I'm currently playing a cleric of a god of law and justice, and is still currently employed as a soldier and guard to a government body. I want to roleplay the character's beliefs but as a player I don't want to stifle my party members if they do something that would be against those laws. The campaign is set in Wildemount from the Critical Role source book, and the character is a Righteous Brand member from the Dwendalian Empire and a worshipper for Erathis. I've already expressed interested to my DM about seeing corruption in the government and do a little shift in his beliefs. But up until that point I need some help finding some good ways to roleplay being a law abiding, and in certain cases law enforcing, character. None of these aspects have come up in game other than a few NPCs recognizing his position as a kind of higher up guard and a brief interlude in disrupting a fight.
\Our table knows me well enough to know that I'm not going to pull a "that guy," and I'm told them about his beliefs so that it wouldn't be a big surprise and they could already start thinking of ways to work with and around his currant ideals, but any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!
I guess the key thing is being aware of it but not really do anything about it (soft meta gaming). oh, the rogue is stealing something? your character's attention may have been elsewhere talking to a citizen. That way you maintain lawfulness, but when you are forced into the scenario your character may disagree with the method but knows that hindering the group won't be to his advantage. So maybe your character may try to find a different method to solve a problem without breaking the law, for example a prayer to Eratis for wisdom or taking a from local authority but if they know the authority is corrupted then perhaps seeking a more trusted person for advice would work as well, and if that's not even available your character may agree begrudgingly for it just for the sake of making aiding the party while begging the god of law for forgiveness.
Lawful characters are fun to play but you only need some creativity to pass by certain obstacles. Hope this helped!
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Born under the watch of something from the furthest corners of the far realms.... It knows all.... it sees all... and it asks: "What is it that you want to see?"... and my answer is... ALL"
Make it more about your character's actions and outlook, and less about imposing their outlook onto others. I mean unless people are straight up murdering folks for no reason in front of you, then by any definition of the word "lawful" you should probably do something about it.
So what you are looking for is Captain America - he is a good example of a pure lawful good character. If ever you get stuck lean into that. Just remember
1. Lawful doesn’t mean follows all laws - it means that you have a code that you follow
2. Good doesn’t have to mean insufferable good guy - you can be some one that just tries to do right
3. You can do this all day - that’s Wildemount’s ass
So what you are looking for is Captain America - he is a good example of a pure lawful good character. If ever you get stuck lean into that. Just remember
1. Lawful doesn’t mean follows all laws - it means that you have a code that you follow
2. Good doesn’t have to mean insufferable good guy - you can be some one that just tries to do right
3. You can do this all day - that’s Wildemount’s ass
This! Lawful doesn’t have anything to do with the law. It just means you have a moral code, you put the group above the individual, and the end doesn’t (usually) justify the means. There’s a reason why “lawful character opposes the government” is such a compelling story (think Winter Soldier or the first season of Game of Thrones). It’s not as hard as it seems to play lawful in a fantasy game: after all, the vast majority of LotR heroes are Lawful Good! Just don’t stereotype yourself.
Another way to look at party interactions... perhaps the character sees his role as one to shape and tutor the other members into being more responsible and law abiding. Rather than argue or preach to them when they break laws or commit immoral acts, recognize that even he himself is not without failing and instead try to lead by example and gently steer his comrades toward more noble behavior.
Rogue wants to feed that starving peasants by breaking into the bank and stealing some gold? Maybe the player suggests a canned food drive instead? (Thats a terrible example, but I got "canned food drive" stuck in my head and the post went off the rails from that moment on).
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PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
So what you are looking for is Captain America - he is a good example of a pure lawful good character. If ever you get stuck lean into that. Just remember
1. Lawful doesn’t mean follows all laws - it means that you have a code that you follow
2. Good doesn’t have to mean insufferable good guy - you can be some one that just tries to do right
3. You can do this all day - that’s Wildemount’s ass
This! Lawful doesn’t have anything to do with the law. It just means you have a moral code, you put the group above the individual, and the end doesn’t (usually) justify the means. There’s a reason why “lawful character opposes the government” is such a compelling story (think Winter Soldier or the first season of Game of Thrones). It’s not as hard as it seems to play lawful in a fantasy game: after all, the vast majority of LotR heroes are Lawful Good! Just don’t stereotype yourself.
