Can You Guys Help Me Get My Head Around Chaotic Neutral? Now with Bonus Material!

[Roger]

My campaign has taken an unexpected twist to the Plane of Shadow and in particular The City of Onyx (as detailed in the book: Tome of Magic).

I feel like it's my duty to play along with it and make it an interesting experience for the players.

You're going to a city on the Plane of Shadows! If your players don't find that inherently interesting, I'm inclined to think an alignment thread isn't going to help them.

There's lots of ways to make a city interesting, but I don't think alignment issues are one of them.



Cheers,
Roger

 

[Wolfwood2]

However, my main issue is the predominant alignment of the Khayal is chaotic neutral. On the one hand, I'm really not too sure how appropriate this is as an alignment given their description but on the other, I feel like it's my duty to play along with it and make it an interesting experience for the players.

So, what makes a society such as the City of Onyx work if the predominant alignment is chaotic neutral? Is there any sane way of playing, planning and organising this effectively?

Without looking at other responses....

A lot of latitutude is given in terms of law enforcement. Guards are considered to be "peace officers" who can do whatever seems appropriate to resolve a conflict on the scene without resort to formal procedures.

Agreements are enforced by reputation more than codes. If you burn somebody you might get away with it, but word will spread and soon nobody will do business with you.

There should be a thriving and creative artistic community, with all residents displaying artwork in their homes and businesses. More acting troupes than you can shake a stick at. Remember that creativity is one of the hallmarks of chaos.

On the negative side, it's a very dog-eat-dog society. Everybody looks out for themselves, or at most for their own personal friends and family. The bonds of community are not strong, and he who falls behind gets left behind. There are a lot of beggars on the streets and everyone the PCs meet will be looking for an opportunity to get ahead.

Power is loosely distributed among different groups that have power over different areas of life, rather than a heirarchical rule. That isn't to say that there isn't a lord of the city, but that he/she must answer to many different power groups.

 

[ChimericDream]

You know, after reading this thread, I'm inclined to think that we should have a separate thread for each of the alignments. I realize that at least one (Lawful Good) would be kind of silly to flesh out extensively. However, having this kind of reference with several different takes on a predominantly CN society is already giving me a *lot* of ideas for a city or two in my campaign world.

So yeah.... I think we need one of these on all nine alignments. I don't know whether the comments helped the OP, but they certainly helped me.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

Forget where I read it ("Dragon" magazine, maybe?), but my favorite comparison for Chaotic Neutral is "Daffy Duck".

In some cartoons, he is the "Hero", in others "The Villian".
But the one consistent thing is that he is typically "out for himself" and (relatively) "amoral".

 

[Storm Raven]

If you are up to some weighty material, you might try reading something like Benson's Enterprise of Law or Ellickson's Order Without Law. I'd also suggest the possibility of looking up some stuff about how actual 16th century pirates ran their ships and bases (like Nassau).

 

[Nahat Anoj]

A lot of latitutude is given in terms of law enforcement. Guards are considered to be "peace officers" who can do whatever seems appropriate to resolve a conflict on the scene without resort to formal procedures.

I agree with all of your other points, but am not so sure on this one. I'd think a CN would be deeply distrustful of government authorities and would angrily resent intrusions on personal liberty. Indeed, in a CN society I wouldn't be surprised if there are no police officers at all - if a citizen feels a wrong has been committed against him, it's up to him to mete out his own brand of justice (of course, he is welcome to enlist help from anyone willing to help him). YMMV, of course.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

I think the third PotC movie has a good example of a CN society.

I think so, too.

 

[Ourph]

The stereotypical image of the American Old West (Dodge City, Tombstone, Deadwood, etc.) is a perfect fit for a CN society. People submit to authority and band together mostly for protection from other groups, in other words, out of necessity. There is a lot of lawlessness and order is maintained mostly through the threat of extreme violence. Might makes right. Individualism is a highly prized quality and the most successful individuals are those who are charismatic, brave or intimidating enough to get other people to do what they say. Loyalty and honoring one's word is actually more important than in a lawful society because there is very little legal recourse if someone commits fraud or breaks a contract, so liars, traitors and swindlers are dealt with very harshly.

