umh.. I have to ask you gurus out there, since we are having an argument with my friend. About chaotic evil.. under that alignment isn't the guy supposed to be little nuts? I mean.. Neb or something, or an evil Minsc. Not just little bit evil, but more brutal?
We had multiplay session and Da'rok(me) just couldn't control himself and took the chicks with acorns down with force.. my friend got mad about it.. not even chaotic evil characters are supposed to do that he said.

Actually Chaotic Evil is as low as it gets. Meaning that if you did an evil deed of particular note, it falls under here... "Chaotic evil characters are the bane of all that is good..." I think I quoted it fairly accurately :) So, in my opinion? Your friends getting pissed about the Dryads was a "good" reaction. Naturally the act would fall under Chaotic Evil, since you cut them down and they were either neutral or good creatures that couldn't really defend themselves. I'm not sure how many other people think the same, alignment is a tricky thing... ;)

Hmmm... this is interesting, I don't know much about alignment, but my self interested guy is neutral evil, if neutral evil is self interested then chaotic evil must include some evil for evil's sake, but not stupid "I'm just going to tell you the password to get 5 million gold", "Arrgh, can't wait must kill now" (kills guy about to give password). At least IMHO.

True insanity is Chaotic Neutral. Actions are completely random. CG means you go your own way, but are good at heart. CE means you do whatever is best for you. CN is just crazy.

Chaotic-Evil characters are a wee bit of what would be considered insane. They will commit evil acts without even thinking about the consequences or their surroundings. Evil for evil's sake is Neutral-Evil or "True Evil". So a Neutral-Evil character is looking out for himself and would not kill the dryads if he could first get something out of them, like a minstrel and a marrionette. A Chaotic-Evil character wouldn't care what he could stand to gain by using them, but rather would just kill them for being dryads.

Amon-Ra

and lawful evil (being the organized sort) would patiently try to find a way to maximize the evil and profit. but unlike the randomness of chaotics and the self-interest of neutrals who will do whatever works best, lawfuls have that nagging set of rules following them around governing their conduct. these rules, however, can vary depending on who makes them. the church of talos encourages removing the weak and faithless from the flock (priest quest), and if killing the weak and faithless is the most convenient way to so it, so be it. mae'var is probably neutral evil (he's definitely working for is own interests), but renal bloodscalp (le or ln) has a clear code of conduct as he will not have mae'var whacked without proper evidence.

chaotic have a very hard time working in groups because they don't follow the rules even when the rules are there (look at drow society in general - everybody's betraying somebody).

Okay then, would Satan be Lawful or Chaotic Evil. (Follow me here, I really do have a point :) )

He lives for evil. Anything that opposes the Light must be advanced at all costs.

He will even use "Good" actions if they will distract the pure and lead them into darkness. Hey, the Devil even quoted the Bible to Jesus.

He has a plan, acts as a law unto himself, but follows no Natural or Spiritual law that exists.

I ask this because it sheds light on the Chaotic Evil character's behavior. If the Devil is Lawful Evil, then Chaotic Evil characters should act as renegades, killing and destroying with no long-range plans. If the Devil is Chaotic Evil, then a case can be made for characters of this alignment to have long range plans, to seem sane - even good - as they advance their plans.

I know that in the Monster Manual, Devils are Lawful Evil and Demons are Chaotic Evil. I disagree, but then again, I think "Lawful Evil" is an oxymoron.

It would be hard to answer that question, because there are so many different takes on the devil :) In Anne Rice's Memnoch the devil, he's not really even evil. He was cast out of Heaven for questioning GOD about his mistreatment of us humans (not making us immortal). And when he became "the devil" his mission wasn't to make the "Evil" suffer for eternity, but it took the function of purgatory where the soul had to "realize they were wrong" or something so they could get to heaven. Kinda like Rehab. Hell, in one portrayal of the light bringer, he got tired of the job and "closed hell" releasing all it's "inmates". (Sandman by Neil Gaiman) :D

if you really want to get into the alignment of satan, i would suggest an article from hayday of "dragon" magazine titled "the politics of hell" which which spend many pages translating satan, beelzebub and other major leaguers into game terms (including the infamous contract with satan). the article goes into great detail on the motivation and psychology of each (and a lot on satan).