this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2023
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That sure seems like chaotic neutral.
The way I've always looked at the alignments is that the evil - good axis is self-interest vs selflessness, and chaotic - neutral is lawless vs law-abiding.
Consequently:
Chaotic evil is pure lawless self-interest
Chaotic neutral is lawless with a balance of selfish and selfless behavior depending on situation
Neutral evil is a balance between lawless and law-abiding behavior depending on situation but always selfishly.
At least that's the way I've used it.
I've always viewed the Lawful-Chaotic spectra as "following the rules vs. following your heart".
A lawful good character follows the rules because they believe rules serve a greater good
A chaotic good character follows their heart because they believe rules aren't always just. They'll obey the rules only when they agree with them.
Lawful evil follows the rules because it's the least troublesome way of getting/doing what they want, in some cases even the most satisfying - because it's harder to fight back when the law is on your side.
Chaotic evil efficiently follows their impulse. They take and do whatever they want to do, whether they're allowed to or not, because they don't believe in the rules. If the rules allow them to do what they want, that's just a convenient coincidence.
Neutrals are a huge spectra in between. They could a character with their own moral code, I.e. an evil character who refuses to kill kids, or a good character who will always bends the rules to screw over ruch people.
The problem is both chaotic and neutral characters follow their hearts.
Which is why I view chaotic characters as being willing to do blatantly self-destructive or uncomfortable things just for the sake of thumbing their nose at authority. The chaotic evil character doesn't kill people because she wants to, she does it because you don't want her to.
Your interpretation is your own, but I as I eluded to before, I view neutrals as a half and half of lawful and chaotic.
In my mind, neutrals don't follow the law to the tee, but they aren't entirely swayed by the impulse of their heart either.
They could be the type with informal rules they won't break, like an evil character that refuses to kill children, but doesn't care what happens otherwise.
They could be a rule bender, like a good character who generally see rules as a good thing, but turn a blind eye to the rules they deem against the people, or bend them to breaking point to help others.
Could even be a true neutral character who goes with the flow. They do what is needed to complete the mission - they will use the rules to their advantage, but aren't above breaking them when that fails.
Sure you could say these sway towards lawful and chaotic, but that's the point. Neutral is a mix of the two, not necessarily its own thing. That's why I don't see neutrals as a problem here.
It's all up to personal interpretation, of course!
I think neutrals only listen to their heart, whereas chaotic characters actually specifically hate the law. Demons are chaotic, not because they're passionate, but because they oppose order and morals and rules.
A neutral character only considers the law when thinking about consequences. A chaotic character always considers the law because fuck the police I won't do what you tell me!
I agree, everybody is entitled to their own opinions on this - plus at the end of the day, as long as the table you're on is on the same page, you're good no matter what anyone else thinks.
So how would your interpretation cover chaotic good?
Chaotic evil in your mind is basically a murderhobo that kills and destroy because fuck society and fuck the rules, but a good person wouldn't want to kill and destroy just to spite the rules no?
I think the epitome of chaotic good would basically be a radical that wants to dethrone all gods and all kings. While they certainly hate rules and laws they wouldn't want to necessarily kill and destroy just to spite them, because they're still good. Good and evil alignment still matters in that case. They'd still definitely enjoy whenever they get the chance to break the law for a good cause.
The difficult question is if a chaotic evil character would follow a law that is in their self interest.
I don't think they would. I think they'd break the law anyway, even if it went against their own interests, because their nature is pure lawlessness.
Chaos, to me, implies an inherent lawlessness that is itself the character's goal. They break the law for its own sake, because they want laws to be broken. Evil for the lulz
That's an interesting point of view. I've never really seen it that way, but I can appreciate that. I see it more as a complete disregard for the law, rather than actively trying to break laws. It'd be pretty silly if a chaotic evil character, on hearing that feeding the homeless is illegal, would go around sharing his rations with homeless people "for the lulz".
Neutral, to me, is a complete disregard for the law. Chaos is actually being anti-law
A chaotic evil character would feed the homeless, but also it would be poisoned or something. For the lulz
I think lawlessness isn’t the best way to think of it. But rather a resentment that someone is making them do a thing. They don’t murder people because it’s illegal they murder people because they want to and then get pissed off that there’s a law against it
Oh yes, definitely. They abhor all rules and restrictions, whether they come from society or the king or even within themselves.
Chaos is that impulse you got as a child when you were told not to do something stupid, knew it was stupid to do, and then did it anyway because fuck you I won't do what you told me!
I guess the only real argument is that “acting in their own self interest” is quite selfish and moderately evil. So I guess it comes down to the context of the selfishness that’s being exhibited. I feel like there is much more room for interpretation there.
Why not true neutral?
True neutral wouldn't harm others for their own benefit. Saying someone would do anything with no regard for morality implies they are willing to harm others.
Good goes out of their way to help others.
Neutral doesn't go out of their way to help, but also doesn't harm others.
Evil is willing to harm others.