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Conradine
2016-05-29, 05:51 PM
These characters comes from both novels and roleplay sessions I had in the past.
Some are from D&D settings, some are not.

What alignment would you assign to them?



Peutrimax

" You don't deserve to live and neither do I... but DIEEE!!! "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Human, Ranger / Barbarian / Furious Berserker


A clinically insane character, probably the only one that was truly psicotic and not simply vicious and unhinged. Peutrimax hated humankind and his Favored Enemy was humans, but that meant he also hated himself. That caused him a tremendous psychological strain and great suffering every time he was near other humans. His rare moments of clarity were when he lived as an hermit in the wilderness. Prolonged contact with humans caused him sudden fits of homicidal raged that put his life in danger several times.

Extremely proud of his physical strenght and skill, always gave his opponents time to prepare themselves or get a weapon before fighting ( unless already in a homicidal rage ). He never betrayed a friend, broken his word or indulged in sadism or pointless aggression. Yet, even the slightest provocation set him on a mad rage.

Most evil act: he witnessed a bandit attack to a caravan and assaulted both bandits and guards. In his berserker fury he also killed the noble lady that was being escorted by the caravan. When he sobered from the rage he manifested some pangs of guilt, but quickly forgot the event.

Pet the dog moments: he grow some affection to a couple of gnolls that followed him for some times. In one occasion, he managed to stop his battle fury in order to not attack them.





Atlas

" The city requests our aid. "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Half-giant human, Cleric / Mage / Geomancer

A guard captain and war chaplain in a small, fortified city in the extreme north, Atlas was the child of an ice-giantess and an human sorcerer that polymorphed himself. He was trained both in arcane and divine magic but acquired enough martial skill to qualify as guard captain. He fought valiantly and bravely both against foreign invaders and infiltrated spies, untill one of his adventure companions - the necromancer Neckrelker - betrayed him and all the others, causing their demise.

Although not a genius, he was a reflexive and patient leader ( Int and Wis 14 ). He always tried to minimize risks both for him and his compainions. In battle, he often resorted to dirty tricks and mischievous tactics ( like summoning a Celestial deep sea fish that exploded due pressure and blinded an enemy monk with his intestines ) but sometimes get boisterous about his size and strenght.

Most evil act: he abused his magical powers to make a women fall in love of him, although he made that in a moment of desperation after witnessing his city razed by the invasors. Since he saw everything he cared for destroyed , he wanted to get someone to care for. Bastically he "stolen" a person to get a reason to live.

Pet the dog moments: he risked his life to recuperate the body of a common soldier captured and tortured to death by the spies; then paid of his own pocket to Resurrect him.




Shazuko

" Not one of them had to be there -- yet they were. I had no choice. "

Dungeons & Dragons - underdark setting. Drow, Rogue / Warrior.

Shazuko was a commoner between drows, a soldier and a spy working for on of the noble houses of Menzoberranzan. Despite animated by ambition, greed and gluttony ( he was an opium consumer ), he never shared the extremes of sadism common to his kind.
He partecipated in a plot organized by the two princes of his house ( a Swashbuckler and a Rogue / Mage ) in order to disgrace the house high priestess and gain richness from embezzled goods stolen from the house's underground farms.

Cautious to the point of cowardice, yet resourceful and inventive, he always tried to find non-violent solutions to any problems, although he effortlessly and coldly slayed minor opponents ( goblins, cobolds and enemy drow slaves ) without caring much. His motivations and desires revealed a fundamental shallowness: nothing more than getting rich in order to stun himself with costly liquors and drugs.
He sobered up after a traumatic expedition on the surface.

Most evil act: he killed an human child, just in front of her mother, then the mother herself. He did that during an expedition on the surface demanded by his superiors. The expedition was just a patrol in a familiar territory, no one had to be there, but due pure chance they met a camp and a family of human travellers sleeping in tents unders the stars. Shazuko found it first, and tried lead away his companion, but they noticed the tents and looked on him with suspect. Realizing he was about to be killed as a traitor - or worst, brought alive to the priestess of Lolth - Shazuko feigned ferocity and slaughtered the humans, getting the amused compliments of the other drows.
Short time later, he escaped Menzoberranzan and fled to the underdark, never to be seen again.

Pet the dog moments: he lived the rest of his days as an hermit in an underdark cave, tortured by guilt, engraving images of the child and his mother in the cave's walls. After several years spent talking to the images he lost part of his sanity and started to think he "revived" them in the stone, as a way to cope with his actions.




Kim

" People don't know how to live. They just know how to kill and how to die. "

Custom setting ( Novel ). Human, generic mage.

