Can someone lend me a hand?

[SorvahrSpahr]

Man i was away from these boards for too long...well, i'm back and need a little help with deciding something.

A common event on my D&D group, is to sometimes, be it a NPC or even a PC, to make a small rip off of some manga/anime characters. The most recent "victim" of the Rip-Off squad is Hajime Saito from Rurouni Kenshin.

And there lies the problem. I'm having a hard time deciding his alignment, and his character in general. See...i can't decide if the guy is a fighter, or a samurai. In the series, he belonged to the Shinsengumi, but had a very personal way of solving his problems.

As for his alignment, he's a pretty complex guy...he... well...better give you the info from wikipedia, it's a better source: (sorry for the wall of text)

"The popular Rurouni Kenshin series portrays him as an anti-hero, once a mortal enemy of protagonist Himura Kenshin, and eventually an uneasy ally. As portrayed in Rurouni Kenshin, Saitō is very tall and plain-looking compared to the other characters and has a cold and quiet disposition, following some of the very few descriptions of his personality in real life.

In Rurouni Kenshin, Saito is granted special permission to carry a katana. The Gatotsu sword technique that he uses in the series is similar to the description of his original sword technique, but is purely fictional, and not entirely accurate to real swordfighting. The real left-handed thrust is used, in most sword styles, as a surprise maneuver. It is executed as a tsuki or thrust while stepping through, releasing the right hand at the last moment, leaving the left holding the end of the hilt. The grip-change and the step grant an extra foot or more of reach, completely changing the spacing of the fight, but it must be done suddenly to be most effective.

The Aku Soku Zan motto he lives by (悪即斬, most literally, "Kill those who are evil immediately," but more poetically translated as "Swift death to evil," or "Slay Evil Immediately.") is similarly unverified beyond its use in Rurouni Kenshin, but fits with Saitō's reputation for killing corrupt Shinsengumi members."

For exemple, he uses a bandit to cause some troubles in town, so he can locate Batousai and kill him. he kicked seven types of hell out of Sanosuke, to find Kenshin. it's stuff like that, that makes me think twice b4 making him as a samurai. but he at least, keeps true to his principles...he also served as a spy for the Shinsengumi so...not sure how Lawful that would be xD


so...any ideas about this chara? fighter or samurai...alignment...I'm rly lost here xD

 

[Arkhandus]

I can't remember who Saito was....description? It's been a few years I think since I watched Rurouni Kenshin, and I'm poor with names so I'm having trouble placing that name.....

 

[Treebore]

Chaotic Good fighter. He does not follow bushido, but he does believe in eradicating evil, and using any means he has to to achieve it, other than sacrificing no more innocents than necessary. Plus he ikes to do things "his way", so thats why I say Chaotic, rather than neutral Good.

The reason he is confusing as a fighter or samurai is because he knows Samurai fighting techniques, and can use them. However, a Samurai is defined by Bushido, and he does not follow Bushido.

So he is a fighter who knows Samurai combat techniques.

That is my interpretation.

 

[SorvahrSpahr]

hmm, that sounds about right. i was also thinking of making him chaotic neutral, but that's maybe too...neutral, for him, right?

and for Arkhandus, here is Saito http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/Bex/kenshin12_saito.jpg

 

[Archimedes314]

hmm, that sounds about right. i was also thinking of making him chaotic neutral, but that's maybe too...neutral, for him, right?

and for Arkhandus, here is Saito http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/images/Bex/kenshin12_saito.jpg

Thing is, exterminating evil is not enough to be good. At best, someone who uses any means necessary to root out evil is neutral. At worst, they are evil themselves. That said, I don't think Saito qualifies as evil (though my memory of the show is a bit rusty, like Arkhandus I haven't seen it in a few years). Neutral on the good-evil axis is the best fit, IMHO.

 

[Treebore]

Thing is, exterminating evil is not enough to be good. At best, someone who uses any means necessary to root out evil is neutral. At worst, they are evil themselves. That said, I don't think Saito qualifies as evil (though my memory of the show is a bit rusty, like Arkhandus I haven't seen it in a few years). Neutral on the good-evil axis is the best fit, IMHO.

I can definitely see an argument for neutral. I went to Chaotic because he oftem made a point of disregarding the "rules".

So even though he acted neutral, sometimes arguably even evil, he was very chaotic and good the majority of the time. So unless you look at alignment rigidly, chaotic or neutral good will definitely work.

 

[SorvahrSpahr]

hmm, I think that the Chaotic Good may rly be the best. for exemple...he could've killed Sanosuke when he attacked him the first time, but he didn't. and he even tried to stop him from following them to fight Shishio, 'cause he'd probably die...even if the way he used to stop him was a bit unortodox...