Alignment and Villains
Once, I posted a treatise on this.
--->...character alignments as they are described there aren't incredibly accurate. But they don't ruin a good character, not in the hands of a decent RPer. A good RPer understands that alignments are guidelines, not be-all end-all rules, and doesn't take alignment to heart as anything more than a very basic guiding principle. It's not "Chaotic Good but doesn't mind killing people," it's "Chaotic Good. Might kill people." With the caveat the two don't have much to do with each other.
I would write up a better guide...but I'm lazy and it'd be simple sentences.
Real Alignment Guidelines
Lawful Good - Tries to abide by and uphold the laws of the land. If the laws seem conflicting or wrong in some way, will be bothered by it and attempt to correct it in some fashion more often than not. A character who is not bothered if the laws are wrong as much is Lawful Neutral, a character who exploits this wrong is Lawful Evil, a character who runs around upholding them with no concern for genuine right and wrong is Lawful Stupid. A character who isn't concerned about upholding the laws but will tend to abide by them is Neutral Good.
Neutral Good - Tries to abide by the laws of the land, but may occasionally ignore them if they have some other goal. Might be alternately titled 'True Good,' as a Neutral Good character has no real malicious intentions, not out of spite or general hatred at least (this does not preclude them having personal dislikes or hatreds.) A character who upholds the laws is Lawful Good, a character who often ignores them in their quest to do good is Chaotic Good, one who is not particularly concerned by much of anything is True Neutral, and one only out for themselves is Neutral Evil. A character who runs around trying to heal and fix everything with no logical motive is Stupid Good.
Chaotic Good - Aren't particularly concerned by the laws of the land as applied to themselves, but still tend to have a genuine interest in helping people and may be devoted to their own way of doing that. Chaotic Good characters are sometimes mislabeled as one of the least likely alignments to kill, though killing has nothing to do with alignment and tends to fall within individual character motivations. A character who likes chaos for the sake of it is Chaotic Neutral, a character who runs around attempting to create hazardous chaos is Chaotic Evil, and a character who does completely random things for no real reason is Chaotic Stupid.
Lawful Neutral - A Lawful Neutral character likes laws, and order. They will tend to be the ones rigidly enforcing laws for the simple reason that they are there and they make sense, and if they do attempt to change them it won't be to make them 'right' (as that would be Lawful Good) or 'exploitable' (which would be more Lawful Evil) but rather to make them make more sense and balance the legal system in some way. A character who enforces the laws with no real understanding of them is Lawful Stupid, a character who favours balance over the laws themselves is True Neutral.
True Neutral - Probably one of the hardest alignments to pull off correctly, most True Neutral characters favour balance. Whether this balance is in their own life, their own country, or the world depends on the character, as does whether it is between Good and Evil. True Neutral characters can easily be played as villains if they attempt to take 'balance the world' too far, though it is a narrow line between that sort of villain and a Stupid Neutral character, who commits a good act when he sees an evil one and vice versa in the sake of 'balance.'
Chaotic Neutral - The most easily misinterpreted alignment by inexperienced roleplayers, Chaotic Neutral characters serve as villains in settings where there are few or no Evil characters. Chaotic Neutral characters should not be mistaken for being totally random--while they are probably the most unpredictable characters in any setting, they do not act without reason. Also known in some circles as True Chaotic, Chaotic Neutral characters often act in the concerns of themselves and themselves alone, with a few of them including their friends and country in these concerns. A character that acts for the sake of good but with no regard for the laws is Chaotic Good, one that acts for the sake of harming people Chaotic Evil, and one that is merely random in their actions is Chaotic Stupid.
Lawful Evil - Lawful Evil characters are all about themselves. They are there to exploit the system to their own advantage and place the blame on others, and will often be the villain in any setting they exist in. Lawful Evil characters will not merely do evil for evil's sake, however, but will instead have had a reason why they became this way. It's possible that a Lawful Evil character started out Neutral or even Good but was corrupted by dealings in the system, or that they sank to these depths getting something they needed and stayed because they liked it. Lawful Evil characters rarely feel guilt. A character that does evil for evil's sake and no other reason is Stupid Evil, one who is very dangerous and may even pretend to be on your side is Neutral Evil.