In this situation, following the law is part of the character's beliefs. As I stated he is a member of the army and guard of the nation, I play mainly lawful characters because I enjoy those themes. But its the literal fact of being a law-abiding and the actual person who enforces the laws of the empire they are in. I could have worded my initial request for help better if there was a misunderstanding.
Extreme characters tend to work poorly in a party of a range of personalities. I highly recommend that you don't be too "very Lawful".
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
So what you are looking for is Captain America - he is a good example of a pure lawful good character. If ever you get stuck lean into that. Just remember
1. Lawful doesn’t mean follows all laws - it means that you have a code that you follow
2. Good doesn’t have to mean insufferable good guy - you can be some one that just tries to do right
3. You can do this all day - that’s Wildemount’s ass
This! Lawful doesn’t have anything to do with the law. It just means you have a moral code, you put the group above the individual, and the end doesn’t (usually) justify the means. There’s a reason why “lawful character opposes the government” is such a compelling story (think Winter Soldier or the first season of Game of Thrones). It’s not as hard as it seems to play lawful in a fantasy game: after all, the vast majority of LotR heroes are Lawful Good! Just don’t stereotype yourself.
In this situation, following the law is part of the character's beliefs. As I stated he is a member of the army and guard of the nation, I play mainly lawful characters because I enjoy those themes. But its the literal fact of being a law-abiding and the actual person who enforces the laws of the empire they are in. I could have worded my initial request for help better if there was a misunderstanding.
Which is why I said to look at Captain America as an archetype to follow - even just taking the MCU his arc is
someone who believes in doing the right thing no matter the personal cost
a soldier who believes in the fight and wants to do his most to uphold and protect the good
someone who finds out that rule of law he is enforcing has become dictatorial
someone who sees that his and others actions have been manipulated by a force for chaos
someone who has a reckoning with his own place in that and takes a stand for what he believes is good
someone who fights for that at great personal sacrifice
If you want to have your character worship law and justice then tbh I wouldn’t pick lawful good - you want lawful neutral for that. No system of rules and laws is ever good, it will always have grey areas that the law is not equipped to deal with. True lawful good requires you to put the good first and the lawful second, to have a code you follow that is about doing the right thing.
If you want a character that is driven by law and justice beyond all else then it’s not Captain America, It’s Judge Dredd. Dredd is many things, driven, devoted, brave, strong, empowered....he’s is not good though, he is not compelled to do the right thing, he is compelled to hold up the law.
if the most important thing to your character is the relationship with Erathis (which is fair as a cleric) then I would switch to lawful neutral. Either that or just accept that alignments are a crude and inefficient starting point for character creation and not a be all and end all for character personality
People often mistake revenge and necessity for justice. Local laws reflect these things based on the local society or those in power.
Killing a wolf because it kills children because its pack is starving from people overhunting in the area is either revenge or necessity but not justice by any means.
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Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider. My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong. I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲 “It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
1.) Even in the hyper-autocratic shithouse that is the Dwendalian Empire, the punishment tends to befit the crime. Petty theft, sleight of hand tricks, and falsification aren't worth an execution. if your Righteous Brand soldier catches the party rogue* at these sorts of things, pull them aside for a talk. Tell them that you can't turn a blind eye to it but you're not going to throw the book at them either. Ask them if they'll return whatever they stole/flamboozled to you so you can send it back to whoever lost it anonymously, and tell them that virtue can bring its own rewards. Perhaps the tale of Garg and Moonslicer is a folktale of the Empire, and you can relay this to your party in hopes of steering them towards righteousness. or at least not being the sorts of flaming dickhats who loot a town down to the bone the moment they walk into it.