Kim is a mage from a settings that I created taking inspiration from a Flash Game ( The Books of Mages ). Basically, six lands governed by six great clans of mages, that compete every generation to decide who's the most powerful spellcaster and are ruled by something like a parlamentar monarchy. In the last generation, an order called "The Black Robes" formed and govern the lands with an iron fist, opposed by scattered rebels calling themselves "The White Robes". Non mages are considered second class citiziens and treated like slaves.

Kim was a calm, controlled, flemmatic character that feigned more indifference that he really felt for the political traversies that troubled his country. His philosphy was "live and let live". He found quite disgusting the continuous abuses of power that the dominant class bestowed upon non-spellcaster and never abused of his power, but he also never left a finger in defense of them, thinking that it would be useless since he hadn't enough power to change things anyway. Instead he focused on learning as much magic as he could and protecting his family, including dissuading his older brother in partecipating the White Robes rebellion.

He despised both unnecessary violence and altruistic heroism, deeming both as irrational. He was persuaded that renouncing a life of privileges ( as the White Robes did ) would be foolish, but that endangering these privileges with sadism and cruelty ( as many Black Robes did ) was as much stupid. Despite that veil of indifference, later in his career when he acquired power over several lands and mines he did his best to grant the most benefits to the greatest number of people he could.

Most evil act: he accepted a vast bribe to kill a young mage that had to compete in a magic tournament, in order tho allow another young contestant to win, but...

Pet the dog moments: ... he never killed him. He just drugged him, carried him on a safe place, waited untill his awakening, then calmly explained him that forces bigger than him demanded his death and that he had to leave the land immediately to survive. If he refused, Kim would have probably killed him; but he agreed.




Herbert

" I never lie. If I will ever want you dead, you'll know well before. "

Dungeons & Dragons - solo play / novel. Human, Ranger ( with several class variants )

Herbert came from a family of poor serfs in an oppressive feudal system. Despite his village being under a much less tyrannical fist than many other places, he grow unquiet, unhappy and enraged at the life without prospectives and hopes he felt forced into. Around 14 years old he started planning his escape. After slowly building an hut deep in the woods, near a small torrent where he would be able to catch small fishes and forgage wild fruits and mushrooms, he fled saying nothing to anyone. He lived alone in the forest for more than 20 years, steadily training with weapons he crafted himself from wood and stones. He learned to build fairly complex traps and hunted dozens of deers, wild boars and even deers, becoming quite skilled and experienced.

His malicious and hateful toughts toward the nobles and the clerics that oppressed him in his youth drove a little evil spirit to him - unknown if an imp, a quasit or an evil fae - that started teaching him unholy rites and powers ( Herbert used an alternative Ranger Feature from Unhearted Arcana: Turn Undead, Contagion and Deathly Touch in exchange for Favored Enemy ). After a profetic dream he also found a long forgotten sanctuary dedicated to an half-unknown deity of hunt and revenge, and started offering it human sacrifices, in the form of the lonely pastor or travelled he captured in the wilderness. In exchange, the deity granted him the ability to turn into a wolf, a snake or an hawk ( another alternative class feature - Alternative Form, small or medium animals only - in exchange for Ranger fighting style ).
When he felt powerful enough he started a campaing of revenge and terror against his village, capturing and sacrificing many people untill the local merchants agreed to pay him an heavy tribute in order to be allowed to pursuit their trades.

Most evil action: he captured several people he hold grudges against ( mostly guards and tax exactors ), sacrificed them to his dark god to conjure a fiend, then sent that fiend to poison the village's wheel.

Pet the dog moments: he never lies, kill a messenger or break an oath. When he got his tribute paid he kept his word in the spirit - not only the letter - of it, leaving the land forever.

AMFV
2016-05-29, 05:55 PM
[I]Peutrimax

" You don't deserve to live and neither do I... but DIEEE!!! "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Human, Ranger / Barbarian / Furious Berserker


Psychotic. He acts outside of any kind of Good morality, but only really in the context of insanity. I would argue (from my own personal viewpoint), that the insane lack moral agency in the same way as animals do. Although I'm not entirely sure that this is backed by the system assumptions, so you can take it with a grain of salt.

I might actually say that he's closer to Good than Evil. I mean he recognized his problem and has moved away from humans to avoid it, on at least one occasion. Which shows that when he is lucid he attempts to avoid harming others. Although again I'd need more details. and I'm not entirely sure the rules supports my "insanity doesn't affect morality" clause.