Neutral Evil - True Evil. These characters tend to be utterly without morals and utterly in it for themselves. If this character has a moment of guilt, it will usually be repressed; if they feel sorry for anyone, they will usually be shocked and horrified at their own reaction. The Neutral Evil character will do anything to get what they want, and their movements tend to be precise and calculated--if it serves them to pretend to be good, so be it, but their doing of good deeds will never be for genuine reasons. Voted 'most likely to stab their allies in the back,' as they don't tend to believe they need any friends--only minions. A character who does not have a reason for this and backstabs for no reason is Stupid Evil.
Chaotic Evil - They want to have fun, now, with no regard for anyone else, and it so happens to them fun is hurting people. Chaotic Evil characters don't randomly slaughter, but they're much less likely to scheme than other Evil alignments are. Chaotic Evil characters tend to be easy to pick out regardless, as their general disdain for laws tends to be very apparent. They are difficult to keep as allies unless you can give them some sort of motivation not to hurt you. As a caveat, Chaotic Evil characters don't have to kill people to have fun--many more sadistic ones simply get a kick out of harming others without ending their lives. A character who runs all over the place killing people just because they want to is Stupid Evil.
Stupid Alignments - Don't use these!
Stupid Good - A Stupid Good character is a friend to all living things, no matter what. They will heal absolutely anyone, no matter what they are like, and will cheerfully forgive the most grievous of sins even if the world is burning around them. Stupid Good characters are pretty much always happy, and as such tend to be one-dimensional with no real substance or motivation like all Stupid-aligned characters. A sub-category of Stupid Good is the Lawful lean, where they will kill anything that so much breathes a touch of evil.
Lawful Stupid - Lawful Stupid characters will uphold any law for any reason. They do not seek to understand laws or to fix or change them, nor to exploit them, but merely to follow them because they exist. A Lawful Stupid character will level the maximum punishment for the lightest of crimes, be devoid of any sense of humor whatsoever, and often be stereotypically obsessed with order and neatness.
Stupid Neutral - Stupid Neutral characters are, in a nutshell, jackasses. They will commit random acts of evil in order to make up for random acts of good, and tend to simply kill one good person and one evil person and call that balance. They are obsessed with preserving balance--not in the 'cosmic forces' way that a decent True Neutral villain would, but in the petty, meaningless way that when looked at from a wider perspective tends to have unbalancing effects. Stupid Neutral characters can be recognized by this lack of perspective.
Chaotic Stupid - Also known as 'totally nuts,' Chaotic Stupid characters have no motivations, no personal rules, and often make no sense whatsoever. They will run around doing completely nonsensical and random things for no reason at all, be commonly portrayed as 'insane, you know?' and might even speak in complete nonsense. Chaotic Stupid characters are very easy to detect, as they seem to be on a permanent sugar bender.
Stupid Evil - Does evil for the sake of evil. There's no real reason for them to summon the creatures of doom other than that they are there, and they like hurting people. Will resemble cartoon villains usually, with none of the backstory that goes into them, and will be obsessed with killing people with no motivation for it. Whether this is through crazy schemes to involve as many people to be killed as possible and destroy the world or just random killing depends on the brand of Stupid Evil.<---
Here on this is how any alignment can be a villain...and not just depending on the alignment of the 'hero'/main PC group.
Lawful Good characters are characterized by divine belief that they are doing the right thing in enforcing the laws and protecting people. They are not in it for the power, as other Lawful alignments might be, but out of a genuine desire to do good combined with an unwillingness to break the laws. However, they can become villains when their judgment becomes clouded, and the balance between 'good' and 'law' slides a touch too far into one end. Not enough to change their alignment, but enough to make them act more toward one end. If they start favoring good, they can request and enforce maximum punishment for every offense, take a hard stance toward all criminals, because 'they hurt people, you know?' even minor ones. If they start favoring law, they can refuse to do good or do only as much as the law says they can to certain other villains, including letting the villain walk after an atrocity because he wasn't convicted. Expect to see a lot of impotent non-action allowing evil deeds to slip by out of the villain LG, not due to the stricture on the law the Lawful Neutral would have but out of the genuine thought that if someone is proved not evil in court or trial, they aren't. A villain LG will be either of inaction (law slant) or excessive action (good slant), but still follow the law out of their desire to do good. Note that this is not characterized by those politicians with extreme views that insist they are correct and believe they are doing well, since they are twisting the system to their own benefit to do so; a Lawful Good character would never push the system.
