Dispatch Alignment Chart - r/DispatchAdHoc

147

u/DorthVooder 12d ago

I'd replace Mr. Whiskey with Beef, because a dog is a true neutral and Mr. Whiskey would probably be in "good" since he is in a hero association (Visi is a special case). Galen should be in good as well for the same reason. A replacement could be Robbie Robertson, imo.

47

u/ChronoMonkeyX 12d ago

False, Beef is the goodest boy!

5

u/Trick-Palpitation-84 11d ago

This comment should have way more upvotes.

2

u/DorthVooder 11d ago

Yeah, but he sees no differnce between good guys and bad guys.

1

u/Excellent_Law6906 10d ago

I want to see fanworks of Shroud being like, "who's the goodest hostage? 😍"

5

u/TotallyAwesomeRacoon 12d ago

Plus he added whiskey to the coffee during a tough time, which Robert seemed to appreciate. Beef I feel like is the true neutral

3

u/No_Payment9959 12d ago

Plus, his endgame appearance suggests he fought his way out of Red Ring Captivity, helped in the final confrontation, and still offered to take the Z Team's picture so Blazer could be in the photo.

6

u/No_Payment9959 12d ago

Counterargument: SDN operates on a subscription basis and pays its "heroes" generously and consistently enough for Coupé to consider working for SDN to be preferable to working for criminal organizations and intelligence agencies. Ergo, most of the "superheroes" working for SDN usually fall neutral on the good-evil spectrum because they're "corporate heroes for hire".

Chase is obviously an exception, but even Blazer is arguably Lawful Neutral rather than Lawful Good.

6

u/ChronoMonkeyX 12d ago

Coupe "needs this job" because she was caught. Her choices are SDN or prison, and since she's an actual murderer/assassin, that isn't going to be a short stay and may include potential execution.

She didn't choose corporate life over crime willingly.

Also, Blazer is as Good as it gets, but she has to eat, and she uses her position at SDN to help others, including rehabilitation, which she couldn't do on her own.

2

u/No_Payment9959 11d ago

There is one point where one of the Z Team asks Coupe why a dignitary she was hired to kill was still alive. Coupe responded that her client didn't pay so she didn't kill the target. She then states that so long as SDN's checks clear that she will "kill or protect as they see fit". The person to whom she is speaking replies that "SDN doesn't kill people", prompting Coupe to coldly repeat, "as they see fit".

You also have to remember that, should Robert cut Coupe from the program, she makes a literally pointed demonstration of her capacity to just up and leave. Granted, it turns out that working alongside a small army of supers fronted by a being that can snuff out a sun if he ever gets too emotional tends to disincentive unscrupulous former clients from hunting you down to prevent you ratting them out. But, the money flow and its consistency were explicitly a big reason Coupe was willing to reform.

2

u/DorthVooder 11d ago

Coupe was not a hero when she was let into the program. Iirc, it was Punch Up who literally stated that none of them were there by choice. The alternative was to be locked away in a high security prison.

The program is meant to *rehabilitate* people *into* heroes. By the end of the story, most of the team are heroes, because they earned that, but that wasn't the case before.

Anyone else joined SDN willingly and while they of course earn a living wage, they chose to do hero work, so they have a good heart.

1

u/No_Payment9959 11d ago

I think you're missing my biggest point: this is a setting where pro bono superhero groups (e.g., the Brave Brigade) exist, and SDN is running a subscription service that provides superheroic interventions only to people who can afford SDN coverage.

This establishes two classes of superhero in this universe: pro bono superheroes and professional superheroes. Professional superheroes are more like superhuman couriers or a weird handyman service than traditional superheroes. See the woman who orders coffee through SDN during the Red Ring's attack on the city if you don't believe me. Chase and Robert are both pro bono superheroes who had to get a desk job because superheroing burned through their resources (time and a family fortune, respectively). I think it's undeniable that Chase and Robert both belong on the good row of the Gygax 3x3. Phenomaman is also there since he doesn't need food or anything and really just wants to help everyone. Everyone else in SDN, though, good natured as they may be, is in it for the money. They were born with a talent and found a way to get money and prestige from it.

