Is Jack Bauer LG?

[Hawken]

I'd say he is NE.

The ends never justify the means. Acting on the idea that they do is evil.

Torture, physical & psychological (staging executions, etc.), is evil.

It's not that he's done those things once, but continues to do so or has no problem doing so that makes him evil, regardless of his motivation or goal.

As for the Neutral aspect, he does have respect for the law, but only in general. It doesn't apply to him and he has no compunction against breaking the law. Neutral and Chaotic beings can still follow laws, but they are more likely to discard them when necessary. He is not so selfish or concerned about individuals or the self to be entirely chaotic either. There is a balance in him between law and chaos that lands him more in the middle.

 

[Elephant]

I think he is. Anybody disagree?

Frell, no. The one example I can give is when he circumvented proper search procedure in the first season by getting one of his coworkers to spy on his daughter just because she was out late.

I'm thinking of the scene where he asked one of his co-workers if she could pull up a list of Internet passwords linked with a particular phone number, and she said "Sure, if you have a warrant."

There's no WAY a LG type would so blithely disregard the laws governing him.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Absolutely.

 

[Thanee]

He is Neutral in D&D terms, I'd say, with tendencies towards Chaotic and Good.

Lawful doesn't fit at all, IMHO.

Bye
Thanee

 

[delericho]

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

While I agree with the sentiment expressed in the quote, I don't believe that the "rough men" referred to are therefore Good. Evil done to safeguard a good way of life remains evil.

(Something I find fascinating about the villain in Serenity is precisely that he's aware that he does Evil, and yet he chooses to do it anyway, on the grounds that it is necessary for what he regards as a Good society to survive.)

 

[Hand of Evil]

Define the laws/code/belief he follows? Does he act the same way every time?

His actions are evil; tourture, killing in cold blood, etc., but then that is how I define evil in my games, it does not mean it is evil in everyone elses games.

 

[Thanee]

Killing evil people is good in D&D, of course it depends somewhat on the circumstances.

Bye
Thanee

 

[MarkB]

One thing to bear in mind is that we have absolutely no idea what a typical day in the life of Jack Bauer is like.

If I had to give him a D&D alignment, I'd say he's Neutral Good, but very pragmatic, and can be driven to take evil acts in the defense of other peoples' lives.

 

[delericho]

Killing evil people is good in D&D,

True. Which is one of the problems with the alignment system as written, since it means that a Baatezu general in the Blood War, who spends his existence slaying evil creatures, is Good by definition.

 

[Estlor]

From the D20 Modern perspective, I'd probably give him allegiances to USA, Kim Bauer, Law, and CTU in that order. Law has to be in there somewhere. He's willing to disregard it "for the greater good" when necessary, but (without spoiling this season to people not watching or not caught up) he's still got a line that, if crossed by someone else, prompts him to say, "That was wrong," and, "Justice needs to be served!"

Then again, I can't decide if he was upset because it involved terrorists threatening US citizens or because it involved his friends being hurt. Probably the latter. Which means in D&D I'd make him Neutral with strong Evil leanings or perhaps Neutral Apathetic.