2.) Erathis is the goddess of law. She's also the goddess of peace and civilization. As a Righteous Brand soldier who is (presumably) on detached duty with this band of wandering nitwits (don't gimme that look, every D&D party is a band of wandering nitwits. Yours, mine, Mercer's, Kenrick's, errybuddy's), ask yourself if this is a situation the law was meant to handle and is prepared to do so, or if it's something the law isn't really equipped to handle. If you have to break the law in order to save or serve the peoples and civilizations the law was meant to uphold and protect, then Erathis can be the goddess of civilization first. You may have to atone for your lawbreaking, and a proper Lawful Good character will not enjoy breaking the law even when he knows he must. But I would point to Michael Carpenter, from the Dresden Files series, as a magnificent example of Lawful Good done properly.
A mild, humble man who colors within the lines and tries to raise his family right. Sometimes a situation arises, however, when he needs to break out his sword and fight forces of malevolence no one else can handle. If there's a locked door or property laws in his way? That's truly unfortunate and he'll make amends if he can, but it'd be more unfortunate to allow those things to stop him from doing what must be done.
I told newcomers to be aware (meta) that my character is heavily against murder, but has no issue with stealing (treating property like life devalues life).
They don't tell my character when they do bad things. If they need help like a distraction I am a bard so they just have to say, "Hey, Fardley, those people way over there could use a show" and then boom, im a distraction to help them, i am away from the crime and oblivious to it.
I also don't insight check my party members. They are my party, they wouldnt lie to me. My character trusts them completely.
I play lawful without being annoying by having an overly trusting character.
If you're party is committing crimes in front of you and directly involving you then if anything it is time to "be that guy" because they are forcing your character through routes they don't want.
As a lawful we have to not be *****
The least our party can do is not put us in those situations, otherwise they are doing the inverse of what you're afraid of doing to them.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....in the days before the Star Wars prequels... there was an origin story for Boba Fett that described him as pretty much the ultimate lawful neutral character -- or at least that is how he appeared to my young mind.
The story is called "The Last one Standing". It was written by Daniel Keyes Moran and published in an anthology called "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" in 1996.
Much has changed since those days of long ago; things that were cannon have become legend. But the story remains and with it a characterization that I found a good model for playing someone with an outlook predominated by what they saw as law. I'd recommend taking a look at it.
Lawful characters tell the truth, keep their word, respect authority, honor tradition, and judge those who fall short of their duties. A neutral character, with respect to good and evil, have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make personal sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by their personal relationships. A lawful neutral character typically believes strongly in lawful concepts such as honor, order, rules, and tradition, but often follows a personal code in addition to, or even in preference to, one set down by a benevolent authority.
- Your problem is similar to a problem with the "Lone Wolf" Character type a lot of players like to use.
- "Im a lone wolf and I don't play by anybody else rules but my own. I have to fight this whole army by myself because of how much of a lone wolf I am" - or something to that effect.
Its a cool character concept for a batman comic but it can be a giant headache in a party of other people who have to play with you. One solution is to think of it like this: You are a "lone wolf" with everyone except your party. This group of trusted friends and allies you have come to respect, love, and rely on through your various adventures. Their methods may be different and unconventional in your opinion, but you have seen them work. They can solve situations that you can't because of your lifestyle of being a lone wolf. Think of Wolverine in the Marvel Movies/Comics. Many times a classic lone wolf character. But he also can be a meaningful part of a team.
So, You can be as law abiding as you like with everyone except for your party, whom you give lots of slack to. With regard to your party, you follow a more personal code because overall they are working towards true Justice. And what is justice but a simple "rebalancing" of rights and wrongs. A lawful character would probably be against killing, but might have no problem killing someone who threatened an innocent life. And its an interesting story arc for a character to go from "Everything is Black and White" to "I guess there is some Grey in there".
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Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
It's a spectrum. You can be a straight-laced, religious, patriotic obedient soldier and still do 5mph over the limit.
Or they have a personal code they observe, rather than always the letter of the law. Maybe part of their personal code is even, "Don't rat out your friends." Even though they are uncomfortable with their friends behavior, they are honor bound not to turn them in.
