Lawful neutral, Lawful Good, or Neutral Good?

[Zhentarim]

Game: Serpent's Skull

Stats:
16 str
16 dex
16 con
7 int
7 wis
13 cha

?? Female Half-orc Abyssal Bloodranger (toothy trait)

Backstory

Lamashtunia Mwangi was born the daughter of two half-orc villagers, Malaria and Dengue Mwangi, deep in the Mwangi Expanse. Dedicated followers of Lamashtu, Malaria and Dengue had many children--32 to be exact. Lamashtunia was the 32nd child, and her parents were pleased to see she was born with sharp teeth already in her mouth that were larger and sharper than most adult half-orcs. They were elated, however, when she grew enormous claws during a temper tantrum and tore part of one of her more "normal" brother's face off. Her mother, Malaria, renamed her daughter Lamastunia in honor of the village's patron diety to celebrate their obviously most monstrous child. It wasn't long, however, before a priest of Ghlaunder found the village and unleashed a deadly plague that wiped out the village in order to please their diety. Most of the village died, but Lamashtunia survived her brush with the illness. She wandered a few days before reaching Bloodcove. She was amazed at the level of technology in the town and believed the people who built bloodcove were gods. After a while of wandering, she found her way to the Chellish Embassy. She was speaking orcish, but nobody there knew orcish. Then she tried speaking polyglot, but nobody understood her until an Abadaran cleric who studied the language previously approached her. Over the next couple of years, Lamashtunia learned common and she learned some of the teachings of Abadar, which she accepted. The Abadaran cleric tried to teach her more, but Lamashtunia had a short attention span and not many religious concepts translated well. Regardless, thpugh Lamashtunia came to have a religious admiration for city life and law and order, her more primal side needed a release. She spoke with some of her caretakers in the embassy about her feelings, and they recommended law enforcement. She became skilled at both using nonlethal force to subdue enemies when appropriate as well as letting out her inner demon to claw and chew people's faces off if lethal force was required. She also gained respect for the Hellknight Order of the Coil, which she saw as maintaining order and preventing the more uncivilized aspects of her birth culture from reaching civilization. It wasn't long before her superiors informed her she needed to board the first ship out of Bloodcove to Eledor to help the empire squash some riots. Her superiors said they believed this help could win support from the colonists, and bring Sargava back under chelish control. She grabbed her nightstick, her masterwork manacles, her shield, and her most recent paycheck, and boarded the Jenivere].

Personality:

A naturalized citizen of Cheliax and a great admirer of the Hellknight Order of the Coil, Lamashtunia can be very formal on official business. However, in her off time, she like to eat good food, drink at taverns, make out with attractive townies, and wrestle people in tournaments. She believes she is doing good by serving Cheliax, and while she will use the minimum force necessary to overtake violators, she will do what she deems necessary to protect herself and enforce the law. She doesn't say this out loud, but when she enters her bloodrage to take down more serious threats, she enjoys the taste of the blood in her mouth and the warm blood in her claws.

[Strigon]

Personality:

A naturalized citizen of Cheliax and a great admirer of the Hellknight Order of the Coil, Lamashtunia can be very formal on official business. However, in her off time, she like to eat good food, drink at taverns, make out with attractive townies, and wrestle people in tournaments. She believes she is doing good by serving Cheliax, and while she will use the minimum force necessary to overtake violators, she will do what she deems necessary to protect herself and enforce the law. She doesn't say this out loud, but when she enters her bloodrage to take down more serious threats, she enjoys the taste of the blood in her mouth and the warm blood in her claws.

This is all that's really relevant to alignment, and even in here there isn't much.
Anyone can be formal on official business, any alignment can enjoy good food and a night out. However, from what little there is, she doesn't really sound like any of those. She strikes me as CN fooling herself into believing she's either Lawful or Good. Of course, as always, there's room for debate.

[Zhentarim]

This is all that's really relevant to alignment, and even in here there isn't much.
Anyone can be formal on official business, any alignment can enjoy good food and a night out. However, from what little there is, she doesn't really sound like any of those. She strikes me as CN fooling herself into believing she's either Lawful or Good. Of course, as always, there's room for debate.

I guess its good I went with bloodrager over paladin, then?

[Seto]

Why Good? She seems like a great TN character. (Of course, there are few alignment indicators to go by, but those that are there seem balanced).

[Zhentarim]

Why Good? She seems like a great TN character. (Of course, there are few alignment indicators to go by, but those that are there seem balanced).

Yeah...my good characters always feel a little...flat...

Any time I add depth, they seem to become non-lawful, non-good.