Neutral Good characters are the hardest to play as evil because their alignment is otherwise labeled 'True Good.' Naturally, with a name like that, not many people will try and make that sort of character a villain, with the preconception that villains must be evil. However, it is their indifference to the Law and Chaos ends of the spectrum that could make a Neutral Good character an effective villain. They are characterized by a desire to do good within their own rules, without the devotion to lawful society of Lawful characters and the disdain for order of Chaotic characters. Their very blindness toward an entire axis is what can severely impair their judgment. Neutral Good villains are more likely to impede the heroes than most other alignments, stalling them out lending unneeded aid and refusal to let them proceed without some sort of aid to a random group of people in need. Keep in mind that an actual Neutral Good character will always maintain a desire to do good, and oftentimes actually impress this on potential heroes, it's just that they often lack the scope of the big picture. A Neutral Good villain will be so focused on doing minor good things that they will lack the perspective to stop the major bad ones, even if they are the only ones with the power. A Neutral Good character must never lose this drive to help others, as it is a defining part of the alignment. However, it is entirely easy to have a situation in which their blatant disregard for the order/chaos spectrum creates major problems; peaceful protests and such are one example, mandatory sidequests to aid in their pet project are another. A Neutral Good villain will be concerned about petty details and often overlook the greater good. Note that this is not characterized by active protesters or those who actively flout the law; a Neutral Good character simply disregards the law and does not actively violate it out of intent.
Chaotic Good characters, or characters of any Chaotic slant, are never hard to portray as villains because their world view tends to be skewed from the normal. Chaotic Good characters are typically portrayed as freedom fighters, with the intent of overthrowing an evil government. The obvious question after that is 'then what?' Having a Chaotic character rule a nation is never a good thing (though Good-aligned chaotic characters are better than others--Chaotic Neutral is the absolute worst ruling alignment.) They are characterized by a disdain for rules that goes beyond the Neutral Good's apathy of them to outright breaking them, and a desire to help others in some way. They are very likely to have a 'cause,' and this is where they can become villains. A Chaotic Good villain can either be focused on the overthrow of all 'evil,' everywhere, no matter the repercussions, or the breaking of every law because they can. Note that Chaotic Good characters are not trying to cause harm or hurt the innocent, but it will often be a consequence of their actions--done just because they can. A Chaotic Good villain may not have a cause, and might be causing damage in their search for one. Much like the Neutral Good villain, they will lack the scope of the big picture, though their damage of it will be due to active interference rather than distracting sidequests. However, like the other Good villains, a Chaotic Good one must never lose their desire to help others or willingness to do so. Their judgment in dealing with people and what to do will just be off--way off. Mars off. A Chaotic Good villain will totally miss the consequences to their actions and be determined to do good, but end up causing more damage than they prevent. Note that this is not characterized by out-and-out anarchists; a Chaotic Good character will simply break rules that they see as harmful or restrictive.
Neutral and Evil alignments are easy to villainize. I mentioned briefly how awful a Chaotic Neutral character would be as a ruler, and I think I should clarify that. I'm not saying CN characters can't be leaders, but they typically won't do well leading any sort of group that requires law enforced or as a large part of it. Chaotic Evil characters might play along because it lets them hurt people; Chaotic Good characters will often lead some form of resistance. Chaotic Neutral characters shouldn't really lead anything larger than a lawless organization or criminal group, as it keeps them interested. The second a CN character loses interest in something is when they decide to make it interesting, often resulting in them becoming more problematic than whatever they're supposed to be placed against. In some cases, they'll just leave without word. Really not so hot as rulers.
I say this, mind, having played at least three Chaotic country leaders in the past.
