Branderback Questions

[Acacea]

Good/Evil and Law/Chaos are weighed equally and independent of one another, based on sets of actions made for a game world. Part of the problem is that they are named in this way, and so real world sensitivities and sometimes even religions come into play - as opposed to if they were named fantasy nonsense words. We might have less trouble agreeing that yes, if you do x, y, or z you could be considered "whatever" or a, b, c for "such and such" if the alignments were not named so, but then they are guidelines and descriptions of trends, anyway.

Faldred has some good examples here.

Additionally, altruism vs selfishness makes for a decent summary of the actions categorized down the good/evil axis, but by no means does that mean that characters classed as evil always act out of selfishness. Zealotry can be evil, rather than irritating. Evil can even appear noble, and self-sacrificing, willing to go to extremes others would or could not for what they perceive as a greater good. That their actions are atrocities by the standards of others are what labels them - not their perception of self. They may even become renowned for their accomplishments, with their methods glossed over in  history. How exactly is the study of non-divine medicine progressing, in Layo's time?

Two characters can have discussions on good and evil, just as easily. People do it all the time. We're doing it right now. I could be evil - how would you know? People overplay it, or assign too much personality or charisma or levels of education to a trend of actions. It's not the same. In a serious situation, can a lawful character always rely on a chaotic one? Some characters are liabilities, because they are unable to take orders when necessary, cannot fit into group roles, and may take actions that endanger the rest of the party without consulting them. They may lie, or cheat, or steal, or refuse to be respectful to authority figures even when there are large stakes. It can have drastic consequences. This is not for all characters, just like Nehretsrev's examples are not at all every lawful or chaotic character and include things that may be determined by personality or attributes. It does illustrate how the difference can be as much a divide as a quietly played and cooperative evil character, though. *shrugs*

[gilshem ironstone]

one thing about evil though - I think that we assume too often it's self-aware.  Evil, or selfishness, rarely sees itself that way.  You can't convince an evil person they're evil because to them, they're just much more practical and less inhibited about their place in the world and how they are going to preserve/elevate it.  Survival of the fittest, or sneakiest, or cleverest.  And I think everyone assumes they're good, to some degree, even if society in general would not agree.

I would go all the way with this and say that nobody sees themself as evil.  Everyone justifies their actions to themselves, even if the justification incenses those around them.  Dictators run death camps perhaps because they see trash that is pulling their grand civilization in to the gutters.  The dictator is righteously ridding the world of an unecessary obstacle.  

Even someone who kills for pleasure, just unadulterated joy, likely thinks not that they are evil but that they are entitled to their feelings, and think they have the power to decide who lives and who dies.  They aren't evil, they are right, and you are not.  If you could see it from their eyes, then you would understand.  Do Toranites weep for mosquitoes that are swatted?  No.  Well, Fisterion probably thinks we are mosquitoes.

[merlin34baseball]

Lots of great stuff to contemplate for my development of my character! Keep the comments coming!

My Thanks,
Merlin34

[miltonyorkcastle]

Perspective absolutely has a whole lot to do with good and evil.

And the idea of sacrificing one's self for an 'evil' goal seems almost counter-intuitive, and yet, it is a truly classic tenet of the evil faiths- Corathites are especially fond of this sort of 'selfless' devotion to a twisted cause.