Complete Scoundrel gives alignments for Batman, James Bond, Riddick, and more...

[kenobi65]

Superman would meet the criteria for being an exalted character. He's extra lawful good. So lawful good it makes your teeth hurt.

We used to call that "Awful Good."

 

[Hussar]

Sawyer I see as NE. We do understand why he's that way, but that doesn't change the fact that he hurts people (financially and emotionally) to benefit himself.

I agree with Klaus here. It doesn't really matter that Sawyer is a tormented soul or that he's self destructive. At the end of the day, he destroys lives and hurts everyone around him. That's evil.

Starbuck I could see as CG. Sleeping with someone isn't an evil act. And, while she was involved in the reprisals, she didn't actually do anything. By and large, she risks her life to help those in need. Sounds good to me.

A character from Firefly that I thought would fit well with NE is Jayne. He betrays pretty much anyone around him for enough money. To the point of chucking one partner out of an airplane and selling out the Firefly crew as well. An interesting way of seeing how an evil character can fit in with a (mostly) good party.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Lawful Good: Batman, Indiana Jones, Dick Tracy
Lawful Neutral: James Bond, Odysseus, Sanjuro (from Yojimbo)
Lawful Evil: Boba Fett, Magneto
Neutral Good: Spider-Man, Zorro
Neutral: Lara Croft, Han Solo (early on), Lucy Westerna (from Dracula)
Neutral Evil: Mystique, Sawyer (from Lost)
Chaotic Good: Robin Hood, Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly), Starbuck (Battlestar Galactica)
Chaotic Neutral: Captain Jack Sparrow, Al Swearengen (Deadwood), Snake Plissken
Chaotic Evil: Riddick, Carl Denham (King Kong)

This is just one of those things that not everyone's going to agree with. There's a lot of blurred lines between all the alignments and I feel a lot of these could go different ways.

It's interesting that Batman is LG and Zorro is NG, considering that a large part of Batman's original character was based on Zorro.

Malcolm Reynolds could easily be CN. He's more likely to stick his neck out for crew than anybody else. Just because he cares and loves his family does not necessarily make him Good.

Some of these are a stretch. Magneto? Ok yeah, definitely LE. But why is he listed as a "scoundrel"? What about him is "roguish"? If I were to translate him into a DnD character, I'd give a guy with his code levels in Wizard and Blackguard, or something like that. He's not one for trickery or subterfuge; not personally anyway. He's a commander and political leader, so he has a lot of those types at his disposal, but those skills are not his forte. Seems to me they were just fishing for a character on that one.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Gotta disagree with the Han Solo alignment pick. Han was always Good... he just tried not to show it.

If I remember my Star Wars history correctly, Han was starting a career as a brilliant imperial pilot when he freed Chewbacca from becoming a slave and thus became an outlaw. Putting the welfare of another being (especially a stranger at the time) over your own is always a good act.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

The one that grated on me the most ist Al Swearengen as Chaotic Neutral. If he's not evil, I don't know who is...

No kidding. And Chaotic? I gotta disagree. Al's got far reaching plans and is pretty methodical. I'd peg him as NE with strong lawful tendencies.

Regardless, I think this shows nicely why alignment should be scrapped. Your character acts how he acts. When you cant agree on a label for that behavior, what's the point of said label? Its a mechanic that only supports itself, and causes lots of arguments in many groups.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Always did like the Palladium FRPG Alignment system better.

 

[delericho]

This I'll disagree with. Check the definitions in the PHB and esp. the definition of Lawful Neutral.

I take it that you're referring to the bit that reads "or a personal code directs her"?

Here, I'll reiterate my position that following a personal code is not, by itself, a sufficient condition for being Lawful. And, again I'll ask, what if the code is Chaotic?

Following a personal code stringently is a very lawful activity in the D&D alignment paradigm. It just happens to place more emphasis on internal than external order.

Fair point, and something that the alignment rules fail to take into account - the place of microcosmic and macrocosmic alignments (where Lawful in the microcosm is to do with being organised, methodical and rigourous, while in the macrocosm it's to do with societies, and laws, and order).

 

[Terath Ninir]

Always did like the Palladium FRPG Alignment system better.

Well, it does make more sense and does have a heck of a lot better explanations.

I'm not sure about Riddick being CE, but I've always thought it was a silly alignment, anyway. If he is CE, though, it goes a long way towards making the alignment less silly. It would give an example of CE that isn't retarded. The standard CE is so cartoony it just makes my eyes roll.

 

[Wraith-Hunter]

Gotta disagree with the Han Solo alignment pick. Han was always Good... he just tried not to show it.

If I remember my Star Wars history correctly, Han was starting a career as a brilliant imperial pilot when he freed Chewbacca from becoming a slave and thus became an outlaw. Putting the welfare of another being (especially a stranger at the time) over your own is always a good act.

I have always agreed. I think good vs evil works and law vs chaos works. But not together. LvC in some of the novels I have read is basically a GvE. Chaos forces were generally corrupting and were 'evil' by another name. I think the LvC mechanic is very setting independant.

Only problem in DnD is game effects of certain alignments.

Luckly most games I have played the Dm was more concerend with GvE and that was that. The general mechanic in DnD doesn't work so well IMHO. I also disagree with at least 50% of the alignments given. Some also have to list a source. There are 1000 versions of Batman. Some are down right LE some are CG and some are LG,

 

[Psion]

I'm not sure about Riddick being CE, but I've always thought it was a silly alignment, anyway. If he is CE, though, it goes a long way towards making the alignment less silly. It would give an example of CE that isn't retarded. The standard CE is so cartoony it just makes my eyes roll.

Yeah, well, I think the players/DMs are partly to blame for the perception of CE. It all you ever use the alignment to depict is ravening murderers, that's what it's going to come to represent.

Riddick fits fairly well, but I think he undergoes a bit of an alignment shift.

One "in head" example that I always use as a benchmark of CE is Valmont as depicted in the movie "Dangerous Liaisons".