->''"Always consider alignment as a tool, not a straitjacket that restricts the character."''
-->-- Oft-forgotten sentence from ''Advanced [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeons & Dragons]] [[TabletopGame/AdvancedDungeonsAndDragons2ndEdition 2nd Edition]]'' Player's Handbook

A character who does things that don't make any sense, just because it's a [[ForGreatJustice "good"]] or [[ForTheEvulz "evil"]] thing to do. It's not that they've lost their goal -- they're actually true to their good or evil [[CharacterAlignment alignment]], but at the cost of every survival mechanism developed by humanity.

This goes way beyond being a SlaveToPR or CardCarryingVillain. Nor are these characters always {{Knight Templar}}s. A KnightTemplar is not necessarily Lawful Stupid, although they are always Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil - with fanatical devotion to the word of law and absolutely no concern for the spirit.

For more on Lawful Stupid and Chaotic Stupid, check out the [[http://theferrett.livejournal.com/189493.html LJ post by The Ferrett]] in which he introduced the terms. However, note that his definition of Chaotic Stupid is closer to our usage of Stupid Evil.

Also compare DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp (good) and DickDastardlyStopsToCheat (evil) for when pandering to MORAL alignment actually ''hinders'' the objective.

Alignments covered as sub-tropes include:

[[index]]
* LawfulStupid
* ChaoticStupid
* StupidGood
* StupidEvil
* StupidNeutral
[[/index]]
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