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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Trickstergod" data-source="post: 1173111" data-attributes="member: 10825">Both count, but I'd say that actions count more. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all. One diminishes or empowers the other, however. If something bad happens that had the best of intentions, it's not quite so inherently horrible as if it was done with the worst of intentions. Intent could be all that saves a paladin from losing that status, or at least, being able to atone. By that same token, an ostensibly good thing done with the worst of intentions tarnishes the act. Doing good things because they will directly benefit you isn't so good after all. Actions count more than intent, but only by a hair at times. This is why, in general, I generally try to give motive and reason for what my characters, or those in games I run, are doing. Very rarely do I just allow someone to get away with the reason, "Well, I'm just going to go do good things." That doesn't usually fly by me. Furthermore, your point also brings up why I think Lawful Neutral tends to be the most inappropriate of adventuring alignments. Breaking into dungeons, violating graveyards, and dishing out frontier justice generally don't strike me as very Lawful. At least a Lawful Good individual is seeking out something more, something that society usually cannot provide, and a Lawful Evil one has darker motives to bring them out into the world. But yes, for the most part, I do not believe Lawfulness is overly appropriate to a free-booting lifestyle. However, alignment is not an adventurer-centric thing. Ahh well. I personally find it to be a good shorthand to work off of, at the very least.</blockquote>

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