r/dresdenfiles • u/Darth_Azazoth • 22h ago
Spoilers All DND alignments? Spoiler
What DND alignments do you think each main character is? Please explain your opinion.
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u/Puzzled-Exit8781 22h ago
Harry is Neutral Good. Michael is Lawful Good. Thomas is most likely Neutral Good.
Mab is most likely Neutral. Molly is most likely Chaotic Good.
And that's a quick off the top of my head.
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u/BagFullOfMommy 21h ago
Harry is Neutral Good.
You meant chaotic good, right? ...Right?
Mab is most likely Neutral.
Lawful neutral. Although... there is a small argument that can be made that Mab falls under the good alignment. Sure she does ... a lot of not nice shit, but everything she does is ultimately to save humanity from the literal nameless horrors that want to slip inside reality and remove your skin with knives made out of lemon juice and nightmares.
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u/Radix2309 21h ago
You are describing Neutral. Good doesn't do evil for a greater good. That is neutral at best.
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u/Illustrious_Cod_5843 19h ago
I don't know whether I would put Man as Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral. We do run into a soupcon of Good is Not Nice with her.
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u/NotAPreppie 20h ago
https://easydamus.com/neutralgood.html
A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.
Neutral good is the best alignment you can be because it means doing what is good without bias for or against order.
Neutral good can be a dangerous alignment when it advances mediocrity by limiting the actions of the truly capable.
https://easydamus.com/lawfulgood.html
A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.
Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion.
Lawful good can be a dangerous alignment when it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.
https://easydamus.com/chaoticgood.html
A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.
Chaotic good is the best alignment you can be because it combines a good heart with a free spirit.
Chaotic good can be a dangerous alignment when it disrupts the order of society and punishes those who do well for themselves.
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u/Insertwittyremarks 21h ago
How is Harry not chaotic good?
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u/NotAPreppie 20h ago
Because he doesn't have a problem with mortal or magical laws. He tries to follow the various laws when they don't get in the way of doing good, but he's not against ignoring them if they do.
A Lawful Good character would find a way to use the law to do good rather than breaking it.
A Chaotic Good character can't be bothered to give a shit about the law. They would just do what they think was right with no real consideration of any laws.
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u/Puzzled-Exit8781 21h ago
I say Neutral Good because Harry believes has a strong moral compass and is a believer in the way things should be. That would tend him towards Lawful. But he has shown that he is willing to use unlawful means to achieve that end, which would skew him towards Chaotic.
But this is my opinion. Willing to admit I'm wrong!
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u/NorthboundTrain 20h ago edited 20h ago
Every single bit of this is IMO and YMMV. The fact that the characters are so nuanced that almost none of them can be pigeonholed is a credit to Butcher's talent. Good vs Evil is easier to decide for most characters, while Lawful vs Neutral vs Chaotic is much more difficult for most characters.
Harry is NG or CG, and arguments can be made on both counts. The differences between the two are subtle, and don't point in a clear direction, IMO. The distinguishing factor for CG is a belief that authority works against the greater good, and can't be trusted; that certainly fits Harry's world view. The distinguishing factor for NG is the elevation of Good over anything else, using whatever is convenient to accomplish that goal (i.e. working within the law when convenient, bucking it when necessary). That fits Harry, too. The fact that Harry finds himself more often constrained by Law than served by it is happenstance. I lean toward NG.
Michael is NG or LG. It's easy to think of him as a "paladin" and paladins are LG, therefore Michael is LG. But I think that discounts the fact that he has, at times, overlooked events that a pure LG character might not. The fact that his path often corresponds to the LG path is happenstance; when and as needed he has acted outside the law, and therefore I go with NG. All of the modern Knights fall into this same mold, IMO.
Murphy is LG or NG. She certainly starts out mostly LG and ends up mostly NG, but I think the LG is more prominent. It's hard to distinguish her actions from Michael's in this context, but for whatever reason LG seems more correct.
Mab is LN or LG. For LG, her definition of Good is much different than a mortal's definition, and therein lies the difficulty in accepting LG as the answer. The argument for LN is that the Good that she does is so intrinsic in the laws that bind her that it is incidental, and she simply can't do anything except what she is bound to do. I lean toward LN.
The Archive is probably NN, conceptually, but Ivy leans to NG, I think.
The White Council as an entity is LN, with some individuals leaning more toward LG or even NG, while others lean toward LE.
The White Court as an entity is NE, I think (though from their perspective I suppose they're NG). Thomas is probably NN leaning to NG and is, perhaps, the hardest character to peg.
The Denarians are NE; though they often lean Chaotic, they will (gleefully) go out of their way to act Lawfully when they can. They are also, perhaps, the easiest group to peg.
Marcone follows much the same as the Denarians, though maybe without the gleeful part, and is therefore probably NE (even prior to the post-Peace Talks events).
The Black Court are CE, through and through. I guess an argument for NE exists, but I'm going with CE.
The Red Court were akin to the White Court and therefore are NE, but NG from their perspective. I find it harder to see their perspective as NG, though, but I don't think I should see it any different than the White Court.
