The way I’ve always looked at the alignments is that the evil - good axis is self-interest vs selflessness, and chaotic - lawful is lawless vs law-abiding.
Consequently:
Chaotic evil is pure lawless self-interest
Chaotic neutral is lawless with a balance of selfish and selfless behavior depending on situation
Neutral evil is a balance between lawless and law-abiding behavior depending on situation but always selfishly.
I’ve always viewed the Lawful-Chaotic spectra as “following the rules vs. following your heart”.
A lawful good character follows the rules because they believe rules serve a greater good
A chaotic good character follows their heart because they believe rules aren’t always just. They’ll obey the rules only when they agree with them.
Lawful evil follows the rules because it’s the least troublesome way of getting/doing what they want, in some cases even the most satisfying - because it’s harder to fight back when the law is on your side.
Chaotic evil efficiently follows their impulse. They take and do whatever they want to do, whether they’re allowed to or not, because they don’t believe in the rules. If the rules allow them to do what they want, that’s just a convenient coincidence.
Neutrals are a huge spectra in between. They could a character with their own moral code, I.e. an evil character who refuses to kill kids, or a good character who will always bends the rules to screw over ruch people.
That sure seems like chaotic neutral or maybe neutral evil. Chaotic evil always came across to me as being evil for the lulz
The way I’ve always looked at the alignments is that the evil - good axis is self-interest vs selflessness, and chaotic - lawful is lawless vs law-abiding.
Consequently:
Chaotic evil is pure lawless self-interest
Chaotic neutral is lawless with a balance of selfish and selfless behavior depending on situation
Neutral evil is a balance between lawless and law-abiding behavior depending on situation but always selfishly.
At least that’s the way I’ve used it.
I’ve always viewed the Lawful-Chaotic spectra as “following the rules vs. following your heart”.
A lawful good character follows the rules because they believe rules serve a greater good
A chaotic good character follows their heart because they believe rules aren’t always just. They’ll obey the rules only when they agree with them.
Lawful evil follows the rules because it’s the least troublesome way of getting/doing what they want, in some cases even the most satisfying - because it’s harder to fight back when the law is on your side.
Chaotic evil efficiently follows their impulse. They take and do whatever they want to do, whether they’re allowed to or not, because they don’t believe in the rules. If the rules allow them to do what they want, that’s just a convenient coincidence.
Neutrals are a huge spectra in between. They could a character with their own moral code, I.e. an evil character who refuses to kill kids, or a good character who will always bends the rules to screw over ruch people.