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Character Alignment: Difference between revisions
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* '''{{color|green|{{smallcaps|[[Lawful Neutral]]}}:}}''' The rule-abiding sort. Law and order is more important than whether you're good or evil. Believes in keeping order, though not necessarily in Justice as a universal constant (though they may - this can get complicated). They'll arrest a robber or rapist, but may also kick a family out of their home for failing to pay rent, even if they were poor. May also believe in a Cosmic Order that transcends laws - many monks are [[Lawful Neutral]]. Just as often the bad guys as the good guys in an [[Order Versus Chaos]] situation. People who think [[Hobbes Was Right]] will argue that all societies tend towards [[Lawful Neutral]], as the Always [[Chaotic Neutral]] individuals who make up society surrender their freedom to the law in exchange [[Enemy Mine|for protection from other Chaotic Neutral individuals]]. Modrons, [[Dungeons and Dragons|D&D]] beings of geometrically perfect precision and order who inhabit the plane of Mechanus, are [[Lawful Neutral]]. Mercenaries who obey their contracts without question, and take either side of the moral spectrum, are [[Lawful Neutral]]. [[The Stoic]] can make a good [[Lawful Neutral]].
* '''{{color|navy|{{smallcaps|[[True Neutral]]}}:}}''' Sometimes known as just ''Neutral'', or even ''[[Department of Redundancy Department|Neutral Neutral]]''. Comes in two flavors: [[Balance Between Good and Evil|Keeping the Balance]] and [[Somebody
* '''{{color|gray|{{smallcaps|[[Chaotic Neutral]]}}:}}''' The ultimate free spirits, or just [[Cloudcuckoolander|lunatics]]? It can go either way. [[Chaotic Neutral]] characters are all about freedom, and don't care so much about morality. Sometimes they're just amoral nutjobs, and sometimes they're generally good people with a wild streak that sometimes leads them into bad things. Often used by players in [[Tabletop Games]] to excuse doing anything they feel like (in the case of a [[Game Master]] who disables evil alignments - see [[Neutral Evil]], below), and often prohibited by the sort of [[Game Master]] who also prohibits outright evil characters. Like [[Lawful Neutral]], however, how "good" they ultimately end up seeming depends on which side of [[Order Versus Chaos]] the plot tends toward. The toadlike slaad ("I didn't know what he was talking about, so I ate him."), inhabitants of Limbo, are [[Chaotic Neutral]].
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* '''{{color|maroon|{{smallcaps|[[Lawful Evil]]}}:}}''' The ordered sort of Evil, that often ends up in charge. Can be a lot like [[Lawful Neutral]], but ''nastier''. Well-structured, large-scale and often scarily successful evil. May believe in keeping order ''[[Utopia Justifies the Means|at all costs]]'', or may simply believe that a well-ordered system is ''so'' much [[Amoral Attorney|easier to exploit]]. Whether an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] is [[Lawful Evil]] or [[Lawful Neutral]] is basically a function of whether he ''enjoys'' what he's doing (see above example of kicking the family out of the house). [[Knight Templar|Knight Templars]] are almost always this alignment. If [[God Is Evil]], he's almost always [[Lawful Evil]]. On the "bright" side, the [[Worthy Opponent]] and [[Noble Demon]] are often [[Lawful Evil]] (if they're evil at all), as they tend to develop a "Code of Honor" to guide their actions, and can in fact be dependable allies in an [[Enemy Mine]] situation where other alignments might fizzle out. In circumstances where you are not a threat to their intentions, [[Lawful Evil]] might well be the "lesser of the three evils", but on the other hand its the one most likely to win and the one that most frequently causes suffering on a grand scale. [[Big Bad|BB]][[Evil Genius|EGs]] in general tend towards [[Lawful Evil]] - mostly since they plan to construct their very own empire that you'd better fall in line with - as do many [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]]. A mercenary who always keeps his contract (good or evil), but enjoys a job where he gets to hurt people, is [[Lawful Evil]] and more likely to end up working for the bad guys. The baatezu (devils) of [[Dungeons and Dragons|D&D]] rule the plane of Baator with a [[Lawful Evil]] fist, and some of these were originally [[Knight Templar]] angels. As a good reference point, Big Brother (or {{spoiler|O'Brien}}) from ''1984'' would be [[Lawful Evil]].
