This is from the Evil handbook, and I though people might find it interesting. Something that I have noticed is that alot of people seem to get things mixed up and play Neutral Evil like it was Chaotic Evil but without the rages. Chaotic Evil With chaotic evil. the unifying factor is "fear of the big guy" (just as with chaotic good, the unifying social factor is "desire to look out for the little guy"). Chaotic evil has the reputaion as "the eeeeevilest evil" because the big booty-trouncing red dragons and Unspeakable Demons from Hell" were chaotic evil. Maybe there's a connection, but it works in the other direction. Big Red isn't poerful becaise he's chaotic evil. HE's chaotic evil becase he's powerful. When you can win any argument by saying "hey,talk to the 14-die breath weapon," there's not a lot of incentive to be organised or reasonable. Chaotic evil is lazy evi: it gets things done in the simplest posible way. Chaotic evil can also be considered "efficient evil." Coverting your neighbors house? Conk him over the head and move in! Don't like the adventures creaping arpund in your dungeon? Waste 'em! Like every other alignment, chaotic evil types tend to hang out together because they understand one another. THse groups don't have a lot of rules or formal structures. The boss is the boss because he gets things done and is stronge enough to ben d the others to his will. The underlings want to be in charge, and one of them will proably get ambitious enough to attack the leader eventually... assusing the leader doesn't crush him first. A society based on violence and poor impulse control has some built in limits to its size. No matter how powerful a leader is, his number of followers is limited to those hea can personally awe or bully. If the followers eat to live (as opposed to demons, how only eat for the fun of it), the number is far more limited, because chaotic evil types don't have the patience to farm or the organizational skills to make slaves do it. Basicly, chaotic evil groups are like biker gangs in those old 50's scare flicks. They're tough, they're mean, they're unpredictable, they ride in and seize what they want, but theu don't stick around because they really can't. Once they've stolen what ever they can carry, there's no reason to stay: They're off to the next town ripe for the picking. Individually, chaotic evil beings tend to be the toughest because they're more likely to do crazy stuff like fight to the death or meet a massed charge with a massed charge. Their tactics tend to be built around mobility, suprise, and overwhelming offense. But because they burn twice as bright, they only last half as long. These problems only get amplified in a society where everyone's looking out for number one, and there's no stated or implied punishment if you successfully kill the boss. Chaotic evil gangs tend to scatter when the leader dies, and if you negotiate with tthe underlings it doesn't take lonf to find someone who'd love to slit the chief's throat - if he thought he could get away with it. As individually tough as they are, chaotic evil societies are among the easiest to take apart. Methodical patience and a willingness to play the inevitable factions off against each other can be the part's greatest allies when dealing with such groups. Lawful Evil All the problems chaotic evil societies have are not problems for lawfull evil. Chaotic evil is the cycle gang who kicks down your door, steals your stuff, burns down your house and deep-fries your puppy dog - then leaves. Lawful evil is a faceless bureaucracy that seizes your house through eminent laws, confiscates your property with a court-ordered foreclosure, puts your puppy dog to sleep because he wasn't registered, and then offers to reat your old hose back to you at a reasonable rate. Lawful evil is orgainised. Violence is the last resort, after it's tryed blackmail, bribery, threaths and devious backroom political maneuvering. Chaotic evil hates to back down from an open fight. Lawful evil hate open fights: it woould much rather sneak into your bedroom, cast a sleep spell on you to make sure you're really out, then put a pillow over your face. So much tidier. Lawful evil societies have far, far greater potentiaal for longevity and growth because thy're based on obedience, order and deferring gratification. Where chaotic evil wants it now, lawful evil wants it all, and if it has to wait ten years to wear you down, it's got a clear calendar. It's simple to take down a chaotic evil society: you kill the boss. (This may not be easy, but its simple.) Rarely is it that straightforward in a lawful evil society, because the structres of the society are what makes it evil. Cut down one corporal in the army and another comes straight out of the millitary academy to take his place. Lawful evil might have few noteworthy individuals who serve as champions and leaders, but they don't rely on them the way chaotic evil does. You can hack a few branches off, but the tree is still there. For instance, imagine a society that hols that "Only old male humans are worthy od respect." If you fall outside of those three categories its okay for any old male human to rob. enslave or imprison you. If you've got one of those traits, you're better off than those with none, and if you've got two you're almost a citizen - but not quite. The old male humans have got a good thing going, so they