All The Tropes

Neutral Good: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Neutral Good (view source)

Revision as of 16:10, 13 October 2021

71 bytes removed ,  2 years ago
removed excessive boldface on title drops after the first
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
(removed excessive boldface on title drops after the first)
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{quote|''"I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong."''|'''Frederick Douglass'''}}
|'''Frederick Douglass'''}}
 
The [[Character Alignment]] of sweetness and light. A '''Neutral Good''' character will usually comply with laws if doing so benefits the greater good, but rebel against those they consider unjust or which conflict with the greater good.
Line 6 ⟶ 7:
Their are different kinds of Neutral Goodness:
 
'''Neutral Good''' can be the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order. '''Neutral Good''' characters value freedom and will protect others' freedom as long as it's not used to do harm.
 
A '''Neutral Good''' character is not too caught up in [[Order Versus Chaos]]; they are concerned with moral goodness, but often not willing to enforce it in others. Something of a 'classic' hero or adventurer alignment as seen in many RPGs and JRPGs, as well as many anime series, particularly [[Shonen]] (although most of them are [[Chaotic Good]] nowadays) or more idealistic Seinen works.
 
A '''Neutral Good''' character is sometimes a [[Friend to All Living Things]] and/or a [[Technical Pacifist]], but they don't necessarily have to be either. Just think "basically good person" and you've probably got it. If they do decide to take up arms, they may have a particular affinity with kneecap and other non-lethal shots.
 
One of the differences between [[Lawful Good]] and '''Neutral Good''' is that [[Lawful Good]] will ''always'' hate [[Chaotic Evil]], and even when the [[Chaotic Evil]] character is the resident [[Token Evil Teammate]] they will just barely tolerate them. On the other hand, '''Neutral Good''' characters may accept and sometimes even be friends with a [[Chaotic Evil]] character (as long as they're on the same team).
 
'''Neutral Good''' states may be [[Utopia|really nice places to live]], but depending on how [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|idealistic]] the setting is, they may be [[Crap Saccharine World|deluding themselves]]. '''Neutral Good''' characters tend to suffer more personal conflicts in [[Grey and Grey Morality]] settings with [[Order Versus Chaos]] themes.
 
However, before you all run up to this alignment expecting it to hand out unconditional love and [[The Cake Is a Lie|free cake]] a small word of [[Beware the Nice Ones|caution]]: if this alignment is combined with [[Good Is Not Soft|Good Is Not]] ''[[Good Is Not Soft|Soft]]'', things can get [[Vigilante Man|interesting]] and you could end up with a [[Discworld|Granny Weatherwax]] Type neutral good character. That is to say, someone who will always, always do what they believe is right, and won’t let either [[Lawful Good|laws]] or [[Chaotic Good|personal freedoms]] get in their way. If played properly alongside [[Good Is Not Nice|Good Is Not]] ''[[Good Is Not Nice|Nice]]'', this trope can be downright [[Knight Templar|scary]].
Line 20 ⟶ 21:
----
 
If you have a difficulty deciding which alignment a good-aligned character belongs to, then they're probably too nuanced to have an alignment at all. The main difference between [[Lawful Good]], '''Neutral Good''' and [[Chaotic Good]] is not their devotion to good, but the methods they believe are best to promote it:
 
* Even though there are some situations where they can't always use this method, [[Lawful Good]] characters believe the best way is to have a specific, strict code of conduct, whether self-imposed or codified as a law. Their first impulse when making a moral decision is to refer back to this code; those with externally imposed systems (codes of laws, hierarchies, etc.) will try to work within the system when those systems go wrong. Depending on whether they are more Lawful or more Good, they will either refuse to break the code even though it would hurt someone, or else break it only very reluctantly, and only when it would hurt someone if they kept their code. [[Lawful Good]] characters have to be very good at [[Taking a Third Option]].
* '''Neutral Good''' characters are indifferent to [[Order Versus Chaos]], and their only interest is in doing good. They will use whatever means will promote the most good, whether that means tearing down a code of laws, following a code of laws, creating an orderly society, causing the breakdown of harmful kinds of order, or staying away from society altogether. Their only goal is to do good, full stop.
* Most [[Chaotic Good]] characters don't constantly break the law, but they cannot see much value in laws (or, for weaker-CCGs, do not see the value in laws that do not function solely to punish evil). They believe that their own consciences are their best guides, and that tying themselves to any given code of conduct would be limiting their own ability to do good. They do not get along with anyone who tries to instill any kind of order over the [[Chaotic Good]] character or others, believing these people to be restricting their freedom and the freedom of others; however, most [[Chaotic Good]] characters will respect the right of others to impose strong codes of conduct on themselves. [[Chaotic Good]] characters often focus very strongly on individual rights and freedoms, and will strongly resist any form of oppression of themselves or anyone else.
 
----
 
'''Neutral Good''' character types include:
* [[Superhero]]es who have to deal with an [[Untrusting Community]]
* [[Badass Pacifist]]
Line 42 ⟶ 43:
* [[Knight in Shining Armor]], if not [[Lawful Good]]
 
Others, such as the [[Ideal Hero]], [[The Messiah]], and [[Friend to All Living Things]], can vary between [[Lawful Good]], '''Neutral Good''' and [[Chaotic Good]].
 
{{noreallife|this is a trope about how characters are depicted in media. Real people are far more complex than fictional characters, and cannot be pigeonholed this way. (For that matter, many if not most fictional characters cannot be pigeonholed this way, either; see below for the standards on whether to use this trope at all.}}
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/1935059"