Conradine
2016-05-29, 06:06 PM
Actually, the main reason he tried ( several times ) to avoid human contact is that it causes him mental anguish, to the point of almost feeling physical pain. He hated humanity but had no agency of genocide; for the most he would be content to just live alone in a hut but circumstances - i.e. plot requirements - kept dragging him into wars.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 06:08 PM
The first is true neutral in my book. He sounds like Captain Crazypants, and the definition of insanity is the inability to understand the world around them. How could a character like that make moral decisions? He has no moral motivations to kill humans, he just goes berserk for an apparently random reason.


Actually, the main reason he tried ( several times ) to avoid human contact is that it causes him mental anguish, to the point of almost feeling physical pain. He hated humanity but had no agency of genocide; for the most he would be content to just live alone in a hut but circumstances - i.e. plot requirements - kept dragging him into wars.

Yeah, seems like he has a random response to a certain stimulai that's forcing him to act erratically. It seems more like a guy who gets shocked every time he sees a puppy not wanting to see any sort of dog. He isn't making a moral statement, he's trying to get away from some sort of strange pain he doesn't understand.

Second guy? Could potentially be lawful evil, maybe lawful neutral. Nothing says his town was so great, or that he was working for a legitimate authority. Also, unless he uh, stopped that love spell? He raped a chick, or got very close to it. There's the argument of actions in the heat of the moment, but how heat of the moment was it to activate said magic and get to the whoopee? Did he repent at all for this? And even if he didn't touch her, he used mind control magic to take control away from her for his own pleasure.

Conradine
2016-05-29, 06:16 PM
Second guy? Could potentially be lawful evil, maybe lawful neutral. Nothing says his town was so great, or that he was working for a legitimate authority. Also, unless he uh, stopped that love spell? He raped a chick, or got very close to it. There's the argument of actions in the heat of the moment, but how heat of the moment was it to activate said magic and get to the whoopee? Did he repent at all for this? And even if he didn't touch her, he used mind control magic to take control away from her for his own pleasure.


The town was neither exceptionally Good or exceptionally Evil but there was many innocent civilians that Atlas tried his best to defend.

He taked advantage of the girl but went much more far that doing it one time: he was actually determined to make her stay with him forever.

But it was a particular moment and motivation: basically, since he saw his city razed and everything he cared for destroyed , he wanted to get someone to care for. Bastically he "stolen" a person to get a reason to live.

I could say it was an obsessive behiavour rather than planned, cold-blooded malice.

AMFV
2016-05-29, 06:16 PM
Actually, the main reason he tried ( several times ) to avoid human contact is that it causes him mental anguish, to the point of almost feeling physical pain. He hated humanity but had no agency of genocide; for the most he would be content to just live alone in a hut but circumstances - i.e. plot requirements - kept dragging him into wars.

I would agree with True Neutral the. As I said the only real moral decision I could have seen was him trying to mitigate his insanity by hiding out. If that's not the case, then he probably doesn't really have any strong morality. Although again, I'm not entirely sure that the rules back me on that, so that's my own personal stance regarding moral agency.



[I]Atlas

" The city requests our aid. "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Half-giant human, Cleric / Mage / Geomancer


It's not really easy to determine his morality. His only serious evil act appears to be one that was made in the heat of the moment and we don't know what it led to. So it's somewhat understandable, or at least there's mitigating factors there. Some of those dirty tricks are bordering on Evil though, depending on how the Celestial world and summoning works in your setting.

Minimization of risks isn't really evil or Good. To be honest we don't really have much moral stuff to go on here, just personality.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 06:20 PM
I could say it was an obsessive behiavour rather than planned, cold-blooded malice.

Still malice. He's subduing and dampening parts of her mind in order to oppress her free will. I'm going with Lawful Evil on this one. It isn't an action taken in the heat of the moment, but something he has planned and is continuing to pursue. He's willing to rape and enslave for his own benefit. Even if it was only one person, he has treated others as objects. Balancing it out with good acts is just something not covered under DnD morality, nor would I really think a person could go this far and really care about sapient life as a whole. Sure, he might have cared about his town, but plenty of serial killers and rapists do so. He has taken his suffering and used it as an excuse to justify other behavior, really.

AMFV
2016-05-29, 06:56 PM
Still malice. He's subduing and dampening parts of her mind in order to oppress her free will. I'm going with Lawful Evil on this one. It isn't an action taken in the heat of the moment, but something he has planned and is continuing to pursue. He's willing to rape and enslave for his own benefit. Even if it was only one person, he has treated others as objects. Balancing it out with good acts is just something not covered under DnD morality, nor would I really think a person could go this far and really care about sapient life as a whole. Sure, he might have cared about his town, but plenty of serial killers and rapists do so. He has taken his suffering and used it as an excuse to justify other behavior, really.

