Lawful Stupid: Difference between revisions

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** This trope is often specifically addressed in various [[Lawful Good]] religions, where it's spelled out that protecting the innocent and doing good is more important than upholding the letter of the law.

** One of the ''stupidest'' versions can be found with this lovely mechanic of the first edition [[Knight in Shining Armor|Cavalier]]. As a result of the code and the desire for battle, cavaliers cannot be controlled in battle situations. [[The Berserker|They will charge any enemy in sight]], with this order of preference:

* Friend Computer in ''[[Paranoia (game)|Paranoia]]''. It at least has the excuse that it's also bugnuts insane.

 

* The titular [[pirate]]s of ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]'' are so extraordinarily Lawful Stupid that they're barely even pirates by the time of the play. While they have no problem kidnapping young ladies they feel the need to marry them before any ravishing takes place. They refuse to attack forces weaker than them because it's dishonorable. Not to mention the startling number of "orphans" they run into. In fact, at the end of the play, they stand down from battling with the Major General's men after being ordered to yield in the name of Queen Victoria, and "for all our faults, we love our Queen."

** Frederick is the embodiment of Lawful Stupid, as the subtitle "The Slave of Duty" indicates. He rejoins the pirates and betrays the Major-General and Mabel to them, just because of a technicality in a contract that was signed on his behalf when he was a small child. Especially when you consider the fact that the contract was arranged by accident in the first place. His hearing-impaired nursemaid was supposed to apprentice him to be a ''pilot'', not a ''pirate''.