Alignment: Han Solo is Neutral?

[Delta]

So does a bus or taxi driver - but they can't be good?.

Ah, so what's the alignment of Travis Bickle from "Taxi Driver"?

 

[ruleslawyer]

When he starts out, the Movie Han (I'll be ignoring the Extended Universe Han because that's a) non-canonical, and b) not known to most) is:

- A smuggler, someone who makes aliving out of breaking the law.

At best, non-Lawful, not non-Good, especially when considering the nature of the entity promulgating the laws.

- Someone who works for well-known and ruthless crime bosses (namely, Jabba).

Except, of course, that he's on the outs with Jabba.

- Someone who, as Greedo puts it, "jettisons his cargo at the first sight of an Imperial ship", as to not get in trouble with the Law (if he can help it).

That's business strategy, not good or evil, in my book.

- Someone who, when given the opportunity to settle his debt in exchange for his ship, refuses, even though that might save his life and that of his best friend.

Saving his life would be self-interest anyway. Again, not relevant on the good and evil axis. Moreover, it's absolutely not clear that Chewie's life is in danger because of this bounty thing. Han refers to "my dead body"; "my neck"; etc.

- Refuses to help an old man and a boy, until they tempt him with tons of money.

- Refuses to rescue a Princess, until they tempt him with tons of money.

Okay; this is the *first* actually alignment-relevant point you've raised. I agree.

- Flies by the seat of his pants (sometimes literally), making stuff up as he goes.

Once more, at best chaotic, possibly merely an issue of personal style. Nothing to do with good/evil.

Saying "May The Force Be With You" to Luke at Yavin IV doesn't mean he's going Good. It means he's becoming friends with this farm-boy.

Actually, it seems to mean that he's starting to care about this Rebellion thing. Note his grudging response to Chewie's admonition.

Coming back to save Luke at the Death Star also doesn't make him Good.

I would say that this are illustrative of a generally Good alignment, actually.

 

[Seeten]

Real people dont just "Rescue the Princess from the huge prison" on some farmboys say so.

I mean really.

Imagine this conversation in real life, with a local cabbie,

"Hey, there is a jail around the corner. I need you to help me break out one of the female inmates. She's been falsely accused" and see where you get.

 

[Nyaricus]

Han Solo comes off as Chaotic Neutral (with traces of good tinged with greed) and will always be who I cite to my players who wish to play the chaotic 'dumb' alignment.

He's a rambuncious (s?), flying-on-the-seat-of-his-pants, swashbuckling guy who has to adust to what's happening around him, and realise what is worth fighting for.

Really, any neutral alignment, in my opinion, is just a transistion waiting to come into their own on the good to evil axis.

cheers,
--N

 

[pawsplay]

Point 1: Greedo, not Guido.

Point 2: Han was definitely neutral when he started out. The original versions of the movies just did a better job of showing it. He became good as the story continued (something that was also much better shown, as a character arc, in the unaltered versions).

I don't think he did. I think he just demonstrated that his brand of heroism had a lot going for it. He joined the rebellion because he hated the Empire and loved Chewbacca, Luke, and Leia, not because he thought he thought people, in general, deserved a better life.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Real people dont just "Rescue the Princess from the huge prison" on some farmboys say so.

I mean really.

Imagine this conversation in real life, with a local cabbie,

"Hey, there is a jail around the corner. I need you to help me break out one of the female inmates. She's been falsely accused" and see where you get.

Unless you're real lucky, that cabbie isn't going to be an experienced criminal who grew up on the streets and had a childhood of con artistry and thieving, and a decade plus of experience with violence and breaking the law...

 

[prosfilaes]

Real people dont just "Rescue the Princess from the huge prison" on some farmboys say so.

I mean really.

Imagine this conversation in real life, with a local cabbie,

"Hey, there is a jail around the corner. I need you to help me break out one of the female inmates. She's been falsely accused" and see where you get.

But that's not equivalent; I suspect if you were rescuing a princess, with the resulting promise of piles of money, a lot more cabbies might take you up on the chance to get filthy rich, especially on the word of a Jedi Knight. Even if Han doesn't believe in Jedi powers, true believers tend to do a good job of impressing people with their sincerity and honesty.

 

[hamishspence]

Canonical? the books are authorised by LucasFilms

Even if not personally by Lucas, the books are legally permitted to display the StarWars logo, and are copywrighted, and all subsequent books must not contradict previous books. That makes them as close to canonical as the books can get.

Rebel Dawn, etc, are the official backstory to Solo, from the book point of view.

The Glove of Darth Vader series for little kids is NOT canonical, in the sense they they several times contradict the main novels.

As a smuggler of the highly addictive glitterstim spice of Kessel, Solo is perhaps not as good aligned as one might think. He isn't evil, but is not good either, at first.
Law vs Chaos: Solo has no particularly strong leanings in the Chaos direction: he's not an out-and-out rebel, simply a lawbreaker.

 

[pawsplay]

As a smuggler of the highly addictive glitterstim spice of Kessel, Solo is perhaps not as good aligned as one might think. He isn't evil, but is not good either, at first.
Law vs Chaos: Solo has no particularly strong leanings in the Chaos direction: he's not an out-and-out rebel, simply a lawbreaker.

Yes, he is inclined in many ways toward chaotic attitudes, but he himself is fairly consistent. For instance, honoring his bargain to Jabba seems important to him for reasons of personal integrity as well as self-interest. Although many chaotic characters place a lot of value on personal relationships, Han's "never abandon a buddy" ethic seems to place him closer to Neutral than to Chaotic.

He really is an everyman kind of character, disinterested in the larger power struggles, issues of morality, or personal enlargement. Power is not even tempting to him, except power over his own destiny.

 

[Klaus]

Even if not personally by Lucas, the books are legally permitted to display the StarWars logo, and are copywrighted, and all subsequent books must not contradict previous books. That makes them as close to canonical as the books can get.

Rebel Dawn, etc, are the official backstory to Solo, from the book point of view.

The Glove of Darth Vader series for little kids is NOT canonical, in the sense they they several times contradict the main novels.

As a smuggler of the highly addictive glitterstim spice of Kessel, Solo is perhaps not as good aligned as one might think. He isn't evil, but is not good either, at first.
Law vs Chaos: Solo has no particularly strong leanings in the Chaos direction: he's not an out-and-out rebel, simply a lawbreaker.

The Extended Universe products aren't as canonical as the movies. Even though they're licensed, and must be in accordance with each other, they can be contradicted at any time by any Star Wars production by Lucasfilm. One example is the Darksaber novel, which relates the construction of the Death Star in the Maw facility, vs. the new origin of the Death Star in Episodes II and III.