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Alignment in the movie "Man on Fire"
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<blockquote data-quote="Zappo" data-source="post: 2159480" data-attributes="member: 633"><p>I think it shows the flaws of the online alignment test. And I think that we don't have enough information to judge the character's alignment. We would need to be into his mind, like we are in our PCs' minds.</p><p></p><p>First scenario - the reason for which he is saving the girl is that he <em>failed</em> to protect her. He wants to fix that failure at all costs, not because of the girl, but because of himself - he doesn't want to admit weakness, doesn't want to admit failure, doesn't want to think of himself as incapable of doing his job. He must prove to everyone (including himself and the girl) that he is the smartest and toughest man around, and if he's got to torture and kill for that, so be it.</p><p></p><p>Second scenario - he is saving the girl because the kidnapping was evil and unjust. He hates the thought of an innocent suffering, and the girl was under his protection so he also feels a sense of duty towards her. If the only way to save her is through torture and murder of the kidnappers, then so be it. He won't feel good about it, he may even regret it once the righteous rage is over, but his purpose and the unquestionably Evil nature of his victims will be enough to appease his conscience for now.</p><p></p><p>Third scenario - there are more motives which are hidden. His employers will kill him if he doesn't save her? He has had previous conflicts with the kidnappers and this is the last straw? His own daughter was kidnapped many years ago and died in captivity? The girl knows the cure for AIDS, or the winning number of the lottery, or the character's dark secret? The character is insane and thinks any of the above things, even if they aren't true?</p><p></p><p>And even those information aren't quite enough to make an uncontested decision. Without greater knowledge of the character's psyche, we could justify anything from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Good and everything in between. The alignment system is only an oversimplification if the people using it are oversimplifying.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zappo, post: 2159480, member: 633"] I think it shows the flaws of the online alignment test. And I think that we don't have enough information to judge the character's alignment. We would need to be into his mind, like we are in our PCs' minds. First scenario - the reason for which he is saving the girl is that he [i]failed[/i] to protect her. He wants to fix that failure at all costs, not because of the girl, but because of himself - he doesn't want to admit weakness, doesn't want to admit failure, doesn't want to think of himself as incapable of doing his job. He must prove to everyone (including himself and the girl) that he is the smartest and toughest man around, and if he's got to torture and kill for that, so be it. Second scenario - he is saving the girl because the kidnapping was evil and unjust. He hates the thought of an innocent suffering, and the girl was under his protection so he also feels a sense of duty towards her. If the only way to save her is through torture and murder of the kidnappers, then so be it. He won't feel good about it, he may even regret it once the righteous rage is over, but his purpose and the unquestionably Evil nature of his victims will be enough to appease his conscience for now. Third scenario - there are more motives which are hidden. His employers will kill him if he doesn't save her? He has had previous conflicts with the kidnappers and this is the last straw? His own daughter was kidnapped many years ago and died in captivity? The girl knows the cure for AIDS, or the winning number of the lottery, or the character's dark secret? The character is insane and thinks any of the above things, even if they aren't true? And even those information aren't quite enough to make an uncontested decision. Without greater knowledge of the character's psyche, we could justify anything from Chaotic Evil to Lawful Good and everything in between. The alignment system is only an oversimplification if the people using it are oversimplifying. [/QUOTE]
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