Is Jack Bauer LG?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What were you doing there?

I'm a journalist.

 

[Markn]

I have skimmed over most of the messages but I think Jack is CG. He clearly breaks the law, and does whatever he thinks is best (ala Robin Hood sort of way) and he repeats this over and over. He clearly has a "good heart", he's doing it for the right reasons.

Just because he works for the Gov't (aka the law) does not make him lawful.

Just my 2cp.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I have skimmed over most of the messages

And that's where I stopped reading!

 

[Klaus]

Regarding the "Paladin must commit an evil act to stop an even evilier act":

If the Paladin is a True Hero, he'll suck it up, perform the evil deed, lose his paladin status (one evil deed isn't enough to change his alignment from LG), prevent the apocalypse, feel reeeeally bad about himself, seek atonement for his actions and be haunted by the worst thing he ever did in his life. And then soak up in roleplaying XP.

There is a reason for the term Pyrric Victory (where you win, but you feel like you've lost).

 

[ruleslawyer]

Actually, a Pyrrhic victory is where you win nominally, but at so great a cost that winning isn't worth it. [From the Greek general Pyrrhus, who won victories against the Romans but at the cost of devastating his own army.]

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Regarding the "Paladin must commit an evil act to stop an even evilier act":

If the Paladin is a True Hero, he'll suck it up, perform the evil deed, lose his paladin status (one evil deed isn't enough to change his alignment from LG), prevent the apocalypse, feel reeeeally bad about himself, seek atonement for his actions and be haunted by the worst thing he ever did in his life. And then soak up in roleplaying XP.

FTW!

I think JB is very similar to this, but obviously he's strayed from LG a little while ago.....

 

[loki44]

I think JB is very similar to this, but obviously he's strayed from LG a little while ago.....

"JB", hmmm, now that I think about it, Jack Bauer has a lot of similarities with James Bond in terms of how he goes about his business. Bond just manages to have more fun in the process. Not sure about James Brown...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

FTW!

I think JB is very similar to this, but obviously he's strayed from LG a little while ago.....

No, it's FTL. Jack never has to do any of the attrocities he commits. He does them because they're easy and, frankly, despite his empty protestations to the contrary, he pursues them with a great deal of imaginative glee. The staging of the executions of children especially involved a great deal of effort and imagination that could have easily been turned to come up with another solution, had he been so inclined.

Even in the shallow world of 24, there is never only a single solution to a problem. If people enjoy the vicarious thrill of watching Jack torture and murder, fine, but that doesn't make him a Good person in the D&D sense even so.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"JB", hmmm, now that I think about it, Jack Bauer has a lot of similarities with James Bond in terms of how he goes about his business. Bond just manages to have more fun in the process. Not sure about James Brown...

Neutral Evil and Chaotic Neutral, respectively.

 

[howandwhy99]

I think the most interesting character are (true) neutral ones. Not the Old Faith Druidic policies, thought that can be interesting. I believe the vast majority of real people are mostly neutral on all points. They may always follow the law, but then go over the speed limit when it suits them. I think the same can be said of good and evil. Most folks just aren't that dedicated to one code of living. It's too difficult.

And yet the variety amongst people really varies. A good case in point: Jason Bourne in the bourne books (and movies). I think he's a pretty complex character who cannot automatically be assumed as good intended. But I don't think he does evil actions more than killing in self-defense. It makes for a more interesting character.