If you want to have your character worship law and justice then tbh I wouldn’t pick lawful good - you want lawful neutral for that. No system of rules and laws is ever good, it will always have grey areas that the law is not equipped to deal with. True lawful good requires you to put the good first and the lawful second, to have a code you follow that is about doing the right thing.
If you want a character that is driven by law and justice beyond all else then it’s not Captain America, It’s Judge Dredd. Dredd is many things, driven, devoted, brave, strong, empowered....he’s is not good though, he is not compelled to do the right thing, he is compelled to hold up the law.
if the most important thing to your character is the relationship with Erathis (which is fair as a cleric) then I would switch to lawful neutral. Either that or just accept that alignments are a crude and inefficient starting point for character creation and not a be all and end all for character personality
Typically, when playing a character with a very strict moral code, I try to make them do their best to represent themselves, rather than the party. If the party trying to take down some king of evil, but there is a chaotic neutral rogue in the party, maybe your cleric would see it as a "I will have you pay for your crimes once we have defeated our enemies, but for now you are a valuable asset" kind of thing. That can kind of give the characters this fun rivalry too, if you like a little bit of inter-party conflict. Or, maybe your cleric believes in leading by example. Like, as long as someone isn't evil, your character may try to uphold their values as on an individual level to hope they can win others over in their conviction to their laws. Ultimately, I think it depends on the players at the table and how willing they are to accept some potential head butting or a clash of morals. If they're okay with it, then maybe it can lead to a more memorable experience.
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I guess the key thing is being aware of it but not really do anything about it (soft meta gaming). oh, the rogue is stealing something? your character's attention may have been elsewhere talking to a citizen. That way you maintain lawfulness, but when you are forced into the scenario your character may disagree with the method but knows that hindering the group won't be to his advantage. So maybe your character may try to find a different method to solve a problem without breaking the law, for example a prayer to Eratis for wisdom or taking a from local authority but if they know the authority is corrupted then perhaps seeking a more trusted person for advice would work as well, and if that's not even available your character may agree begrudgingly for it just for the sake of making aiding the party while begging the god of law for forgiveness.
Lawful characters are fun to play but you only need some creativity to pass by certain obstacles. Hope this helped!
Born under the watch of something from the furthest corners of the far realms.... It knows all.... it sees all... and it asks: "What is it that you want to see?"... and my answer is... ALL"
Make it more about your character's actions and outlook, and less about imposing their outlook onto others. I mean unless people are straight up murdering folks for no reason in front of you, then by any definition of the word "lawful" you should probably do something about it.
So what you are looking for is Captain America - he is a good example of a pure lawful good character. If ever you get stuck lean into that. Just remember
1. Lawful doesn’t mean follows all laws - it means that you have a code that you follow
2. Good doesn’t have to mean insufferable good guy - you can be some one that just tries to do right
3. You can do this all day - that’s Wildemount’s ass
This! Lawful doesn’t have anything to do with the law. It just means you have a moral code, you put the group above the individual, and the end doesn’t (usually) justify the means. There’s a reason why “lawful character opposes the government” is such a compelling story (think Winter Soldier or the first season of Game of Thrones). It’s not as hard as it seems to play lawful in a fantasy game: after all, the vast majority of LotR heroes are Lawful Good! Just don’t stereotype yourself.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Another way to look at party interactions... perhaps the character sees his role as one to shape and tutor the other members into being more responsible and law abiding. Rather than argue or preach to them when they break laws or commit immoral acts, recognize that even he himself is not without failing and instead try to lead by example and gently steer his comrades toward more noble behavior.
Rogue wants to feed that starving peasants by breaking into the bank and stealing some gold? Maybe the player suggests a canned food drive instead? (Thats a terrible example, but I got "canned food drive" stuck in my head and the post went off the rails from that moment on).
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
In this situation, following the law is part of the character's beliefs. As I stated he is a member of the army and guard of the nation, I play mainly lawful characters because I enjoy those themes. But its the literal fact of being a law-abiding and the actual person who enforces the laws of the empire they are in. I could have worded my initial request for help better if there was a misunderstanding.
