Chaotic Evil

A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal. If he is committed to the spread of evil and chaos, he is even worse. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can be made to work together only by force, and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts to topple or assassinate him. Chaotic evil combine self-interest with pure freedom. Chaotic evil is the most dangerous alignment because it represents the destruction not only of beauty and life but also of the order on which beauty and life depend.

The major precepts of this alignment are freedom, randomness, and woe. Laws and order, kindness, and good deeds are disdained. Life has no value. By promoting chaos and evil, those of this alignment hope to bring themselves to positions of power, glory, and prestige in a system ruled by individual caprice and their own whim. The chaotic evil creature holds that individual freedom and choice is important, and that other individuals and their freedoms are unimportant if they cannot be held by the individuals through their own strength and merit. Thus, law and order rends to promote not individuals but groups, and groups suppress individual volition and success.

These characters are the bane of all that is good and organized. Chaotic evil characters are motivated by the desire for personal gain and pleasure. They see absolutely nothing wrong with taking whatever they want by whatever means possible. Laws and governments are the tools of weaklings unable to fend for themselves. The strong have the right to take what they want, and the weak are there to be exploited. When chaotic evil characters band together, they are not motivated by a desire to cooperate, but rather to oppose powerful enemies. Such a group can be held together only by a strong leader capable of bullying his underlings into obedience. Since leadership is based on raw power, a leader is likely to be replaced at the first sign of weakness by anyone who can take his position away from him by any method.

This is the category where the megalomaniacs, and the violent and most despicable characters fall. This is the cruel, brutal killer who trusts no one and has no value for anyone or anything that gets in his way. Individual freedom and choice is important, and the freedom of other individuals are unimportant if they cannot be held by their own strength and merit.

The chaotic evil also likes to corrupt the innocent and virtuous. People are play-things to the chaotic evil, to be used and manipulated for their own personal pleasure. A chaotic evil doesn't necessarily go after individuals just because they stand in the way of their success, they will harm or destroy people for the sheer pleasure of it.

The chaotic evil being seeks personal freedom at the expense of those who aren't smart, capable, or ruthless enough to get what they want. If what this being wants will come only at the price of the freedom and happiness (not to mention the lives) of others, so be it. Other individuals and their freedoms are unimportant if those freedoms cannot be held through their own strength and merit. All else being equal, the chaotic evil being is perhaps the most dangerous character of all, because one rarely knows how he might react to a given encounter. For reasons often known only to himself, he could ignore some situations, then suddenly explode in apparently identical ones. His behavior patterns are almost impossible to predict, for he has probably learned to curb and control his penchant for "evil" due to the constraints of civilization. A chaotic evil being is not expected to go about insanely slaughtering and torturing everyone he meets, for he isn't usually stupid. He will realize the consequences of such activities and will participate in such pleasurable distractions only when safe from discovery. To a chaotic-evil being, the lives of others have no value and are incidental in the pursuit of ultimate freedom and personal power.

A chaotic evil character never feels compelled to keep his word. He will attack and kill an unarmed foe (those are the best kind). He will kill an innocent. He will use torture to extract information and for pleasure. He will kill for pleasure. A chaotic evil character will use poison. He will not help those in need. He prefers to work alone, as he values his freedom. He does not respond well to higher authority, is distrustful of organizations, and will disregard the law in pursuing his self-interest. He will betray a family member, comrade, or friend whenever it is convenient to do so. Chaotic evil characters do not respect the concepts of self-discipline and honor, because they believe such concepts limit their ability to gain power over others.

**Here are some possible adjectives describing chaotic evil characters:**

* violent
* cruel
* capricious
* malicious
* untrustworthy
* unreliable
* heartless
* volatile
* inconsistent
* uncaring
* unfeeling
* deceitful
* discourteous
* selfish

## Notes

**Source:** http://easydamus.com/chaoticevil.html

* Well known chaotic evil characters from film or literature include: Gollum (Lord of the Rings), The Joker (DC Comics), Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter), and Lore (Star Trek).
* Equivalent alignment in other game systems: Diabolic (Palladium), Road of Typhon (Vampire), Dark Side (Star Wars), Chaos (Warhammer), Despicable (Alternity).