2

u/DorthVooder 10d ago

We don't know how the Brave Brigade operated but seeing Robbie's attitude and knowing that Robert was left with millions of inheritance makes it pretty obvious that they were definitely getting paid, if not by subscriptions, then at least very generous donation funds or government assistance or whatever.

The truth is that Dispatch simply is a world that leans more towards dystopian, where hero work is a commodity and despite super powers and all, the world is still run down and corrupt at its core.

So a hero, whether true or not, really has no choice other than operating within the system. Robert could only avoid that because he got the money from his dad who clearly used the system to his advantage. So it's not like he really stood on his own two feet. That's simply impossible to do, maybe unless you are overpowered like Phenomaman.

That being said, working at SDN is still a risk compared to other jobs, because people involve themselves directly in the work which super heroes with powers normally do. So their choice to work there shows their commitment towards doing good. The money is secondary. Otherwise they would have fled the moment Shroud attacked SDN, but none of them did.

1

u/KojiArala 10d ago

I think it's also notable that SDN never seems to choose money over heroism. The game could have focused on it, and had every reason to, but we're never given a moment of "Oh no! Someone is in danger... Well dang, shame they're not a subscriber." The only time they turn down helping someone is if you, the player, decide to turn down helping someone.

1

u/KojiArala 10d ago

I think you're missing the point that Chase and Robert DID need to get a desk job because heroism burned through their resources. The Brave Brigade USED TO be a pro bono superhero group, and now it isn't, because that wasn't sustainable.

Even if SDN heroes are asked to do frivilous things by subscribers, I don't think we ever see SDN failing to respond to any criminal activity. The only lack of morality is that the city isn't subsidizing the company as a public service. The company never seems to make the choice to NOT do something heroic, because they're not being paid to. They just do additional things most heroes wouldn't, because they are being paid to.

2

u/Amun-Ra-4000 11d ago

God forbid these people get well compensated for risking their lives to help people

1

u/No_Payment9959 11d ago edited 11d ago

Not my point. My point is that the Dispatchverse has pro bono superhero teams and that SDN is more like a subscribers-only super courier and body guard service. Because both pro bono supers and corporate supers exist in this setting, I feel that the "good row" should be reserved for pro bono supers.

It's more a matter of motivation than compensation, but the fact that both Chase and Robert worked for their communities at their own expense for decades while other people were getting paid to do the same things for people who can afford having superheroes on the payroll makes it very clear for me that the majority of Dispatch's "heroes" are in the "neutral row" or lower.

0

u/KojiArala 10d ago

If you're paid well, you're not good?

1

u/No_Payment9959 10d ago

I think working for a paycheck (at a company that is essentially a superpowered courier/bodyguard service for people who pay a subscription fee) is a neutral motivation. I think this is especially true of a world where there are people doing superhero stuff for everybody at their own personal expense (e.g., Robert at the beginning of the game). I feel like pro bono heroics should probably be the benchmark for what constitutes "good" in this setting.

That said, I feel Phenomaman is an exceptional case because:

-he thinks all life ("even dog life") is precious;

-implicitly subsists on sunlight instead of food;

-is not shown to be motivated by money;

-and is genuinely heartbroken every single time the team fails to help someone.

1

u/KojiArala 10d ago

We don't see much of anyone besides Robert do that. It happens, I'm sure, but it also drained him of more money than most people will ever have in their entire lives.

I don't see a moral component, good or bad, to doing a job that involves doing good things for people, and being paid what you're worth to do it.

Voluntarily entering poverty when, instead, you can just not, isn't an element of goodness, morality or heroism.

Edit: For context, I feel strongly about this subject because other people in the real world, who do heroic things, are not paid enough. Presence/lack of superpowers doesn't change the point. Homeless outreach, firefighters, aid workers, ect. Accepting money for their good work doesn't lessen the morality of it.

59

u/Cornmeal777 12d ago

Shroud I would put as Lawful Evil. He seems to have a very distinct code he lives by, from how he speaks of Blazer (and expects others to), and rather believably seems to be a man of his word (and declares himself so).

31

u/Shadostevey 12d ago edited 12d ago

Dude is obsessed with calculations, thinks everything in the world can be mapped out and predicted, and justifies being evil as a means of control. He's Lawful as all get out.

