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<blockquote data-quote="No Name" data-source="post: 2510569" data-attributes="member: 31462">Good and evil (and neutral) seem to be easily measured on a scale of selfishness. Good's blanket of concern covers almost everyone. Evil loves the self and little else (perhaps the evil one's children or spouse would garner some concern). And neutral falls in the middle with care for friends, family, possibly coworkers of some sort, but strangers usually don't make the list.But what of law and chaos? I can't imagine lawful means following rules and traditions, especially if someone is lawful good and the laws in question are clearly detrimental. For example, a king could declare all water in his land to be owned by the nobility, making collecting rainwater an illegal act. If changing such a law within the system is not possible, and people must pay high prices for water or die of thirst, should a paladin save the common people by breaking that law? The player could defend such an action by claiming that the moral alignment comes first (Good Lawful instead of Lawful Good).I think a better way is to define Lawful as predictability and consistency. The times I've thought of friends and wondered if this friend or that friend had a D&amp;D alignment, what would it be; guess which friends always get chaotic. The ones with nearly unpredictable behavior. The friends I often don't want to be around because of such behavior. That does remind me of DMs who will allow LE but not CN. Just like friends that have predictable reactions. They may not always make the best decisions, but there is some comfort in knowing what to expect.Anyway, just some random thoughts. Make use of it if you find it interesting, discard it if you don't.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="No Name, post: 2510569, member: 31462"] Good and evil (and neutral) seem to be easily measured on a scale of selfishness. Good's blanket of concern covers almost everyone. Evil loves the self and little else (perhaps the evil one's children or spouse would garner some concern). And neutral falls in the middle with care for friends, family, possibly coworkers of some sort, but strangers usually don't make the list. But what of law and chaos? I can't imagine lawful means following rules and traditions, especially if someone is lawful good and the laws in question are clearly detrimental. For example, a king could declare all water in his land to be owned by the nobility, making collecting rainwater an illegal act. If changing such a law within the system is not possible, and people must pay high prices for water or die of thirst, should a paladin save the common people by breaking that law? The player could defend such an action by claiming that the moral alignment comes first (Good Lawful instead of Lawful Good). I think a better way is to define Lawful as predictability and consistency. The times I've thought of friends and wondered if this friend or that friend had a D&D alignment, what would it be; guess which friends always get chaotic. The ones with nearly unpredictable behavior. The friends I often don't want to be around because of such behavior. That does remind me of DMs who will allow LE but not CN. Just like friends that have predictable reactions. They may not always make the best decisions, but there is some comfort in knowing what to expect. Anyway, just some random thoughts. Make use of it if you find it interesting, discard it if you don't. [/QUOTE]

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