Request to the ENBoard Posters: Looking for some stereotypes.

[Edena_of_Neith]

This thread is about Alignment (HORRORS!) and therefore should not be taken seriously.
Taking this thread seriously, could cause you to spend money on stomach drugs, and that would be undesirable.

I want stereotypes on Lawful Goods.

That is, give me your best stereotypical example of a Lawful Good Guy, or a Lawful Good Girl, or a Lawful Good It.
If you think Lawful Goods vary by culture and race, great! Just give me one (or more than one if it pleases you) of your ideas.

For example:

A Lawful Good Human from Nation X

This person, is outgoing.
This person, is the life of the party.
This person, never argues.
This person, exercises a lot.
This person, is a busybody.

This person, never argues.
This person, loves polite philosophical discussion.
This person, loves the company of ladies but never flirts or proposes.
This person, drinks a lot but never becomes drunk.

This person, rarely fights in a battle.
This person, is repulsed by blood.
This person, never kills a prisoner.
This person, is horrified by war.
This person, believes strongly in honor (honor being defined as ... (long description follows) )

This person, believes society is good.
This person, believes society can always be improved.
This person, believes in family, although he has no family.
This person, has many friends, all of whom he is loyal to.

Etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum.

I'm looking for stereotypes.

Elven stereotypes.
Dwarven sterotypes.
Gnomish stereotypes.
Halfling stereotypes.
Heck, kender stereotypes if that is possible.
Human stereotypes, from any fantasy human society or culture known, from those in D&D to those in books.

If you think it's Lawful Good, I want to hear about it.

Of course, all paladins are Lawful Good (well, ok, that's not true, but let's not go there ...) so of course the audacious paladin stereotype, as you see it, should be included.

I say stereotype, and write this tongue in cheek, to avoid the Alignment Wars.
Don't want them. Nope. Not at all. Not here.
Just want stereotypes.

If you wish to describe a more philosophically thought out and deeper conception, by all means do so ... I'd love to hear it.
But please do not say: Well, Poster X's lawful good stereotype, is actually chaotic evil, and Poster Y's lawful good stereotype, is actually neutral.

Because if that happens, I will get few stereotypes, and instead I will receive a lot of unresolvable arguments.

Edena_of_Neith

 

[WayneLigon]

A Lawful Good person....
...likes stability, tradition and harmony
...likes a clear-cut system of heirarchies
...is kind but firm, strong in will.
...helps others before himself; he will strive to increase the comfort and happiness of others before his own. He places the interests of others before his own as often as possible. He will ease their burdens, and bear them himself if possible.
...will follow the law unless no other option is available, and will always follow the precepts of orderly behaviour: he is never frivolous, wasteful, expedient, hasty or inconsiderate in his dealings.
...will always strive for truth and honesty in all dealings.
...will always strive to maintain a high degree of personal integrity
...is respectful, especially of proven, time-tested methods and systems.
...always tries to have at least one plan
...is loyal
...keeps his sworn word, even if it profit him not and is honorable, even to enemies who do not know the word.
...strives to undo the works of evil whenever possible, because he knows that a victory for evil is a defeat for good.
...is merciful in victory
,,,knows that might does not make right.
...knows that base and evil actions by others do not give him the right to return in kind.
...knows that the end does not justify the means.
...knows that laws are all that separate us from the mindless beasts, who have no consideration or awareness of others.
...does not seek to turn situations to his personal advantage.
...knows that groups of people, acting in concert and harmony for the good of all, are stronger than the same number of people all working for their own ends.
...knows that clever men can bend and twist the law to their own ends. The law is greater than men, though, and when applied with an even, just and merciful hand always wins in the end.
...acts for the betterment of others without thought of recompense for himself. He is far more interested in seeing that others get their due reward.
...knows the value of hard work.
...sets goals for himself, for without something to strive for, one becomes stagnant and lazy.
...thinks ahead.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Thank you, WayneLigon.

Bumping this up.

 

[William Ronald]

Hi, Edena:

WayneLigon covered most of the topics I wished to address. However, here is a good quote from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, "The needs of the many far out weigh those of the few or the one."

In general, a LG character's actions should try to promote the general welfare of others. This is not to say that different lawful good characters can't have different approaches. For example, one may interprept his beliefs as to never lie or distort the truth under any circumstances. Another may believe that some small lies for the sake of peace might work. Some may be pacifists, while others may use force to confront problems. A LG character can be witty, even sometimes sarcastic. Alignment is not meant to be a straightjacket.

As for the humorus side of LG, a stereotypical paladin might arrest himself for jay walking.

A lawful good dwarf might enjoy a wild party, and spend the next day feeling somewhat penitent.

A lawful good cleric always has a collection of hair shirts available -- just in case.

A lawful good kender is always finding things for people, and saying it was no problem finding that lost silver ware.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Ok then, give me some Lawful Evils!

Heh. Cheers, William!
And nice to see you again, my friend.

Now, folks ... I'm Lawful Gooded out (I do not know if Gooded is a word, but I don't care.)

Give me some classic Lawful EVIL stereotypes.
And by that, I mean characters from books, or the general idealism as you see it, or anything else that pleases you.

 

[William Ronald]

Okay, but it is late.

Lawful evil underling: Always kicks the people beneath him and sucks up to the people above him.

Lawful evil leader: Will follow the letter of the law, but may well ignore its spirit.

Lawful evil merchant or businessman: Always has two sets of accounting books, one for the tax man and the real ones.

Lawful evil politician: You can tell when he is lying. His lips are moving.

On a more serious note, Lawful Evil supposes that an organized society is best. However, only the most deserving should have the maximum amount of rights and lesser beings receive proportionally less. There is a sense that one must honor one's word, which tends to support an organized society, but that the wording of a promise can be crucial. There is also a focus on attention to detail. A lawful evil creature should be extremely methodical, seeking advancement of his position and agenda.

Another hallmark of Lawful Evil is extreme record keeping. In a lawful evil kingdom, there may well be halls of records documenting such things as torture, executions, and other misdeeds done in the name of the state. This has been seen in our own world.


(By the way, Edena, do check out Sepulchrave II's Story Hour thread Lady Despina's Virtue and it's sequels. You might also be interested in the following threads as well. There have been a few things of note in your (IR) To my friends in the IR thread and I have also posted Maps and other campaign resources in the Talking the Talk forum. Tried to reach you by e-mail, but my message bounced back. )