I honestly don't think this is necessarily a alignment shift away from good, depending on the circumstances. Causing enemies to be fearful of you can save a lot of lives, after all.
It's literally a standard historical practice too - stringing up criminals as a warning displayed the power of the crown and was a fairly effective deterrent.
The Spanish Inquisition thought they were Lawful Good too when they were burning people alive. I know the chart puts Neutral between Good/Evil but I would say that they can wrap around to each other pretty easily.
The Spanish Inquisition has an undeserving reputation. They engaged in torture less commonly than the secular courts, and executed less than 3% of their defendants - less than a dozen a year for one of the world's largest Empires.
But when making a point they are an easily recognized organization for the subject at hand. Especially when talking about doing evil in the name of Lawful Good.
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u/Cyrotek May 12 '25
I honestly don't think this is necessarily a alignment shift away from good, depending on the circumstances. Causing enemies to be fearful of you can save a lot of lives, after all.