I don't know though, he describes it as an "obsessive" behavior. So it's hard to determine if he's acting out of malice here or sickness. Certainly unlike the other case there's reasoning enough to determine that it's wrong. But I'm not entirely sure that it's as evil as if he were acting simply out of malice. I think he might be mentally deranged as well. Although in a less forgivable fashion (since he retains control of his faculties). Of course this opens up all kinds of cans of worms for the game.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 07:01 PM
Obsession could be insanity, true. But it seems less like insanity and more like he's just...Well, obsessed. He feels as if the world owes him something, so he's going to get it. Obsession is not always used to describe the insane, but those who feel they deserve or want something badly enough and will not accept anything less because they want it.

In my opinion, there's not a lot of evidence to indicate he's got problems interpreting the world. He served as the captain of the guard after all, and is still capable enough to use magic to continue to enslave her.

But in my opinion, it is malice. He doesn't care about her opinion, he in fact knows she wouldn't touch him otherwise. So he's using magic to force her. That's pretty malicious, locking away a part of her mind and destroying her free will in order to violate her because he feels like it.

AMFV
2016-05-29, 07:04 PM
Obsession could be insanity, true. But it seems less like insanity and more like he's just...Well, obsessed. He feels as if the world owes him something, so he's going to get it. Obsession is not always used to describe the insane, but those who feel they deserve or want something badly enough and will not accept anything less because they want it.

In my opinion, there's not a lot of evidence to indicate he's got problems interpreting the world. He served as the captain of the guard after all, and is still capable enough to use magic to continue to enslave her.

But in my opinion, it is malice. He doesn't care about her opinion, he in fact knows she wouldn't touch him otherwise. So he's using magic to force her. That's pretty malicious, locking away a part of her mind and destroying her free will in order to violate her because he feels like it.

Oh, I wasn't arguing that it wasn't evil. I was just arguing that if that's the character's main evil action, I might be inclined to push his alignment towards N on the Good-Evil axis, since it's morally more complex. Again depending on exactly the nature of what transpires and how involves this violation is. Certainly, there is moral agency there, but if that's the only bad act he's done, I'm not entirely sure it's enough to push him into big E Evil. Possibly, but it'd be hard to figure.

If a player came to me with a character like this, I would probably be okay with either N or E in the alignment side for the Good-Evil axis. Although I might later adjust it based on actions of the character in game.

Conradine
2016-05-29, 07:07 PM
He feels as if the world owes him something, so he's going to get it.

Yes, that one.

But also " I must have something to protect in order to live". He always lived as a guardian and felt totally useless outside this role. And he was also enraged, bitter, and persuaded the world owned him something.


PS added another two characters




That's pretty malicious, locking away a part of her mind and destroying her free will in order to violate her because he feels like it

Well, he used a Love Potion, not Domination or Mind Rape. He didn't obliterated his mind, he could not ask her to kill herself or similar acts.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 07:08 PM
Oh, I wasn't arguing that it wasn't evil. I was just arguing that if that's the character's main evil action, I might be inclined to push his alignment towards N on the Good-Evil axis, since it's morally more complex.

I disagree. It is not a morally complex action. He wanted something. He took it. He wanted her, and he didn't care about her opinions on the matter. He knew she wouldn't do it, so he took actions to get rid of that. It's no more morally complex in my opinion then murdering someone for your own pleasure, because that's what he's concerned about.

I do agree that one could make the argument that he could be neutral because this is his only evil act, but that does mean that rapists, murderers and torturers could be neutral if they only did it once. And keep in mind there's no sign of him repenting it.


Yes, that one.

But also " I must have something to protect in order to live". He always lived as a guardian and felt totally useless outside this role. And he was also enraged, bitter, and persuaded the world owned him something.


Doesn't change anything in my opinion. He felt insecurity and low self esteem. He re-established it by raping someone. He is using another to make himself feel better, knowing she really doesn't want to.

Conradine
2016-05-29, 07:13 PM
nd keep in mind there's no sign of him repenting it.

Well, Atlas now is dead but short before dying he was so obsessed into "protecting" his "loved one" that he would kill, and even let himself be killed, to prevent losing her. So, no repenting at all.

He also rationalizated his action by persuading himself that since she looked happy ( under permanent Charm effect ) that meant she really was in love with him.

Quite pathetic.

