Editing Chaotic Stupid (section)

==How to be Chaotic without being Stupid==
As any alignment thread on /tg/ will show you, defining the "Lawful/Chaotic" axis in a way that is totally orthogonal to "Good/Evil" is very tricky. There is also the matter that any sane character will have some internal code of conduct, so it is not possible to define Lawful as "follows some laws, any laws" and Chaotic as "follows no laws whatsoever". One potentially useful interpretation of that axis that can avoid stupidity or strawmen is to think of Lawful as emphasizing working "by-the-book" for the whole (with the nature of that book separating Lawful Good from Lawful Evil), and Chaotic as emphasizing individual freedom to achieve one's own desires (with the nature of those desires separating Chaotic Good from Chaotic Evil). A way to be Chaotic without being Stupid, therefore, is to determine the character's goals, and have them achieve those goals by whatever method they think is best. This might mean following the rules, if playing nice with the Paladin to stay out of jail is a prerequisite for that goal, but if breaking a few laws is what it takes, then so be it.

As far as that Lawful Neutral (and hopefully not stupid) guy in the party?  Remember, you can find something to like about that character too. We're past the days where alignments only hung around with each other. Make a friend. Don't be uptight about chaos. It's not like you're forbidden by a code of conduct to have lawful friends, right?

Littlefinger from Song of Ice & Fire is a good example of a chaotic figure who isn't stupid (although he does eventually get done in by his web of lies). A chaotic figure who isn't stupid should be inscrutable, playing their cards close and leaving people guessing about their actual motives and who's side they're really on. This of course gets back to the problem of orthogonality mentioned before, because a person who's inscrutable is liable to be selfish and thus "evil" (like Littlefinger, who on the surface appears Lawful Evil). But this can be addressed with a bit of moral relativism, making the chaotic selfish for "their side" rather than "themselves". Ultimately the important aspect for chaotic is to be, well... Chaotic. Extreme. Willing to casually kill to fix what could be solved with words, willing to steal what could be afforded, all because it's expedient and because they can.