iamonlykidding:

sucymemebabaran:

sturmyena:

in regards to things like morality-alignments like chaotic-good/true neutral/lawful evil how do you determine what counts as lawful, or chaotic, or even good or evil? is it the perspective & intentions of individual being assigned a designation, such that they could be chaotic good while doing evil things if they truly believe that it’s right or is it an assignment solely from the observer’s viewpoint?

lawful follows strict rules e.g. devils are lawful evil due to their adherence to contracts and the like whereas chaotic is more of a “do what you feel” instinctual approach to things

i’d be inclined to say good/evil are from an objective standpoint due to the fact that angels lose their connection to their deity if they commit an evil act even if it’s unintentional or they’ve been tricked into doing so

good and evil also occupy a pretty broad spectrum of acts

a good character will, at least sometimes, go out of their way to help people

an evil character will act in a selfish manner and only do what’s right for them even if it means destroying lives to further their goals

a neutral character will just sort of go with the flow, helping themselves but not at the expense of others

As a strong proponent for “there is no cosmic good and evil” there is one important thing to remember. D&D exists in worlds where gods exist and war against one another, within view of mortals, and empower their followers with fractions of their strength. Good and evil are factions. A character could mean well and still do something evil from the perspective of another. It’s all about whether they act in a way that good supports, or the way evil supports, regardless of what the individual supports. This is further evidenced by the existence of things like chaotic good gods (instead of chaotic meaning the rejection of).

1) Humans live in an unfortunate, self-fulfilling situation in which your decisions in life are limited far more by finances than our own. And because they once were, they continue to be.

You’ve raised more livestock then the regions in which they exist can even sustain. When you kill and distribute them as meat, cheaply because of the sheer abundance, it fuels the industry to raise even more. Your global economy has created an inescapable cycle, one with a steep loss of energy in its transfer from produce to product.

I’ll never condone eating meat, but giving your life for an animal that’s fate was sealed before you ever even read this message isn’t going to change anything.

2) No. We’re not doing this again.

3) Thanks! Feeling better already!

Unfortunately Bon-Bon, Tootsie, and Sweetie are all sick.

4) Sure, but this isn’t about who you’d side with. Would you consider the other side “evil?” If a pony pushes another pony out of the way and calls them a name, are they “evil?” What if it’s a racial slur? If a pony robs from the rich just to try and survive, are they “evil?” Between two cultures with little in common, is “rich” anything more than an opinion? Where does “evil” begin? Is it in an action or is it a state of mind?

If you’re forced to kill me, are you evil? What if you secretly wanted to do it? Does that change anything? You had to do it anyway. Maybe you just told yourself you wanted to do it in order to defend your ideals of free will.

5) You know, that stuff you boil things in.

6) Historically true, but you don’t suppose that paranoia might have had something to do with the… you know… over a million Chinese civilians the Japanese forces slaughtered as they were being dictated what to do by their god emperor?

If not warranted or justified, you don’t suppose that maybe, for a second, the overreaction might have been… understandable?

See? Even your attempt to present unbiased history is biased.

Are you comparing me to a fictional character? That’s not really fair to the character. No matter what you can never produce a fictional character with as many experiences as a real one. You can stack as many adventures, information, and interesting conversations as you want, and it’ll never compare to the silent moments sitting in the waiting room. Or that half hour you spent laying on your bed after you woke up. Or the irritating scratchy throat that, despite not being sick, won’t seem to go away no matter how much water you drink.

You have to remember that we are the sum of all our experiences, not just the big ones. If all I ever knew was my life as a physically and emotionally abused thief, and the only emotions I ever saw in others were disappointment and hatred, maybe the story would have gone in a different direction.

But in between the terror, pain, adrenaline, and anger, I saw natural pony emotions. I had friends, even if I was rarely very close with any. I saw that life doesn’t have to be cruel and we don’t have to treat others the way we were treated. And while I didn’t always make the socially accepted right decision, I made enough that life eventually lead me here.

But I don’t believe in good or evil. I am just me.