Character Creation: Difference between revisions

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:; True Chaotic
:; True Chaotic
::A True Chaotic character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those others suffer). a chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as he is to cross it.
::A True Chaotic character is a person who truly believes that artificial rules, rules written by one person to control the behavior of another person, are always inherently wrong and oppressive.  Even rules that are intended to promote societal well-being are short-sighted and wrong-headed. The absolute freedom to act as you wish is the one true birthright of every intelligent creature, and it is a deep wrongness that organize societies so flaunt this universal truth. At a very minimum, a True Chaotic character will ignore any and all laws that they feel infringes on their freedom. In more extreme cases, a True Chaotic will act, vigorously, to subvert and tear down the iron-fisted Rule of Law in every way possible. To put it mildly, this can be a difficult path to walk. That being said, True Chaotic characters are not mindless, and are well aware that they often need to 'pick their battles', but make no mistake, in their mind, REAL freedom is worth any price.
 
::True Chaotic represents freedom from society's restrictions, the iron fist of the tyrant, and a do-gooder's zeal.
 
 
'''A note about Evil.''' "Evil" is a widely misunderstood state of being. It is common to believe that 'Evil' merely means 'selfish', and truth be told, there's a lot of truth to that. Taking what you want without regard to others IS a state of Evil. But that's not all there is to it. Evil can be, and often is, a philosophy. Some 'Evil' people and beings are considered 'Evil' because they genuinely believe that the tenets of Goodness are wrong-headed and foolish. Improving the lives of everyone, or even yourself, is not how the universe really works. Living a life of happiness and comfort does not lead to striving and reaching to be your strongest, greatest self. Real, genuine, EVIL means that happiness, comfort, heck, even wealth and power, are essentially just props. Doing real Evil means being almost Stoic in your outlook, only applying that mindset to yourself, and everyone else, to boot. Cruelty is better than kindness, enemies are more valuable than friends, suffering and loss and heartbreak are part of life and should be embraced and promoted, not shunned.
 
:: Now, this mindset is radical, to put it mildly, and much better suited to Bad Guys and Monsters than player characters. Firstly, real-life players who dabble in Evil often find it creepy and disturbing, and rightly so! Secondly, playing an Evil campaign means that keeping the players working together can be difficult, to put it mildly. We present the Evil alignments partially as a role-playing opportunity for those who are interested in such explorations, and partly as guidelines for GM's on how to properly make monsters and bad guys behave in appropriately wretched ways. Approach with caution!


::Chaotic neutral represents freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal.


:; Lawful Evil
:; Lawful Evil
::A Lawful Evil character methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.
::A Lawful Evil character methodically takes what they want within the limits of their code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. Laws which wrong-headedly promote weal and oppress woe are opposed tirelessly, lobbied and argued against without fail. They play by the rules they are given, but without mercy or compassion. They is comfortable in a hierarchy and work tirelessly to spread misery and woe to all they meet. They condemn others because they enjoy it. They are loath to break laws or promises, even ones they consider utterly foolish.


::This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil characters have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.
::Many Lawful Evil characters have particular taboos or codes of conduct, such as not killing in cold blood (but allowing underlings to do so when required) or not letting children come to harm (because they are too young to have properly suffered yet). Lying is an interesting dilemma for the Lawful Evil character. Having personal honor is often important to them, but lies are such powerful tools to crush others....


::Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.
::Some Lawful Evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing and even eager to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.


::Lawful evil represents methodical, intentional, and organized evil.
::Lawful Evil represents methodical, intentional, and organized evil.


:; Pure Evil
:; Pure Evil

Revision as of 15:19, 9 December 2019