How is true neutral with chaotic evil tendencies different from chaotic evil?

[Zhentarim]

I've wondered how it would be different from both a mechanics and roleplay perspective.

[Wartex1]

True Neutral is the average person, but with Chaotic Evil tendencies, they'd be a bit more selfish and less restrained. So, a normal dude who's also just a complete jerk who doesn't care about what others think (and thus makes a mess of everything, breaks mailboxes for fun, etc.) would he TN with CE tendencies.

Chaotic Evil would be the Joker.

[Zhentarim]

What about the other 3 "extremes" as tendencies?

[Seto]

True Neutral is the average person, but with Chaotic Evil tendencies, they'd be a bit more selfish and less restrained. So, a normal dude who's also just a complete jerk who doesn't care about what others think (and thus makes a mess of everything, breaks mailboxes for fun, etc.) would he TN with CE tendencies.

Chaotic Evil would be the Joker.

True Neutral might consistently act Chaotic or Evil in small ways, but not when it comes to alignment-changing acts (like, lying, talking crap about people behind their backs, screwing them over, being selfish, but not engage in mass murder) ; or they might have Chaotic and Evil beliefs and ideals, and define themselves in relation to that outlook, without acting on it too much.

[Zhentarim]

True Neutral might consistently act Chaotic or Evil in small ways, but not when it comes to alignment-changing acts (like, lying, talking crap about people behind their backs, screwing them over, being selfish, but not engage in mass murder) ; or they might have Chaotic and Evil beliefs and ideals, and define themselves in relation to that outlook, without acting on it too much.

I can relate to that. Some people need to be knocked down so I can continue climbing in my career, but anything overt or open would be counterproductive. Despite being a government psychotherapist/hypnotist/public relations guy, laws and dogma leave a bad taste in my mouth. With new, fresh, open markets, I could quickly establish additional income revenues. It helps to spin it as helping everybody, though.

[Eldonauran]

You know, we used to call holding certain chaotic and evil beliefs but never openly acting on them enough to draw attention to ourselves, being smart. It was the hallmark of an intelligent villain. Now, it's True Neutral with chaotic evil tendencies. Sure, whatever makes you sleep better.

[Zhentarim]

You know, we used to call holding certain chaotic and evil beliefs but never openly acting on them enough to draw attention to ourselves, being smart. It was the hallmark of an intelligent villain. Now, it's True Neutral with chaotic evil tendencies. Sure, whatever makes you sleep better.

Lol...I love this game.

[daryen]

Here's how I'd look at it: Alignment is supposed to reflect who you are. So, if you are True Neutral, then that's who you are. So, you look out for Number One and your Loved Ones, but everyone else falls where they may. You don't enjoy the suffering of others, and you don't care about following or rebelling against the rules. True Neutral.

BUT, when you react, you overdo it. While you don't enjoy inflicting suffering widely, you do enjoy seeing those you hate suffer, and you are willing to go to extremes to do it.

Or, in other words, you have the attitude of True Neutral, but you freely use the tools of Chaotic Evil to get the job done.

[Eldonauran]

BUT, when you react, you overdo it. While you don't enjoy inflicting suffering widely, you do enjoy seeing those you hate suffer, and you are willing to go to extremes to do it.
Yeah, you and I see alignment differently. I see who you are (as a character) not as how you 'generally act' when things are going your way, but as a reflection of who you truly are, by the means and methods you are willing to go to in order to 'get the job done'. Convincing yourself that you are a generally nice guy but are willing to bring suffering to your enemies, and enjoy it, when it becomes personal is a mark of Evil. That character is either pretending, or is deluded enough, to believe he is not Evil.

But then, that is not how you handle alignment. It is how I handle it. There are no tendency rules. Everyone is capable of acting within and outside of their alignment. It is how often you do it, and the severity of how you do it that influences your alignment. If it works for you, keep it up and have fun.

[daryen]

Well, obviously, you can easily get to the point that you are what you do. Overreacting with CE acts will have to be limited in order to even pretend to be TN. My point was not that you torture all enemies, just that when you get to the Big One, you will cross the line. Or whenever. Maybe it is some other trigger. The point is that you have to do it rarely and as the exception, or you aren't TN; you are CE.

[Seto]

You know, we used to call holding certain chaotic and evil beliefs but never openly acting on them enough to draw attention to ourselves, being smart. It was the hallmark of an intelligent villain. Now, it's True Neutral with chaotic evil tendencies. Sure, whatever makes you sleep better.
(emphasis mine)
Oh, acting secretly on your chaotic and evil beliefs without drawing attention totally makes you a smart CE character. I'm talking about the person who doesn't act on their beliefs, or only rarely.
Alignment needs acts. You can preach Lawful and Good ideologies all day long, you can believe in them sincerely, you're not LG unless you actually go out there, help people, act in a way consistent with your beliefs. You're not LG, but you might be TN (LG tendencies), in fact that's probably the most common way of being TN (LG). It stands to reason that TN (CE) would work the same.

[KillianHawkeye]

"True Neutral with <Insert Alignment> tendencies" basically means that the character is a wanna-be or a poser for the indicated alignment. See, every alignment encompasses a range of behavior, even True Neutral, so these characters are just a little closer to being a particular alignment than any other without crossing the line to actually embrace that alignment.

[Karl Aegis]

When you go hunting you decide to hunt animals instead of people.

[Eldonauran]

(emphasis mine)
Oh, acting secretly on your chaotic and evil beliefs without drawing attention totally makes you a smart CE character. I'm talking about the person who doesn't act on their beliefs, or only rarely.
Alignment needs acts. You can preach Lawful and Good ideologies all day long, you can believe in them sincerely, you're not LG unless you actually go out there, help people, act in a way consistent with your beliefs. You're not LG, but you might be TN (LG tendencies), in fact that's probably the most common way of being TN (LG). It stands to reason that TN (CE) would work the same.
That's where we differ in opinion. In my opinion, someone that doesn't act on their beliefs doesn't really believe what they claim. They are merely very good at deluding themselves, and possibly others. They might have other people fooled but the Universe has them pegged properly. Acts are important but intentions are just as important because they are a reflection of the character's true belief. Your example of TN (LG) is merely just TN. The example of TN (CE) is CE because the character does act on the impulses and inherent beliefs.

This is why people never really agree on how alignment works. We have different opinions on it. They think that extreme examples of alignments (like Joker as CE) sets the norm for the behavior. No, the Joker is on the far end of the CE alignment pool. The shallow end has a lot of people in it that may not realize it until hit with a smite evil or similar spell effect.

EDIT: To answer the OP's original question: "How is true neutral with chaotic evil tendencies different from chaotic evil?" It is not different. It is exactly the same thing, though seen through a lens of being 'less' deep into that chaotic evil alignment pool make you less chaotic and less evil, with only 'tendencies' towards it . It is just a layer of moral justification added on top of an unpalatable conclusion to make one feel better about it. Thankfully, the Universe is uncaring about how someone justifies their alignment and is the final arbiter of the matter.