How DO you play a LG character well?

[ced1106]

A flaw I was given is "Servant of good"

I was about to say that you could use your Cha to determine **how** you portray yourself as LG. With a low Cha, you could be a boorish crusader who jokes about killing humanoids in delicate situations. With a high Cha, you could be diplomatic and know what to say with certain people.

Since this is a **flaw**, you'll definitely use your LG to your disadvantage. You could be preaching to the party once too often. You might intervene on behalf of NPCs who drive the party nuts. Check out Piffany in Nodwick!

The second problem is that I (player, not character) know one of the characters practices more "dark arts" like command undead, create undead, steal life, and such nasty things.

Then don't do anything. At most, I'd use the flaw to lecture the party on the evils of dark arts.

The main thing that he did in the last game was take an orc (we had just fought a band of them) that wasn't dead yet and did some steal life spell to heal himself and kill the stunned orc. I'm not sure if that's an evil thing or not...

Your "good" is a **flaw**, right? So intervene on behalf of the orc. If you make the party want to kill you off instead of the orc, you're in the right direction. (;


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[WayneLigon]

I'm currently playing my first LG character in a while, so I'm re-learning how to react in that manner

Asl yourself some questions. Read the alignment as given in the PH, then talk to the DM about how he sees it. I think it's interesting that 'Servant of Good' is considered a flaw. So, I think that you'd need to discuss some points with him.

One of the things I do is consider actions of the character and those around him in terms of 'civilized' behavior. It's led to some interesting conflicts between him and the CG druid: the druid was perfectly OK with feeding some of the human bodies we found in one place to the local wolves to keep them off our backs. I refused, and demanded they be given at least some sort of burial. Civilized people respect the dead.

Some consideration for the established structure of law and order is needed. A 'conservative' approach, as it were. A Lawful character is ordered in his behavior, but not nessesarily rigid. Good will often take a precedence over Law; remaining true to the absolute letter of the law regardless of other considerations strikes me as more LN than anything else.

Just some random thoughts on LG:

Laws are good; they lend structure to society and provide a common set of rules by which to play the game of life. Those who fail to respect that often have chaotic disordered lives that more often than not result in more pain and mysery than they should.

Law combined with Good tends to promote the good of society over the good of the individual, but not to the point of suffering. A good person should always strive to reduce pain, suffering, inequality, and needless harm.

He will kill, but only when forced to, taking no pleasure in it, when other means are plainly not going to work. He probably won't start a fight, save where inaction will cause more pain and suffering than fighting.

When faced with a street tough with a knife, he'll try to simply brain him, tun him, and hand him over to the guards for whatever justice awaits him. LG is restrained.

Serving a Pelor-like deity, you need to find out the tenets of that deity, ASAP. What is expected of the clergy?

Alignment is also, as has been said before, not a straitjacket. LG, like any other alignment, has wiggle-room to it. A single act won't result in an alignment change; misjudgements occur. People screw up. A LG character will try their utmost to be better, though. They will actively work towards Good. They will promote the rational solution over the wild-assed plan. They will look more kindly on an organized and peaceful capital city than a lawless frontier town.

Take care not to make the common mistakes many others make. I've heard people say a LG person will not drink, will not swear, and other odd things. LG is not some hideous fun-house mirror of half-remembered Puritanical or Calvinistic doctrine.

On the question of the character practicing the Dark Arts. If he does such things in front of you, there's going to be conflict. There's just no way of getting around that. And it'll probably come down to you or him walking away from it.

Make sure it's you.

Find out if such acts are against the local law. More than likely they are. Nothing at all wrong with getting him stinking drunk until he passes out, then hauling him down to the local temple and tossing him in a very deep hole where his necromancer butt will stay until it rots.

If it's not against the law for some reason, well, it's still against any sort of moral law. Creating undead is an evil act and there's just no real way of getting around that, no matter how you rationalize things or dress them up. In fact, it says so right on the label. Animate Dead -- Necromancy [Evil]. Again, though, check with your GM. There may be some compelling reason it's not, or perhaps his world just works differently for some reason. Get an explanation, though, and make sure it's consistantly applied.

If there is some reason you must work together, be ceaseless in pointing out that it's a wrong thing to do. Don't be snide and don't be blunt, but get the point across to the other characters as well that just associating with this person is not a good idea. You lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas.

I'm assuming there is some overall reason for having two such dissimilar people in the party, so I'd talk with the GM. All other factors being the same, having a Pelor-like cleric and a necromancer in the same group is going to lead to one of them not being around in short order.

 

[boothbey]

Lead by example. Always been one of my ideas regarding paladins. They won't smite you for bending a law or twenty, but will try to show the error of your ways.

