Those evil slaad.

[Lord Pendragon]

If Slaadi really are Chaotic-Neutral, shouldn't PCs occasionally run across them doing something good? If Slaadi never do anything good, doesn't that make them Evil?

 

[Zappo]

I agree. My slaadi seldom perform exceedingly evil actions, and sometimes do good actions as well. Otherwise, they'd become evil rather quickly - the "but I don't do it because I'm evil, I do it because I'm mad" argument can only do so much. A murderous psychopath is the definition of chaotic evil, after all.

 

[Sejs]

I can see where you're coming from, but things sort of boil down to the old axiom of "just because they're not evil doesn't mean they have to like you."

Look at formians for example - they're lawful neutral by nature and they're pretty much the ant outsider version of the Borg.

Although that does lead to an interesting scenario of a formian hive working to assimilate folks and the slaadi working to liberate the thralls just because of the principle of the matter, thereby making the slaadi the default 'good guys'.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I can see where you're coming from, but things sort of boil down to the old axiom of "just because they're not evil doesn't mean they have to like you."

At the very least they should occasionally express good qualities. Honor, mercy, loyalty, what-have-you. But I've never encountered a game where they ever did. They seem to be devoid of good action or behavior, and are yet somehow not evil, which bugs me.

Look at formians for example - they're lawful neutral by nature and they're pretty much the ant outsider version of the Borg.

I don't now enough about Formians to say. Do they, like the Borg, seek to conquer the entire multiverse, regardless of whatever destruction might come of it?

If so, I'd say that the Formians are also evil like the Slaadi, rather than taking the stance that the Formians prove the Slaadi can do nothing but evil and yet still be considered non-evil.

Although that does lead to an interesting scenario of a formian hive working to assimilate folks and the slaadi working to liberate the thralls just because of the principle of the matter, thereby making the slaadi the default 'good guys'.

I would love to see this kind of scenario. This would be the Slaadi doing something good. They may not like the Formian thralls they're freeing, but would free them to fight against the Formian Order. And yet, from the way they're described in the MM and the way I've seen every DM play them, my guess is that the Slaadi would instead take the opportunity to use the thralls as egg incubators. Again, evil.

 

[The Amazing Dingo]

They may not like the Formian thralls they're freeing, but would free them to fight against the Formian Order. And yet, from the way they're described in the MM and the way I've seen every DM play them, my guess is that the Slaadi would instead take the opportunity to use the thralls as egg incubators. Again, evil.

I think that they would fight against the Formorians, however they might not make any attempts to really save any of the thralls or potential thralls. Casualities are a part of war and usually happen during those Chaotic times.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Look at formians for example - they're lawful neutral by nature and they're pretty much the ant outsider version of the Borg.

I've always considered the Borg Lawful Neutral, too.

-Hyp.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I think that they would fight against the Formorians, however they might not make any attempts to really save any of the thralls or potential thralls. Casualities are a part of war and usually happen during those Chaotic times.

But this only reinforces the fact that Slaadi, as portrayed, are Chaotic-Evil. They are selfish, uncaring of others (as illustrated by your belief that they really wouldn't care about any thralls,) and needlessly cruel.

They seem to lack any Good qualities whatsoever, but have Evil qualities in abundance. How does that make them Neutral? If you consider Neutrality to be a mixture of Good and Evil, then the complete lack of Good shifts the Slaadi into Evil. If you consider Neutrality to be the absence of Good and Evil, then the presence of Evil shifts the Slaadi into Evil.

 

[Sejs]

I would love to see this kind of scenario. This would be the Slaadi doing something good. They may not like the Formian thralls they're freeing, but would free them to fight against the Formian Order. And yet, from the way they're described in the MM and the way I've seen every DM play them, my guess is that the Slaadi would instead take the opportunity to use the thralls as egg incubators. Again, evil.

Yeah, I could see that scenario being taken the wrong way and ending up like you described. Personally, I would have the Slaadi free the thralls, set them on their merry little way (with the understanding that if they meet again there's no promises made on how that encounter will turn out), and then turn and use the Formains as egg hosts.


'Cause damn if that isn't funny - I could see the Slaadi getting a big kick out of that sort of irony.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Yeah, I could see that scenario being taken the wrong way and ending up like you described. Personally, I would have the Slaadi free the thralls, set them on their merry little way (with the understanding that if they meet again there's no promises made on how that encounter will turn out), and then turn and use the Formains as egg hosts.

I wish your view was more common. It would make it easier to believe that the Slaadi are really Chaotic-Neutral, and not merely evil baddies that the paladin doesn't get to smite.

 

[Shemeska]

Well the Slaadi are CN, the original formians were LG/LN from Arcadia. Their transplant to Mechanus seems to have fundamentally warped them because they now resemble the expansionist formians on the prime material rather than the peaceful and non expansionist formians on Arcadia.

Personally I see two things happening to the formians of Mechanus: 1) The modrons, parai or inevitables wipe them from existence. 2) They slide a portion of mechanus into Acheron where, by alignment, they belong in their current incarnation.

But a bit back to the main topic:

There's actually been examples of CG slaadi. It may be that slaadi exposed to evil in their surroundings may shift to CG to balance out the evil around them in hopes of creating a balance of CN. There was a CG slaadi in the Abyss that went around protecting people from Tanar'ri. A second example of such, everyone's favorite slaadi, Xanxost, seemed to lament this fact somewhat, finding himself becoming more CG than CN from exposure to Tanar'ri during his "research"*

*And by research I mean 'beating a Vrock in the head with a big rock'