The Nine Alignments

by Xusha Sun Sep 05, 2010 1:22 pm

Introduction:

Every character has an alignment that will dictate their conduct throughout their life, with a few exceptions. This alignment is determined according to two distinct criteria: the character's internal level of goodness, as well as their respect for order. Each of these criteria have three distinct variations. While this may be seen as a helpful reference to some, it is not to be treated as "mandated", meaning that your own characters do not have to exactly fall into one of these categories, though most should share some characteristics with one of the following alignments.

Goodness:

Goodness comes in three variants

• Good
• Neutral
• Evil

Order:

Order comes in three variants

• Lawful
• Neutral
• Chaotic

The different alignments:
So there are nine possible alignments which are each described below in more detail for your convenience. Feel free to provide your own alignment here if wanted, or provide an area of constructive criticism to this reference guide to make future usage by others easier to understand.

Lawful-Good:

Characters of this alignment believe that an orderly, and strong society with a moral government can help improve the lives of most people. When people respect their laws and try to help each other, society as a whole prospers. The good and lawful people aspire to those things that bring the greatest good to most people and will hurt them all least. The good and lawful people are known to keep their word.

Neutral-Good:

These characters believe that it is important that all forces are left balanced. The universe is vast and contains many creatures that each aspire to different goals, so keeping balance can be a very difficult challenge. Social structure itself has no innate value to these people, so long as order and balance are preserved. This is one of the reasons that people of this alignment often come from smaller areas.

Chaotic-Good:

Chaotic-Good characters are fierce individualists, distinguished by a propensity for kindness and generosity. They believe in all the virtues of goodness and righteousness, but make little to no use of laws and regulations. They are useless for those who "try to manipulate people and tell them what to do." Their actions are guided by their moral compass which, although good, is not always in perfect agreement with the rest of society.

Lawful-Neutral:

Characters of this alignment attach great importance to order and organization. They believe in a strong, well-ordered society, whether their government is tyrannical, fascist, communist, or democratic. Laws must be created and enforced. The advantages of organization and discipline far outweigh any moral choices or thoughts raised by their actions. An oath is binding them to their community, whatever the consequences. A fully impartial judge, or a soldier do not question that their orders are good examples of lawful neutral behavior.

Strict-Neutral

The strictly neutral characters believe in the supreme balance of forces and refuse to consider the actions as good or bad. The strict neutral endeavor is to avoid siding with the forces of good or evil, law or chaos. Their duty is to ensure that all these forces balance. The strictly neutral characters sometimes find themselves drawn involuntarily into alliances, or sometimes special groups. To a large extent, they take the side of the oppressed, sometimes changing sides when the previous loser of the never-ending battles becomes the winner. A strictly neutral druid might join the local barony to snub a tribe of evil gnolls, and withdraw or switch sides when the gnolls are about to be destroyed.

Chaotic-Neutral:

Chaotic neutral characters believe that nothing is or can be ordered, even their own actions. Depending on the guiding principle, they tend to follow their every whim that comes to mind. Good and evil are not taken into account when making a decision. It is extremely difficult to deal with the chaotic neutral character. These characters are known to bet anything close to them or everything they own on a dice-roll. They simply cannot be trusted by any means.

Lawful-Evil

These characters believe that structure and organization elevate those who deserve to govern. They generally prefer a clearly defined hierarchy between a master and a servant. If someone is suffering because of a law that benefits them, they do not care about the other party. These evil characters are loyal to obey laws for fear of being punished or having too much pride or power. They are known to honor all contracts or oaths that they have made, these characters are known to be very careful when they give their word, as most will die to keep it.

Neutral-Evil

Neutral evil characters are primarily concerned about themselves and their own progress. The only thing that interests them is to move forward. If there is a quick and easy method to obtain benefits, whether legal, questionable, or obviously illegal, they will use it. Although neutral evil characters do not have the individualistic attitude of chaotic characters of the more sinister, they often have no qualms about betraying their friends and companions for their own, personal interests. They usually base their allegiance on power and money, which is why they are generally easy to bribe.

Chaotic-Evil:

The chaotic evil characters are motivated by greed and personal pleasure. The strongest have the right to take what they want, and the lowest are exploited. When the chaotic evil characters get together, they are not motivated by a desire to cooperate, but rather to face powerful enemies. Only a strong leader capable of forcing his subordinates to obey the law can provide such a group. The command, based on raw power, a leader, he soon showed the slightest sign of weakness, may be replaced by anyone who can take his place by any method whatsoever.

Conclusion:

Alignment is not whether a character is good or evil, but is just how one is seen by others. Someone may have good intentions, but care more for themselves than others, and thus be classified as evil, whereas another person is completely selfless and would die for an old, diseased beggar's life. Another notable addition is that alignment is not necessarily permanent. An alignment can change when a person goes against their first selection. If your character is good, for example, and he commits numerous reprehensible acts, his level of goodness will decrease, and he will fall to either neutral or evil. The same applies to the other alignments.