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It sounds LN to me, using traditional views of Alignment.
But anything will work -- that's the fun of Alignment. One can be Evil and still want to "destroy evil." Any Good will work, too. A Player can say that his LG Player has been given authority (by Pharasma perhaps, or Sarenrae) to be "judge, jury and executioner." One could easily define giving "no quarter" as an attribute of Lawful or Chaotic, depending on how one views the concept of "no quarter." I think the only real stretch is Neutral, True Neutral.
But LN makes the most obvious sense to me.
- - - -
If you want to rethink Alignment so that it actually makes sense in a "one size fits all" guidelines set, (as opposed to the way it has always been designed where every Player has his and her own opinions about it) separate Alignment into two categories, moral views and personality: Evil/ Good is one's moral view; Lawful/ Chaotic is one's personality.
In this way you don't have people stupidly arguing that CG means "believes in freedom" as if LG & NG don't believe in freedom. Or people stupidly arguing that LG means "has to act like Sturm Brightblade" as if LG is some dumbass straight-jacket of stupidity.
And you avoid people stupidly thinking you can never tell a lie if you're LG cuz it's not "Lawful" (as if lying were a Chaos "thing" instead of a good-vs-evil "thing" -- dumbasses).
All kinds of problems are solved when you separate Good-vs-Evil from Lawful-vs-Chaotic.
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Sounds lawfulish. Good, Lawful or Evil all would work depending on the specific flavour.
As an aside:
I am of the mindset that alignment should be removed from the game. It acts as such an oppressive set of shackles for so many and causes so many arguments that it is mellowing my buzz.
Find another mechanic for spells/effects that affect alignment and life will be better.
Just my 3.1 cp
This is going to inspire a new thread in off topic discussions, what alighnment are you? I like ray's post on it.
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I would make sure and talk as a party. Characters that "Live to destroy evil" have been very problematic for me in the past. Now I dont know your players but I have run into the absolutist who will do anything, even commit suicide just to go after some evil. Often times at the detriment to the party. Sorry maybe that's a gut reaction on my part its certainly possible to play such a character sanely, yet often its done terribly by players.
Another problem I have is I see the grim reaper as very evil itself. Is he going for a Dexter thing here? Takes evil to defeat evil kind of thing? For alignment I could see just about any alignment working to be honest. However, it would be nice to know a little bit more about the concept to lean towards a particular alignment. How far is he willing to go to stop evil? Going off the line of him being a sorc and living to destroy evil as judge, jury, and executioner I'm going to go against the grain and say chaotic.
I see alignment as descriptive, not prescriptive. I think it's a role-playing aid mechanic, not a straightjacket.
You can write whatever alignment you want on your PC's character sheet, but a character's actions dictate the PC's actual alignment, and I keep track of that as GM. If a player says his character is "chaotic good," and does generally help out the oppressed and fights evil, but regularly steals, lies, and acts like a jerk, I'm going to consider the character to be "chaotic neutral." That can have in-game effects, like if the priest casts "Holy Smite" in the area in which the PC is standing.
Of course, I try very hard not to be a jerk about it, and give the player the benefit of the doubt whenever I can. Honestly, alignment disputes have never been a problem in any games I've GMed.
So... play your character any way you want. I'm going to interpret your character's alignment by how you play the character.
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Some good points Haladir about playing what you want. I have on several occasions started a campaign with a character of certain alignment and have had that change based on the world and other players. Sometimes I like to even leave it blank until I have had a chance to let the character come to life. It is only then I get a real picture of the characters alignment.
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Thinking back to my time playing Rifts I cannot remember a single time arguing with anyone about alignments. To my rather twisted sensibilities Palladium's alignment system is superior to D&D because it gives real world examples:
Principled (Good)
Principled characters are, generally, the strong, moral character.
Principled characters will . . .
1. Always keep his word.
2. Avoid lies.
3. Never kill or attack an unarmed foe.
4. Never harm an innocent.
5. Never torture for any reason.
6. Never kill for pleasure.
7. Always help others.
8. Work well in a group.
9. Respect authority, law, self-discipline and honor.
10. Never betrays a friend.
11. Never break the law unless conditions are desperate. This means
no breaking and entry, theft, torture, unprovoked assaults, etc.
