What alignment are these Harry Potter characters? (Spoilers abound.)

Loincloth of Armour[b said:
Hermione Granger:[/b] Lawful Good. Likes order, structure, organization. Makes plans, thinks things through, and generally doesn't like surprises. Totally lawful behaviour. And the fact she cares about the weak and is willing to do something about it (no matter what anybody else thinks!) makes her good. Her willingness to break rules when needed doesn't stop her from being lawful, because once away from the immediate situation, she returns to being a planner, thinker, and organizer.

She actually has a quite high wisdom score (she's the common sense of the trio), but could not --for the life of her-- succeed on an opposed Diplomacy check against Harry.

Hmmm ...

KNOW-IT-ALL [GENERAL]

Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on all Knowledge checks, but suffer a -2 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks.
 

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Lord Voldemort is classic CE. His "new order" is "me, me, me and ME!" The only law in the new order it to please Lord Voldemort and you are punished for displeasing Lord Voldemort. Any talk of a new order was simply talk.

Malfoys were also evil, probably L or N. Still, unlike You-Know-Who, they understodd love even if it was just for their own family and that is what saved Potter and helped cause the downfall of You-Know-Who. Actually, I think it saved him twice. Not only did Malfoy's mother feign harry's death to reach and aid her son, but earlier, Draco seemed unable to pick out Harry, Ron, and Herminone standing right in front of him. Harry was sort of messed up but Herminone was still recognizable to the point that people who had never seen here recognised her from photos. Even his answers were uncharacterisitically wishy washy. If he really didn't know he probably would have yelled at Fafnir and his bunch. At that moment, I think Draco was running the situation through his head. Weiging the option of turning in Potter versus not as to which would be the best for his family in the light of a chaotic LV who would erase all past accomplishments and service and kill a faithful follower for the slightest error.

Similarly, Snape loved Lily and did all his actions for her including helping Harry. Even if he didn't like Harry (and I don't think he did), he still did it out of selfless love for another, even if she was long dead. Once again, he understood love which Voldemort could not. In AD&D terms, I think that love for another is pretty much good, and acts done due to it would be good acts.

Still, an important thing to remember is that evil people can commit good acts and good people can commit evil acts. Harry attempted to cast an unforgivable curse or two. Evil characters still showed love for others, even when not returned. Still, in the newer, kinder D&D, that probably makes them merely evil, while Voldemort would be Vile as he was incapable of even understanding why somebody would commit one of those redeaming acts, and thus could not imagine that Snape would betray him for the love of a dead girl or that the Malfoys might turn on him to save their son.
 

Severus snape was clearly Evil, I'd say Neutral Evil fits the best.

The fact that he was on the right (= good) side, doesn't change that.

Don't forget that he originally joined Voldemort, and only switched sides when You-Know-Who went after Lily Potter. Had Voldemort chosen Neville and not Harry as his target, maybe Snape would have ended up as the chief Death Eater.
 

I'd be the first to admit that I didn't bother with the whole Harry Potter phenomenon. I have read a couple of the books when I was bored and my cousins left theirs lying around, but I can as easily do without.

From what I see, I'd put Hermione as LG, with a strong helping of naivety. She displayed strong idealism for the greater good, but little knowledge of how the world really works. Her efforts of doing good were thus hampered by her inability to see the practical, and her equal inability to admit that flaw (which is easily perceived as arrogance).

Harry doesn't care for the law or for freedom. He just does what is right regardless. If the law says he's right, bonus! If it doesn't, too bad. However, I would say that his "Good" component is not as strong as most. He is, after all, at the end of the day, fighting for his own survival. He doesn't truly go out of his way to help people, more of a "if you encounter me, I'd be polite and not actively try to harm you" type of alignment, which is more Neutral than Good. He does sometimes display altruism, particularly where is friends is involved, but most of the time, I find that he fights Evil because Evil is after him or just to fight Evil, not for the greater good or for ideals. I'd peg him borderline TN/NG.

Ron is NG. He helps people and he doesn't actively cause chaos and confusion just because. He tries to stay Lawful because of his mom, and to please Hermione, but he has a wild streak in him as well, when he lets loose. Thus, he is the wishy-washy definition of Neutral.

Ole Voldy is CE through and through. He is all about himself, and quite insane to boot. He is practically classic CE, to be honest, killing people that displease him, doing what he likes without regard for Good or Evil, etc. Cold, selfish, power hungry and willing to do anything to further his ends, regardless of traditions and law.

Pappy Malfoy likes to work within the system to get what he wants. He is manipulative and nasty. LE, I'd say.

Baby Malfoy seems NE. He is willing to break the rules to get what he wants or torments those he doesn't like, but he is reined in by his father.

Snape is CN. He is all over the place, and one of the first definitions of CN was "insane". He is not insane in the classic sense, but he is close to that, even though he is sane. It is his conflicting passions that drive him, and a Chaotic character is all about passions. He is Neutral because he doesn't care for Good or Evil. He just does what his passions dictate. He is not carefree that is the traditional CN, but darker, troubled, and brooding.




