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Stephen_Zuckerman · 02-12-06, 08:08 AM

Hey, I've seen very LG Paladins that were coldhearted psychopaths who went on daily slaughtering runs at the local goblin/kobold/orc/whathaveyou gathering, simply because those paladins saw those creatures as evil, and thought that they were helping the world out by killing the things off.

By the same token, I've seen CE that wouldn't harm a child; the nature of chaos is to be malleable, aye?

My general rule is that a character's alignment is best defined by a combination of thier own opinions of themselves, and the greater public view of themselves. The pallies I mentioned saw them selves as 100% LG. The people around them (with two or three exceptions) saw them the same. So, LG. And, of course, a madman on a killing spree will be CE, no matter how much tenderness he shows to a child (assuming that it's not a mind-consuming madness that has enveloped a previously good person, but that's just too complicated for the purposes of today's discussion).

As for an LG character killing someone who's been badmouthing thier entire belief system... No. I can see that as TL (True Lawful, Lawful Neutral), but not LG. Now, a race-proud LG dwarf who sees people slaughtering dwarves wholesale, no matter how evil those other dwarves might be, definately will have some problems with that. If the LG char can rationalize it, then he or she could let it go... If not, it might be time for a rage-quenching tapdance on people's faces... With a greataxe.

02-12-06, 08:08 AM	#5
Stephen_Zuckerman Ancient Dragon Characters Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Look at me still talking when there's Science to do... Posts: 4,054 Thanks: 2,981 Thanked 346 Times in 253 Posts	Re: Alignment vs Moral values Hey, I've seen very LG Paladins that were coldhearted psychopaths who went on daily slaughtering runs at the local goblin/kobold/orc/whathaveyou gathering, simply because those paladins saw those creatures as evil, and thought that they were helping the world out by killing the things off. By the same token, I've seen CE that wouldn't harm a child; the nature of chaos is to be malleable, aye? My general rule is that a character's alignment is best defined by a combination of thier own opinions of themselves, and the greater public view of themselves. The pallies I mentioned saw them selves as 100% LG. The people around them (with two or three exceptions) saw them the same. So, LG. And, of course, a madman on a killing spree will be CE, no matter how much tenderness he shows to a child (assuming that it's not a mind-consuming madness that has enveloped a previously good person, but that's just too complicated for the purposes of today's discussion). As for an LG character killing someone who's been badmouthing thier entire belief system... No. I can see that as TL (True Lawful, Lawful Neutral), but not LG. Now, a race-proud LG dwarf who sees people slaughtering dwarves wholesale, no matter how evil those other dwarves might be, definately will have some problems with that. If the LG char can rationalize it, then he or she could let it go... If not, it might be time for a rage-quenching tapdance on people's faces... With a greataxe. __________________ That his heart is a seething mass of black evil, there can be little doubt. ~ Darkstorme, on Barret Glib.