And in the words of my favorite dm...

Just because you are lawful good doesn't mean you can't be an a@@hole.

 

[Fenes 2]

For me, LG means a character with strong and well-defined principles or a code, whose first thought is of others, not of himself, mainly of innocents and helpless.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Lawful good characters are people who are highly adaptable to whatever circumstances they find themselves in. They can blend in, fit in, are comfortable in strange places and strange cultures. They are comfortable with new sights and sounds, and new ways and ideas.
Lawful good characters place a high value on life. This is reflected in all their codes and principals, in how they think, and in all they do.

For example:

A lawful good paladin is suddenly transported to the famous world of Pern.
The paladin meets the native people with friendship and an open heart. He learns their language as fast as he can, and offers to teach his language to those interested.
The paladin appreciates the value of friends and friendship, and he works hard to make those friends in the Holds and Crafthalls, and Dragonholds of the world.
The paladin sees beauty in the great dragons, and in the lush green world, in the mountainous northern continent, in the songs of the (little dragons), in the vibrant culture of the Pernese.
The paladin is horrified by Thread, is happy to help against Threadfalls, and might even be able to bond with one of the dragons, and thus go riding with the other Dragonriders.
The paladin disapproves of some of the ways and elements of Pernese society. However, he keeps his opinions to himself, and appreciates the difficulty of changing a society, and the consequences of change as well.
The paladin, is respectful and courteous to all in Pernese society, from Wehr Riders to Drudges, and where his code conflicts with Pernese society, he attempts to keep clashes of culture to an absolute minimum.

Then the paladin is teleported to the strange and brutal world of Gor.
The paladin once more adapts, putting aside armor and magic. He eventually finds himself in the warrior caste, after working hard for acceptance by these harsh people.
The paladin does not approve of the ways of Gor, but he does not make war against them, deeming such a war unwinnable, and horrified at the idea of the suffering and carnage of war ... even if these people seem to delight in war.
The paladin does not take slaves, and he is courteous to all slaves, and he minimalizes his cultural clash with the people of Gor as he is able to.
It is likely the paladin promotes peace and prosperity, comradeship and friendship, civilized behavior and dignified bearing, among all those he chooses to associate with.

Now, the paladin is transported to the famed world of Krynn (the Dragonlance setting.)
The paladin is accosted by kender, who steal half of his items.
The paladin quickly adjusts to the kender, treating them kindly and courteously, and discreetly requisitioning his own items back from the little people.
The paladin is quick to learn of the ways of Krynn, and comes to loath Takhisis, to admire Paladine, to appreciate the efforts of the legendary heroes and heroines of this world (and there are many, many such heroes and heroines, indeed), and to appreciate Krynn's rich history.
The paladin does not approve of wizards of all alignments together in a Conclave, but he certainly appreciates the power and wonder of magic, and he is careful to observe the rules of the Conclave strictly, if he is to cast magic on this world.

- - -

Lawful Good people are friendly people.
They are easy to get along with, and if befriended make for extremely trustworthy friends, and deep, unbreakable friendships.
They flinch and sigh at the problems of the worlds, at suffering and pain, at injustice and wrongdoing.
They are aghast at the atrocities some people commit, at the awful things some people do so casually, at the horrors of war, at the general human condition.
Many lawful good people find themselves unwilling to stand by while grim things occur before their eyes, and they involve themselves to stop these activities. This can ultimately lead to tragedy for these lawful good people, as their involvement gets them killed or seriously injured, or causes more unwanted and unexpected trouble and suffering.

- - -

It is very difficult to play a lawful good character.
It is a headache IRL to think up appropriate actions for the character, and the character himself is often in a heartbroken state - unable to change something he sees as horrible, or in trying to change the horrible thing causes new horrors to occur.
Lawful good characters are usually beset by moral quandries and dilemmas, from which there is never a good answer. Never, but their inner compulsions do not allow them peace, allow them to turn away and take comfort in apathy. They cannot not care.
Worse, lawful good characters are made more difficult to play by the fact that THEY (as opposed to their players) are able to easily fit in, are very social beings, and are usually able to conduct themselves with grace and polish in most situations. This, despite all the cares and worries and drives that lies behind their easy facades, their glib tongues, their charming and winning ways.

Edena, my oldest character, is technically lawful good.
However, I have had such much trouble playing Edena as lawful good, and have made so many roleplaying mistakes on this matter, that Edena should be considered neutral good instead.
I find lawful good to be a truly difficult alignment, indeed, to play!

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I wish to agree with Celebrim that Samwise Gamgee, from LOTR, is lawful good.
A fine example of a lawful good character, Samwise Gamgee. I could not say the same of any of the other characters in the Fellowship, except for Frodo who is definitely lawful good as well.