Scrupulous (Good)
Scrupulous characters value life and freedom above all else, and
despise those who would deprive others of them. This type of hero is
typically portrayed in many Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson films;
the person who is forced to work beyond the law, yet for the law, and
the greater good of the people. They are not vicious or vindictive men,
but are men driven to right injustice. I must point out that these characters
will always attempt to work with or within the law whenever possible.
Many cyber-knights are scrupulous.
Scrupulous Characters Will . . .
1. Keep his word to any other good person.
2. Lie only to people of selfish or evil alignments.
3. Never attack or kill an unarmed foe.
4. Never harm an innocent.
5. Never torture for pleasure, but may use muscle to extract information
from criminals or evil characters.
6. Never kill for pleasure; will always attempt to bring the villain to
justice alive no matter how vile he may be.
7. Always help others.
8. Attempt to work within the law whenever possible.
9. Bend and, occasionally, break the law when deemed necessary.
This means they may use strong-arm techniques, harass, break and
enter, theft, and so on.
10. Distrust authority.
11. Work with groups, but dislike confining laws and bureaucracy (red
tape).
12. Never betrays a friend.
Unprincipled (Selfish)
This, basically, good person tends to be selfish, greedy, and holds
his/her personal freedom and welfare above almost everything else.
He/she dislikes confining laws, self-discipline and distrusts authority.
This is the Han Solo, Star Wars, character. The guy who is always
looking for the best deal, associates with good and evil characters, is
continually tempted to lie and cheat, and hates himself for being loyal
and helping others.
Unprincipled Characters Will . . .
1. Have a high regard for life and freedom.
2. Keep his word of honor.
3. Lie and cheat if necessary (especially to those of anarchist and evil
alignments).
4. Will not kill an unarmed foe (but will take advantage of one).
5. Help those in need.
6. Not use torture unless absolutely necessary.
7. Work with a group, especially if profitable.
8. Never harm an innocent.
9. Never kill for pleasure.
10. Dislike authority.
11. Never betray a friend.
Anarchist (Selfish)
This type of character likes to indulge himself in everything. He is
the insurgent, con-man, gambler and high roller; the uncommitted
freebooter seeking nothing more than self-gratification. This character
will, at least, consider doing anything if the price is right. These people
are intrigued by power, glory and wealth. Life has meaning, but his
has the greatest meaning. Laws and rules infringe on personal freedom
and were meant to be broken. An anarchist aligned person is always
looking for the best deal, and will work with good, selfish or evil to
get it; as long as he comes out of the situation on top. The anarchist
is continually teetering between good and evil, rebelling, and bending
the law to fit his needs. Often mercenaries fall into this category.
Anarchist Characters Will . . .
1. May keep his word.
2. Lie and cheat if he feels it necessary.
3. Not likely to kill an unarmed foe, but certainly knockout, attack,
or beat up an unarmed foe.
4. Never kill an innocent (but may harm or kidnap).
5. Not likely to help someone without some ulterior motive (even if
it's only to show-off).
6. Seldom kill for pleasure.
7. Use torture to extract information (not likely to torture for pleasure).
8. Does not work well in a group (this is the cocky, loudmouth who
is likely to do as he damn well pleases).
9. Have little respect for self-discipline or authority.
10. May betray a friend.
Miscreant (Evil)
This self-serving, unscrupulous character is out only for himself.
Power, glory, wealth, position, and anything that will make his life
more comfortable is his goal. It matters not who gets caught in the
middle, as long as he comes out smelling like a rose. This person will
lie, cheat and kill anyone to attain his personal goals.
Miscreant Characters Will . . .
1. Not necessarily keep his word to anyone.
2. Lie and cheat anyone; good or evil.
3. Most definitely attack an unarmed foe (those are the best kind).
4. Use or harm an innocent.
5. Use torture for extracting information and pleasure.
6. May kill for sheer pleasure.
7. Feels no compulsion to help without some sort of tangible reward.
8. Work with others if it will help him attain his personal goal.
9. Kill an unarmed foe as readily as he would a potential threat or
competitor.
