On the surface, it seems like the Dungeons & Dragons character alignments of the Death Eaters in Harry Potter should be a simple and easy-to-answer question across the board. The very purpose of the organization is to ensure Voldemort’s domination over the entire wizarding world and the victory of Dark Magic over light. However, the makeup of the entire Death Eater gang is a lot more varied than it may seem at a first glance.
Voldemort’s lackeys are all different people with varying morals and motivations for following the Dark Lord. Some of them are doing it because they have no choice, others are out for their own ends, some have blind faith in Voldemort, and there are those who are just plain evil. Here are 10 Death Eaters and their corresponding Dungeons & Dragons character alignments.
Alecto Carrow - Lawful Evil
The Carrow siblings are two of the most memorable members of the Death Eater squad that everyone wishes they could forget. As the female member of this not-incredibly dynamic duo, Alecto was originally a Death Eater in the First Wizarding War who was one of many who managed to get away with her misdeeds once Voldemort was gone and the war was over. But Voldemort seemed to be forgiving of her lack of faith, perhaps because he needed as many leaders as he could possibly get at the time. He was more than happy to install her as the teacher of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts once he rose to power.
Amycus Carrow - Lawful Evil
Much like his sister, Amycus Carrow was one of Voldemort’s OG Death Eaters who managed to weasel his way out of actual punishments for his bad behavior by towing the line of wizarding law until Voldemort’s triumphant return allowed him to get back to his nastier impulses.
Along with Alecto, Amycus wound up being placed at a pretty high position at Hogwarts as the professor of Dark Arts (the class that replaced the infamous Defense Against the Dark Arts), and just based on his role in Voldemort’s takeover, in addition to his ability to avoid any justice the first time around, it would seem like Amycus and his sis are very good at being evil within the bounds of the rules.
Barty Crouch Jr. - Chaotic Evil
If anyone is ever looking to overtake the world with some dastardly and sneaky deeds, then Barty Crouch Jr. is just the kind of guy that you want as your right-hand man. Barty seems like a mentally unstable psychopath, but he obviously demonstrated his usefulness and creative thinking skills when he took Mad-Eye Moody’s place as the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts during Harry Potter’s fourth year in school. It’s one thing to come up with this kind of off-the-wall idea, but the amount of skill and improvisation that it takes to get it done is actually insane.
Regulus Black - Chaotic Good
It’s pretty ironic that everyone who ever knew Regulus Black probably would have said that he was a lawful evil character, because for the vast majority of his life he was more than willing to follow in the footsteps of nearly every Black before him and devote his life to blood purity and Dark Magic. But when Regulus had his mettle tested it became clear that he was actually a really good person who was willing to do right no matter what the consequences may be. It seems like his decision to steal Voldemort’s Horcrux may have been an impulsive move, though, which makes him a pretty clear chaotic good character.
Draco Malfoy - Lawful Neutral
Draco Malfoy may have been Harry Potter’s biggest Hogwarts rival for their entire education, and he was clearly positioned as a character who was evil, at least for a kid.
However, once Draco really had to start doing dangerous work on Voldemort’s behalf, it became readily apparent that he was somewhat of a decent person, or at least not a monstrous person, who was simply just raised to be evil. Draco Malfoy was just a boy who had done what his parents told him to do, and he was now doing what Voldemort told him to do, without any actual moral stake in his behavior, which is why he is a lawful neutral character.
Lucius Malfoy - Neutral Evil
Unlike his morally agnostic son, Lucius Malfoy is a pretty objectively evil person who generally revels in doing harm and causing pain to the people he either doesn’t like or believes are weaker than he is. Unfortunately for Lucius, however, he lacks the courage of his nasty convictions. Lucius is a bad man when he feels like he can be without consequences, but any time things start getting real he chickens out. He will do what he can to get what he wants and needs, and he will go around the rules or follow them if it will help, but he has no personal investment in either.
Peter Pettigrew - Chaotic Neutral
Peter Pettigrew is one of many Death Eaters who has done genuinely evil and vile things. However, his motivations for doing so often didn’t line up with the rest of the Death Eater gang. Peter himself doesn’t even have a real moral alignment; he doesn’t seem to care much about what is bad or what is good, and the only thing that guides his behavior is his own cowardliness. He joined Voldemort out of fear, he became a Death Eater out of fear, and he will do anything without thought behind it, aside from whether or not it will keep him relatively safe and alive, making Peter a chaotic neutral character.
Bellatrix Lestrange - Chaotic Evil
It seems like most people who have become Death Eaters in the past are really in it for their own ends; they want the freedom to do their own Dark Magic and Voldemort conquering the wizarding world will give them that.
However, Bellatrix Lestrange seems to have an incredibly sincere and enthusiastic commitment to Voldemort and all things evil. She will do whatever impulse strikes her fancy in the moment to enact as much pain and destruction as possible. Bellatrix is truly the living embodiment of the Dungeons & Dragons character alignment of chaotic evil, and she loves absolutely every second of her own monstrosity.
Severus Snape - Chaotic Good
Severus Snape’s character alignment is something that is up for debate, because up until Lily Potter’s death, he was unquestionably on the side of the bad guys. However ,considering his entire life as a whole, it seems pretty undeniable that his impact on the world has been a major net positive. Snape survived for so long because his behavior was unpredictable and inscrutable, and he somehow managed to make good things happen through heinous acts. He made the world a better place by killing Albus Dumbledore, for crying out loud. Snape is ultimately a chaotic good character, and the wizarding world was a much better place for it.
Voldemort - Neutral Evil
It seems pretty painfully obvious that Voldemort’s moral alignment in D&D terms is on the evilest side of the evil spectrum, but where he lies on the spectrum of lawful to chaotic is a bit of a paradox. Clearly he has no regard for the laws that the wizarding world has created, but he seems to place a great deal of value on the rules that he wants to enact on the witches and wizards in the world. Voldemort is anything but neutral, but he operates on such great extremes that the average between his hate of the current wizarding world and reverence for the one he wants to create cancel each other out.