[Seto]

Nothing you have said is incompatible with a Good alignment (you couldn't be Exalted Good, but that's besides the point). The problem is not so much that she has traits that prevent her from being Good, it's that she has no character trait that really points toward Good (except possibly following the teachings of Abadar, because I have no idea who that god is). If you really want to make her Good without making her flat, add some character traits in that direction, without removing the ones you already have. Some possibilities include:
- She empathizes with the suffering of people and seeks to prevent it. (Good)
- She has those primal instincts and enjoys tearing off the faces of her enemies when she has to, but she feels conflicted and guilty about those, and tries to repress them. (Lawful and mildly Good)
- She has a good heart and tries to make a difference in the lives of people around her. (Good)
- She's selfless enough that she often chooses others' well-being before her own (Good), possibly because she feels that she's been helped a lot by Bloodcove, the Abadarian clergy and the community, and she wants to give back (mildly Lawful).

[GreyBlack]

Yeah...my good characters always feel a little...flat...

Any time I add depth, they seem to become non-lawful, non-good.

Then, if you're trying to get a Good alignment, may I suggest a change?

Instead of simply respecting the laws, she adamantly believes in them. Nothing in the laws say she can't have a good time, but deep down, she has an almost primordial urge to fly off the handle. She's hurt people in the past when doing this, though, and finds an internal tension between her deeply held convictions and her primordial self. As such, she's devoted herself to trying to channel that deep rage towards those who would break those laws and hurt those she has sworn to protect, but knows how easy it is to slip from that path with that monster lurking deep inside her...

ETA: Addendum, do the character, by any chance, have a sister named Zika or a cousin named Yellow Fever? XD

[TheFamilarRaven]

It's a little late now, since you've already written the backstory, but I find it's a lot easier to pick an alignment before writing up the backstory, that way you can write the characters' bio to match, rather than write something, then scratch your when trying to figure out what to do with it.

But moving on, some things you might consider.

Firstly, Cheliax is definitely Lawful Evil. And for that matter, so is the Order of the Coil. A quick look on the wiki can reveal that much about both. You could argue that they never explicitly state it, but the adjectives they use to describe them clearly imply it. (Also, devil worship is a popular thing in Cheliax). Therefore, if you find your character agreeing with the Order of the Coil and is loyal the Cheliax, well that puts you south of neutral at worst, and maybe neutral if you don't necessarily agree with them, but you do what you're told. doesn't matter that Abadar is LN, because his followers can be LE. And your character is not learning about the Abadar's teachings from an LN follower.

You make no mention of the culture of your previous orc clan, but they worship Lamashtu (CE), which wouldn't necessarily mean they're CE, but then your character brutality kills their sibling and your parents are happy about it. Sounds pretty callous and evil to me. You could argue you were just a child, that fine, but your character spent a significant part of her life in this culture.

All in all, the last line of few lines of her personality I think sum up her alignment. "She believes she is doing good by serving Cheliax". She is a subservient type, and a loyal one. Points towards lawful, and evil, because she agrees with the values of Cheliax.

EDIT: If you want your character to be good, then they have to reject the values of Cheliax. I'd say it would make perfect sense for your character's clan to be subjugated by the Order of the Coil Hellknights, rather then wiped out by a plague. That way, you can be a run-away slave vowing to free your captured clan members from the yoke of tyranny. Of course you'd probably need to change up your clan as well, make them venerate Gozreh instead of Lamashtu (which Gozreh is a commonly worshiped diety of the region). That kind of background I think implies classic CG. Then you can contrast that alignment with her bloodlust, and have your character struggle between maintaining control of her killer instincts and protecting her allies,

[Zhentarim]

Then, if you're trying to get a Good alignment, may I suggest a change?

Instead of simply respecting the laws, she adamantly believes in them. Nothing in the laws say she can't have a good time, but deep down, she has an almost primordial urge to fly off the handle. She's hurt people in the past when doing this, though, and finds an internal tension between her deeply held convictions and her primordial self. As such, she's devoted herself to trying to channel that deep rage towards those who would break those laws and hurt those she has sworn to protect, but knows how easy it is to slip from that path with that monster lurking deep inside her...
http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=924794

With that high of an intimidate...I'm thinking something like...
"You're under arrest! If you come with me peacefully, you'll be fine. If not, a whole world of pain is coming down on you!"
1d20+10

"I grew up in these jungles. I was trained by men like gods. Leave us alone or face the consequences!"
1d20+10

(Is that using intimidate right?)

[Zhentarim]

It's a little late now, since you've already written the backstory, but I find it's a lot easier to pick an alignment before writing up the backstory, that way you can write the characters' bio to match, rather than write something, then scratch your when trying to figure out what to do with it.

But moving on, some things you might consider.

Firstly, Cheliax is definitely Lawful Evil. And for that matter, so is the Order of the Coil. A quick look on the wiki can reveal that much about both. You could argue that they never explicitly state it, but the adjectives they use to describe them clearly imply it. (Also, devil worship is a popular thing in Cheliax). Therefore, if you find your character agreeing with the Order of the Coil and is loyal the Cheliax, well that puts you south of neutral at worst, and maybe neutral if you don't necessarily agree with them, but you do what you're told. doesn't matter that Abadar is LN, because his followers can be LE. And your character is not learning about the Abadar's teachings from an LN follower.