AMFV
2016-05-29, 07:15 PM
I disagree. It is not a morally complex action. He wanted something. He took it. He wanted her, and he didn't care about her opinions on the matter. He knew she wouldn't do it, so he took actions to get rid of that. It's no more morally complex in my opinion then murdering someone for your own pleasure, because that's what he's concerned about.


But there is a bit more moral complexity. He was in an intense emotional state. After all, most people (and the law) consider it different morally if I kill somebody in a fit of rage, as opposed to me planning it and thinking it through. That's what I'm thinking the issue is. Since it's being presented as something he did when he wasn't in a fully rational state of mind.



I do agree that one could make the argument that he could be neutral because this is his only evil act, but that does mean that rapists, murderers and torturers could be neutral if they only did it once. And keep in mind there's no sign of him repenting it.

Well that depends largely on the state of his mind at the time of the action. That's what I'm calling into question I would argue that it would be an Evil enough action if it were premeditated to push him into Evil, particularly if he kept it up. But if it was something done in an intense emotional state, and now he's only maintaining it because he doesn't know how to stop it.

I'm not saying, it isn't Evil, I'm saying I'm not entirely sure if it would make the character Evil. I don't think somebody who commits manslaughter (and is therefore a killer) would necessarily be Evil, if they did so in a fit of passion. I think somebody who tortures somebody in the heat of battle to try to save somebody would be not as likely to be pushed into Evil (although it's an Evil act). I think that intention has a lot to do with end-state of alignment here. Especially if it's a one-off.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 07:21 PM
As for the other two...Going to say the drow is closer to True Neutral. Alignment doesn't do nature versus nuture very well, but I think at the time you're gibbering at some stone statues in a cave you've pretty much gone into crazy territory.

The last guy, probably true neutral, maybe neutral evil. He's not exactly good because he's sure as crap isn't doing anything to help the situation. His defense of the actions being irrational seems to be a justification not to risk himself. He persuaded his brother from risking his life to save others, so that's pretty neutral, possibly even evil. He took that bribe and didn't kill the fellow, but he's surrounded by people suffering and doesn't really seem to care much about people at large.

So: Captain Crazypants: Neutral.
Altas: Lawful Evil, maybe Lawful Neutral with a very grey morality.
Drow: Neutral.
Mage Guy: Neutral.

Conradine
2016-05-29, 07:27 PM
He persuaded his brother from risking his life to save others, so that's pretty neutral, possibly even evil.

He did it because he loved his brother and wanted not to see him death, not for phylosophical issues agains fighting for the poors.
Also, he knew their mum would had died of broken heart if his brother got killed.

If the task was riskless, he would have said something like:

" It's a waste of time, but do what you want. Have fun, big bro'. "



he's sure as crap isn't doing anything to help the situation.

When he became a landlord he treated his employees very well, in order to maximize morale and productivity.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-29, 07:29 PM
He did it because he loved his brother and wanted not to see him death, not for phylosophical issues agains fighting for the poors.
Also, he knew their mum would had died of broken heart if his brother got killed.

He decided that his brother's beliefs were not valid. His love for his brother outweighed the love others had for their loved ones. His action is that action that MOST people would take. But most people aren't heroes.

Also, he's a sexist jerk. No one ever has the male characters die of a broken heart. But no, the ladies get to die to made up disease. Hey, mother! Die of something real or don't die at all!

More seriously, she's probably going to keel over any moment if this society is really cutthroat enough that some random guy got bribed into killing a guy and couldn't take it to the authorities. I wouldn't bet on her longevity if she wasn't more cunning and more sensible.

Mystral
2016-05-30, 02:01 AM
[I]Peutrimax

" You don't deserve to live and neither do I... but DIEEE!!! "

Chaotic Evil.


[I]Atlas

" The city requests our aid. "
Hard to say, he seems all over the place. Certainly Lawfull, either Neutral or Evil. Leaning towards evil, because mentally enslaving a person is pretty much as bad as it gets.

Also, you can't summon a creature outside of a habitat that can support it's life, so that deep sea fish thing wouldn't work.



[I]Shazuko

" Not one of them had to be there -- yet they were. I had no choice. "

Neutral Evil. Also insane, because what kind of sane drow feels guilt from exterminating two filthy humans?



[I]Kim

" People don't know how to live. They just know how to kill and how to die. "

Typical True Neutral. He only cares about himself and his friends, doesn't act to change things he sees as wrong, acts in his own self-interest, but has some lines he wouldn't cross.


[I]Herbert

" I never lie. If I will ever want you dead, you'll know well before. "

Lawfull Evil.[/QUOTE]

Conradine
2016-05-30, 09:10 AM
hat kind of sane drow feels guilt from exterminating two filthy humans?


