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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8759504" data-attributes="member: 6779196">Then it’s not evil by D&D 5e’s standards. I quoted the Player’s Handbook directly.[excerpt]Lawful evil (LE) creatures methodically take what they want, within the limits of a code of tradition, loyalty, or order. Devils, blue dragons, and hobgoblins are lawful evil.Neutral evil (NE) is the alignment of those who do whatever they can get away with, without compassion or qualms. Many drow, some cloud giants, and goblins are neutral evil.Chaotic evil (CE) creatures act with arbitrary violence, spurred by their greed, hatred, or bloodlust. Demons, red dragons, and orcs are chaotic evil.[/excerpt]That’s it. If it’s more complex than that, then it doesn’t fit the definitions of any of the three evil alignments in D&D 5e.That’s often true under some ethical frameworks, but not necessarily so under D&D’s alignment system. You could probably argue that there’s room for Lawful Evil creatures to think they’re not evil. And some Neutral Evil creatures may behave that way because they don’t believe in good and evil, or at least don’t think they really matter. Chaotic Evil though leaves basically no room for anything more nuanced than pure, willful malevolence.I got the basic idea, what I’m saying is that we need to define what ethical framework we’re using to determine if these beings are evil, because some frameworks will define them as evil and others will not. If we aren’t on the same page about what framework we’re using to evaluate their evilness, then we’ll all just be arguing from different assumed frameworks, which can only lead to talking past each other at best, or devolving into political and/or religious debates at worst. So, since this is the D&D forum, I propose we use the framework presented in the rulebooks, which I cited in the excerpt above. Under that framework, it seems pretty open and shut. These beings are not any of the three evil alignments as defined in the rules of the game.</blockquote>

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