How do you play a neutral (good/evil) character?

[Vibius]

More specifically, how do you a play a TN o CN character?.

I have been looking for inspiration, but I can really think a good reason why characters of those two particular alignments would wander Faerun doing either good/evil quests, since in many quests it is not offered a reward beforehand. Perhaps is it because the character concepts that I have thought really would not mind others' business?.

Any ideas? Thanks!

[Tamryn]

Disclaimer: I don't have any Good characters, so take this such a pinch of salt if you like. (I do have TN, CN, NE and CE characters.)

For me, 'neutral' doesn't mean someone who is in the middle of good and evil, or someone who does an equal amount of good and evil acts. Someone who would willingly do any evil act without compulsion is evil - not neutral.

Tamryn is an example of an obviously evil character: she wants power for herself without regard to others, and would gladly trample over someone else to get that. But even if there's no gain for her, she will create meaningless strife for no other reason than the chance it will cause misfortune to someone else. She doesn't do this because she enjoys strife, but rather because if other people suffer misfortune, it results in a relative improvement to her fortunes. This is what makes her NE rather than CE: the goal is always her own selfish gain, not chaos itself (which can be harmful as often as beneficial).

Ylaine is also NE, but is quite different from Tamryn. She would never (knowingly) do something on purpose to harm someone, but she does things without consideration for how they might affect others. For example, she would gladly slaughter a farmer and eat him: not because it's fun to kill and eat people, but because she's hungry. Everyone has to eat; it's not her fault the farmer was the first person she saw.

But just because Ylaine acts without the deliberate intent to cause harm doesn't mean she's neutral, in the sense that a predatory animal might be neutral. She is capable of comprehending the concepts of good and evil; she doesn't act just out of instinct. The fact that she will do evil to someone else (kill and eat them - a clearly evil act) for no reason except her own selfish needs makes her evil. This is what makes her NE, not TN.

Tess, however, is CN. She seeks out excitement and chaos, not because it's harmful to people, but because it's fun. She would never deliberately harm anyone - which is why she's not evil - but on the other hand, if the excitement happened to harm someone, she might just shrug it off as one of those things that happens.

The difference between a CN character like Tess and a CG (or NG) character is that the Good character will always direct their chaotic nature towards good acts, and consider the impact of their deeds on others before they act - even when trying to create chaos.

That's why Robin Hood is the stereotypical example of a CG character: he disrupts order and creates chaos, but he does so in order to benefit people. Tess doesn't want to harm people, but if she gets an exciting tale to re-tell in the square for a few coins, that's enough for her. If some people end up better off than before? That's just a bonus. Of course she would feel pleased if she had helped someone, but dedicating your entire life to helping people? That's something Good people do - not Neutral people.

[Tamryn]

An addition regarding quests. My Evil characters do not do quests. Tamryn has done exactly the number of quests required to get the item renames I wanted for her. I tried to do evil quests where possible, but it is not in the nature of evil characters to do quests - even for other evil characters. Good characters do Good things for their own sake; Evil characters (other than CE) do not do Evil things for their own sake, only if there's some kind of gain in it for them.

[Gwain]

For LN, I follow this helpfile.

Code: Select all

Lawful Neutral, "Judge"
A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs
her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal
order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and
favor a strong, organized government. 

Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are
reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

[Hrosskell]

I wrote a big paragraph about how I play C/N on Cahir, and realized it was pretty confusing. Basically I think your approach to alignments is essential; how you strict you feel you adhere to alignments, how you interpret what the alignment actually means, etc.

What I did glean from my own rant was this:
Alignments, like the Gods, are up for interpretation. Being chaotic doesn't necessarily mean rampaging all the time, and being lawful doesn't necessarily mean always being polite/law-abiding. I think Cahir could easily be viewed as lawful--he follows a very detailed set of rules, daily routines for personal fitness/improvement, etc.--but the things that would make him lawful are strongly rooted in providing him with tools to furthering a chaotic agenda; anti-establishmentarianism, propagation of war, general irreverence for authority both moral and government. In the end, how you view how the alignment works and how you play it is up to you--don't be afraid to be bold and push the limits, just be ready to accept other peoples' views and explain your own.

Alignments are never set in stone. Tendencies, leanings, and IC events have an impact on how characters work. Cahir could have fallen to evil when wrapped up with evil friends and a near-evil wife; his return to residency in Waterdeep and gathering of new peers put him back on a neutral path, but prolonged exposure to those people points him towards generally good behavior (usually passed off as "well, my friends are doing it, so I may as well"). Allowing a character to grow and adapt to his alignment, or to adapt his alignment to him, is essential to roleplay in my opinion; there is obviously a fine line between growth and abuse, so plan and when in doubt, apply.

[Grenwyn]

I usually play chaotic characters.

Fyzul (CN) does quests, sometimes for the adventure, sometimes for the reward, and sometimes out of sheer boredom. He's not evil, though he can get along with evil characters; but he isn't good either, though he has a lot of good friends. He has his own code, which primarily means loyalty to his friends; yet he isn't lawful, per se, because he only goes along with the law so long as it is convenient. He feels no qualms about violating the local laws to satisfy his personal sense of justice. He believes that the ends justify the means, and (for example) wouldn't have a problem with using evil spells if they were the most efficient way to accomplish his goals.

