Chaotic Evil

Part of the Alignment Rules

## Chaotic Evil definition

***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.***

## ‘Chaotic’ and ‘Evil’

There are two main aspects to each character alignment. The first word in the alignment ‘Chaotic’ refers to that alignment’s perspective on order in society and how it affects individuals. The second part of the alignment, ‘Evil’ tells us about that alignment’s morals.

### Chaotic

Chaotic aligned characters aren’t random in their actions. Instead, they are simply the opposite side of the ethics spectrum to Lawful characters. Chaotic aligned characters live by their own rules instead of the rules of society. They believe that is the only way an individual is truly free and can live up to their full potential.

Chaotic characters dislike and distrust authority, don’t like following orders and live life on their own terms. They can be flexible and adaptable and do what fits the situation and their own agenda.

Characters with a Chaotic alignment may rebel against rules to try to bring about change or simply to create anarchy. They may take actions with a complete disregard for the consequences.

### Evil

Characters aligned with Evil will eliminate others, cause them harm and make them miserable. They do not feel remorse for their actions and will go for anyone, whether those people are innocent or not.

Characters may be aligned with Evil for many different reasons. For example, it could be because they follow an Evil deity, they work for an Evil master, or because they enjoy it.

## Chaotic Evil

Chaotic Evil is the most terrifying alignment of them all.

Chaotic Evil characters care only for themselves with a complete disregard for all law and order and for the welfare and freedom of others. They hurt and eliminate others out of anger or for fun.

Given their love of chaos and disorder, Chaotic Evil characters do not respond well to authority. They will only go along with what someone else wants if they also stand to gain from it.

The only way a Chaotic Evil character can be made to follow orders is by force, but even that only works for a short while. As soon as there is an opportunity for the Chaotic Evil character to regain their freedom they will take it. If their controller has a moment of weakness, they’d better watch their back because the Chaotic Evil character will get their own back and it won’t be pretty.

Characters aligned with Chaotic Evil usually operate alone because they do not work well with others. They will manipulate others into doing what they want and then toss them aside as soon as they are no longer useful.

If they have any sense, other people won’t want to work with a Chaotic Evil character either! They don’t keep their promises and will break promises, mislead people, and eliminate anyone. Even their own family.

A Chaotic Evil character may be driven by their desire to spread Chaos and Evil, or just because they enjoy living on their own terms. They are unpredictable and freely express wild and intense emotions because they see no reason to control or suppress them. To them, self-discipline is pointless. All it does is restrict their ability to do whatever they want whenever they want.

That doesn’t mean that Chaotic Evil characters act on impulse all the time. They aren’t stupid. If they just went around hurting everyone without any planning they would be locked up and they want to protect their freedom! Instead, they will scheme, manipulate and control others to create disorder.

They can be fickle though and snap at any time, with no predictable pattern to their behaviour. For example, say a patron in a tavern insults a Chaotic Evil character. On one day they may be satisfied with a witty retort, but on another day they will immediately eliminate that patron. This unpredictability makes them especially dangerous.

For a Chaotic Evil character, they perceive a society built on Law and Order as serving the weak but holding back the strong. They believe that the weak are there to be controlled and manipulated, not protected.

Having the ultimate freedom to whatever they want whenever they want while having power over others is the ultimate dream for a Chaotic Evil character. They may not respect or value the freedom of others, but they sure want it for themselves!

A Chaotic Evil character’s lack of respect for anyone and anything means they will do things that others won’t. They will harm innocents, take down unarmed opponents, use poison – and they’ll do it all for fun, or simply because they feel like it at the time.

Chaotic Evil characters are the most Evil of all because they are out to destroy everything – order, tradition, life, freedom and choice.

## Chaotic Evil traits

Of course, exact traits vary from character to character, but there are some traits that are likely to be associated with Chaotic Evil characters.

* Unpredictable
* Callous
* Selfish
* Violent
* Brutal
* Heartless
* Merciless
* Malicious
* Vengeful
* Fickle

## Chaotic Evil personal code

A Chaotic Evil character hates rules and order. They are only out for themselves so the way they live reflects that.

* I will break promises, mislead people, and take the lives of others.
* I will break rules, laws and societal norms when I want to.
* I will betray my friends, family and allies.
* I will always put myself first.
* I will always seek fun.
* I will not help anyone unless it helps me.
* I will pursue my ultimate goal to do what I want whenever I want.
* I will always seek power and control over others.
* I will stand against anyone that tries to restrict my freedom.
* I will not respect the weak or follow orders of authorities.

## Chaotic Evil character’s perfect world

The perfect world for a Chaotic Evil character might look like this.

* Everyone can do whatever they want whenever they want.
* Justice is dealt out by individuals however they see fit.
* There are lots of places to pursue fun.
* There is no overseeing government or authority.
* People can hurt each other without consequences from an organized justice system.
* There are no laws.
* People are free to be themselves and pursue their own interests.
* Honor and loyalty between people don’t exist and aren’t expected to.
* Everyone works against any restrictions on their freedom.
* The strongest can gain power over the weak.

## Chaotic Evil divergence

One of the key traits of a Chaotic Evil character is their unpredictability. How they respond to a situation on one day, might be entirely different from how they respond to the same situation on another day.

As they go about their Evil schemes, how they react in situations will reveal which aspect of their alignment they identify with the most at that moment. Will it be the Chaotic aspect or the Evil aspect?

For example, say your character comes across some local guards breaking up a street fight between two guilds. What do they do?

### Chaos before Evil

If your character aligns with Chaos before Evil they make it harder for the upholders of law and order to do their job. So they might manipulate some of the rival guild members into hitting the guard instead of the rival guild. Or they might set a tavern on fire to distract the guards.

Anything they can do to keep chaos going shows a preference for Chaos over Evil.

### Evil before Chaos

A fight you say? In that case, a character with an Evil preference is likely to see this as an opportunity to let their evil side run free. They can dive right into the middle of groups and have fun.

In a guild fight, everyone doesn’t know everyone on the opposing sides, so it’s perfect for causing some harm to others and getting away with it.

If your character takes the opportunity to do as much harm to others as possible, then they are siding with Evil.

## How Chaotic Evil character views the other alignments

For a Chaotic Evil character, the most important things are being free and pursuing what they want in the world.

They’ll judge others based on what they value. For each person they meet, they may ask themselves, “Is this person freethinking and do they go after what they want?”