My only advice is: Moderation.
Extreme characters tend to work poorly in a party of a range of personalities. I highly recommend that you don't be too "very Lawful".
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Which is why I said to look at Captain America as an archetype to follow - even just taking the MCU his arc is
someone who believes in doing the right thing no matter the personal cost
a soldier who believes in the fight and wants to do his most to uphold and protect the good
someone who finds out that rule of law he is enforcing has become dictatorial
someone who sees that his and others actions have been manipulated by a force for chaos
someone who has a reckoning with his own place in that and takes a stand for what he believes is good
someone who fights for that at great personal sacrifice
If you want to have your character worship law and justice then tbh I wouldn’t pick lawful good - you want lawful neutral for that. No system of rules and laws is ever good, it will always have grey areas that the law is not equipped to deal with. True lawful good requires you to put the good first and the lawful second, to have a code you follow that is about doing the right thing.
If you want a character that is driven by law and justice beyond all else then it’s not Captain America, It’s Judge Dredd. Dredd is many things, driven, devoted, brave, strong, empowered....he’s is not good though, he is not compelled to do the right thing, he is compelled to hold up the law.
if the most important thing to your character is the relationship with Erathis (which is fair as a cleric) then I would switch to lawful neutral. Either that or just accept that alignments are a crude and inefficient starting point for character creation and not a be all and end all for character personality
True.
Justice is a hard thing to pin down.
People often mistake revenge and necessity for justice. Local laws reflect these things based on the local society or those in power.
Killing a wolf because it kills children because its pack is starving from people overhunting in the area is either revenge or necessity but not justice by any means.
Human. Male. Possibly. Don't be a divider.
My characters' backgrounds are written like instruction manuals rather than stories. My opinion and preferences don't mean you're wrong.
I am 99.7603% convinced that the digital dice are messing with me. I roll high when nobody's looking and low when anyone else can see.🎲
“It's a bit early to be thinking about an epitaph. No?” will be my epitaph.
Two notions occur to me.
1.) Even in the hyper-autocratic shithouse that is the Dwendalian Empire, the punishment tends to befit the crime. Petty theft, sleight of hand tricks, and falsification aren't worth an execution. if your Righteous Brand soldier catches the party rogue* at these sorts of things, pull them aside for a talk. Tell them that you can't turn a blind eye to it but you're not going to throw the book at them either. Ask them if they'll return whatever they stole/flamboozled to you so you can send it back to whoever lost it anonymously, and tell them that virtue can bring its own rewards. Perhaps the tale of Garg and Moonslicer is a folktale of the Empire, and you can relay this to your party in hopes of steering them towards righteousness. or at least not being the sorts of flaming dickhats who loot a town down to the bone the moment they walk into it.
2.) Erathis is the goddess of law. She's also the goddess of peace and civilization. As a Righteous Brand soldier who is (presumably) on detached duty with this band of wandering nitwits (don't gimme that look, every D&D party is a band of wandering nitwits. Yours, mine, Mercer's, Kenrick's, errybuddy's), ask yourself if this is a situation the law was meant to handle and is prepared to do so, or if it's something the law isn't really equipped to handle. If you have to break the law in order to save or serve the peoples and civilizations the law was meant to uphold and protect, then Erathis can be the goddess of civilization first. You may have to atone for your lawbreaking, and a proper Lawful Good character will not enjoy breaking the law even when he knows he must. But I would point to Michael Carpenter, from the Dresden Files series, as a magnificent example of Lawful Good done properly.
A mild, humble man who colors within the lines and tries to raise his family right. Sometimes a situation arises, however, when he needs to break out his sword and fight forces of malevolence no one else can handle. If there's a locked door or property laws in his way? That's truly unfortunate and he'll make amends if he can, but it'd be more unfortunate to allow those things to stop him from doing what must be done.
Please do not contact or message me.