Dwarves, in Dungeons and Dragons, are supposed to be lawful good, but they are rarely portrayed that way in books.
I envision dwarven society as being very close, very deeply interwoven, very stable and strong.
Family is sacred to the dwarves, children are cherished and loved, parents and elders are respected and listened to, patience and restraint are universal, kindliness and gentle manners are ways of life, and understanding, mercy, and tolerance are the bywords of the laws and customs of the land.
A dwarven thief does not have his hand cut off, in a dwarven society, as commonly imagined.
Instead, there is horror and sadness, among the dwarves, that one of their own would so turn on them. The thief is in for a lot of psychiatric counciling, and reforming by gentle voiced clerics (the guy may run screaming off into the night from this), and careful explainations given over and over as to why what he did was wrong, how he hurt people, how he hurt the community, how he hurt himself, and how much in need of help he is.
Dwarves blend in easily among all the other races, tolerating even kender (from Dragonlance) without too much fuss. They appear to be lighthearted and merry people to others, and their company can be a blessing to those who are lonely, who simply want to talk, or who wish a good story by a warm fire. For those who can see more deeply, the dwarves have much angst in them, and deep philosophy that spans from the wisdom of millennia, and they are a veritable river of lore and knowledge to those they trust their secrets with.
A dwarven friend, is a friend for life. His axe will be at your back when you need it, when it really matters, and you will know this friend may well lay down his life for you.

Of course, this applies only to dwarven societies (such as the Hylar) that are, indeed, actually lawful good. When dealing with dwarves that are not lawful good (such as the Theiwar) all of the above goes out the window, or - in the case of dwarves - back into the forge.

 

[Fenes 2]

I would not consider lawful good the same as pacifistic good. We are not dealing with a society in the 21st century, we are dealing with a harsh world where there exists an absolute evil. "Good" in the D&D sense does not mean that you have no death penalty or other harsh punishments for crimes.

I do not see paladins as adapting to societies that represent most of what they fight against. A "standard" paladin arriving on Gor will probably not adapt to a society that degrades women to that extreme, and promotes a brutal "might makes right" attitude. Instead he will do what he can to change that society, perhaps gathering like-minded people around him and strike out on his own, or start a (maybe shortlived) campaign against the "packleaders". I also doubt that a paladin, a chosen warrior of a god, would choose not to change such a society as that of gor through war - it may be better to wreak havoc for some years than to let those atrocities continue unchecked, dooming uncounted men and women to a wretched exsitence in slavery. And that is just a standard male paladin. Now imagine a LG female paladin on Gor... do you really expect her "to adapt" to such a society?

Kender are another problem. Even if they are not evil themselves, stealing is not good, nor is giving in to thieves good. If they cannot learn to curb their ways then they may be impossible to function in civilized society. In order to protect the other members of society a paladin may try to get kenders banned. I know that if we had such kleptomaniacs in modern society we would not simply accept their ways, but protect ourselves from those thieves by imprisoning them in asylums, since they are obviously mentally unable to respect the laws of our society.

Lawful good does not have to mean either friendly or polite, nor does it mean you have to compromise your principles - just that the person is looking out for the greater good instead of looking out for number one.

 

[herald]

there is a discription of the priesthood of Pelor in the DMG. (Small paragraph, but it exists.) It explains that the priesthood is geared towards doing great acts of benevolence in times of peace, but when in times of crisis, they are fierce.

I imagine the Clerics of Pelor being very civic minded, trying to make the world a better place, but from time to time called away to crusade against some kind of evil.

As a game mechanical situation, the civic minded stuff happens all off stage, in downtime.

Religous figures in the public eye don't always have to prostilize, so much as provide a good role model and example to others. By taking the god fight to when evil is, they make that happen.

For some reason, I always think of the Boy Scout Pledge everytime I think of Lawful Good.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Edena-
I think you and I have VERY different concepts of Lawful Good. Your dwarves are Neutral Good, bordering on Chaotic because they clearly value the individual more than society.

 

[qstor]

Personally I think its hard to pin point alignments on TV characters. For instance John Wayne in the Searchers is NOT LG...Anyways...I dont want to start a flame war..

Lady Starhawk, read the description in the PHB and maybe Pelors in the Demigods and Deities. I was playing a LG cleric/paladin of Torm in a FR game and used the Faiths and Avatars book to help me with his religion. My Living Greyhawk PC is a LG ranger/fighter. People think I'm a paladin since my PC won't lie , obeys the law and hunts evil with a passion.

I wouldnt' lie, obey the law, give evil humanoids a chance to surrender if they don't deep six them! As for evil clerics hunt their butts down!

Mike