Yeah IMO rape crosses you over into Evil, full stop.
Sigh.
Alright, I'd like to mention first that I never ever used the name Ayn Rand. I tend not to, despite the fact that I often agree with her. Or her writing, at least - the woman was a mess of contradictions. This, however, is not the point.
Orthos, for those of you who don't know it, is referencing possibly the worst-written scene in Rand's repertoire. It is my understanding that she never intended to use the word "rape" the way we do today - she very often repurposed words to her meaning, or to her own odd poetical style. She was - poorly - attempting to convey that no such thing as "rape" could exist between these two people. It's an outlandish concept to begin with, not entirely in line with her more sensible philosophies, absurdly romantic and, I will repeat, badly written. It has no bearing here whatsoever.
Please let's not turn this into a Rand debate; those are tedious.
Please let's not turn this into a Rand debate; those are tedious.
Probably best.
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Again, keep in mind that I am arguing that most of the "heroes" in Ayn Rand's literature are not paragon's of virtue and goodness, but rather exemplars of unadulterated True Neutrality, just as Asmodeus is the ultimate exemplar of Lawful Evil. I am not saying that they are "good guys", but I would not label them as "bad guys" either.Yeah IMO rape crosses you over into Evil, full stop.
Yup, it's so evil that I'm sure even some evil gods would be against it because even EVIL's got it's standards.
You can have very strong convictions about something without it falling into the Law Chaos Good Evil matrix.
I think the OP is thinking too hard about it, to the point where alignment is a detriment to fun.
Yup, it's so evil that I'm sure even some evil gods would be against it because even EVIL's got it's standards.Again, keep in mind that I am arguing that most of the "heroes" in Ayn Rand's literature are not paragon's of virtue and goodness, but rather exemplars of unadulterated True Neutrality, just as Asmodeus is the ultimate exemplar of Lawful Evil. I am not saying that they are "good guys", but I would not label them as "bad guys" either.Yeah IMO rape crosses you over into Evil, full stop.
I know this will make everyone hate me, but has anyone seen the film Royal Space Force Honneamese? Can anyone tell me the main character is evil?
I don't disagree that rape is a bad thing ALWAYS, but the world isn't as black and white as D&D alignments, and assuming that's the case might well be ruining some great roleplaying scenarios for redemption and/or self-pity.
I haven't, no. As to redemption etc., I would just point out that just because your alignment becomes Evil does not mean it has to stay there.
Example: I have an ex-Blackguard character I played for several years in Neverwinter Nights who did terrible, terrible things. Rape wasn't on the list, but cannibalism (Blackguard of Tiamat) and killing children was. She's a Paladin now, after a very lengthy (6-7 months real-time of playing 3+ hours nearly daily) climb up out of the black and multiple incidents of temptation, redemption, and restitution.
I just don't think one act should ever swing your alignment that hard. Alignments are general trends, not absolute values, and you can have a statistical outlier now and then.
I'd say it depends on the event, but under most circumstances I agree. Certain actions IMO would be insta-switches, but YMMV.
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I think that people are too quick to judge alignment based on an act or two. Especially "good" acts done for selfish reasons. A "hero" might save the damsel in distress only for the chance to get into her pants, the druid might warn the townsfolk of an invasion just so they can risk life instead of him and his animal friends....Now if he risked his life over and over because he cared for the lives of all things he would not stay neutral for long