with a Bottle of Air inside, depending on whether the contract wants the mark alive or dead. Before drawing his blade, he tells the mark that they can yield at any time during the ensuing fight if they wish to submit, and he will honor it. This is the truth. Even when Beddes is forced to subdue a mark by combat, he kills them without passion, in efficient methods based around a quick kill with minimal suffering on the part of the mark. On the rare occasions in which Mr. Beddes' mark betters him, he throws down his blade and offers a yield--to date, none have been willing to kill him in cold blood.

The man is clearly lawful, as he lays down rules and abides by them. He is clearly not good, because he kills people for a living, frequently people of good alignment. He is not evil, because he takes no pleasure in killing and does not injure his marks unnecessarily. Yet lawful neutral seems an inappropriate alignment for a man who breaks the law every time he completes a contract. So I ask, what alignment is Mister Beddes?
pool
08-17-07, 03:51 AM my understanding of the lawful/chaos aligments is more of a way of describing a character's thought processes and methods to approaching a problem. it shouldn't really apply to his/her views of the legal systems of a particular region. lawful neutral seems to fit in this case.
annalivvie
08-17-07, 07:11 AM As I read through your post I would say that your character, at least as far as you have shown him to us, is definitely lawful neutral. I feel your gut instinct was correct. The assumption that breaking the law prevents a character from being lawful (lawful neutral most especially) is very common. What you need to realize is the lawful order they follow is not specified, it is not the general law of the church, gods, townspeople. It is the law, whatever that may be, which is most relevant to and forms your character. Look here: "A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her."
This means that your character has a code, values, morals, ideals to which he rigidly adheres.
Orville_Oaksong
08-17-07, 03:20 PM First of all, is his name supposed to sound like bad-ass? If so, that's clever.

I would call this character true neutral. I think that this particular character is an exception to the PHB's description of a lawful character; he does follow a code of conduct, but the circumstances in which he uses this code are corrupt and unlawful. Also, since he is not technically an "assasin" as seen in the DMG, he is not required to be evil. He is also not necessarily good, because he is a contract killer, right? And isn't the nature of contract killers to not care where their paycheck comes from?
CrimsonDeath
08-17-07, 04:57 PM Personally, I think he's lawful evil. He kills people for a living, by contract, regardless of what sort of people they are. There's a reason the Assassin prestiege class has an alignment restriction of "any evil".
Mr_Seth
08-18-07, 12:13 AM Lawful neutral, most probably. It would also depend on his further motivations for his profession - if he only does it to prove his own strength, or to put gold in his pocket, I'd likely describe him as Lawful Evil. Give some more thought to his background, and a more detailed analysis can be given...

...but remember, Wee Jas is also LN.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Staple 08-17-07, 12:46 AM	I created an NPC today and I'm unsure of his alignment. Mechanically, he's a 13th level Warblade. His name is Mr. Beddes (pronounced "Bed-Ess"). Mr. Beddes is, by trade, an assassin. He is a methodical individual who surveys his mark and becomes familiar with them before moving on him. Beddes is not a rogue type; he's an innate understanding of psychology to provide him with stealth. For example, Beddes would survey someone by following him on a crowded street instead of hiding in his hotel. Beddes works in an urban environment, so his methods are efficient. What makes his alignment questionable are his other traits. Rather than striking at a mark with a sudden clandestine move, he challenges the mark to open combat, stating that he will defeat them, and they can submit painlessly to him instead. Sometimes this is a painless death, other times it is merely being dropped into a Bag of Holding with a Bottle of Air inside, depending on whether the contract wants the mark alive or dead. Before drawing his blade, he tells the mark that they can yield at any time during the ensuing fight if they wish to submit, and he will honor it. This is the truth. Even when Beddes is forced to subdue a mark by combat, he kills them without passion, in efficient methods based around a quick kill with minimal suffering on the part of the mark. On the rare occasions in which Mr. Beddes' mark betters him, he throws down his blade and offers a yield--to date, none have been willing to kill him in cold blood. The man is clearly lawful, as he lays down rules and abides by them. He is clearly not good, because he kills people for a living, frequently people of good alignment. He is not evil, because he takes no pleasure in killing and does not injure his marks unnecessarily. Yet lawful neutral seems an inappropriate alignment for a man who breaks the law every time he completes a contract. So I ask, what alignment is Mister Beddes?
pool 08-17-07, 03:51 AM	my understanding of the lawful/chaos aligments is more of a way of describing a character's thought processes and methods to approaching a problem. it shouldn't really apply to his/her views of the legal systems of a particular region. lawful neutral seems to fit in this case.
annalivvie 08-17-07, 07:11 AM	As I read through your post I would say that your character, at least as far as you have shown him to us, is definitely lawful neutral. I feel your gut instinct was correct. The assumption that breaking the law prevents a character from being lawful (lawful neutral most especially) is very common. What you need to realize is the lawful order they follow is not specified, it is not the general law of the church, gods, townspeople. It is the law, whatever that may be, which is most relevant to and forms your character. Look here: "A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her." This means that your character has a code, values, morals, ideals to which he rigidly adheres.
Orville_Oaksong 08-17-07, 03:20 PM	First of all, is his name supposed to sound like bad-ass? If so, that's clever. I would call this character true neutral. I think that this particular character is an exception to the PHB's description of a lawful character; he does follow a code of conduct, but the circumstances in which he uses this code are corrupt and unlawful. Also, since he is not technically an "assasin" as seen in the DMG, he is not required to be evil. He is also not necessarily good, because he is a contract killer, right? And isn't the nature of contract killers to not care where their paycheck comes from?
CrimsonDeath 08-17-07, 04:57 PM	Personally, I think he's lawful evil. He kills people for a living, by contract, regardless of what sort of people they are. There's a reason the Assassin prestiege class has an alignment restriction of "any evil".
Mr_Seth 08-18-07, 12:13 AM	Lawful neutral, most probably. It would also depend on his further motivations for his profession - if he only does it to prove his own strength, or to put gold in his pocket, I'd likely describe him as Lawful Evil. Give some more thought to his background, and a more detailed analysis can be given... ...but remember, Wee Jas is also LN.