support the system. The old male elves and dwarves are second class citizens, but they're still better off than the young women, so they can't complain to much. But if you're a young halfling female, you better not show your face in public because you have no legal recourse for anything anyone wants to do with you. Conquering a lawful evil society is no picnic because they plan, organise and obey their superiors. Lawful evil societies are built on the idea that individuals are tools. There is nothing unique or special about any particular hobgoblin in the army, so the strategies and tactics of the lawful evil mob are based on the idea that any individual can do it. They tend towards fortifications, siege engines, phalanxes and defensive technologies like shields and armor. Neutral Evil Unlike either chaotic or lawfyl evil, the neutral evil organization both respects laws and trys to find a way around them. There is structure, but it is loosely created and even less adhered to. The ideal situation for a neutral evil "person" is one which he can convince the opponent to abide by the rules - all the while, breaking them himself. They are the hypocrites, two-faced dealers that provide a backdrop for their gains, and then destroy their own rules whenever it beocmes troublesome to deal with them. In many games, the neutral evil character is rightfully described as "Neutral Me." Their number one goal is not simply to aquire power, or riches, but to grasp anything they desire. After they have gained it, they may well forget about it and move one - once its usefulness is finished, or the thrill of acquisition is gone. Chaotic evil wants it new. Lawful evil wants it all. Neutral evil simply wants it, and will go to any lenghts, including patience, outright bartering, or even working with a good party to get it. The neutral evil villains do occasionally keep their word and stick to contracts - when it suits their best interest. Where you can trust chaotic evil to rampage, and lawful evil to tyrnnize, you just can't trust neutral evil to do anything. They even break their own rules. Unlike chaotic evil, the have no problem with impulse control - they can machinate with the best of them. Unlike lawful evil, on the other hand they have no desire to organise or conform, and can adapt their plan and their nature as suits the situation. Whilw this can make for an extremely powerful individual, neutral evil societies are are ans short lived. People with neutral evil tendencies rarely care enough to gather in groups, unless the payoff is rich. They almost never create established communities, or form organized and structured government systems - what would be the point? They would all ignore it, machinate the rules, and eventually destroy the society they had created. A neutral evil individual prefers to find an existing society, and abuse its laws and systems for their own gain, all the while pretending to adhere to their structure. THis allows the neutral evil to have an advantage over the indigent residents, who actually do follow the laws ans rulesm and won't see the neutral evil's plan coming until it is to late. Then, after the neutral evil individueal has take everything he wanted, he moves on and finds another society to exploit. Good, evil, beneficent or malevolent - it doesn't matter, so long as the neutral evil gets what he was searching for. The occassional small neutral evil society that does form must have some other reason to stay together. Family units, parasitic creatures, or other systems where the group is more poweful than the individual can work, but only so long as all parties know that they would not be better off alone (or if they cannot exist apart). In such circumstances, the leader is often the individual who can manipulate the others into suporting him, or whose personal ablity outshines the other. Even so , he should always be aware that the society is looking for ways around his command, and to "slip the bonda" of his control. Conquering a neutral evil society is a laughable prospect. First they aren't organoised enought to "conquer." If you march in and claim the area, they will certainly agree with you - and the quitely assassinate your generals, commanders, and whoever else needs to be removerd in order for you to leave them alone. Ordering a tothe or obeisance from a neutral evil group will bring you a great deal of polite lip service, at least until such time as you realise their shipmensts of grain were poisoned, and now your peasants are dying by the score. Neutral Evil doesn't need prode, and it doesn't need to be "respected." It isn't going to fight you face to face, and it won't burst into a rampage of chaotic slaughter when you trigger its anger. It will smile politelt, bow, and then stab you in the back when you least expect it. It will find your weak link, and exploit it. The dagger in you back might be held by your dear wife, convinced that you are a shapechanger, or even from your closest friend. The worst part is that the neutral evil individual has the most likely convinced these people that they are doing it "for your own good." All behind the scenes, of course, and carefully ignoring only the rulews that would constrict his actions. Why Evil This is an important question. Town gurads are a silver piece a dozen. Noble kings are just doing their job. Heroes, when you get right down to it, don't seem to