Aligment: Is Evil inborn

[delericho]

IMC, no. Pretty much everyone has a choice. Only the undead and outsiders have 'fixed' alignments by their very nature, and even there there's some wiggle room. (A Demon can cease to be CE, IMC, but then it is no longer a Demon and is instead something else.)

Many of the humanoid races have strong tendencies towards Evil, but usually these are cultural pressures. Orcs tend towards Evil because their weak intelligence leads to them being driven out of the more desirable terrains by the better equipped and organised races. Hobgoblins tend towards Evil because their birth rate is very high and they lack skill at farming, which necessitates near-constant raiding just to feed their tribes. Trolls tend towards Evil because of near-constant and ravenous hunger. Chromatic Dragons tend towards Evil largely out of greed and/or pride, while Kobolds do because they revere and serve those same dragons.

And so on.

In each case, there's a reason why the race tends towards Evil, but in each case it is ultimately a matter of choice. A troll could choose the path of Good... but it would find it extremely diffiuclt to walk. Easier just to be Evil, and so the vast majority are.

It's also worth noting that just because there's a reason why a given creature is Evil does not make it non-Evil, nor does it mean it should not be opposed, and exterminated if necessary. It just means that, sometimes, other methods might be more productive (eg Hobgoblins can be induced to work as mercenaries and gladiators, thus removing them as a threat without need for constant war).

All IMC, of course.

 

[Jesus_marley]

In a DnD world evil can be an inborn trait. I for one would restrict true Evil to creatures of the lower planes. As for standard creatures, evil is a matter of choice. Sometimes, in the case of certain cultures it is the only choice.


WRT the article, making evil "genetic" has that wonderful salve to your concience that it is no longer your fault. It magically removes any and all personal responsibility for your actions since you "can't help it, you were born that way." Makes me ill.

 

[shilsen]

Yes. All children are chaotic evil. Some get over it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

To crib from Trey Parker and Matt Stone:

Children are born evil. Society makes them good.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The media hurts the public's understanding of genetics by carrying these sensationalist hypotheses and never following up on them when they turn out to be unsubstantiated.

Yeah, because it's MSNBC that sent out the press release when this paper was submitted.

 

[JustKim]

Yes of course. The media is the victim and I am a very bad person for questioning its collective genuine interest in science.

 

[Alzrius]

I think that in D&D, inborn evil is represented by the Evil subtype. You can still change your alignment if you really want to, but you retain the subtype, and still detect as evil, etc. All other evils are learned.

 

[mythusmage]

Do you want certain people in your game world to be born evil?

Wrto born evil in the real world. People are born with certain tendencies re personality. How those tendencies are expressed depends on how they are raised. Sometimes behavioral tendencies are reinforced. Other times they are suppressed. I'm reminded of a short story in a long ago Dragon. The tale featured a lawful/good orc cleric who sacrificed himself for his party. Not entirely because it was the right thing to do, but mostly because, as he himself put it, "I have to be the best."

 

[thedungeondelver]

Yes. All children are chaotic evil. Some get over it.

Wow, I so don't agree with that.

Fortunately the real world doesn't have alignments so it wouldn't be true whether you'd said "lawful evil", "chaotic good", etc. etc.

 

[airwalkrr]

Is it just me or does this thread skirt dangerously close to being religious in nature?

IMO, there is no mechanic in D&D for evil being inborn for typical PC races. In fact, even demons and angels can change their alignment from time to time. So no, in D&D genetics does not determine alignment.