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Main Lawful Good Discussion
I must quibble with the definition including a personal code of conduct.
My reading of the Alignment guidelines in D&D preclude a merely personal code of conduct as a defining characteristic of being Lawful; Lawfulness is specifically defined as adherence to a code seen as greater than the individual, a Higher Law so to speak.
A Chaotic character can very well have a very strict code of conduct, the point being that they will define his personal code as overriding all other externally imposed codes; this is what makes them Chaotic.
And do note that adherence to a Higher Law means that a Lawful character is not necessarily bound to the local laws. This last bit is a common misconception among D&D players, but a moment's thought will reveal it as a misconception indeed: would a Paladin obey the Evil laws of a Lawful Evil kingdom?
I am wanting to discuss this example:
- Phineas And Ferb count as this alignment, surprisingly — they break the rules constantly, but only because their mother never bothered to tell them that they weren't allowed to go into outer space/build giant robots/construct their own town/etc. They do, however, get building permits (written in crayon) and taking zoning laws into account, while also fudging the rules occasionally (if the family car is being controlled by a remote, does it really count as underage driving?) They take it Up To Eleven when they're stranded in space and need to jump start their rocket — but they can't start the car themselves, because they're not old enough to drive.
I actually view Batman as Lawful Good, I know he looks Chaotic Good but that's cause Gotham is a place where the Law doesn't behave Lawfully. The Joker is his Opposite, and he's obviously Chaotic Evil in the purest sense.
In Infinite Crisis No.1 Superman tells him II don't feel the need to control everything like you". When Batman crosses the line, it's not in the typical Vigilante Kill the Villain way, it's in ways that seem closer to Lawful Evil like the Sonar plot in The Dark Knight.
Batman Embodies Order while The Joker embodies Chaos.
Soo... Superman. I won't dispute that he's LG, but I don't think that this picture shows him being especially lawful or good. Is this even picturable?
I removed Iroh from Avatar The Last Airbender from here since he's listed as both neutral and lawful good.
I could see him being a lawful good character back in his days as a general, but the reasons for him being listed here were mainly that he's polite and uses his firebending skills carefully. Yes, these certainly are a set of standards. But wouldn't the fact that he seems generally opposed to the policies of the Fire Nation to the point of being arrested prevent him from being completely lawful?
That's my opinion anyways, if anybody can argue for him belonging here feel free to put him back in.
Since we have 'differentiating between the law scale of Good', can we also have the 'differentiating between the morality scale of Lawful'? This can also extend to the other alignment articles.
Remove the example of Hero Antagonist, because a hero antagonist may be of any alignment(Not Evil).
John Kelly/Clark from Tom Clancy's Without Remorse et. seq. A man of iron principles, strict self discipline, clear morality and unflinching courtesy, even to his enemies and prepared to 'do the right thing' even if it kills him.
LAWFUL Good??!?? This is the man who in Without Remorse murdered and tortured drug dealers. He faked his death and changed his name to avoid the law.
I don't care how much people think that drug dealers are acceptable targets, if you haven't noticed, murder and torture are against the law.
He didn't even have the excuse he uses when he later on works for the CIA, that he is working for the government so even if his actions are technically illegal, at least someone in authority has authorized it. Many of the killings in Without Remorse happen before he joins the CIA (including those of some low level drug dealers, not the evil bad guys).
It think it's possible to be Lawful Good if you're careful.
D&D has a paladin prestige class called Gray Guard
which is often called the knightly equivalent of the CIA.
But the case of Clark. I haven't read or watched whatever medium he appears in, but based on what Fanra said, he's clearly NOT Lawful Good. There's a very slim chance as Neutral Good, but most likely Chaotic Good.
which is often called the knightly equivalent of the CIA.
But the case of Clark. I haven't read or watched whatever medium he appears in, but based on what Fanra said, he's clearly NOT Lawful Good. There's a very slim chance as Neutral Good, but most likely Chaotic Good.