Drizzt and Zacknafein would.

Shazuko tried to save the humans because he wasn't a cruel person, but since he was a coward, he killed them to save his own life.

goto124
2016-05-30, 09:18 AM
Not the dreaded Drizzt!

Benthesquid
2016-05-30, 09:42 AM
Mind controlling someone might be considered 'one evil act,' but since by my reading he continued mind controlling her, I would argue that that's an ongoing series of evil actions, putting him fairly firmly in the evil camp.

Mystral
2016-05-30, 01:23 PM
Drizzt and Zacknafein would.

Shazuko tried to save the humans because he wasn't a cruel person, but since he was a coward, he killed them to save his own life.

As I said, insane drow. For drow, you don't get much more insane than drizzle.

dps
2016-06-01, 12:09 AM
Peutrimax: I'd say CN. He's clearly not sane, and I'd agree with those that say that the truly insane lack moral agency much as ordinary animals do, but the system doesn't really support that stance, so, CN.

Atlas: Probably LN, maybe LE. One evil act doesn't make you Evil, or even keep you from being Good, but as Benthesquid said, it seems to be an ongoing series of Evil acts. If not for that, I'd argue for LG.

Shazuko: Tough call. I'll say N, but it's an unusual type of neutral as far as the moral axis is concerned--he's motivated by greed, essentially, which is prototypical Evil, but OTOH, he doesn't want to harm innocents and is traumatized by doing so. And there's really not enough to go on to decide where he lies on the ethical axis.

Kim: Another tough call. Probably LN. Outside of DnD, he might actually be an example of how a LG character acts when stuck living in a quite Evil society and knows that there's nothing he can really do to change the situation, but in DnD terms he's probably LN.

Herbert: LE all the way.

Malifice
2016-06-01, 03:46 AM
Peutrimax

" You don't deserve to live and neither do I... but DIEEE!!! "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Human, Ranger / Barbarian / Furious Berserker


A clinically insane character, probably the only one that was truly psicotic and not simply vicious and unhinged. Peutrimax hated humankind and his Favored Enemy was humans, but that meant he also hated himself. That caused him a tremendous psychological strain and great suffering every time he was near other humans. His rare moments of clarity were when he lived as an hermit in the wilderness. Prolonged contact with humans caused him sudden fits of homicidal raged that put his life in danger several times.

Extremely proud of his physical strenght and skill, always gave his opponents time to prepare themselves or get a weapon before fighting ( unless already in a homicidal rage ). He never betrayed a friend, broken his word or indulged in sadism or pointless aggression. Yet, even the slightest provocation set him on a mad rage.

Most evil act: he witnessed a bandit attack to a caravan and assaulted both bandits and guards. In his berserker fury he also killed the noble lady that was being escorted by the caravan. When he sobered from the rage he manifested some pangs of guilt, but quickly forgot the event.

Pet the dog moments: he grow some affection to a couple of gnolls that followed him for some times. In one occasion, he managed to stop his battle fury in order to not attack them.

Psychopath who acts according to his rage and anger. Hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable.

Chaotic Evil.


Atlas

" The city requests our aid. "

Dungeons & Dragons ( classic ) settings. Half-giant human, Cleric / Mage / Geomancer

A guard captain and war chaplain in a small, fortified city in the extreme north, Atlas was the child of an ice-giantess and an human sorcerer that polymorphed himself. He was trained both in arcane and divine magic but acquired enough martial skill to qualify as guard captain. He fought valiantly and bravely both against foreign invaders and infiltrated spies, untill one of his adventure companions - the necromancer Neckrelker - betrayed him and all the others, causing their demise.

Although not a genius, he was a reflexive and patient leader ( Int and Wis 14 ). He always tried to minimize risks both for him and his compainions. In battle, he often resorted to dirty tricks and mischievous tactics ( like summoning a Celestial deep sea fish that exploded due pressure and blinded an enemy monk with his intestines ) but sometimes get boisterous about his size and strenght.

Most evil act: he abused his magical powers to make a women fall in love of him, although he made that in a moment of desperation after witnessing his city razed by the invasors. Since he saw everything he cared for destroyed , he wanted to get someone to care for. Bastically he "stolen" a person to get a reason to live.

Pet the dog moments: he risked his life to recuperate the body of a common soldier captured and tortured to death by the spies; then paid of his own pocket to Resurrect him.

Does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.

His one shady act was to make a woman magically fall in love with him, so he could protect her, and he only did this in a fit of suicidal depression and desperation.

