D&D General A friend of mine has joined A 5E Dnd Group, has decided to play A Robin Hood Style character and wants to know what people think of his character

[Charlaquin]

Sadly my mate thinking is that even laws that are both completely biased and totally corrupt are still laws and that even someone that only breaks such laws in order to give the poor the things they need to survive would still be of Lawful Evil Alignment

What?? That corrupt laws are still laws is literally the reason lawful/chaotic and good/evil are on separate axis. A character who breaks corrupt laws is likely chaotic good.

 

[abirdcall]

Lawful doesn't mean following the laws of wherever you happen to be.

It means following codes.

Rob from the rich and give to the poor is such a code so I agree with lawful.

Evil is definitely not it though for Robinhood.

The Sheriff of Nottingham is Lawful Evil.

 

[Stalker0]

Is it possible that in some situations, like this 1, theirs no right or wrong Alignment to assign a Pc or Npc,?

There is a very good reason that Dnd has steadily moved away from alignment as having any mechanical impact to your character.... because no one agrees on alignment, this thread just being another great example.

Alignment is a role playing aid only, if it helps you get to the character you want to play great, but its really no longer a straight jacket or "reward/penalty" for playing a certain way.

As to the character, my only note is this seems more like the "personal adventurer" Robin Hood and not the "leader of men" version. Though you have persuasion your charisma is just average. If your going for more of a "leader of men, inspirer of the people" theme, I would bump up the charisma.

 

[Stalker0]

Ok so that said, since everyone has to have their two cents on alignment, this is how the book defines them:

Lawful Good. (LG) creatures can be counted on to do the right thing as expected by society. Gold dragons and paladins are typically lawful good.

Neutral Good. (NG) folk do the best they can to help others according to their needs. Many celestials are neutral good.

Chaotic Good. (CG) creatures act as their conscience directs, with little regard for what others expect. Copper dragons and unicorns are typically chaotic good.

Lawful Neutral. (LN) individuals act in accordance with law, tradition, or personal codes. Modrons and many wizards and monks are lawful neutral.

Neutral. (N) is the alignment of those who prefer to steer clear of moral questions and don’t take sides, doing what seems best at the time. Druids are traditionally neutral, as are typical townsfolk.

Chaotic Neutral. (CN) creatures follow their whims, holding their personal freedom above all else. Many rogues and bards are chaotic neutral.

Lawful Evil. (LE) creatures methodically take what they want, within the limits of a code of tradition, loyalty, or order. Devils and blue dragons are typically lawful evil.

Neutral Evil. (NE) is the alignment of those who do whatever they can get away with, without compassion or qualms. Yugoloths are typically neutral evil.

Chaotic Evil. (CE) creatures act with arbitrary violence, spurred by their greed, hatred, or bloodlust. Demons and red dragons are typically chaotic evil.



Based on this, the typical "Robin Hood" character would be Chaotic Good, maybe Neutral Good.

 

[jerryrice4949]

My mate choose Lawful Evil alignment for 3 reasons

The 1st is because of the whole rob the rich to feed the poor thing

The 2nd is that despite the fact that most laws are both completely biased and totally corrupt they are still laws

The 3rd is that despite the fact that almost all law enforcement officials are corrupt and those that aren't are too scared of the power and influence that the 1's that are have their still law enforcement officials

I don’t use alignment in my games but this would be chaotic or neutral good not lawful evil.

 

[Charlaquin]

I've just thought of something

Is it possible that in some situations, like this 1, theirs no right or wrong Alignment to assign a Pc or Npc,? it just comes down to a individuals opinion and different people could have different opinions on what alignment the same Pc or Npc should be

I mean, yes, but at that point alignment is meaningless anyway, so why even have it.

 

[Charlaquin]

Lawful Evil. (LE) creatures methodically take what they want, within the limits of a code of tradition, loyalty, or order. Devils and blue dragons are typically lawful evil.

Amusingly, under that definition you could have a reasonable argument for lawful evil Robin Hood. He takes what he wants, within the limits of his code that says he must take it from the rich, and give it to the poor.

 

[abirdcall]

Amusingly, under that definition you could have a reasonable argument for lawful evil Robin Hood. He takes what he wants, within the limits of his code that says he must take it from the rich, and give it to the poor.

I think that is why there are examples given to clarify the meaning.

A devil isn't helping the poor out of goodness.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Robin Hood is like Archetypical Chaotic or Neutral Good.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

If it were up to me the alignment I'd assign him would depend on what source he's based on

If he's based on Robin Hood as he is in The Disney Animated Movie I'd class him as Lawful Good

If he's based on how Robin Hood is in the books I'd class him as Lawful Evil

If he's based on how Robin Hood is in the TV Show from roughly a decade ago I'd say Lawful Evil in Series 1, Neutral Evil in Series 2 and Chaotic Good in series 3

If he's based on how Robin Hood is in the films I'd say Neutral Good

How do you ever class him as Evil period?