Don't know about the rest.
 

painandgreed said:
In AD&D terms, I think that love for another is pretty much good, and acts done due to it would be good acts.
That's pretty shaky ground, saying that acts done because of love get rubber-stamped as Good. After all, what Xeno Lovegood did to alert the Death Eaters was done for love of his daughter, but I'd have a hard time calling it Good.

Cameron said:
He is practically classic CE, to be honest, killing people that displease him, doing what he likes without regard for Good or Evil, etc.
"He's as clumsy as he is stupid."
...
"Ah, Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we're preparing to---aaagh!"
"You have failed me for the last time Admiral."

"Apology accepted, Captain Needa."

"If this is a Conuslar's ship then where is the Ambassador?"

"He's no good to me dead."
"He will not be permanently damaged."
...
"What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me."
"The empire will compensate you, if he dies."

"You do not know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."

"We can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy!"​

Killing people that displease you is not monopolized by Chaotic Evil. ;)

Snape is CN. He is all over the place, and one of the first definitions of CN was "insane".
While there could be arguments for Snape being CN, I absolutely reject the notion that he was insane or even close to it. What behavior would make you think so? He is complicated and is an ex-Evil agent now working for Good covertly in Evil's ranks; he both loves Harry because he is Lily's son and hates him because he is James' as well; he has conflicted emotions. He is "insane" because of this? Chalk another one up to that absurd CN definition from 2e.
 
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The Thayan Transcript

Okay, here's my take on the OP cast:
  • Harry Potter is Neutral Good.
  • Hermione Granger is Lawful Good.
  • Ron Weasley is Neutral Good.
  • Albus Dumbledore is Lawful Good.
  • Voldemort is Lawful Evil.
  • The Malfoys are Lawful Evil.
  • Severus Snape is Neutral Evil.
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-Samir Asad / Thayan Menace​
 

Voldemort is totally Neutral Evil (Vile, of course). Everything he does is for himself, to make sure he ends up on top. Dumbledore states again and again that Voldemort only cares for himself and has no true friends.
 

Felix said:
That's pretty shaky ground, saying that acts done because of love get rubber-stamped as Good. After all, what Xeno Lovegood did to alert the Death Eaters was done for love of his daughter, but I'd have a hard time calling it Good.


"He's as clumsy as he is stupid."
...
"Ah, Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we're preparing to---aaagh!"
"You have failed me for the last time Admiral."

"Apology accepted, Captain Needa."

"If this is a Conuslar's ship then where is the Ambassador?"

"He's no good to me dead."
"He will not be permanently damaged."
...
"What if he doesn't survive? He's worth a lot to me."
"The empire will compensate you, if he dies."

"You do not know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master."

"We can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy!"​

Killing people that displease you is not monopolized by Chaotic Evil. ;)


While there could be arguments for Snape being CN, I absolutely reject the notion that he was insane or even close to it. What behavior would make you think so? He is complicated and is an ex-Evil agent now working for Good covertly in Evil's ranks; he both loves Harry because he is Lily's son and hates him because he is James' as well; he has conflicted emotions. He is "insane" because of this? Chalk another one up to that absurd CN definition from 2e.
Vader is Anakin, and Anakin was Chaotic as all heck. And a whinger to boot. He is only kept in line by Palpatine's Dark Side mastery. Hence the "You do not know the power of the Dark Side. I must obey my master." quote.

As for Snape: The behaviour that makes him react all over the place, one second he is good, and the next bad wrt Harry. That is pretty much MPD behaviour.

Snape is not insane. I said his behaviour has elements in it that is similar to those of insane people.
 

Felix said:
That's pretty shaky ground, saying that acts done because of love get rubber-stamped as Good. After all, what Xeno Lovegood did to alert the Death Eaters was done for love of his daughter, but I'd have a hard time calling it Good.

I'll give you that.
 

I'm with Felix in Post 12. That's pretty much my view of 'em on D&D's spectrum.

It's interesting to see that the houses line up to some alignments, too:

Gryffindor values courage, chivalry and boldness. [Suggests Good: chivalrous respect and love for your fellows, and the courage and boldness to back up that idealism]. It's FIRE.

Hufflepuff values hard work, loyalty, patience, friendship and fair play rather than a particular aptitude in its members. [Suggests Lawful: it's the ties that bind more than the dreams you have, and the process you take helps you get there]. It's EARTH.

Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge and wit. [Suggests Chaos: the individual's power, rather than the society's. It's about YOUR mind and YOUR knowledge and YOUR ability to think different from everyone else] It's AIR.

Slytherin values ambition, cunning, resourcefulness and pure blood heritage. [Suggests Evil: your power over others, and your ability and drive to get it]. It's WATER.

IMO, it's interesting to see the Sorting Hat's rules applied to Alignment. It's more about your choices than your abilities, for instance. And that it's not exclusive. There's not JUST evil people in Slytherin, though probably a good chunk of them are. ;)
 

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