Need help in playing lawful characters

[Ringan]

I've noticed that most of the characters I make are either neutral or chaotic, but rarely lawful. I've thought about it and I think I am doing this because it is easier for me to understand the neutral & chaotic alignments. How can I make more lawful characters without ending up making them lawful stupid?

 

[Grymar]

Have them conform to a personal code. Or even a meticulous planner can be considered lawful. He hates improvising an action and wants to always plan ahead.

The lawful character doesn't necessarily have to conform to the local law, he can just be someone who prefers order over chaos.

 

[Voadam]

I try to go with dedication when making lawful characters. A merciless and tireless crusader against evil creatures and men describes my LG aasimar fighter Sir Merrick. Loyalty to a church or leader work well too.

A code of honor or conduct can be a good guide as well. Think Worf from STtNG with his views on honor.

 

[Particle_Man]

a) Teamwork is very important. Instead of thinking "what can I do to accomplish this goal (helping the party, saving the innocent, etc.)" you think "what can *we* do to accomplish this goal, and how can I help us to do this"? For example, the Aid Another maneuver might be more used by a lawful character. It is not important that you hit the werewolf so long as someone does. (Incidentally, PHB II and DMG II have various "teamwork" maneuvers that may facilitate this idea).

b) Try to keep your word once given. (Corollary, don't enter into agreements lightly).

c) Respect authority. If you see a party member pickpocketing some merchant in the streets, help to arrest that party member. If in another situation guards give you sass, suck it up and take it. Offer the guards help in their endeavors. Don't insult the king, even if he is only a level 1 aristocrat.

d) In general, obey the law.

e) Think things through, plan ahead, and don't be impulsive. Be organized.

 

[Henry]

"They ask why I do this." The aging paladin's leather jack beneath his armor creaked as he eased into the chair, sword at side; anyone knowing better would swear it was his bones who creaked as loudly.

"It is not because of ego, pride, or 'to right all wrongs,' no. I do this because no one else wants to. No one else wants the commitment of day after day, rising to chill mornings, donning armor, venturing into cold fog or hot mists, to take on those who prey on others. If given to my passions, I certainly wouldn't either." He made a point of his last statment by dragging his voice out and staring, eyes, closed, at the ceiling as he said it.

He snapped up. "But Why? Because if there is no one, then evil wins. Evil triumphs because the good are not inconvenienced. And I refuse to see that, as long as I move and breathe."


-----------------------

"Bah. The old fool rambles like a zealot." Varcen, Butcher of Belhold, Scourge of Arken Vale, and Lieutenant of the Armies of Zhentil Keep regarded me with a gaze that nearly made me soil myself. "Rest assured, you are safe. You have nothing I want." His smirk left me totally unassured.

"You ask me the same questions. 'Why your cause? Why serve the masters you do?' The answer is in who holds power. I hold power. My Lord Bane holds power. He demands obedience. Without obedience, there is nothing productive. Do your limbs obey you? Why? If your limbs did not, you would be most miserable, the same as a cripple. You would not walk, feed yourself, build a home, become more than a mewling animal. When we are in order, then we accomplish. We excel. We become greater.

It is also why the disobedient must be punished. Protect the obedient, clothe them and shelter them, give them reason to obey. Similarly, if they strive to be willful, if they try to 'carve their own way' then show them their error. A pebble rides the avalanche; a mountaineer is CRUSHED by it. WE are the avalanche, and we do not suffer the incautious."

 

[Twowolves]

It can't be that hard. How about this? Rule #1: don't break the law! Rule #2: When in lawless areas, adhere to your own culture's laws, or your own personal creed. Think in terms of what's best for the most, instead of what's best for you personally ("Ask not what your country can do for you, ask instead, what can I do for my country..."). Keep your word, above all else. Don't lie. Depending on your Good-Evil axis, twisting the meaning of a contract might be ok, so long as it's litterally upheld ("You didn't say you wanted your daughter back alive, just back from the kidnappers").

Et cetera and so forth and so on.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Henry's got it.

And, above all, try and get away from the Lawful = "law-abiding" interpretation.

 

[Ringan]

Thanks for the responses so far, they've been very helpful.

 

[Three_Haligonians]

For me, one of the best ways to play Lawful is to be consistant with your choices and your actions; it is about adhering to your principals.

Once a lawful character has decided the "correct" course of action for a given situation, then that character will strive to take the same course of action everytime the situation arises.

Does your character kill the BBEG once they are defeated or take them prisoner? Whichever you choose, make sure you choose the same for every BBEG you fight, and stuff like that. It's the chaotic characters who constantly say "what I would do depends on the situation.. circumstances change everything.." and whatnot. For a lawful character try and see things as either black or white (however your moral compass dictates what is "black" and what is "white" aside).

Of course, only a computer or robot could do this with 100% efficiency. Assuming your character isn't one (who knows..?) they should -try- to achieve this goal but a slip up here or a variance there isn't going to cause an alignment change.

Hope that helps.
Heck, I hope that was understandable


J from Three Haligonians

 

[balterkn]

Others have said it, but remember that lawful does not equal to blindly obeying the law. I generally go for that a lawful person prefers an orderly existence. That same person prefers to operate in the context of the law because they may believe that those laws foster the best way for people to work together, and thus are inclined to initially follow the laws. However, even a lawful person may "park in the handicapped only spot" to achieve some moral goal (say stopping ot help someone in need, or stopping for a gangland killing).

On the "sometimes it depends on the law" track, a LG paladin traveling through a LN power center may notice that some laws are oppressing people - that those laws are against his deity's code, thus he may not care if he observes people breaking those laws - and yet that same paladin may immediately give chase to a mugger without even knowing if there was an explicit law against mugging in that locality, just because such things shouldn't happen in an orderly society.

On the "orderly existence" track, consider the following story (paraphrased from memory from a real-world book on spirituality):

Two male monks travel through the wilderness. Their order forbade them from any contact, physical or otherwise, with women - to keep their minds pure and focused and away from distraction. When they came to a river, there was a damsel caught in a sudden surge in the current, stuck in the middle of the ford on a rock. As they pass, the older monk reaches out and carries the damsel to the river bank, places her down , and promptly continues on. The younger monk, says nothing for several miles, but obviously becoming more and more distressed by this obvious flaunting of their vows. The younger monk suddenly burst out, saying "why did you touch that woman? Don't you know it is against our order's most sacred vows?" The older monk replies "I put her down back at the river bank, why do you still carry her?"

The context of that story in the text was that the older monk, although by the letter of the vow, had broken the vow; however, he had not violated the spirit of the vow (and hence had no problem) - but the younger monk had broken the spirit of the vow, by letting his mind become unfocused.

Orderly/lawful people aren't machines that blindly apply the same rule over and over - many of them accept "shades of gray" in determining the most orderly and lawful course of action. Lawful government officials have to figure out the difference between a gift from a friend, and the fact a gift from one specific friend may be considered a bribe (can a government official never get a gift from anyone? Birthdays would suck if your spouse couldn't get you a gift). And lawful people may disagree on application of law or order or whether something is ethical (as opposed to moral discussions).

In the end, Law/Chaos is a spectrum - say from 1-3 is lawful, 4-6 is neutral, and 7-9 are chaotic - True "1" Lawful people are probably as rare as true "9" chaotic people. IMNSHO, the lawful most people describe (about caring more for the laws than people) would result in a person as insane as that over the top chaotic person who rolls the die to decide if he will help his friends in battle.