Alignment, A small window into personality
Tourdeman
Posted: Jun 28 2006, 11:53 AM


The Grand Creator


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Joined: 21-April 06



There are two spectrums two deal with in alignment, Law vs. Chaos and Good vs. Evil. Occasionally these two are mxed up both in and out of character, but there is a difference and being chaotic doesn't neccisarily make you evil.

Good and evil pretty much entails whether or not the character is compelled to help others or hurt others. Good creatures enjoy or feel compelled to help others; some may enjoy hurting others, but hurting those people is in the name of the greater good, such as Vampire slayer who delights in slaying the profane vampires because it helps the greater good. Evil creatures enjoy or feel compelled to hurt others; some may enjoy helping others, but helping those people is in the name of the hurting another group of people, such as the Minion who faithfuly serves his master because he knows his master will enslave people for him to torture. People often say that villians are 'in it for themselves', but those who are Neutral on the spectrum of Good vs. Evil are more so 'in it for themselves'. Nuetral creatures care about sustaining themselves before anything else, often times if they care about something else it is somethng like their family or Mate. Nuetral people aren't likely to risk their neck for the furtherment of good or evil without considerable incentive to do so, such as a family member being involved. Non-magical animals are always neutral even if it is because they are incapable of truly understanding matters of good and evil.

Where Good vs. Evil entails a character's intentions and goals, Law vs. Chaos entails how the character is willing to ahceive those goals. Lawful creatures favor sturucture and hold respect for those with legitimet authority. They rarely if ever tell lies and do their best to play by the rules. They often have serval disciplines that they need to ensure that they follow above all, such as the monk who refuses to hold a weapon despite how useful the weapon can be. Chaotic creatures care more for personal freedoms than laws and liable to break any laws that stand in the way of their personal freedoms. They often care less about telling the truth or keeping their word. The theif that sneaks into a store and steals all of the gold is chaotic in nature. Creatures that are nuetral in the spectrum of Law vs. Chaos don't really care about laws, but try to stay out of trouble with them. The reclusive wizard focuses on his studies and cares minimally about the extremes of law and chaos so long as they don't interfere with his studies is Nuetral in nature.


When presenting an alignment, Lawful vs. Chaotic is shown first and Good vs Evil is shown next. When both are Nuetral the creature is reffered to as True Neutral. See the below for further examples of the Nine possible alignments.



Lawful Good

A lawful good character has the commitment and discipline to oppose and fight evil relentlessly. They will tell the truth, keep their word and speak out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. A paladin who fights evil without mercy and who protects the innocent without hesitation is a lawful good character. Lawful good emphasizes on honor and compassion.

Lawful Neutral

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition or personal code direct to themselves. They may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard or they may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. A monk who follows their discipline without being swayed by the demands of those in need nor by the temptations of evil is a lawful neutral character. Lawful neutral means that you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

Lawful Evil

A lawful evil villain methodically takes what they want within the limits of their code of conduct. They care about tradition, loyalty and order, but not about freedom, dignity or life. They are known to break laws or promises, partly because they depend on order to protect themselves. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood and imagine that these compunctions put them about unprincipled thugs. The scheming baron who exploits his people is a lawful evil character. Lawful evil represents methodical, intentional evil.

Neutral Good

A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. They are devoted to helping others. They work with kings and magistrates but do not feel beholded to them. A cleric who helps others according to their needs is a neutral good character. Neutral good means doing what is good without bias toward or against order.

True Neutral

A true neutral character doesn't feel strongly one way or the other about good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. They think good is better than evil, after all, they'd rather have good neighbors and rules than evil ones, but their not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. A wizard who devotes themself to their art and is bored by the semantics of moral debate is true neutral. Some true neutral characters however, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law and chaos as dangerous extremes. They advocate neutrality as the most balanced road in the long run. Neutral means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.

Neutral Evil

A neutral evil villain does whatever they can get away with, shedding no tears for those they harm. They have no love of order and hold no illusion that following laws, traditions or codes would make them any more noble. However, they do not have the restless nature or love of conflict that chaotic evil villains have. The criminal who robs and murders to get what they want is neutral evil. Neutral evil represents evil without honor and without variation.

Chaotic Good

A chaotic good character acts as their conscience directs them with little regard for what others expect. They believe in goodness and right, but have little use for laws and regulations. They follow their own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society. A ranger who waylays the evil baron's tax collectors is a chaotic good character. Chaotic good combines a good heart with a free spirit.

Chaotic Neutral

A chaotic neutral character is an individualist, resents restrictions and challenges tradition. They do not intentionally promote anarchy, as that would require they be motivated either by good and the desire to liberate others or evil and a desire to make others suffer. A bard who wanders the land living by his wits is a chaotic neutral character. Chaotic neutral represents freedom both from society's restrictions and from a do-gooder's zeal. Though a character of this alignment is not totally random in their actions, they are not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.

Chaotic Evil

A chaotic evil character does whatever their greed, hatred and lust for destruction drive them to do. They are hot-tempered, vicious and unpredictable. Thankfully, their plans of haphazard and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized. Typically, chaotic evil people can only be made to work together by force and their leader lasts only as long as he can thwart attempts. The demented sorcerer pursuing mad schemes of vengeance, havoc, and destruction is chaotic evil. Chaotic evil represents the destruction not only of beauty and life but of the order on with beauty and life depend.
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