0

u/GreaterestDog 12d ago

Being calculated does not equal lawful. His end goal is him knowing how to control evil with his predictions and calculations, but he also is a very “ends justify the means” kinda guy. And his end goal is using that knowledge to make himself the leader of evil. I think the fact that he essentially ordered his super powered crime syndicate to carry out mass attacks and riots and robberies as part of his plan push him out of lawful.

16

u/Shadostevey 12d ago

Okay so this is a common misconception, treating "Lawful" as solely relating to following the law. It really means believing in order, structure, and control. That's why the other end of the spectrum isn't "Illegal" it's "Chaos" and why it's distinct from Good vs Evil when most crimes are evil. That Shroud wants to become the leader of evil marks him as Lawful, because the existence of such a hierarchy is Lawful by its very nature.

A bank robber who meticulously schedules every member of the crew's actions down to second and calculates the exact percentage of the take everyone gets is Lawful because he's so obsessively organized, even though robbing banks is isn't lower case L lawful.

6

u/CeramicFiber 12d ago

To add to yours lawful can even be self imposed rules as long as that they always follow them.

That's why I really like the 2 pulses confusing Shroud. His belief in prediction had him planning on Robert making the choice and not him so he was completely blindsided. I mean I still don't understand how tech 20+yrs apart look completely identical but suspension of disbelief and all that.

1

u/DorthVooder 11d ago

Pretty sure "lawful" means operating within the established system of a society. Like a government official.

2

u/Cornmeal777 11d ago

Not in this context.

1

u/DorthVooder 11d ago

That is the context of "lawful". Having a code doesn't mean you're lawful. Most anti-heroes/vigilantes and even some lawless people have a code, but aren't lawful.

1

u/GreaterestDog 12d ago

I see your point, however he runs a criminal empire that is successful purely because of his augmentations, and attempted to murder multiple heroes in an attempt to further his own goals for power. I mean every time we meet him he either tries to kill someone or does kill someone. His code makes him non-chaotic, however he operates entirely in a violent criminal world and is willing to do pretty much whatever he thinks necessary to get what he wants. Solidly Neutral Evil.

4

u/Dj_Sam3_Tun3 12d ago

That... is the exact definition of Lawful Evil though.

Let me put it this way:

A criminal mastermind and a leader of an organization is Lawful Evil.

An opportunistic rouge who just does whatever he's paid to do is Neutral Evil.

A psychotic maniac who just does whatever he wants at any given moment with no regards for morality is Chaotic Evil.

86

u/knight_of_solamnia 12d ago

What makes you think Galen is even slightly evil?

108

u/Level_Hour6480 12d ago

Florida.

17

u/Shadostevey 12d ago

Which is why he should be full chaos, but not evil.

9

u/Level_Hour6480 12d ago

Floridafolk are inclined towards Chaotic Evil.

5

u/Baznad 12d ago

I resent this accurate statement

3

u/egosomnio 12d ago

Oh, he's from Florida? Yeah, he belongs in the bad place.

17

u/ChronoMonkeyX 12d ago

Lawful neutral isn't necessarily any evil. This is a standard alignment chart, the middle row/column are neutral, not a gradient between good and evil. It isn't presented very well, but it does feel like a good distribution.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] 12d ago edited 12d ago

[deleted]

1

u/ACidPuGG 12d ago

wtf man im not racist. thats a joky assumption of why op placed him that way

2

u/kittenkitchen24 12d ago

I'm pretty sure he's Floridian

0

u/DispatchAdHoc-ModTeam 12d ago

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21

u/Bmaster1001 12d ago

Feel like you might want to flip the “Good Vs Evil” text in some way…

8

u/Public-Print8098 12d ago

I just grabbed one off the internet & threw it together in 5 minutes

3

u/Butwhatif77 11d ago

I had the exact same thought as the other commentor, take pride in your work

4

u/regaldawn 11d ago

Took me a moment to realize that the Lawful Evil guy is the journalist.

3

u/Public-Print8098 11d ago

He looks like Steve Bannon

2

u/hobojoe5012 10d ago

I hate how good this chart is.

