(07-21-2014, 01:38 PM)LiadansWhisper Wrote: That doesn't make his actions any less evil, and it doesn't mean that the man himself isn't evil.
Here's the thing, when you start looking at alignments, you run into this kind of shitty dilemma.
Lawful Evil can swing almost any action without drifting away from its alignment if said action ultimately benefits the character's long term plans. Â Yes, even seemingly-altruistic actions may not affect the character's Evil Alignment depending on the intent behind them.
Good, on the other hand - especially Lawful Good - does not have that "wiggle room." Â An action is either evil, or it is good, but intent - while it does matter - doesn't excuse you from committing an evil act. Â A Good character that allows thousands of people to die when they could have saved them will receive evil points - even if their intent was noble ("I have to save this really important thing that could decide the war").
In terms of alignment, if Lolorito was a Good-aligned character, he would no longer be a Good-aligned character at this point because he has committed far too many evil acts in pursuit of his goals. Â Now, you can argue that the morals of the state differ from the morals of the man, but if the character is Good aligned, it doesn't matter. Â If a Good character commits an evil act - by action or inaction - regardless of their ultimate intent, they will drift towards evil. Â But if an Evil character commits an act of altruism or good, their intent is taken into account when you consider whether the character has drifted towards Good or not.
From this perspective, there's about a 0% chance that Lolorito is anything that could be described as "good." Â He may do things that benefit others, but there is no way on Hydaelyn's Green Eorzea that he is Good-aligned.
Oh I agree, he's not good in a D&D sense, but I don't think he's evil. I'm just saying it's not that useful to try to peg leaders of states into the holes that the alignment system gives.
He's not eating people, he's not sexually molesting children, he's a politician who is looking at the long term health of Ul'dah. Yes, he's also doing it for his own gain, but this is Ul'dah, everyone is looking out for their own gain on the side.
Maybe he could be a kinder guy, but he's not the kind of evil that would set off the 'detect evil' radars of every D&D paladin in the room.
