(class) must be chaotic, and [chaotic]

[Hyozo]

I have been thinking about racial and class alignment requirements. If being chaotic includes having a free will and free spirit, then it makes no sense that a race or class can be forced to be chaotic. If he wants to not be chaotic, those two facts of being chaotic should allow him to not be chaotic. Am I overthinking this, or do others agree with me that anyone chaotic automatically has the option to become non-chaotic?

[BRC]

Well, Chaotic dosn't mean having a free will, it means believing in freedom over regulation, so somthing can be predisposed to believe that, such as a barbarian who would resent being controled by a society.This is kind of a catch-22, but the entire world in DnD is run by numbers and tables, which is preety darn lawful if you ask me.

[The Neoclassic]

Chaotic is much harder to define than lawful, especially the ever-elusive CN. That said, I interpret chaotic as having little interest in structure, organization, norms of behavior, established laws, tradition, or imposed personal bonds (in other words, a chaotic person enjoys the company of someone because they like them for who they are, not just because they are related or their families are friends). A free spirit is one that is not constrained by the things I listed above, hence it is possible to have a generally chaotic race or class, though it is not all that easy to define clearly.

[Querzis]

I have been thinking about racial and class alignment requirements. If being chaotic includes having a free will and free spirit, then it makes no sense that a race or class can be forced to be chaotic. If he wants to not be chaotic, those two facts of being chaotic should allow him to not be chaotic. Am I overthinking this, or do others agree with me that anyone chaotic automatically has the option to become non-chaotic?

Its simply saying that some class have a fighting style to require being chaotic. The barbarian rage, for example, is basically letting your feeling of rage consume you to become an unstoppable ball of fury on the battlefield, its not something someone orderly and collected (someone lawfull) can do.

Or just look at the warlock class, you can be evil, since forming a pact with fiends is evil but you can also be chaotic since those power are genetic and its not because your father/mother was evil that you are. But to use those powers even if you know where they come from fiends is really chaotic.

Or the malconvoker who trick the demons and devils into killing each other or other evil beings, that class is based on lies and deception for the greater goods and to make evil destroy itself. You are right when you say that you cant really force a chaotic character to do anything, he'll do it if he want to. But its not that a class is forced to be chaotic at all, its the other way around: its just that only chaotic people have the right personnality to be in that class in the first place. Just like only Lawfull people would have the discipline to become monk or paladins in the first place.

Being chaotic, neutral or Lawfull is a character personnality and attitude, its hard to change your entire personnality or attitude, evil can be redeemed and good can be corrupted quite easely but its really hard and long to become lawfull if you were chaotic (at least, it is if you dont use magic )