Forms of Tyranny

[Razuchee]

Could Lawful good people be tyrants? Or are they secretly evil? Or are they maybe just overzealous?
I think both is possible, although a truly good character would eventually see the error of his ways.

Can chaotic alignments even uphold a sort of tyrannic order or would their acts of despotism ultiamtely devolve into anarchy?
Anarchy, definitely anarchy. It's probably what they wanted in the first place.

Can a theocratic state, that prohibits arcane magic in the name of a god, be considererd good?
Asking because I want to implement that in a campaign.

Please Discuss

[MrFahrenheit]

I'd advise against the use of 5e alignment rules to determine this; everything you asked would fall under Lawful Neutral as it's the catchall alignment.

[Nifft]

Could Lawful good people be tyrants? A Lawful Good person can call herself a Tyrant. Maybe it's an official title in that part of the world.

She can be called tyrant by others who wish to disparage the Lawful Good laws of the land. (These people are probably not good, but it's possible for good people to be misinformed or otherwise duped, so who knows.)


I think both is possible, although a truly good character would eventually see the error of his ways. Yeah, IMHO a big part of staying Good is having the humility to re-evaluate the consequences of your actions, the ability to admit your mistakes when you make them, and the will to remedy those mistakes.


Can chaotic alignments even uphold a sort of tyrannic order or would their acts of despotism ultiamtely devolve into anarchy?
Anarchy, definitely anarchy. It's probably what they wanted in the first place. Not necessarily.

Look at how Feudalism worked. It was both Lawful (institutional) and Chaotic (relations between individuals). It would be entirely possible to be a feudal lord who only cared about relations between individuals, and still functioned in the system.

That's also how I do the hierarchies of demons in the Abyss. Each demon-lord has several lieutenants who are responsible for maintaining forces under them. These forces are loyal to the lieutenant personally -- they are not necessarily loyal to the demon-lord. It's a series of arrangements between individuals, not a systematic institution.


Can a theocratic state, that prohibits arcane magic in the name of a god, be considererd good? Sure, why not?

A theocratic state that prohibits chocolate could still be good, it would just have worse food.

A theocratic state that prohibits dogs could still be good, it would just have cleaner streets.

The thing that is necessary to be good is to treat other people well. Don't torture or murder Arcane casters, just make them leave. Furthermore, don't exile them into dangerous territory which will kill them, just make them leave in a humane way. This is harder than the alternative. Being Good isn't easy.

[Arcangel4774]

There's an amazing book series by pierse Anthony called bio of a space tyrant, if you want a look at what a lawful good tyrant looks like.

Summed up analoguesly the guy comes from a US territory, joins the army, and climbs ranks. Retires with friends in the army, and becomes governor of Florida. Runs for president but loses because it's rigged. Takes over by force.

Lawful is often misunderstood to be following laws; it's more of the controlled systematic way things are done.

[Draco4472]

Depends on your definition of Lawful-Good, as a king might put the greater good above his people's needs, sending soldiers to fight demonic invaders while leaving his people's fields and livestock undefended from bandits and wolves.