Kitty's alignment and destiny

[martianmister]

As common knowledge, animals are usually listed as true neutral because they have no conscience to distinguish good from bad. You may think that same is true for Mr. Scruffy too, but there is several facts that could paint a different picture:

1. Mr. Scruffy is no ordinary animal, he is smarter than ordinary cats. Thus he could have a conscience to distinguish bad from good. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1020.html)

2. Belkar's defense mechanism against evil is triggered because of Mr. Scruffy's touch. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1130.html)

3. Mr. Scruffy is responsible for murder of someone innocent. Yes, he was innocent and was trying to defend other convicts from Belkar's abusive behavior. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0780.html)

4. Belkar is a bad influence on his cat and, according to Haley, they're averages on south of neutral. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0781.html)

Could there be a possibility that both Belkar and his cat are evil? If that's the case, what will happen to the kitty after the death of his master?

[2.5 cats]

I'd remove item #2 as a clue regarding Mr. Scruffy's alignment. The clasp is triggered by someone rubbing it (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0969.html), and the gnome who sold it to Belkar certainly assumed that it would activate from a non-evil person doing this.

Mr Scruffy is loyal to his friends and genuinely cares about their well being, be them Belkar or Bloodfeast (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1021.html). I'd call him true neutral.

[Harbinger]

1. I'll admit, that scene is a bit weird with regards to Mr. Scruffy acting smarter than he logically should be able to, but I think a lot of it, especially having Blackwing talk to him, is just a bit of narrative convenience. Besides, just because he's smart for a cat doesn't mean he's anywhere near human intelligence.

2. The clasp is activated by rubbing it. Anything doing so, regardless of Goodness or Evilness, would have the same effect.

3. He can't understand human speech and has no concept of innocence or guilt. All he was doing was defending the creature that protects, feeds, and cares for him from another creature that was perceived as threatening.

4. I think that was just a joke, but either way Haley isn't a paladin and has no way of confirming for sure if the cat is Evil or not.

As a side note, I just noticed that all of my least favorite moments in this comic (which I'm not bashing btw, it's my favorite comic by far, other than Watchmen) involve Mr. Scruffy. The ones you cited in your first and third points, and this one (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0835.html). Which is odd, because I generally have nothing against him or his relationship to Belkar.

[Celestia]

He's a cat. Obviously he's evil. Are there any that aren't?

[Doctor West]

Don't be silly. Any cat owner will tell you that cats, like small children, are tireless servants of Chaos.

[Kish]

Don't be silly. Any cat owner will tell you that cats, like small children, are tireless servants of Chaos.
Indeed.

Beyond that, this thread's OP strikes me as a whole lot of reaching for a predetermined conclusion.

[Particle_Man]

Do cats even have any kind of afterlife in OOTSverse?

[Sylian]

Mr. Scruffy is True Neutral. Source: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?293540-No-love-for-Neutral-alignments-in-OOTS/page2&p=15667889#post15667889

[woweedd]

Um..Mr. Scruffy's intelligence almost certainly is just a result of him being an Animal companion. By D&D rules, while it does not increase the animals' raw INT, it does grant an increased link between Ranger and companion, allowing the ranger to better empathize with(or, om Belkar's case, empathize period) and command their companion. it's plausible Belkar's influence has made the cat more ruthless, but it's not outright Evil, especially since that coold also be attributable to simply Scruffy undergoing the transition from pampered housecat to animal companion of a high-level adventurer. Plus, the cat's doing the same. It's the first creature Belker felt empathy for, and he's been expanding on that this book.

[Particle_Man]

It says something that adopting a cat's morality is a step up for Belkar. :smallbiggrin:

[NontheistCleric]

Mr. Scruffy may be more intelligent than the average animal companion, possibly as a result of Belkar having the Urban Companion ACF (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/we/20070228a). Not that he necessarily has it, but it would explain his animal companion being so small for a high-level ranger and seemingly more intelligent than usual.

Regardless, Mr. Scruffy has not shown any outright evil behaviour. Keep in mind that the single possibly evil act you listed, the killing of an innocent, was from Mr. Scruffy's perspective the killing of someone who was trying to kill his master. Killing in defense of your loved ones is a neutral act at worst.

Of course, there's little chance that level one commoner could have killed Belkar, which Mr. Scruffy may even have been aware of, depending on how intelligent he actually is, but the fact remains that he was the aggressor in that situation, and was actively trying to kill Belkar for being a bully. Not that being a bully is good, but it certainly doesn't give a potential bully-killer any kind of moral high ground.