 

[Celebrim]

So, what makes a society such as the City of Onyx work if the predominant alignment is chaotic neutral? Is there any sane way of playing, planning and organising this effectively?

Society? That's not a chaotic concept. Chaotic neutrals believe that societies don't exist, that society is a mere figment of the imagination.

Chaotic neutral philosophies include things like Libertarianism, Anarchism, and Existentialism. A true chatoic neutral society would be organized along one or more of those lines.

The rulers of this society will be marked by thier non-interferance policies. They do not consider anything thier problem until it directly impacts them. Most things which we would consider institutions of the state will be privatized. Thus, crime is dealt with by hiring private investigators, or placing bounties on the wanted individual. Justice is metted out through professional arbitration. You hire a professional judge which both parties agree to, or if you can't you agree to some manner of conflict resolution (a duel for example). City services (if any) are supported by 'use taxation', such as tolls and fees. I would expect the city to be parceled up into various gated communities with each gate between them being a toll gate (to pay for street maintenance, for example). Every institution is privatized, and each business tends to be a single individual or possibly small family. There are no standing armies, no town watch, no police officers, no magistrates of any sort.

 

[WayneLigon]

The first time the PC's know there is something odd is that they see no guardsmen. They may see individuals with guards, but no-one patrols the streets on a regular basis. Homes, blocks or entire wards might have guards, but not the city entire; guards are something people or groups of people pay for to watch over their stuff. They'll watch, somewhat bored, as a person loots a home right next to the one they are guarding.

There are no temples. When someone needs a priest for healing or counsel, they know where to find one. He might hang out at the local tavern, or preach at the nearest fountain square, or just have a small shop.

There is no real city organization; perhaps the only things clustered together are things that are either forced away from everything else (slaughterhouses, tanneries), or where a few like-minded individuals go together and built things that way because it was easier (a couple of bakers next to the millery down by the river).

Finding anything is almost impossible for strangers. It's just assumed you know who you need to deal with for various things.

There are no organized charities or orphanages. An orphan may well be taken in by someone who wants them. A bum might be fed by someone moved by his plight.

There is law of a sort, but there is no rule of law. The judges are not ruled by precedent or swayed by the wisdom of the past; they make judgements based on what they are told, what they know of the person brought before them, and what they feel like. Nothing is written down and each judge interprets things differently, according to his beliefs and predjudices. If you are found guilty of a crime, ther punishment is whatever the judge decides: usuaally exile or death, since either means no-one has to bother with you again.

That's assuming you get to see a judge. Transgresions are handled at a local level, either by individuals, people they hire, or by mod rule. "Thief!" brings out people who want to see a thief caught, or people who are friends or associates of the person yelling; the thief, if caught, is beaten by them - or whatever they feel like doing.

There is no government; there is rule by power group. Rulers are people who can attract and maintain followers. That's all. Some parts of the city might as well be different cities or nations, depending on how strong the individual power group is and how many people they can directly influence. Rulers are followed until they screw up or until they tick off a significant number of their followers. Keeping track of who is in and out of favor is a full-time task for some people.

In a way, it's rule-by-celebrity. An adventurer who comes in and slays a demon terrorizing a neighborhood suddenly is a mover and shaker in the government for that area as the residents try to please him so he does more things for them. He might could wine and dine for a few days but eventually he's going to have to do something useful or he's out of favor and no-one will provide him a place to live.

Economics are.. weird. Prices eventually will find some degree of equillibrium, but boom and bust is even more prevelant. Strangers from out of town will probably be fleeced of everything they have unless they prove to be entertaining or dangerous to cross. Merchants have no problem quoting the handsome bard one price and another, higher, price to the surly halfling. Haggling is the order of the day.