Chaotic neutral is one of the nine alignments that represent a creature's general moral and personal attitudes.
The Free Spirit
A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.
As an example Gimble, a bard who wanders the land living by his wits, is chaotic neutral. Chaotic neutral is the alignment which represents true freedom from both society's restrictions and a dogooder's zeal.
Chaotic neutral characters often believe that there is no order to anything, even their own actions. With this as a guiding principle, they tend to follow whatever whim strikes them at the moment. Good and evil are irrelevant when making a decision. Such characters have been known to cheerfully gamble everything they have on the roll of a single die. They are almost totally unreliable, with the possible exception of loyalty to close friends. In fact, the only reliable thing about them is that they cannot be relied upon! This alignment is perhaps the most difficult to play. Free spirits, anarchists, and those with low Wisdom scores tend toward chaotic neutral behavior. Occasionally, chaotic neutral characters will be eccentric or even insane (though insanity can happen to any alignment).
The outer plane of Limbo (and to an extent, Ysgard and Pandemonium) embodies this concept.
Note: Unlike Neutral Evil/Good character or Chaotic Evil/Good characters, they do not perform actions for the sake of good or evil, but to increase their gains or survivability. They are Chaotic Neutral, not Chaotic Insane, and their actions are generally rational, though they are usually impulsive, instinctive, and spontaneous. Chaotic Neutral characters deeply resent anyone who tries to order them around or curtail their freedom.
Fictional Examples
- Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)
- Gollum/Smeagol (Lord of the Rings; leans toward Evil)
- Richard (Looking For Group)
- Deadpool (Marvel comics)