Demonreach is NN. It exists for a purpose and will do anything and use anything to achieve it. Bob is similar, though his propensity to take on his owner's perspectives lets us think he might lean NG, since we've only really seen him with "good" characters.
Billy & the wolves are NG, and I can't think of a reason to argue for any other designation.
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u/NorthboundTrain 20h ago
I distinguish NN and True Neutral as being different. NN is balanced motivationally, while TN is motivated to balance. This is likely an artifact of my long-ago DM who made the same distinction.
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u/permalust 18h ago
This is a fantastically reasoned response. Well done, indeed.
CN is pretty much the only one not referenced. I appreciate you weren't trying for the spread. Bob, maybe? Not really...
And as for Harry, CG Vs NG is really hard to parse, but I agree, NG. I also think the Knights are NG. Except Michael. He will break the law but, if memory serves, he's always uncomfortable about it. By Skin Game, this probably changes, but at his core he's most comfortable in a LG position. Sanya, and Butters, considerably less so - NG good guys.
Molly Id have had as a character to choose. Starting out chaotic good, now lawful good but, by Winter nature, drifting to neutral good.
Anyways, loved the idea of the post and loved your informed reasoning.
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u/BiDiTi 15h ago edited 15h ago
For Michael…outside of whose “Law” would you say he’s acted?
Chicago’s seems rather irrelevant to his concerns.
I’d flip him and Murphy - she regularly violated the code to which she adhered for the greater good…while Michael rather religiously follows his, ignoring any other laws or concerns, trusting that it’s the ONLY path to any greater good.
Similarly…Marcone may be a monster, but he HAS a code which we have not yet seen him violate. Clear LE.
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u/NorthboundTrain 7h ago
I thought about LE for Marcone, but forgot to mention it. You make a very good point for LE, though, but do you view this from the character's perspective or from society's perspective? In that respect, I lean toward NE over LE here.
As for Michael, I was thinking of him participating in events in Skin Game, or knowing about Lasciel's coin and not acting on that knowledge. Those are rather tenuous, though, and I can see the argument for LG. I'll have to consider that further.
Murphy, though, I think you have right. I'll switch to a nod of NG over LG.
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u/DizzyIzzy801 20h ago
There are times when I wonder if Jim Butcher has rolled character sheets.
Karrin Murphy - Lawful neutral. Believes firmly in law and order, understands there are exceptions where illegal is necessary.
Mab - Chaotic good. Tries to act in everyone's best interests, but will get there any way she has to.
Molly - True neutral. Tries to do the right thing according to a moral code, believes that both good and evil can behave terribly.
Marcone - True neutral. Ruthlessly out for himself but keeps his word, will risk his neck to protect the weak.
Harry - I think he's so frequently running with a buff/de-buff between WIS and INT that it's hard to tell. I'll say True good.
Bob - Chaotic neutral. Bob isn't motivated by gain for this or that party, and he's happy to find a loophole in the rules.
Knights of the Cross -- Presumably they were called based on their alignment? But, Free Will. Michael Carpenter - Lawful good. Butters - Lawful neutral. Sana - Chaotic good. Shiro - Lawful neutral.
I think the White Court is hard to sort out this way.
Lord Raith - Chaotic evil. It's might makes right with him.
Lara Raith - Lawful evil. Believes in ordered society, but also "everyone for themselves." I could move her to "neutral" because most of her murder takes place in defense of a cause or someone else, but I'm leaving it at "evil" because her feedings are off-stage, so to speak.
Thomas Raith - True and I don't know. He believes in love, loyalty and protection; but he's a serial rapist/murderer. And feels guilty about it. Perhaps his alignment isn't fixed. True conflicted?
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u/Elfich47 20h ago
Mab always keeps her word. to me that puts her in the lawful column.
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u/DizzyIzzy801 20h ago
Hmmmmmm. She does, but to the excruciating letter of her word, always carefully interpreted. OTOH, when Nature is out of balance she suffers, so part of her struggle is to maintain that Law. Hmm.
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u/Nervous_Chipmunk7002 20h ago
Yes, he actually did for some characters. Apparently part of why Harry gets beaten up space much is because he ended up with a pretty high CON score.
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u/Alchemix-16 21h ago
Low effort post.
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u/starkraver 19h ago
Lower effort comment.
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u/Alchemix-16 18h ago
About the same as yours. But please tell me what has OP done to foster a discussion? They provided no opinions of their own simply threw out the dnd alignment chart, which already is of very limited use in dnd and asks everyone else to make a meaningful post out of this.
So yes I call that low effort.
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u/lost_at_command 21h ago
Lawful Good - Michael, Sanya, Butters
Neutral Good - Karrin, Grey
Chaotic Good - Harry, early Molly, Thomas
Neutral Good - Morgan, Langtry, most of the Wardens,
True Neutral - Ivy, Kincaid, maybe Rashid, Alfred
Chaotic Neutral - Elaine, Binder
Lawful Evil - Mab, Marcone,
Neutral Evil - Nicodemus, Cowl
Chaotic Evil - The Walkers, Maeve, The Red King, Hungers