Posted by Nobody on May 17, 2000 at 18:30:37:
In Reply to: Empire Anathema posted by Blade on May 17, 2000 at 16:06:10:
If you have the AD&D players guide I urge you to go read the Alignment Chapter carefully. It explains all the alignments properly and better then what I could ever do(in a rigid context or course).
Such as the story where LE enters combat seeking to uphold the Law for the bad guy of the story was breaking it. While the NE goes off to find a gem while he is in combat but if the fighting gets to heavy he will help. The CE of course stays out of it all together with some lame excuse at the end. But for now I couldn't be stuffed to get it out so... Evil in regards to the Law.
Lawful Evil:
Seek an organised socitey. The will use the rules to gain every adavantadge they can from the laws. They will not bend nor break them though. If they sign a contract they will stick to it but will probably find every loop hole to get out of it. If there are no loop holes they will stick to it simple as that. Now as for using the law to gain every and any thing they want it they will do so as long as they don't break the rules, law, orders etc... in doing so.
Neutral Evil: Do not give a damn about the law nor chaos. They are in it for themselves as all evil people are in the end. They will obey the law if it will clearly get them into trouble in breaking it like looting a corpse while an arbiter is in town but if no one is watching they will break it.
Chaotic Evil: Well, if powerful enough will break the law without regards to the what may happen to him or her. The difference between an NE and CE maybe that if the CE wants something bad enough he would ... say ... take the sword of Zurcon from that liches corpse with no regards to the law or what may happen to himself as a person where the NE probably will think twice more about it. Weighing up ... the law will hunt me for this (not to mention the lich) where the chatotic evil character wouldn't give a damn all he would see would be the fleeting second of power.
It is hard to explain. Why because NE is just as likely to go the other way and say I like the sword and I want and the CE may say perhaps not today (actually I think the CE would take it every time...) One thing is for sure LE will never take the sword from the corpse in town (We could have a big arguement about this like whether he was obeying town laws or arbiter laws etc...)
This is a quick look at it anyway...
(Oh and the above was an example I do not know the ins and outs of the sword ... so if you are going to flame for that...)