10. Has no deference to laws or authority, but will work within the
law if he must.
11. Will betray a friend if it serves his needs.
Aberrant (Evil)
The cliche that there is "No honor among thieves." is false when
dealing with the aberrant character. This is a person who is driven to
attain his goals through force, power, and intimidation. Yet the aberrant
person stands apart from the norm, with his own, personal code of
ethics (although twisted ethics by the standards of good). He expects
loyalty from his minions, punishing disloyalty and treachery with a
swift, merciful death. An aberrant person will always keep his word
of honor and uphold any bargains. He will define his terms and live
by them, whether anyone else likes it or not.
Aberrant Characters Will . . .
1. Always keep his word of honor (he is honorable).
2. Lie to and cheat those not worthy of his respect.
3. May or may not kill an unarmed foe.
4. Not kill (may harm, kidnap) an innocent, particularly a child.
5. Never kills for pleasure.
6. Not resort to inhumane treatment of prisoners, but torture, although
distasteful, is a necessary means of extracting information.
7. Never torture for pleasure.
8. May or may not help someone in need.
9. Work with others to attain his goals.
10. Respect honor and self-discipline.
11. Never betray a friend.
Diabolic (Evil)
This is the category where the megalomaniacs, violent, and most despicable characters fall. This is the cruel, brutal killer who trusts no one and has no value for anyone or anything that gets in his way. Aberrant aligned characters find these dishonorable people just as revolting
as a good aligned character.
Diabolic Characters Will . . .
1. Rarely keep his word (and has no honor).
2. Lie to and cheat anyone.
3. Most certainly attack and kill an unarmed foe.
4. Use, hurt and kill an innocent without a second thought or for pleasure.
5. Use torture for pleasure and information.
6. Kill for sheer pleasure.
7. Likely to help someone only to kill or rob him.
8. Not work well within a group (consistently disregarding orders to do as he pleases).
9. Despise honor, authority, and self-discipline.
10. Associate mostly, with other evil alignments.
11. Betray friends (after all, you can always find friends).
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I view alignment as just simple vague descriptions that can't really be faulted.
Law-Chaos Axis:
Lawful means the character is organized and structured. Usually plans ahead.
Chaotic means the character is unorganized and unstructured. Usually acts on a whim and goes with the flow.
Neutral means the character is chaotic or lawful based on the circumstances.
Good-Evil Axis:
Good means the character will generally be kind and helpful to others except those who have abused their aid in the past.
Evil means the character is generally Apathetic to others and normally only cares about themselves. The only exceptions typically being those who have earned their respect and/or trust.
Neutral means the character is willing to help to an extent, Though typically will only help if they like you.
I'm going to interpret your character's alignment by how you play the character.I'm with you up to here. I want an understanding of how that player interprets their alignment and use that as the yardstick. This of course needs to be settled at session 0.
I explicitly tell players this in the players guide I always write and hand out to players before they start in my campaigns. We also always talk about it in Session 0, so that we're all on the same page about it.
@darkwarriorkarg: can't be worse than WotC.
i think a lot of the alignment fights come from classes like paladins or clerics that have more ridged codes of conduct then others. How ridged is the sticking point. And people assign that rigidly to all chars causing issues. I don't view taking alignment seriously as a straight jacket though. I want my characters to play a consistent character if hes LG he should in most situations act LG some times straying into neutral. If his sheet says LG and he routinely commits evil he's doing it wrong.
Now back to the topic...he sounds chaotic neutral to me. He has his own selfish world view. I do what ever i think is necessary to destroy evil regardless or the consequences or what others think. The fact that this might result in good acts doesn't make it good and he could easily slip into evil (honestly chaotic evil might be better given your play style). If your killing anyone how detects evil or killing the evil as the try to surrender your evil. A good example is if you ran up against a lawful evil society. Your char as CN or CE has no problem killing these people because they are evil. Everyone else might have huge issues with this because they don't share your view and you just murdered people for who they where not any thing they had done. And when you captured by some pally s for genocide prepare an impassioned speech from the gallows railing against evil.