need any more justification than me good, you bad. But if you're going to be more than just another forgettable cutpurse, you need to know how you ended up enjoying the cries of your victims and the crunch of your enemies' bones beneath your steal. Three basic ways of understanding evil can be followed from the three evil alignments. While not all evil characters will stem from one of theses three paths, some elements of them is in the vast majority of villians. Most people are ignorant fools, and I know whats's better fot them than they do. Look at the world, and what do you see? Chaos. Hatred. Stupidity. Millions of people willing to kill over shades of skin, or a few inches of boundry on a map, while greed kills millions more through hunger and disease. If someone with the will and powr to crush those who allow this in the name of some absurd concept called freedom, it may be evil, but which evil is greater? The seductive path of the lesser evil leads to Lawful Evil regmes, which are perhaps the most powerfil form of evil. Good people may cringe in their homes while jackbooted sadists march triumphantly in the streets, but everyone has food on the table and the carriages run on time. Villians with a superiority complex can easily imagine running the world better than their lessers. There are two types of people in this world. Those who inflict pain, and those who suffer it. I know which I want to be. Why are people so fascinated by powerful monster? Dinosaurs, sharks, bears, and lions all mesmerize us with their strength ans viciousuness. Who hasn't wished to be ferocious and invincible? Is there anyone who hasn't been hurt and wished they could could avenge themselves without fear? Of course not. All it takes for Chaotic Evil to take hold is the understanding that either you're a hunter or you're prey. And who's to say ot's wrong to enjpy the fear in your prey's eyes as you prepare to strike them down? In the end everone finds a way to take what they want. I'm just honest about it. Lawful Evil and Chaotic Evil find excuses for what they do. Not these villians. Neutral Evil is all about you, you, you. Who cares about somestarving peasants? What kind of fool worries about looking tough? Its a dog eat dog world out there, friend, and if you;re not loking out for Number One, you're wearing bone underclothes. HTe world doesn't care. and neither do people, no matter what they say. this sort of evil is convinced that one one really cares about anything except themselves, usually through painful experience. The only smart choise is to do the same. So how smart are you?
Really useful for begginers, Cujo, good idea. if you like to read even more, The "book of Vile Darkness" is great source, and "The book of Exalted Deeds" is quite the contrary, how to play real do-gooders; both of them explain the Deitys relationship with the differents alignments they're also good sources for new equipment, ideas and meshes the parasitic demon-equipment creatures from the Vile book will blow your mind
There was a bunch of stuff in the original PHB,DMG, and Deities&Demigod books, most written by E.Gary Gygax, that detailed alignment things. I don't think a lot of people were in to it, depending on the DM. Our DM was a LG holy-roller and evil was evil and they all had to go. There was no lawful, neutral or chaotic about it. They're evil, thus bad and they have to go. End of story.
This is good stuff. The official versions of the alignments have changed over the years and people will always have their own opinions, but in the end you need some sort of frame of reference, even if its only for your own campaign.
well what I like about that is its almost like a psyc-eval for evil types rather than a strict alignment deffinition, even if it doesn't accound for "Stupid Evil" although people who want to play stupid evil shouldn't complain that they don't last long anyway.
Well, back on my 20's i used to play a chaotic evil assassin (and master of disguise) of Bhaal (a chaotic evil deity of slaughtering, death and murder). In the same group was a Paladin. He never figured out. of course, i had a ring of no detection to make their "detect evil" ability useless against me. And since he was one of the good boys, he can force me to take it out. But the fact is that, even when i was chaotic evil, i always acted "good" (well, more like neutral) in front of him. I always manipulated him to be in the front line, to fight the most dangerous creature in a combat or to cover me when i went on "business"...since he didn't know, he wasn't lying... The funny thing was, that the player actually known what my character was, cos he can see my character sheet, but HIS chracter was unable to catch me... Eventually he become fallen, and i helped him to attone, thus becoming chaotic neutral myself (which was better, i don't like to play evil characters) A hell of a fun.
That's really good stuff. Is that from D&D material? (Excuse my brain damage, I haven't read any of it since AD&D, Ed.1-and a little bit of second) I'd love to get more up-to date material. P.S.: In my experience, most people barely get the whole alignment thing. What fun it was watching people try to play Lawful Good with a grasping, me-first attitude, or Chaotic Evil with civic-mindedness.
yeah, its from a third edition suppliment. I thas a bunch of feats and other stuff in it, that part is just the introduction.
