Regarding goodness, neutrality and evil

[Jon_Dahl]

Is it always assumed that fighting against evil is good and neutral, but fighting against good is evil?

Is being neutral same as being good without having too much commitment? Should neutral protagonists be the Good Guys Lite?

[Phelix-Mu]

In before this spawns a ten page discussion.:smallwink:

Neutral lies in a gray space. Unfortunately, we come a bit into conflict with irl morality, where good and evil are much more exclusive states.

But, going by what the game says, there is this realm in between good and evil, and law and chaos, where there is room for debate, or for things that don't matter one way or the other.

Generally, working against an evil force is not evil (but it can be, since evil backstabs itself all of the time). If doing so incurs significant personal risk with no commensurate reward or benefit, then this is starting to look like a good action. But being neutral often involves resisting or fighting evil simply as a matter of self-preservation.

Working against a good force is almost never good (because good forces tend to cooperate or at least coexist in a much more harmonious fashion...at least ideally). It can certainly be evil, and evil can really do whatever it damn well pleases for whatever reason. It can be neutral, simply by avoiding too much indulgent cruelty or other unnecessary acts.

Neutral is often seen as pragmatic and aiming for maintaining its own position, or even enforcing balance. Thus, strictly speaking, neutrality can dabble in good and evil acts, so long as it does so in more-or-less equal measure and sparingly.

[OldTrees1]

No, no and no.

Fighting against the concept of good is non-good (Neutral or Evil).
Fighting against an aspect of good can be good in the defense of another aspect of good.
Fighting against an agent of good can be good if your cause is just. (Say knocking a misguided/mislead Paladin out)

The most common form of neutral would be good-lite just as the most common form of evil is misguided good (believe they are doing the right thing). However there are other forms of neutral (like the amoral, the defender of balance, the random, the uncaring or those that cannot understand moral questions).

Protagonists should be characters. Only after the character is defined should you label it with an alignment.