question about keeping your alignment

iphlyjaii · Post by **iphlyjaii** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 12:29 am

has anyone ever successfully kept their chaotic evil alignment throughout the whole game? My chaotic evil sorcerer somehow changed to chaotic good because I supposedly made some "good" decisions that changed my alignment towad good. Is there anyway to keep your chaotic evil status without killing everyone you see??

slowcar · Post by **slowcar** » Mon Jul 08, 2002 1:25 am

hmm, i changed from CG to CN because i killed the kidnapper of the little girl in chapter2.

not my problem, i am chaotic and do what i think is the best for me and the rest of the world

gs
SlowCar

Skilless · Post by **Skilless** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 10:09 am

I've seen my Good/Evil scale change, but has anyone noticed the Chaotic/Lawful scale change? I'm still on 85 Lawful (Paladin), even though I've done some very un-Lawful things; like, break into people's houses, rob the rooms of inns, etc. Doesn't it seem as if I should lose points for doing un-Lawful actions?

Trix · Post by **Trix** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 10:48 am

I've done some very un-Lawful things; like, break into people's houses, rob the rooms of inns, etc.

No offense, but that's a bit of a narrow cliched view of what a Lawful character wouldn't do. Sure, in general, a Lawful character will obey 'laws', but it really goes a lot deeper than that. Think of it more as Order vs Chaos ... more of a philosophical and political axis ...

There's a few minor spoilers next, so beware ...

Anyway to answer the original question, I started as Lawful/Neutral, but within just a few quests I'd become Lawful/Good because I didn't accept payment for getting the reagents. I wasn't even expecting to change alignment, and I kinda figured that since my character was a Cleric, aiding a Temple and bring about a cure was just what she'd do, and wouldn't normally expect to be paid for it.

But no, I never changed from 85% Lawful from beginning to end.

An example of what I think should've been a Lawful action was the assassination of both High Captains in Luskan. Let me explain ... each captain wanted the other's head, but I refused to work for either of them and instead killed them both. Had only one survived, that would have undoubtedly brought immense instability to the region with one Captain having a free reign to smuggle stuff and kill people. It would, infact, have been total chaos ... this is just my opinion of course ... but there's an example of (probably) breaking the law (two murders) but yet bringing Order (capital 'O') to a situation.

Anyway ... I talk too much.

Skilless · Post by **Skilless** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 11:05 am

Trix,

I agree, but this is a CRPG we're talking about, so the implementation would have to have some tangible bounderies/limitations. I think that the 3E idea of Lawful is probably too esoteric for a CRPG.

One of the things I consider Lawful, is abiding by a legitimate authority. Example, if a legitimate ruler (even if they are bad at their "job", selfish, or just plain evil) were to give you an order, you would be obliged to carry it out, because you believe in order (as the polar opposite of chaos), and that government keeps anarchy at bay. A Paladin character should exemplify this attitude in every sense. Bucking authority is not something that a Paladin or any lawful character would do.

Laws, as such, are an integral part of being lawful. If you believe in keeping order, than you (or anyone, for that matter) can't just go along doing as they please. Laws are there to (supposedly) protect the general populous and to bring order to a chaotic situation. Anytime you bring several people together, they are going to need rules that everyone knows to abide by (even if they don't agree with them). Murder and theft are normally considered universal laws in civilizations that most of us are aware of. So, while they aren't really the center of what D&D would define as Lawful, they are an integral part of that definition.

Datt · Post by **Datt** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 1:34 pm

There is no way in NWN to change from Lawful to Chaotic, only from Good to Evil. You don't have to kill people to comitt an Evil act either. IF you threaten people for information then sometimes you will move down the scale towards Evil.