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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6886261" data-attributes="member: 4937">I hope you can see just how huge the impact of this additional bit of information is.We've gone from a description of a character that might well have been a more sadistic version of Javier from Les Miserables, who breaks the law because he feels it was too soft on lawbreakers, to a description of a character who is primarily motivated by mercy.&nbsp; He's no longer roughing up villains because he thinks they deserve punishment; he's roughing up villains because he's trying to protect the helpless and the weak from the corrupt and powerful.&nbsp; That's a very different sort of character despite superficial similarities in behavior, and we could probably devise thought experiments to show that in some cases, the two characters would act in radically different ways.&nbsp;&nbsp; For example, if asked to choose between letting a wrong doer go free and saving the life of some innocent, we could easily see the two characters reasoning themselves into completely different actions.&nbsp; The LE version of this character would be like, &quot;Nope, can't let you go free even if that means I have to be responcible for this little innocent girl's death, because you'd just go on to threaten and harm someone else.&quot;&nbsp; The CG version of this character is more likely to go, &quot;Ok, you win.&nbsp; Leave the girl, and start running.&quot;&nbsp; One character is looking at big picture, and more concerned that his enemies get what is coming.&nbsp; The other character is looking at the individuals, and more concerned with their safety.Again, this is what I meant by it being helpful to rank what the character cares about the most: punish wrongdoers or protect the innocent?Also, again, it is helpful to think about how a character defines justice.&nbsp; If you end up with a character that defines justice with no recourse to what the law says, with just some personal sense that this wrong thing shouldn't happen or be allowed to stand, then they probably aren't lawful.&nbsp; A good question here might be, does this character consider it more important to be &quot;Fair&quot; (everyone is equal in the eyes of the law) or to be &quot;Just&quot; (an individual should get what they deserve)?&nbsp;&nbsp; Persons more motivated by Justice than Fairness tend to be chaotic.&nbsp; Those that see them as inextricable, because Justice without Fairness implies no order and no oversight - rule by man rather than by law - tend to be lawful.&nbsp;&nbsp; If they compromise and take a halfway position (&quot;whatever best serves the good&quot;), then they'd probably be neutral.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6886261, member: 4937"] I hope you can see just how huge the impact of this additional bit of information is. We've gone from a description of a character that might well have been a more sadistic version of Javier from Les Miserables, who breaks the law because he feels it was too soft on lawbreakers, to a description of a character who is primarily motivated by mercy. He's no longer roughing up villains because he thinks they deserve punishment; he's roughing up villains because he's trying to protect the helpless and the weak from the corrupt and powerful. That's a very different sort of character despite superficial similarities in behavior, and we could probably devise thought experiments to show that in some cases, the two characters would act in radically different ways. For example, if asked to choose between letting a wrong doer go free and saving the life of some innocent, we could easily see the two characters reasoning themselves into completely different actions. The LE version of this character would be like, "Nope, can't let you go free even if that means I have to be responcible for this little innocent girl's death, because you'd just go on to threaten and harm someone else." The CG version of this character is more likely to go, "Ok, you win. Leave the girl, and start running." One character is looking at big picture, and more concerned that his enemies get what is coming. The other character is looking at the individuals, and more concerned with their safety. Again, this is what I meant by it being helpful to rank what the character cares about the most: punish wrongdoers or protect the innocent? Also, again, it is helpful to think about how a character defines justice. If you end up with a character that defines justice with no recourse to what the law says, with just some personal sense that this wrong thing shouldn't happen or be allowed to stand, then they probably aren't lawful. A good question here might be, does this character consider it more important to be "Fair" (everyone is equal in the eyes of the law) or to be "Just" (an individual should get what they deserve)? Persons more motivated by Justice than Fairness tend to be chaotic. Those that see them as inextricable, because Justice without Fairness implies no order and no oversight - rule by man rather than by law - tend to be lawful. If they compromise and take a halfway position ("whatever best serves the good"), then they'd probably be neutral. [/QUOTE]

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