Those Neutrals Make Me So Mad!

[DrunkonDuty]

Not sure this is what you're after but:

Recently had a conversation between a LG PC (Dwarf) and a CE NPC (Frost Giant) that went something like:

PC: We'll set up a tariff station on the edge of your lands to handle our import duties.
NPC: What are import duties?
PC: Taxes on goods brought in, worked out on a percentage of the value of the goods.
NPC: (stunned that anyone would allow such an imposition on their personal property) You're kidding right?
PC: No. How do you handle people shipping goods through your lands?
NPC: They have to pay me bribes or I'll smash them to a pulp. The more valuable their cargo the bigger the bribe.

Both sides learnt something about one another that day.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

My favorite PC ever was a jack of all trades Rogue-Fighter-Ranger-Spymaster who bounced between LE and LN more than once. I got along well with most of the characters, but the CG characters and I often clashed in how we would accomplish goals.

Of course, most of my ruthless actions occurred when I was by myself trying to get info for the party or "handling" situations.

So, I'd say LE-CG would be just as big a difference as CN-LG or LG-CE.

 

[Set]

In over 30 years of gaming, I've learned that character alignments don't matter.
It's the players' alignments that cause problems.

What he said.

In my 20 years, the people who have chosen to play Paladins have been the biggest backstabbing jerks ever to sit in our games, and it's nothing to do with the Paladin itself (or LG in general), so much as that it seems to pander to that sort of player. 'Yeah, I had to attack the party, 'cause my code of conduct, lied to so-and-so, wanted to sneak through the city, told me to hide my holy symbol, killed my prisoner, took the sword I wanted, insulted the duke, blah-blah-blah. I'm just role-playing my alignment!'

Assassins, Death Masters, three different shades of Necromancer, priests of Nerull and Erythnul, and all sorts of other weirdness the players have chosen, and I've *never* seen so much hassle as when someone decides to impose their LG alignment or Paladin-ly code of conduct on *other characters.*

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

The "third axis" comment is on the mark.

It is theoretically possible for any alignment to be played in an annoying and difficult manner, including Neutral. Certain alignments and classes are more attractive to problem players than others. It is not a problem with the alignments or classes themselves.

Yes, with a Paladin in the party, there can and should be consequences to the other PCs if certain lines are crossed. If that is a problem, it is only because the party as a whole is fractious by choices of the players as a group.

 

[GammaPaladin]

Yeah... I'm... Not sure how the other players can kill the paladin's prisoner and not expect repercussions. I mean, that's not cool. If the paladin's player is supposed to just roll with it, that's not respecting others' roleplay, that's completely disregarding his roleplay so that everyone else can do whatever the hell they want with no consequences.

It doesn't work that way.

Every other example you cited, I agree that the paladin player should have done something other than attack the other PC(s), since he had options. But something like killing a prisoner would be seen as an actual crime, by any paladin, and he would feel compelled to arrest that person. In fact, by the RAW, he would lose his powers for continuing to associate on friendly terms with someone who did that.

 

[delericho]

Any two alignments can squabble, but the two most likely conflicts out of the 6 PC alignments are the already mentioned LG/CN combination, and between LN/CG.

Lawful alignments can always conflict with Chaotic ones, based on the one's need for order and the other's innate distrust of authority. Good characters can conflict with Neutral ones due to the Good characters objection to the Neutral's refusal to take a moral stand.

Of course, two Neutral Good characters could just as readily argue with one another over specific means, or favourite foods, or whatever. Really, if players want their characters to argue, they'll find an excuse, and alignment is only one of many options open to them.

 

[moritheil]

It doesn't work that way.

FTW!

 

[Lord Zardoz]

This seems to fit the thread:

What makes a man turn neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

END COMMUNICATION

 

[GammaPaladin]

Tell my wife I said... Hello.