Hope that helps
It sounds LN to me, using traditional views of Alignment.
But anything will work -- that's the fun of Alignment. One can be Evil and still want to "destroy evil." Any Good will work, too. A Player can say that his LG Player has been given authority (by Pharasma perhaps, or Sarenrae) to be "judge, jury and executioner." One could easily define giving "no quarter" as an attribute of Lawful or Chaotic, depending on how one views the concept of "no quarter." I think the only real stretch is Neutral, True Neutral.
But LN makes the most obvious sense to me.
- - - -
If you want to rethink Alignment so that it actually makes sense in a "one size fits all" guidelines set, (as opposed to the way it has always been designed where every Player has his and her own opinions about it) separate Alignment into two categories, moral views and personality: Evil/ Good is one's moral view; Lawful/ Chaotic is one's personality.
In this way you don't have people stupidly arguing that CG means "believes in freedom" as if LG & NG don't believe in freedom. Or people stupidly arguing that LG means "has to act like Sturm Brightblade" as if LG is some dumbass straight-jacket of stupidity.
And you avoid people stupidly thinking you can never tell a lie if you're LG cuz it's not "Lawful" (as if lying were a Chaos "thing" instead of a good-vs-evil "thing" -- dumbasses).
All kinds of problems are solved when you separate Good-vs-Evil from Lawful-vs-Chaotic.
[/QUOTE/] Agreed. I thought the same thing when I read the original post. P.S. Lawful Good characters can be MERCILESS bastards too, depends on what is on the other end of their judgement. If you be F--kin' up badly, Lawful Good will often jungle stomp a monkey a-- and feel no remorse. All part of enforcing the law for the "greater" good.
I would saw LN or LE. With occasional LG tendencies.
what is lawful about destroying any evil you find by any means necessary. Your not bound by law or any greater code or hierarchy(only your own sense of right and wrong). How is that not chaotic or at least neutral. Using any means necessary means by default you don't really respect the law or others views.
If he is trying to fit into the common "Grim Reaper" description then he will be organized. This means lawful.
"who lives to destroy"_________ = Evil IMHO, no matter what fills in the blank. Given the rest of the concept, I think he is clearly pegged as Lawful Evil:
Lawful Evil: A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. [No quarter] He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. [judge jury and executioner] He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank.[so any society, religion, or lands he views as evil are subject to his wrath] He is loath to break laws or promises.
This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains. [Emphasis Added]
Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.
Lawful evil represents methodical, intentional, and organized evil.
=========================================================
Other Evils dont fit as well:
Neutral Evil: A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusions that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.
Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies.
Neutral evil represents pure evil without honor and without variation.
Chaotic Evil: A chaotic evil character does what his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are likely to be poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can be made to work together only by force, and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts to topple or assassinate him.
Chaotic evil represents the destruction not only of beauty and life, but also of the order on which beauty and life depend.
@Arizhel: Lawful Evil would fit the best.
I would saw LN or LE. With occasional LG tendencies.LOL
One of the funniest posts I've seen in a while
Yeah all I can think of is Richard from Looking For Group... Overall he is an Apathetic B******, But he has moments where he shows a soft side.
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Launching RotR soon, and I have a player who wants to play a sorcerer with undead bloodline who lives to destroy evil - but does so as judge, jury and executioner. No quarter. Views him as a very dark character - a sort of incarnation of the Grim Reaper. What alignment makes the most sense?
I think you need to write down your own understanding of what the alignement axes mean. What is YOUR take on Good vs Evil and on Law vs Chaos ?
Then, before play begins, show it to your players and ask them where their characters are.
It might appear that you need to fine tune your first approach to the alignments so that it fits better with your players' concepts. As long as you (the GM) are comfortable with it, that's a very good thing to do.
In short, treat the Alignments as you would treat houserules and all should be fine.
The_black_raven has an excellent solution.