--->...character alignments as they are described there aren't incredibly accurate. But they don't ruin a good character, not in the hands of a decent RPer. A good RPer understands that alignments are guidelines, not be-all end-all rules, and doesn't take alignment to heart as anything more than a very basic guiding principle. It's not "Chaotic Good but doesn't mind killing people," it's "Chaotic Good. Might kill people." With the caveat the two don't have much to do with each other.
I would write up a better guide...but I'm lazy and it'd be simple sentences.
Real Alignment Guidelines
Lawful Good - Tries to abide by and uphold the laws of the land. If the laws seem conflicting or wrong in some way, will be bothered by it and attempt to correct it in some fashion more often than not. A character who is not bothered if the laws are wrong as much is Lawful Neutral, a character who exploits this wrong is Lawful Evil, a character who runs around upholding them with no concern for genuine right and wrong is Lawful Stupid. A character who isn't concerned about upholding the laws but will tend to abide by them is Neutral Good.
Neutral Good - Tries to abide by the laws of the land, but may occasionally ignore them if they have some other goal. Might be alternately titled 'True Good,' as a Neutral Good character has no real malicious intentions, not out of spite or general hatred at least (this does not preclude them having personal dislikes or hatreds.) A character who upholds the laws is Lawful Good, a character who often ignores them in their quest to do good is Chaotic Good, one who is not particularly concerned by much of anything is True Neutral, and one only out for themselves is Neutral Evil. A character who runs around trying to heal and fix everything with no logical motive is Stupid Good.
Chaotic Good - Aren't particularly concerned by the laws of the land as applied to themselves, but still tend to have a genuine interest in helping people and may be devoted to their own way of doing that. Chaotic Good characters are sometimes mislabeled as one of the least likely alignments to kill, though killing has nothing to do with alignment and tends to fall within individual character motivations. A character who likes chaos for the sake of it is Chaotic Neutral, a character who runs around attempting to create hazardous chaos is Chaotic Evil, and a character who does completely random things for no real reason is Chaotic Stupid.
Lawful Neutral - A Lawful Neutral character likes laws, and order. They will tend to be the ones rigidly enforcing laws for the simple reason that they are there and they make sense, and if they do attempt to change them it won't be to make them 'right' (as that would be Lawful Good) or 'exploitable' (which would be more Lawful Evil) but rather to make them make more sense and balance the legal system in some way. A character who enforces the laws with no real understanding of them is Lawful Stupid, a character who favours balance over the laws themselves is True Neutral.
True Neutral - Probably one of the hardest alignments to pull off correctly, most True Neutral characters favour balance. Whether this balance is in their own life, their own country, or the world depends on the character, as does whether it is between Good and Evil. True Neutral characters can easily be played as villains if they attempt to take 'balance the world' too far, though it is a narrow line between that sort of villain and a Stupid Neutral character, who commits a good act when he sees an evil one and vice versa in the sake of 'balance.'
Chaotic Neutral - The most easily misinterpreted alignment by inexperienced roleplayers, Chaotic Neutral characters serve as villains in settings where there are few or no Evil characters. Chaotic Neutral characters should not be mistaken for being totally random--while they are probably the most unpredictable characters in any setting, they do not act without reason. Also known in some circles as True Chaotic, Chaotic Neutral characters often act in the concerns of themselves and themselves alone, with a few of them including their friends and country in these concerns. A character that acts for the sake of good but with no regard for the laws is Chaotic Good, one that acts for the sake of harming people Chaotic Evil, and one that is merely random in their actions is Chaotic Stupid.
Lawful Evil - Lawful Evil characters are all about themselves. They are there to exploit the system to their own advantage and place the blame on others, and will often be the villain in any setting they exist in. Lawful Evil characters will not merely do evil for evil's sake, however, but will instead have had a reason why they became this way. It's possible that a Lawful Evil character started out Neutral or even Good but was corrupted by dealings in the system, or that they sank to these depths getting something they needed and stayed because they liked it. Lawful Evil characters rarely feel guilt. A character that does evil for evil's sake and no other reason is Stupid Evil, one who is very dangerous and may even pretend to be on your side is Neutral Evil.
