Posted November 14, 2020
In D&D as played by middle-school adolescents, maybe.
But my D&D has had those subtle shades for decades now. Nor am I alone in that - for example, the entire Eberron campaign setting.
An example from literature: Don Quixote. Absolutely batshit insane (literally tilting at windmills) ... but also both LAwful and Good.
Another example, though tending more towards Chaotic Good: Baron Munchausen.
It's not how everyone does. Indeed, there are large swathes of the D&D playerbase who do not portray Good or Evil in such overly-simplistic terms, with moustache-twirling villains and Dudley Do-Right heroes.
But my D&D has had those subtle shades for decades now. Nor am I alone in that - for example, the entire Eberron campaign setting.
And they're not a thing because D&D is about clearly defined forces to facilitate pulp style heroics. Someone who is "mentally ill" in D&D isn't mildly unbalanced, they're a gibbering wreck, like they just saw Cthulhu.
Even being a complete delusional "wreck" requires neither Chaotic nor Evil alignments. An example from literature: Don Quixote. Absolutely batshit insane (literally tilting at windmills) ... but also both LAwful and Good.
Another example, though tending more towards Chaotic Good: Baron Munchausen.
Someone who is Evil [...]
Again, that may be how you play D&D. It's not how everyone does. Indeed, there are large swathes of the D&D playerbase who do not portray Good or Evil in such overly-simplistic terms, with moustache-twirling villains and Dudley Do-Right heroes.