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I have seen several questions similar to this one closed for being too broad, but it certainly seems like an often-enough asked question that I will attempt to narrow the focus down such that it is both answerable and useful.

As an online GM in the past, I have had multiple players apply for my games with Chaotic Evil characters. I never accepted them, for all of the various reasons a GM running a heroic game would be wary of Chaotic Evil, but I have recently begun taking a closer look at the alignment to see if I would be able to craft a Chaotic Evil character capable of working with a heroic party.

As far as I can tell, such a character (not just for myself) would require the following at a minimum:

  • A mature player who understands that this is a team-based game
  • An in-character reason to work with the party
  • The capacity to grow as a character
  • A strong understanding of the differences between "Chaotic Evil" and "Chaotic Stupid"

I would like to allow my players more freedom to choose their alignments in the future, but I cannot guide them through the creation and play of a Chaotic Evil character if I do not know what kinds of challenges they will face.

In your experience, what challenges would a character who fits the above qualifications but is still Chaotic Evil have integrating into a heroic party, while retaining a Chaotic Evil alignment?

To clarify the type of answer I am looking for, I am not asking about whether or not Chaotic Evil could be integrated, or if it should be, or what "Chaotic Evil" means to you. Since those are all opinion-based, please speak from your experiences playing your version of Chaotic Evil, playing alongside another person's version of Chaotic Evil, or GMing a heroic party with at least one Chaotic Evil character in it.

Also, please assume that any interpretation of what "Chaotic Evil" means is valid, assuming it is reasonably south of "Good" and "Lawful". If the game was supposed to be primarily Lawful Evil, such experiences also work just fine from this different angle. Not unappreciated and close enough to be on-topic would be specific examples of how the experience playing, playing with, or GMing for the character was good or could have been improved, but I would ask that these be helpful anecdotes or examples instead of the answer.

On the off chance your answer depends on the system your experience occurred within, please identify the system. Else, I expect most answers to be universal between Pathfinder and the various versions of Dungeons and Dragons, possibly among other games using this alignment system.

Brandon Olson
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    If you are voting to close this for being too opinion-based, I would ask that you comment about what parts of the question are opinion-based and how it could be improved. Else, the vote is unhelpful. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 02:26
  • I voted to close this as primarily opinion-based, because what actions and interpretations make up an alignment exceedingly vary table by table. Additionally answering on how to integrate a CE character into a party, exceedingly depends on the party composition, for example trying to add a CE Antipaladin into a party of 3 LG Paladins is going to be different from inserting it into a party of a LG Wizard, LG Rogue, and LG Monk. – willuwontu Jul 10 '19 at 02:35
  • Since I am not you, and do not know how things work at your table, any answer I give is going to have to be based on my experience. Likewise, any other answerers will have to do the same, which will inherently result in answers that could be diametrically opposed, but equally valid. – willuwontu Jul 10 '19 at 02:37
  • All of your concerns were addressed in the third section. I specifically asked for answers based on your experience. I should add that experience-based questions are NOT opinion-based, and are allowable on this site. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 02:38
  • Originally I voted POB because alignment questions like this are that difficult to get right. However I would also say this question is unclear. "The player is mature enough to make a CE character work" still relies completely upon alignment as the defining feature of the character. Unless we're talking about paladins (with their strict RAW inability to work with evil characters), the character's capacity to work with the party won't be a function of their alignment. – Stop Being Evil Jul 10 '19 at 02:50
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    Please review this meta post about how to ask a valid question regarding alignment on this site. I hope that you'll be able to revise this question once you see our boundaries. FWIW,I am not sure that you are asking a question about alignment per se. I think you are asking about how to deal with players who come to the table with varying ideas in their heads regarding what your campaign is based upon, and how much teamwork is the norm for your group. Has your group had a Session Zero yet? What all of your players perceive matters. – KorvinStarmast Jul 10 '19 at 02:56
  • Just did. Covered under the the Social Question part of the answer. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 03:02
  • The way I see it, the bolded section of this question is fine. The issue I see is when you ask for interpretation of what "Chaotic Evil" means. That really opens it up to anyone's interpretation. It's simpler when you compare "red" and "blue" than to decide whether or not aquamarine" is a shade of green or blue. – Ben Jul 10 '19 at 03:06
  • This question looks a poll, which is opinion-based. If the goal is to craft a CE character that jives with a group, then it will depend on the opinions of that particular group. – MikeQ Jul 10 '19 at 03:06
  • I specifically did NOT ask for what Chaotic Evil means, and said to accept any reasonable interpretation as valid. I also did not ask for opinions to tally them up, therefore it is not a poll. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 03:09
  • "Reasonable interpretation" is, of itself, up to interpretation. – Ben Jul 10 '19 at 03:10
  • It's a fair question but shares similar subjectivity issues with similar questions; What are some of the major challenges in playing an Evil Character?, What particular concerns are there for a chaotic evil PC?, How to deal with a Chaotic Evil player character as a player. Maybe providing narrower criteria could help, such as your definitions and expectations (as DM) for such a character, or what safety tools to intend to use? – MikeQ Jul 10 '19 at 03:17
  • I did, see the four notes in the middle along with the extreme narrowing in the last section. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 03:18
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    https://rpg.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/9262/is-this-question-too-opinion-based-or-is-it-experience-based – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 03:21
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    what is your definition of 'heroic party'? – Vylix Jul 10 '19 at 03:58
  • A party with the classic goals of an adventuring group, typically but not always Good-aligned. Some are Neutral-aligned, else I would have specified Good-aligned.. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 04:38
  • @BrandonOlson They're only Good-aligned if your tagging of actions as Good is makes them that way. You could just as easily define 'Good' as 'furthers the eradication of all life' and then most groups wouldn't qualify. What you tag good and evil in the game doesn't have to have anything to do with morality, and certainly doesn't have to correspond to how we typically conceptualize good and evil in real life. – Please stop being evil Jul 10 '19 at 05:02
  • @thedarkwanderer The more you interpret my generalized speech as being specific and technical, the more you confuse anyone else reading this. – Brandon Olson Jul 10 '19 at 05:40
  • The new version of this question, for future reference: How can I integrate a Chaotic Evil character into a Good-aligned party without disrupting the party dynamics? – V2Blast Jul 12 '19 at 03:08

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