Psychotic Neutral

[Red Viper]

My character got totally killed tonight and i was thinking it was time to retire it since it was much fun.

I got my new character and I got into an argument with the first person from the party that i would be joining. Then another one of the party coems out and says, "you @$$holes get in the wagon." So I say, "I'll show you an @$$hole," and thenb I drop my breeches. THe dm then decides that after one action that i get to be not chaotic neutral, but Psychotic(sp?) neutral. What's up with that?

 

[WanderingMonster]

My character got totally killed tonight and i was thinking it was time to retire it since it was much fun...What's up with that?

Welcome to the boards!

Eric's grandma is pretty clever and can still understand when people use pun¢tuation to beat the profanity filter, so we don't do that here. She's got sensitive ears, and no one wants to get the "hairy eyeball" from Eric's grandma.

If you haven't met Eric's grandma yet, read the FAQ.

 

[Starglim]

THe dm then decides that after one action that i get to be not chaotic neutral, but Psychotic(sp?) neutral. What's up with that?

Your GM might be referring to the character's sanity, in insulting three total strangers of higher level than him who have swords, bows and lightning bolts.

 

[frankthedm]

i would say that is more chaotic stupid, than psychotic neutral.

 

[Fieari]

Ah yes, the classic Chaotic Stupid alignment. Too many CE wannabes fall into that category.

 

[El Ravager]

Is there any other kind of Chaotic Neutral?

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Not usually. Chaotic Neutral is the "I want to do anything I feel like and the DM can't tell me otherwise cause I'm CN" alignment.

However, there are some people who can pull off a good CN without making it really dumb. Like the survivalist who could care less about other people so long as they don't try to apply their rules to him..."You'll get my wand when you pry it from my cold dead hands." Or the highwayman who just robs people who happen to come by, regardless of whether they're fattened rich merchants with too much money, or taking the proceeds of the poorbox to the orphange. Or there's the barbarian who lives for battle but feels neither the pull of honour and justice nor the pull of cruelty and domination...both those roads lead to foolishness; only battle is truth.

One could even play the crazy lunatic, come down from the mountain to bring his "wisdom" to the ignorant and save the world from itself. That would be a pretty convincing CN, if you could pull it off.

It's possible to play a good CN. But acting like a boob and then hiding behind your alignment is kinda lame. And it's a cliche'd lame, too. Chaotic Stupid has been around since 1st edition.

 

[Snoweel]

could care less

Actually, it's "couldN'T care less". If you actually think about what the phrase implies, you'll understand.

Or the highwayman who just robs people who happen to come by, regardless of whether they're fattened rich merchants with too much money, or taking the proceeds of the poorbox to the orphange.

Robbing indiscriminately is Evil. It isn't any kind of Neutral, not even CN.

But your other examples of CN are good.

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

Actually, it's "couldN'T care less". If you actually think about what the phrase implies, you'll understand.

True enough, although most people actually SAY "I could care less" with a distinctly sarcastic tone in their voice, which is pretty much the same thing as saying "I couldn't care less" in a more serious manner.

But that, of course, has nothing to do with the topic.


Me, I'd say Red Viper's action was kind of nonsensical and basically very, very stupid; any character who habitually did stuff like that wouldn't last long in a game I was running or playing in. The player would be "invited" to modify his character or create a new one, or find his PC completely ostracized by the rest of the party.

So I sort of see why his GM jumped on him right away. That's the kind of mistake that has to be corrected quickly, or it might never be corrected at all. This is a fine exception to the general rule that alignment should change to reflect the general behavior of a character and not due to a single, isolated action.


And to take another stance about CN characters, I'd like to point out that CN can be a very pragmatic alignment. Rules and laws are incapable of dealing with the kinds of fluid, highly circumstance-dependent decisions that real life calls on us to make. Altruism and "good" deeds are okay and can win you some friends and glory, but you shouldn't be married to them, particularly if you're going to endanger yourself by doing so. Likewise, evil acts can net you some quick and relatively easy benefits, but also tend to make lots and lots of enemies, so you should use your best judgement before doing things like that. Evaluate everything on a case-by-case basis, weigh the costs and the benefits as they apply to you in that particular situation, and then make your choice. Don't worry if someone else or some larger institution approves of your final decision; they aren't in your shoes, so it's not their call to make.

You can also play CN as a spoiled rock star. You can care very deeply about something, and then simply assume that your desires take precedence over everything else, so long as they're aimed towards that thing you care about. Rules are for the little people; you're different because you have a driving passion to guide you, and you don't need anything more than that.

CN doesn't have to be "I'm a randomly-acting chucklehead" or "I don't give a rat's ass about anything." There's quite a bit of range in that alignment for some more interesting character types.

--
the spoiled rock star is a particularly fun archetype for an adventuring rogue
ryan