Neutral Good. (but wavering away from good as long as he keeps this woman magically in love with him - he needs to release her and be honest and make amends).


Shazuko

" Not one of them had to be there -- yet they were. I had no choice. "

Dungeons & Dragons - underdark setting. Drow, Rogue / Warrior.

Shazuko was a commoner between drows, a soldier and a spy working for on of the noble houses of Menzoberranzan. Despite animated by ambition, greed and gluttony ( he was an opium consumer ), he never shared the extremes of sadism common to his kind.
He partecipated in a plot organized by the two princes of his house ( a Swashbuckler and a Rogue / Mage ) in order to disgrace the house high priestess and gain richness from embezzled goods stolen from the house's underground farms.

Cautious to the point of cowardice, yet resourceful and inventive, he always tried to find non-violent solutions to any problems, although he effortlessly and coldly slayed minor opponents ( goblins, cobolds and enemy drow slaves ) without caring much. His motivations and desires revealed a fundamental shallowness: nothing more than getting rich in order to stun himself with costly liquors and drugs.
He sobered up after a traumatic expedition on the surface.

Most evil act: he killed an human child, just in front of her mother, then the mother herself. He did that during an expedition on the surface demanded by his superiors. The expedition was just a patrol in a familiar territory, no one had to be there, but due pure chance they met a camp and a family of human travellers sleeping in tents unders the stars. Shazuko found it first, and tried lead away his companion, but they noticed the tents and looked on him with suspect. Realizing he was about to be killed as a traitor - or worst, brought alive to the priestess of Lolth - Shazuko feigned ferocity and slaughtered the humans, getting the amused compliments of the other drows.
Short time later, he escaped Menzoberranzan and fled to the underdark, never to be seen again.

Pet the dog moments: he lived the rest of his days as an hermit in an underdark cave, tortured by guilt, engraving images of the child and his mother in the cave's walls. After several years spent talking to the images he lost part of his sanity and started to think he "revived" them in the stone, as a way to cope with his actions.

This villain does whatever he can get away with. He has no love of order and holds no illusion that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, he doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has, however cold blooded murder is used as a tool for his own advancement.

Neutral Evil.

That said, it seems like this villian is genuinely in the process of repenting for his past evil. With some actions to back up his recent remorse, and sufficient time and atonement, his alignment may change in the 'neutral' or even 'good' direction.


Kim

" People don't know how to live. They just know how to kill and how to die. "

Custom setting ( Novel ). Human, generic mage.

Kim is a mage from a settings that I created taking inspiration from a Flash Game ( The Books of Mages ). Basically, six lands governed by six great clans of mages, that compete every generation to decide who's the most powerful spellcaster and are ruled by something like a parlamentar monarchy. In the last generation, an order called "The Black Robes" formed and govern the lands with an iron fist, opposed by scattered rebels calling themselves "The White Robes". Non mages are considered second class citiziens and treated like slaves.

Kim was a calm, controlled, flemmatic character that feigned more indifference that he really felt for the political traversies that troubled his country. His philosphy was "live and let live". He found quite disgusting the continuous abuses of power that the dominant class bestowed upon non-spellcaster and never abused of his power, but he also never left a finger in defense of them, thinking that it would be useless since he hadn't enough power to change things anyway. Instead he focused on learning as much magic as he could and protecting his family, including dissuading his older brother in partecipating the White Robes rebellion.

He despised both unnecessary violence and altruistic heroism, deeming both as irrational. He was persuaded that renouncing a life of privileges ( as the White Robes did ) would be foolish, but that endangering these privileges with sadism and cruelty ( as many Black Robes did ) was as much stupid. Despite that veil of indifference, later in his career when he acquired power over several lands and mines he did his best to grant the most benefits to the greatest number of people he could.

Most evil act: he accepted a vast bribe to kill a young mage that had to compete in a magic tournament, in order tho allow another young contestant to win, but...

Pet the dog moments: ... he never killed him. He just drugged him, carried him on a safe place, waited untill his awakening, then calmly explained him that forces bigger than him demanded his death and that he had to leave the land immediately to survive. If he refused, Kim would have probably killed him; but he agreed.

True Neutral.

For obvious reasons.


Herbert

" I never lie. If I will ever want you dead, you'll know well before. "

Dungeons & Dragons - solo play / novel. Human, Ranger ( with several class variants )

Herbert came from a family of poor serfs in an oppressive feudal system. Despite his village being under a much less tyrannical fist than many other places, he grow unquiet, unhappy and enraged at the life without prospectives and hopes he felt forced into. Around 14 years old he started planning his escape. After slowly building an hut deep in the woods, near a small torrent where he would be able to catch small fishes and forgage wild fruits and mushrooms, he fled saying nothing to anyone. He lived alone in the forest for more than 20 years, steadily training with weapons he crafted himself from wood and stones. He learned to build fairly complex traps and hunted dozens of deers, wild boars and even deers, becoming quite skilled and experienced.

