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<blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 3249554" data-attributes="member: 13966">That is Chaotic Neutral at best, I would have to say.In D&amp;D, alignment is less a matter of purpose and more a matter of substance; i.e. killing babies is evil no matter how you look at it, even if they're half-fiendish red dragon babies that you know will, almost undoubtedly, commit acts of horrible and unspeakable evil if allowed to grow up and develop their full power.&nbsp; Lying and cheating are chaotic or evil, and thus why Paladins aren't allowed to do either, regardless of whether or not they are lying or cheating for the sake of the greater good.Paladins have restrictions that specifically forbid certain acts, and their description has no caveat for 'if it is for the greater good, then it's okay'.&nbsp; Ergo, acts are Evil or Chaotic (or Good or Lawful) in D&amp;D regardless of the purpose or intent behind them.&quot;Ends justify the means&quot; is not a viable Paladin mindset, and will get them stripped of their holy powers for perpetrating acts of Evil or Chaos, regardless of the Paladin's intentions with those acts.&nbsp; Any other Lawful Good character can get away with it somewhat, since they aren't bound by an iron code of morality, but too much and they're going to quickly find themselves drifting to Chaotic Neutral alignment.Chaos in D&amp;D involves ignoring restrictions or codes, and doing what one feels like regardless of whether or not it is acceptable or raises quandaries.&nbsp; Law requires adhering to principles, duties, or codes of conduct without bending to situational whimsy.&nbsp; Doing a minor Evil for the sake of the greater Good is antithetical to Lawful or Good behavior, as it bends one's moral principles based purely on situational ethics.I take issue with the Shadowbane Inquisitor's fallacious take on D&amp;D's alignments, and it leads only to a slippery slope and blurring of the alignments that is unsuited to D&amp;D's manifest alignments (they are not merely insubstantial concepts in D&amp;D, they have entire planes formed of their essence!). <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f621.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":mad:" title="Mad&nbsp; &nbsp; :mad:"&nbsp; data-smilie="4"data-shortname=":mad:" /></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Arkhandus, post: 3249554, member: 13966"] That is Chaotic Neutral at best, I would have to say. In D&D, alignment is less a matter of purpose and more a matter of substance; i.e. killing babies is evil no matter how you look at it, even if they're half-fiendish red dragon babies that you know will, almost undoubtedly, commit acts of horrible and unspeakable evil if allowed to grow up and develop their full power. Lying and cheating are chaotic or evil, and thus why Paladins aren't allowed to do either, regardless of whether or not they are lying or cheating for the sake of the greater good. Paladins have restrictions that specifically forbid certain acts, and their description has no caveat for 'if it is for the greater good, then it's okay'. Ergo, acts are Evil or Chaotic (or Good or Lawful) in D&D regardless of the purpose or intent behind them. "Ends justify the means" is not a viable Paladin mindset, and will get them stripped of their holy powers for perpetrating acts of Evil or Chaos, regardless of the Paladin's intentions with those acts. Any other Lawful Good character can get away with it somewhat, since they aren't bound by an iron code of morality, but too much and they're going to quickly find themselves drifting to Chaotic Neutral alignment. Chaos in D&D involves ignoring restrictions or codes, and doing what one feels like regardless of whether or not it is acceptable or raises quandaries. Law requires adhering to principles, duties, or codes of conduct without bending to situational whimsy. Doing a minor Evil for the sake of the greater Good is antithetical to Lawful or Good behavior, as it bends one's moral principles based purely on situational ethics. I take issue with the Shadowbane Inquisitor's fallacious take on D&D's alignments, and it leads only to a slippery slope and blurring of the alignments that is unsuited to D&D's manifest alignments (they are not merely insubstantial concepts in D&D, they have entire [I]planes[/I] formed of their essence!). :mad: [/QUOTE]

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