CE specifically goes out of its way to be evil, though. What you described is CN. CE characters would be your standard “mad scientist” from a 90’s cartoon.
A chaotic evil character does whatever his greed, hatred, and lust for destruction drive him to do. […] If he is simply out for whatever he can get, he is ruthless and brutal.
Evil is not a religion or a life philosophy in third edition anymore. A CE character does not need to commit evil for the sake of evil, they need just to be ‘out for whatever [they] can get’. Think about the typical CE goblins.
CE specifically goes out of its way to be evil, though. What you described is CN. CE characters would be your standard “mad scientist” from a 90’s cartoon.
It’s only ‘real evil’ if it is done for the sake of evil itself? Thats a pretty hot take.
It’s literally what the player handbook (well, 3rd edition at least) describes CE as…
Srd on CE characters:
Evil is not a religion or a life philosophy in third edition anymore. A CE character does not need to commit evil for the sake of evil, they need just to be ‘out for whatever [they] can get’. Think about the typical CE goblins.