Neutral Evil - True Evil. These characters tend to be utterly without morals and utterly in it for themselves. If this character has a moment of guilt, it will usually be repressed; if they feel sorry for anyone, they will usually be shocked and horrified at their own reaction. The Neutral Evil character will do anything to get what they want, and their movements tend to be precise and calculated--if it serves them to pretend to be good, so be it, but their doing of good deeds will never be for genuine reasons. Voted 'most likely to stab their allies in the back,' as they don't tend to believe they need any friends--only minions. A character who does not have a reason for this and backstabs for no reason is Stupid Evil.
Chaotic Evil - They want to have fun, now, with no regard for anyone else, and it so happens to them fun is hurting people. Chaotic Evil characters don't randomly slaughter, but they're much less likely to scheme than other Evil alignments are. Chaotic Evil characters tend to be easy to pick out regardless, as their general disdain for laws tends to be very apparent. They are difficult to keep as allies unless you can give them some sort of motivation not to hurt you. As a caveat, Chaotic Evil characters don't have to kill people to have fun--many more sadistic ones simply get a kick out of harming others without ending their lives. A character who runs all over the place killing people just because they want to is Stupid Evil.
Stupid Alignments - Don't use these!
Stupid Good - A Stupid Good character is a friend to all living things, no matter what. They will heal absolutely anyone, no matter what they are like, and will cheerfully forgive the most grievous of sins even if the world is burning around them. Stupid Good characters are pretty much always happy, and as such tend to be one-dimensional with no real substance or motivation like all Stupid-aligned characters. A sub-category of Stupid Good is the Lawful lean, where they will kill anything that so much breathes a touch of evil.
Lawful Stupid - Lawful Stupid characters will uphold any law for any reason. They do not seek to understand laws or to fix or change them, nor to exploit them, but merely to follow them because they exist. A Lawful Stupid character will level the maximum punishment for the lightest of crimes, be devoid of any sense of humor whatsoever, and often be stereotypically obsessed with order and neatness.
Stupid Neutral - Stupid Neutral characters are, in a nutshell, jackasses. They will commit random acts of evil in order to make up for random acts of good, and tend to simply kill one good person and one evil person and call that balance. They are obsessed with preserving balance--not in the 'cosmic forces' way that a decent True Neutral villain would, but in the petty, meaningless way that when looked at from a wider perspective tends to have unbalancing effects. Stupid Neutral characters can be recognized by this lack of perspective.
Chaotic Stupid - Also known as 'totally nuts,' Chaotic Stupid characters have no motivations, no personal rules, and often make no sense whatsoever. They will run around doing completely nonsensical and random things for no reason at all, be commonly portrayed as 'insane, you know?' and might even speak in complete nonsense. Chaotic Stupid characters are very easy to detect, as they seem to be on a permanent sugar bender.
Stupid Evil - Does evil for the sake of evil. There's no real reason for them to summon the creatures of doom other than that they are there, and they like hurting people. Will resemble cartoon villains usually, with none of the backstory that goes into them, and will be obsessed with killing people with no motivation for it. Whether this is through crazy schemes to involve as many people to be killed as possible and destroy the world or just random killing depends on the brand of Stupid Evil.<---
Here on this is how any alignment can be a villain...and not just depending on the alignment of the 'hero'/main PC group.
Lawful Good characters are characterized by divine belief that they are doing the right thing in enforcing the laws and protecting people. They are not in it for the power, as other Lawful alignments might be, but out of a genuine desire to do good combined with an unwillingness to break the laws. However, they can become villains when their judgment becomes clouded, and the balance between 'good' and 'law' slides a touch too far into one end. Not enough to change their alignment, but enough to make them act more toward one end. If they start favoring good, they can request and enforce maximum punishment for every offense, take a hard stance toward all criminals, because 'they hurt people, you know?' even minor ones. If they start favoring law, they can refuse to do good or do only as much as the law says they can to certain other villains, including letting the villain walk after an atrocity because he wasn't convicted. Expect to see a lot of impotent non-action allowing evil deeds to slip by out of the villain LG, not due to the stricture on the law the Lawful Neutral would have but out of the genuine thought that if someone is proved not evil in court or trial, they aren't. A villain LG will be either of inaction (law slant) or excessive action (good slant), but still follow the law out of their desire to do good. Note that this is not characterized by those politicians with extreme views that insist they are correct and believe they are doing well, since they are twisting the system to their own benefit to do so; a Lawful Good character would never push the system.