His malicious and hateful toughts toward the nobles and the clerics that oppressed him in his youth drove a little evil spirit to him - unknown if an imp, a quasit or an evil fae - that started teaching him unholy rites and powers ( Herbert used an alternative Ranger Feature from Unhearted Arcana: Turn Undead, Contagion and Deathly Touch in exchange for Favored Enemy ). After a profetic dream he also found a long forgotten sanctuary dedicated to an half-unknown deity of hunt and revenge, and started offering it human sacrifices, in the form of the lonely pastor or travelled he captured in the wilderness. In exchange, the deity granted him the ability to turn into a wolf, a snake or an hawk ( another alternative class feature - Alternative Form, small or medium animals only - in exchange for Ranger fighting style ).
When he felt powerful enough he started a campaing of revenge and terror against his village, capturing and sacrificing many people untill the local merchants agreed to pay him an heavy tribute in order to be allowed to pursuit their trades.

Most evil action: he captured several people he hold grudges against ( mostly guards and tax exactors ), sacrificed them to his dark god to conjure a fiend, then sent that fiend to poison the village's wheel.

Pet the dog moments: he never lies, kill a messenger or break an oath. When he got his tribute paid he kept his word in the spirit - not only the letter - of it, leaving the land forever.

Lawful Evil. In sevice to the powers of the nine hells, and maintains qaulms (not slaying messengers, never lying, and not breaking an oath) to maintain a veneer of respectability.


Hard to say, he seems all over the place. Certainly Lawfull, either Neutral or Evil. Leaning towards evil, because mentally enslaving a person is pretty much as bad as it gets.

Tough call. The dude has devoted his whole lie to acts of good and compassion. Check out his story:


A guard captain and war chaplain in a small, fortified city in the extreme north, Atlas was the child of an ice-giantess and an human sorcerer that polymorphed himself. He was trained both in arcane and divine magic but acquired enough martial skill to qualify as guard captain. He fought valiantly and bravely both against foreign invaders and infiltrated spies, untill one of his adventure companions - the necromancer Neckrelker - betrayed him and all the others, causing their demise.

Joins the local guard to defend others. Fights with bravery and courage against foreign invaders to protect them (at his own expense). Leaning towards good here, and also leaning towards lawful.


Although not a genius, he was a reflexive and patient leader ( Int and Wis 14 ). He always tried to minimize risks both for him and his compainions. In battle, he often resorted to dirty tricks and mischievous tactics ( like summoning a Celestial deep sea fish that exploded due pressure and blinded an enemy monk with his intestines ) but sometimes get boisterous about his size and strenght.

He tried to minimise harm and risks to his companions, however would break orders, resort to underhanded methods and would use unconventional tactics and dirty tricks to win.

Probably not lawful, bur not entirely chaotic either. Neutral on the law/chaos axis.


Most evil act: he abused his magical powers to make a women fall in love of him, although he made that in a moment of desperation after witnessing his city razed by the invasors. Since he saw everything he cared for destroyed , he wanted to get someone to care for. Bastically he "stolen" a person to get a reason to live.

He didnt enslave her, but he did make her fall in love with him. In a moment of desperation, and he protected her afterwards. Definately not a good act, but not an evil act with a capital 'E' either. Its also an isolated act of of character for this PC which was done in desperation, after watching his whole villiage slaughtered. He didnt use his power to abuse this woman, only to (misguided mind you) protect her.

I wouldnt change an otherwise good PCs alignment to Evil for using a love potion on an NPC, particularly if it was an isloated incident in a moment of desparation, and he didnt mistreat the love intrest (or released him or her feeling guilty for it).


Pet the dog moments: he risked his life to recuperate the body of a common soldier captured and tortured to death by the spies; then paid of his own pocket to Resurrect him.

Riskes his life for others, including a common guard. Engages in self sacrifice. Goes out of his way to help others.

Clearly a generally good PC.

He's literally done the one slightly shady thing, and as a one off and in a suicidal state of desperation and despair, and he didnt enslave her, or mind control her, he made her fall in love with him.

He's NG. (Caveat being he needs to release his love intrest from her magical ensorcellment or he's wavering away from good. A good person would be gradually consumed by guilt as each day passes).