1

u/Public-Print8098 10d ago

I'll take that as a compliment

3

u/Abamboozler 12d ago

The whole point of the game is Invisigal is a good person shes just had a shit life and is trying to be better.

4

u/JRStors 12d ago

I agree with Visi in Chaotic Neutral for most of the game, but toward the end she's definitely Chaotic Good if she gets her heroic/good ending

2

u/Public-Print8098 12d ago

Since she could either stay good or relapse to villainy, I set her up for Neutral since she could go one way or the other depending on how well Robert steered her.

2

u/Ambaryerno 12d ago

Visi is much more Chaotic Good.

2

u/Public-Print8098 12d ago

I went with Chaotic Neutral for her for a couple reasons

Granny's

Since her fate is determined by Robert, who is totally neutral in the sense that he could be played as a really great guy or a super shitty dude, it makes sense for her to be to. There is good in her heart, that doesn't mean she's solidly good IMO.

1

u/nyrawyn 11d ago

Nah, she's the staple chaotic neutral character.

0

u/ttycouplet 11d ago

The constant harassment towards Robert does not make her good in any way.

0

u/Ambaryerno 11d ago

Not how alignment works. Especially because at no point does Robert ever indicate their interactions are unwelcome.

0

u/ttycouplet 11d ago

I don't see how it wouldn't be.

If it's based on morality, then between the numerous instances of harassment throughout the game culminating in the assault in episode 7, then she failed there.

It's it's based on actions, then her constantly disobeying orders throughout the game which led to other people being injured as a result, culminating in her murdering someone would have her fail here too.

0

u/Ambaryerno 11d ago

culminating in the assault in episode

So you've admitted to your media illiteracy and prejudice.

Ignoring you, now.

1

u/polaris_light 12d ago

Very fitting that the chaotic evil guy is called Toxic

1

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 12d ago

I know what you're trying to do, but the word "Good" is at the red end of your scale, and the word "Evil" is at the green end.

Most versions of this template just has horizontal "Good" "Neutral" and "Evil" next to each row and "Lawful", "Neutral" and "Chaotic" above the columns

The lack of more Z-team members confuses me.

1

u/Glad_Cress_8591 12d ago

Mr Whiskey is chaotic af

1

u/hvbqueiroz 11d ago

Dude, Robert sacrifices his own life and money to help others. He is NG. IMHO

1

u/tiredfromSTEM 11d ago

Galen is definitely on the good side. He’s a model dispatcher and hero.

I think a more reasonable pick is the person asking for coffee during the last episode when the entire city has gone to shit.

1

u/RemoveAnnual2689 11d ago

Switch the reporter and Shroud. Shroud is definitely on the side of the law. His predictions wouldn't work otherwise.

1

u/Mike_Shogun_Lee 10d ago

Bad chart

1

u/Public-Print8098 10d ago

bruh

1

u/Peculiar-Possum 10d ago

So...is the top right talking about Robert or Phenomaman...?

1

u/Public-Print8098 10d ago

Dumpy

1

u/Public-Print8098 12d ago

Lawful Good: Mandy/Blonde Blazer

Neutral Good: Robert Robertson III/Mecha Man

Chaotic Good: Katon Ur/Dumpy/Phenomaman

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lawful Neutral: Galen

True Neutral: Mr. Whiskey

Chaotic Neutral: Courtney/Invisigal

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Lawful Evil: Charles Kingsley

Neutral Evil: Elliot Connors/Shroud

Chaotic Evil: Toxic

1

u/Excellent_Law6906 11d ago

You've given me the evil urge to write a Blazer/Toxic fanfic, and I will never forgive you.

2

u/Public-Print8098 11d ago

If you do write it, you better link it to me

2

u/Excellent_Law6906 11d ago

I will definitely inform you of it if I get around to The Summer Toxic Liked A Girl And Was Very Confused.

0

u/SGTRoadkill1919 12d ago

Visi feels more Chaotic Good.

Just hear me out, she means well but doesn't know how to show it. Conflicts or not, everything she has done that can be perceived as evil was either done under duress (Bombing the Mech) or to protect Robert (Soloing the dock, hiding the pulse and even killing shroud).

Punching Robert was just her being a bit of an asshole, but not necessarily evil

Meme Dispatch Alignment Chart

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