[Insert “Lawful doesn’t mean they follow the law. It means they follow a set of rules and refer to those rules for guidance when uncertain about how to proceed. Chaotic means they make it up as they go” argument here.]
You can have a lawful evil assassin who breaks the law by murdering people. As long as they have a strict code of conduct (like maybe they never kill kids, always kill to make a statement, never kill for free, etc,) then they are lawful. Because the law of the land may change, but the character’s code won’t. That code is what makes them lawful; Not following the law of the land.
That’s not what D&D Lawful means, though. You literally just described Chaotic Good.
[Insert “Lawful doesn’t mean they follow the law. It means they follow a set of rules and refer to those rules for guidance when uncertain about how to proceed. Chaotic means they make it up as they go” argument here.]
You can have a lawful evil assassin who breaks the law by murdering people. As long as they have a strict code of conduct (like maybe they never kill kids, always kill to make a statement, never kill for free, etc,) then they are lawful. Because the law of the land may change, but the character’s code won’t. That code is what makes them lawful; Not following the law of the land.
The Assassin alien from Mass Effect 2 (and 3) is a good example of a lawful assassin