Neutral Good characters are the hardest to play as evil because their alignment is otherwise labeled 'True Good.' Naturally, with a name like that, not many people will try and make that sort of character a villain, with the preconception that villains must be evil. However, it is their indifference to the Law and Chaos ends of the spectrum that could make a Neutral Good character an effective villain. They are characterized by a desire to do good within their own rules, without the devotion to lawful society of Lawful characters and the disdain for order of Chaotic characters. Their very blindness toward an entire axis is what can severely impair their judgment. Neutral Good villains are more likely to impede the heroes than most other alignments, stalling them out lending unneeded aid and refusal to let them proceed without some sort of aid to a random group of people in need. Keep in mind that an actual Neutral Good character will always maintain a desire to do good, and oftentimes actually impress this on potential heroes, it's just that they often lack the scope of the big picture. A Neutral Good villain will be so focused on doing minor good things that they will lack the perspective to stop the major bad ones, even if they are the only ones with the power. A Neutral Good character must never lose this drive to help others, as it is a defining part of the alignment. However, it is entirely easy to have a situation in which their blatant disregard for the order/chaos spectrum creates major problems; peaceful protests and such are one example, mandatory sidequests to aid in their pet project are another. A Neutral Good villain will be concerned about petty details and often overlook the greater good. Note that this is not characterized by active protesters or those who actively flout the law; a Neutral Good character simply disregards the law and does not actively violate it out of intent.
Chaotic Good characters, or characters of any Chaotic slant, are never hard to portray as villains because their world view tends to be skewed from the normal. Chaotic Good characters are typically portrayed as freedom fighters, with the intent of overthrowing an evil government. The obvious question after that is 'then what?' Having a Chaotic character rule a nation is never a good thing (though Good-aligned chaotic characters are better than others--Chaotic Neutral is the absolute worst ruling alignment.) They are characterized by a disdain for rules that goes beyond the Neutral Good's apathy of them to outright breaking them, and a desire to help others in some way. They are very likely to have a 'cause,' and this is where they can become villains. A Chaotic Good villain can either be focused on the overthrow of all 'evil,' everywhere, no matter the repercussions, or the breaking of every law because they can. Note that Chaotic Good characters are not trying to cause harm or hurt the innocent, but it will often be a consequence of their actions--done just because they can. A Chaotic Good villain may not have a cause, and might be causing damage in their search for one. Much like the Neutral Good villain, they will lack the scope of the big picture, though their damage of it will be due to active interference rather than distracting sidequests. However, like the other Good villains, a Chaotic Good one must never lose their desire to help others or willingness to do so. Their judgment in dealing with people and what to do will just be off--way off. Mars off. A Chaotic Good villain will totally miss the consequences to their actions and be determined to do good, but end up causing more damage than they prevent. Note that this is not characterized by out-and-out anarchists; a Chaotic Good character will simply break rules that they see as harmful or restrictive.
Neutral and Evil alignments are easy to villainize. I mentioned briefly how awful a Chaotic Neutral character would be as a ruler, and I think I should clarify that. I'm not saying CN characters can't be leaders, but they typically won't do well leading any sort of group that requires law enforced or as a large part of it. Chaotic Evil characters might play along because it lets them hurt people; Chaotic Good characters will often lead some form of resistance. Chaotic Neutral characters shouldn't really lead anything larger than a lawless organization or criminal group, as it keeps them interested. The second a CN character loses interest in something is when they decide to make it interesting, often resulting in them becoming more problematic than whatever they're supposed to be placed against. In some cases, they'll just leave without word. Really not so hot as rulers.
I say this, mind, having played at least three Chaotic country leaders in the past.