Darkness said:
Alright, let's give the man a few examples to work with...
I'm going about this looking at it from the point of view of Good and Evil in the game I'm currently playing in. It's a bit extreme, but I think it's worht bringing up to show a contrast between points of view.
A band of Good adventurers trespass on NE goblins' territory on the way to their destination on a quest to save a kind-of-Good city, and kill all goblin combatants they encounter on sight unless they are in the process of moving away from them. Goblins who survive the initial attack and surrender are spared, as are noncombatants. (Noncombatants are spared in this example because debates with a premise like "is killing goblin children wrong?" are tiresome and fruitless.)
Tresspassing is Chaotic, as it's a disregard for Law and local authority. Killing on sight is Evil, because it's murder. However, if you mean 'on sight and confirmed threat,' than it's Neutral, as self preservation is not truely good or evil. Letting non-coms and those who surrender go is a Good act, as it shows respect for life. To remain Good here, the adventurers need to avoid contact, have peaceful contact with the goblins, or fight as little as possible, trying to avoid killing at all costs.
As above, but they don't accept any combatants' surrender, slaughtering them where they stand so they can't be a threat later. They also pursue and slaughter goblins they could have avoided to make sure they don't summon reinforcements. Goblin noncombatants are still spared.
Non-coms are spared, but anyone able to wield a weapon dies? Not Good. I'd say Evil, given that you're murdering non-hostiles by killing those who surrender.
A red dragon obtains money through trading and uses it to spread the religion of a CE deity of slaughter. (Yes, this one is as simple as it seems.)
Evil. a Deity of Slaughter isn't about happy puppies. the God's tennants involve the painful death of those who wish not to die, thus it's Evil. The means the Dragon uses to support the religion are irrelevant in this reguard.
A Lawful noble murders a N foreign adventurer to obtain his magic items because he needs more power to fight for his LN king in a war against CE orcs.
Murder is Evil, plain and simple. The ends do not justify those means, as peaceful solutions could have been had, and those magic items were not so absolutely necessary that murder was warranted. there was no crime committed, so the death is not punnishment, either. Chaotic and Evil.
A paladin patrols through a LG city, constantly detecting evil, and kills every adult who detects as evil, no matter their combat prowess, who they are or what they are doing at the moment.
You mean an Ex-Paladin. Murder is Evil, this is Murder, this is Evil. If the Evil people were tried for crimes and convicted, killing them could be Lawful, and maybe even Neutral, but that's iffy. Chaotic Evil.
A LG ruler of a generally G realm orders the imprisonment and execution of those 5% of his adult population who want his N cousin, who has an almost equally legitimate claim to throne, to become the ruler, no matter their alignment, combat prowess or previous acts (or lack thereof) to weaken his rule.
Evil means to an Evil end. To punnish people for holding a different opinion is Evil, especially to punnish them with Death. Controling other's opinions, through whatever means, is wrong. Evil, but I think more Lawful than Chaotic., because it uses authority, and not simply power, to carry it's weight.
To prevent the spread of a magical plague that might cause great destruction, a paladin prince orders the slaughter of an entire city of his generally non-Evil people. Not wanting to lose valuable time, he doesn't even consider other options. (Yes, this is a Warcraft example.)
Never played Warcraft 3... This is evil means to a good end. Evil. Not examining other tactics is rather blatantly Evil.
A mostly NG human town and a NE goblin tribe have both grown in numbers over the years and are now regularly clashing over contested territory they both need to survive, leading to a war.
As above. Hard-pressed by the humans, the goblins send a NE goblin assassin of high level to assassinate the human leadership to prevent their tribe's destruction.
As above, but the other way around: The humans are hard-pressed and send a NG ranger to assassinate the goblin leadership.
Murder is Murder, whether it's Men or Goblins. Both Evil. I would also contend that warring openly is Evil as well. A Good solution would be to gather together and agree to share resources. I doubt a Good solution would ever come to pass in this situation.
After a widespread famine, a Neutral-to-Good realm ruled by a Good queen is in great peril. One day, a powerful Evil outsider appears before the queen and offers her a deal: It will use its magical powers to continually provide food for the people but in exchange is given two citizens per week that it will eat. The queen, not wanting to see her people starve, reluctantly agrees.
This, as written, is Evil. If you were to make being eaten by the Demon punnishment for a crime, that warrented a death penalty, it
could be Neutral. If you put ittothe people, and asked for vlunteers to come forth and sacrifice themselves for the good of all, it could be a Good act, as long as the day you no longer got enough volunteers you broke the contract and didn't resourt to unwilling sacrifices. Suicide is not Evil, it's merely unfortunate, and suicide for noble reasons, for the good of others, can be a Good act, as any Paladin would know. (It's called being a Martyr.)
Due to the results of a large war in ages past, a tribe of CG elves are living as a minority under the rule of their human allies in the war, who are now ruled by a LN dictator. Neither the elves nor the humans have very much personal freedom but they are very safe and there is little crime. The Chaotic elves chafe very much under the dictator's rule and one day start to rebel against the dictator's forces to attain their freedom because they can't take it any longer, even though their actions will cause widespread chaos and destruction in the realm.
Causing chaos is Chaotic, rather obviously, and causing destruction can be Chaotic, Neutral or Evil, depending on what is destroyed. If it is nothing but property, and no one is harmed, it is merely Chaotic. If people are harmed, but by their own actions, and the Elves took steps to prevent the harm, it would be more Chaotic Neutral. If people were harmed or killed, and nothing was done to prevent it, it would be Evil.
I'll try to give an example of Evil intent put to Good ends...
The King hires an executioner who, while a Law abiding citizen who would never lift a hand against another and has never harmed another being unlawfully (outside of an execution that is), relishes in his duties and feels a rush of pleasure each time his axe bites into flesh. Clearly enjoying the death and dismemberment of another so much is Evil, but this man is put to good and Lawful use in society, and has never done anything 'wrong' other than enjoying his job far too much to be healthy. Is this man Good or Evil? Would it matter if he had a family of 5 and raised his children to be good upstanding citizens? (One of them is a Paladin!) He gives to charities, helps his neighbors and strangers alike in times of hardship, and, get this, voted against the death penalty in the last trial he sat in as juror. Is this man, who does something so terrible, daily, Evil?
Just an example off the top of my head. It may not be a good one at all. I feel I should point outthat, though I speak in absolute terms, everything I've said in this post is my opinion, and should be treated as such.
- Kemrain the [Evil].