Hey, wait: every D&D party is a band of wandering nitwits...and a cleric. (Who's usually Lawful Good!)
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Personally my character is lawful neutral,
I told newcomers to be aware (meta) that my character is heavily against murder, but has no issue with stealing (treating property like life devalues life).
They don't tell my character when they do bad things. If they need help like a distraction I am a bard so they just have to say, "Hey, Fardley, those people way over there could use a show" and then boom, im a distraction to help them, i am away from the crime and oblivious to it.
I also don't insight check my party members. They are my party, they wouldnt lie to me. My character trusts them completely.
I play lawful without being annoying by having an overly trusting character.
If you're party is committing crimes in front of you and directly involving you then if anything it is time to "be that guy" because they are forcing your character through routes they don't want.
As a lawful we have to not be *****
The least our party can do is not put us in those situations, otherwise they are doing the inverse of what you're afraid of doing to them.
It's a teamwork exercise.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....in the days before the Star Wars prequels... there was an origin story for Boba Fett that described him as pretty much the ultimate lawful neutral character -- or at least that is how he appeared to my young mind.
The story is called "The Last one Standing". It was written by Daniel Keyes Moran and published in an anthology called "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" in 1996.
Much has changed since those days of long ago; things that were cannon have become legend. But the story remains and with it a characterization that I found a good model for playing someone with an outlook predominated by what they saw as law. I'd recommend taking a look at it.
Lawful characters tell the truth, keep their word, respect authority, honor tradition, and judge those who fall short of their duties. A neutral character, with respect to good and evil, have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make personal sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by their personal relationships. A lawful neutral character typically believes strongly in lawful concepts such as honor, order, rules, and tradition, but often follows a personal code in addition to, or even in preference to, one set down by a benevolent authority.
- Your problem is similar to a problem with the "Lone Wolf" Character type a lot of players like to use.
- "Im a lone wolf and I don't play by anybody else rules but my own. I have to fight this whole army by myself because of how much of a lone wolf I am" - or something to that effect.
Its a cool character concept for a batman comic but it can be a giant headache in a party of other people who have to play with you. One solution is to think of it like this: You are a "lone wolf" with everyone except your party. This group of trusted friends and allies you have come to respect, love, and rely on through your various adventures. Their methods may be different and unconventional in your opinion, but you have seen them work. They can solve situations that you can't because of your lifestyle of being a lone wolf. Think of Wolverine in the Marvel Movies/Comics. Many times a classic lone wolf character. But he also can be a meaningful part of a team.
So, You can be as law abiding as you like with everyone except for your party, whom you give lots of slack to. With regard to your party, you follow a more personal code because overall they are working towards true Justice. And what is justice but a simple "rebalancing" of rights and wrongs. A lawful character would probably be against killing, but might have no problem killing someone who threatened an innocent life. And its an interesting story arc for a character to go from "Everything is Black and White" to "I guess there is some Grey in there".
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPmyTI0tZ6nM-bzY0IG3ww
It's a spectrum. You can be a straight-laced, religious, patriotic obedient soldier and still do 5mph over the limit.
Or they have a personal code they observe, rather than always the letter of the law. Maybe part of their personal code is even, "Don't rat out your friends." Even though they are uncomfortable with their friends behavior, they are honor bound not to turn them in.
Spoken like a true chaotic good!
Typically, when playing a character with a very strict moral code, I try to make them do their best to represent themselves, rather than the party. If the party trying to take down some king of evil, but there is a chaotic neutral rogue in the party, maybe your cleric would see it as a "I will have you pay for your crimes once we have defeated our enemies, but for now you are a valuable asset" kind of thing. That can kind of give the characters this fun rivalry too, if you like a little bit of inter-party conflict. Or, maybe your cleric believes in leading by example. Like, as long as someone isn't evil, your character may try to uphold their values as on an individual level to hope they can win others over in their conviction to their laws. Ultimately, I think it depends on the players at the table and how willing they are to accept some potential head butting or a clash of morals. If they're okay with it, then maybe it can lead to a more memorable experience.