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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cadence" data-source="post: 9367894" data-attributes="member: 6701124">I imagine it came from the idea that contracts with the/a devil were a thing.  If the devil didn't have to keep their word at all, then there would be no point in making a contract with them.  In any case, Gygax seems to think the LE keeping contracts (as opposed to being truthful) was implied.  Here he is from Dragon #28 as quoted previously:[ATTACH=full]366375[/ATTACH]While not Gygaxian, it seems likely the later editions were influenced to some extent by what came before.It appears that 2e and 3.5 went with the lawful evil keeping contracts - but gets wishy-washy about why they do so (they could be forced to follow it?  to protect themself?):2e about lawful evil characters (from the PHB):[ATTACH=full]366380[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]366379[/ATTACH]3.5 about law and chaos (from the PHB):[ATTACH=full]366381[/ATTACH]and about lawful evil characters:[ATTACH=full]366382[/ATTACH]4e and 5e seem to have given up trying to directly parse the original Gygaxian alignment details and put some big changes in. 4e just nuked the idea of Lawful anything but good (from the PHB1):[ATTACH=full]366384[/ATTACH]5e made lawful being bound by some code of tradition, loyalty , or order and not a universal idea of what being lawful entailed (5e PHB):[ATTACH=full]366385[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]366386[/ATTACH]But it isn't just being lawful that makes Devils contracts a thing, it is that they are lawful and keeping contracts is (apparently) part of their code (5e MM):[ATTACH=full]366387[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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