[Blarc]

I usually go along these: http://www.gamebanshee.com/icewinddaleii/alignments.php
when playing just about any alignment.

My current main character is a chaotic neutral sellsword, who mainly thinks that money runs the world, and thusly takes on any job he think he can get away with without being killed. He somewhat tries to stay away from too evil or good jobs, like saving or destroying a city, unless it suits his own needs. Simply said, his world runs around him and maybe his closest friends.

Sorry for my bad english

[Hrosskell]

Speaking of guidelines, I actually found the article I went on with Cahir. I was looking for it forever this morning and just kind of stumbled upon it today: http://easydamus.com/alignmentreal.html

I really liked the fresh look at alignments and the "drive" idea. I think "autonomous" fits him pretty well.

[Aldren]

Furthermore, this sums up CE for me.

[Anguin]

I think a neutral character might be very motivated for personal gain - fame, prestige, and fortune. He would be unlikely to act strictly out of altruism, but might perform good deeds for the recognition and opportunities that might open up. He would probably find evil deeds distasteful, but an unfortunate necessity to reach his aims.

A neutral character might have strong loyalty to his family, faith, or companions. But his loyalty is unlikely to reach far outside of this. Unless his faith demands it, he's unlikely to be concerned about the greater balance. Likely, he considers himself to be a reasonable and practical individual.

[Dranso]

I agree Aldren. Whenever I think Chaotic Evil I always think about Heath Ledger as The Joker from the Dark Knight. When I think about Chaotic Good I always think about Heath Ledger in A Knights Tale.

[Sithiel]

Thought I'd Pinch in on this too.

I think for a chaotic neutral character whether he helps somebody in trouble is based on what he feels like. I would say a good person would feel obliged to help anyone that is in trouble or at least feel bad in he was not able to help. Of course he might not help his enemies or other clearly evil persons, but in term of general population. Then again a neutral, even more so chaotic neutral character does not feel obliged to help. For example I have a chaotic neutral halfling, and when faced with situation where to help a human or an elf, he might just as well refuse if no reward would be offered. Then again if a halfling or a gnome was to ask help, he would most likely help because he feels connection to other little people.

[Esselwyr]

Even on table-top, I rarely played elves (aka dandelion-eaters) or mages (kobold-fodder) so I did my research for both. Someone mentioned easydamus.com and that was very good template for me to know how to play a NG elf (as opposed to CG). I use it as a general idea of how Esselwyr should interact with people of other faiths and alignments if known. What stands out for me for the neutral spectrum is that they see law and chaos as tools to achieve an end. Depending on if they are good or evil determines certain moral attributes. I play my elf pretty close to the TSR (gasps)/WOTC publication of elf culture and lore. I found it easier to work within that template and develop quirks from there.

[teepo]

I see some decent suggestions in here, though I admit I have not read them all so I apologize if I repeat anything.

Neutral Alignments can be pretty difficult sometimes but here's some of what I've learned about them.

Neutral Good - these characters generally follow the "do what's right" path. Sometimes this means following the law, sometimes this means going with other methods, but all in all good is what their focus is. It can get a little confusing with them since sometimes they can end of following law more often than going crazy with their beliefs and breaking them depending on the city they're in. But say they're in a city that states a slave should be beaten if they look their master in the eyes, a Neutral Good character would likely try to save the slave without working with the laws, much like a Chaotic Good character who doesn't have much need for laws themselves.

Lawful Neutral - these characters tend to follow laws to the T. They're great judges as they don't see much else but the law itself. Of course not all Lawful Neutral characters would be a judge as their wisdom may not be high enough, but this could be someone who hopelessly follows the law because there's nothing they can do about it, like the slave in the previous description. They're a slave, they accept it, they try not to defy it, cause what can they do about it? Some of these also become city guards. They follow the law. They're the ones that would follow the laws of a good or evil ruler and say their hands are tied.

True Neutral - these characters are more along the lines of "I want nothing to do with it" until it affects them or their beliefs that is. Druids for example, usually have nothing to do with the affairs of the city unless it affects them or risks the balance of nature and all the natural world. True Neutral characters are those that are often the bystanders, who do nothing while a man is being bullied or beaten, or an injustice is occuring through legal matters, again..until it affects their personal life.

Chaotic Neutral - these types of characters are often considered the most self serving without dipping into evil deeds. They don't let the law stop them from getting what they want, but they don't necessarily want to hurt anyone to get it. Unlike Robin Hood types, that steal from the rich to give to the poor, these are the steal from the rich to give to themselves types. They again are not evil, but they do what they need to do to survive and their biggest concern is making it another day however they can manage it. They aren't the ideal guards clearly, and wouldn't be good in professions of law.

Neutral Evil - These are characters that act on evil impulses depending on the situation. They are a little more cautious than the chaotic evil brand, as they sometimes see the restrictions of law and obey them for survival reasons. Lawful evil characters are more the corrupt politician, which Neutral evil can play at, but often are found breaking the law at one point or another for their evil deeds. These are the types that would work for a company, follow policy to the T for everyone else, but then are found embezelling money and would kill someone to hide it if they find it necessary.

I hope this helps you out in planning your Neutral Role Plays. If anyone has anything to add to my descriptions or even make corrections please feel free to do so.