You make no mention of the culture of your previous orc clan, but they worship Lamashtu (CE), which wouldn't necessarily mean they're CE, but then your character brutality kills their sibling and your parents are happy about it. Sounds pretty callous and evil to me. You could argue you were just a child, that fine, but your character spent a significant part of her life in this culture.

All in all, the last line of few lines of her personality I think sum up her alignment. "She believes she is doing good by serving Cheliax". She is a subservient type, and a loyal one. Points towards lawful, and evil, because she agrees with the values of Cheliax.

EDIT: If you want your character to be good, then they have to reject the values of Cheliax. I'd say it would make perfect sense for your character's clan to be subjugated by the Order of the Coil Hellknights, rather then wiped out by a plague. That way, you can be a run-away slave vowing to free your captured clan members from the yoke of tyranny. Of course you'd probably need to change up your clan as well, make them venerate Gozreh instead of Lamashtu (which Gozreh is a commonly worshiped diety of the region). That kind of background I think implies classic CG. Then you can contrast that alignment with her bloodlust, and have your character struggle between maintaining control of her killer instincts and protecting her allies,

As the backstories roll in, the sheets tend to gravitate towards CG, so I may go with that. I only picked Lamashtu since the player's guide said half-orcs in the region tend to venerate her.
I still have to end by having her board the ship and head to Eledor...
Can a Law Enforcer be CG?

[TheFamilarRaven]

Can law-enforcers be CG? Not in Cheliax. And I'd argue no if they're part of the official law enforcement of the region. But vigilantes are a thing, but I don't thing the Mwangi expanse as a hot spot for vigilante justice.

However, an NPC in Kingmaker is a soldier (and an officer to boot) and is CN, so sure. why not.

[LastOblivion]

The biggest thing I use to define the differences of the good/evil axis, is weight of morals and desires.
In addition to this I tend use a staged Good vs Evil Axis when making a character to give myself a better feel of my characters alignment and personality.

Exalted - Actively tries to Save Evil and bring everyone to the Good Alignment
Angelic/Archon - Actively tries to Destroy Evil and Protect Good
Major Good - Follows Morals regardless of the consequences
Med Good - Follows Morals and acts on them if possible
Minor Good - Follows Morals acts on them if situation is reasonable
Selfless Neutral - Follows Morals as long as it won't cause trouble or unnecessary effort
True Neutral - Balance in All Things
Selfish Neutral - Follows Desires as long as it won't cause trouble or unnecessary effort
Minor Evil - Follows Desires acts on them if situation is reasonable
Med Evil - Follows Desires and acts on them if possible
Major Evil - Follows Desires regardless of the consequences
Demon/Devi - Actively tries to Destroy Good and advance their desires
Vile - Actively tries to Corrupt Good and bring everyone to the Evil Alignment

[Zhentarim]

The biggest thing I use to define the differences of the good/evil axis, is weight of morals and desires.
In addition to this I tend use a staged Good vs Evil Axis when making a character to give myself a better feel of my characters alignment and personality.

Exalted - Actively tries to Save Evil and bring everyone to the Good Alignment
Angelic/Archon - Actively tries to Destroy Evil and Protect Good
Major Good - Follows Morals regardless of the consequences
Med Good - Follows Morals and acts on them if possible
Minor Good - Follows Morals acts on them if situation is reasonable
Selfless Neutral - Follows Morals as long as it won't cause trouble or unnecessary effort
True Neutral - Balance in All Things
Selfish Neutral - Follows Desires as long as it won't cause trouble or unnecessary effort
Minor Evil - Follows Desires acts on them if situation is reasonable
Med Evil - Follows Desires and acts on them if possible
Major Evil - Follows Desires regardless of the consequences
Demon/Devi - Actively tries to Destroy Good and advance their desires
Vile - Actively tries to Corrupt Good and bring everyone to the Evil Alignment

I'm selfless neutral on your scale.

Do you have one for law/chaos?

[GreyBlack]

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=924794

With that high of an intimidate...I'm thinking something like...
"You're under arrest! If you come with me peacefully, you'll be fine. If not, a whole world of pain is coming down on you!"
1d20+10

"I grew up in these jungles. I was trained by men like gods. Leave us alone or face the consequences!"
1d20+10

(Is that using intimidate right?)

I'll do you one better. "I am the divine hand of righteousness. Lay down your arms now, or the powers bestowed in me will not be quelled."


As the backstories roll in, the sheets tend to gravitate towards CG, so I may go with that. I only picked Lamashtu since the player's guide said half-orcs in the region tend to venerate her.
I still have to end by having her board the ship and head to Eledor...
Can a Law Enforcer be CG?

I recommend you read the book "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates." It's about a Buddhist anarchist who works for the CIA and is the perfect example of a chaotic neutral law enforcement officer.

[Psyren]

They were elated, however, when she grew enormous claws during a temper tantrum and tore part of one of her more "normal" brother's face off.

Q: Does she feel remorse for this?

[Zhentarim]

Q: Does she feel remorse for this?

yes she does