* '''{{color|purple|{{smallcaps|[[Neutral Evil]]}}:}}''' Sometimes known as the Asshole Alignment. The [[Neutral Evil]] Alignment can be even more dangerous than the [[Chaotic Evil]] Alignment - simply because you can't be sure of which way they'll swing in the end. [[Neutral Evil]] characters are primarily in it for themselves, because while they are usually villains, they can also swing to the good guy's side, like the [[Magnificent Bastard]] they really are. They may also just happen to be on the Good Guy's Team because it's better for them at the moment. Why are they so bad? It could be that [[Evil Tastes Good]] or maybe [[Evil Feels Good]]. Could be that they've given in to [[The Dark Side]]. They could be part of the [[Religion of Evil]]. They could just be, you know, [[The Sociopath|sociopaths]]. They could take [[
* '''{{color|red|{{smallcaps|[[Chaotic Evil]]}}:}}''' If [[Chaotic Neutral]] indicates the truly free spirit, [[Chaotic Evil]] is the truly evil free spirit. Whereas the [[Chaotic Neutral]] is concerned only with his freedom but isn't a really horrible person, the same can't be said for the [[Chaotic Evil]] character. They will do whatever they want to (even if, and sometimes, especially, it hurts other people) and (to them) rules don't matter. Whereas a [[Neutral Evil]] character will sometimes follow the law if it is convenient, the [[Chaotic Evil]] character occasionally takes pleasure in going out of their way to break the law. So why are they evil? Perhaps they're in it for profit. Maybe they are narcisstic or egotistical. Or maybe they're simply insane; most but not all psychopaths fall under this designation. But contrary to what some believe, [[Chaotic Evil]] does not mean the kind of wanton, meaningless slaughter and destruction associated with [[Stupid Evil]]. Indeed, it is often the more calculating and intelligent villains of this kind that are the most dangerous. Being [[Chaotic Evil]] doesn't mean a character HAS to slaughter an entire village just because he's passing through. Of course, if he's feeling bored, or is having a bad day, he might just jam a knife in somebody [[For the Evulz]]. [[Serial Killer|Serial Killers]] are good examples of [[Chaotic Evil]]. It's the canonical alignment of tanar'ri (demons), beings who were created in and by an endless semisentient Abyss that itself is dedicated to entropy, in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''. For a great example of how [[Chaotic Evil]] can be done well and not be [[Chaotic Stupid]], see [[The Dark Knight Saga|the Joker]].
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*** Is this remark about the jokes about moral justifications morally justified?
*** Some fans jokingly argue that [[Complete Monster|Belkar could fall within the bounds of Chaotic Good]]. In this case it's more a bad case of [[Draco in Leather Pants]] than ambiguity because, not only has Rich Burlew gone on record multiple times stating that Belkar is canonically Chaotic Evil, Belkar actively ''revels'' in it.
* ''[[Darths and Droids]]'' has remained deliberately vague about the rules and game mechanics of the RPG that the characters are playing. There does appear to be some sort of alignment system: in [http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0192.html strip 192], Pete, the resident [[Munchkin]], identifies his [[Do
* [[Goblin Hollow]]: Ben [http://www.rhjunior.com/GH/00058.html explains alignments].
* ''[[Bittersweet Candy Bowl]]'', The characters run the [http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/candybooru/post/view/1569?search=Chart gamut].
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** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey]]'' incorportaes Law/Neutral/Chaos into battle gameplay: When you or one of your demons hits an enemy with an element they're weak to, other allies of the same alignment will execute a Demon Co-Op attack. Enemies cannot do the same, however, although it's still a good idea to prevent yourself from being pounded with too many weakness attacks.
* A rare action game example, ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' works off this system quite well. Using branching story-lines, the player would choose multiple endings using a system of levels made up of three outcomes: [[Big Damn Heroes|hero]], [[Someone Elses Problem|neutral]] and [[The Bad Guy Wins|dark]]. The final levels would involve only two outcomes (neither could be neutral), which would decide the boss fought and ultimately the ending.
** Note that the "path" names are non-canonical; instead there are 326 (!!!) combinations you could possibly take through the levels, [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|each with their own name]]. However, each combination must end with one of these endings. {{spoiler|[[Subverted Trope|It's subverted in the end;]] Shadow fights the [[One
* ''[[Fable I (Video Game)|Fable I]]'' had a Good V Evil system, based on your actions in albion. In ''[[Fable II (Video Game)|Fable II]]'', it was extended to something similar to this trope, with Good/Evil being your morality and Corrupt/Pure being how nice you were to others and your own body. (I.E Pure characters treat their own body as a temple, while corrupt characters would drink a gallon of ale every morning).
** Even with the improvements in ''[[Fable II (Video Game)|Fable II]]'', the system is still quite simplistic with the only two discernible options being either [[Lawful Good]] or [[Chaotic Evil]]. While the game's [[Big Bad]] is pretty much [[Lawful Evil]], the game does not provide many options to exercise an influence over the story or quests based on one's alignment other than not taking the good or evil quests. The citizens of Albion will still hail you as the greatest hero of all time if you save enough slaves, even if you are also the kingdom's biggest slum lord and adulterer.
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