"Always consider alignment as a tool, not a straitjacket that restricts the character. Although alignment defines general attitudes, it certainly doesn't prevent a character from changing his beliefs, acting irrationally, or behaving out of character."
- 2nd Edition AD&D Player's Handbook
"Each alignment represents a broad range of personality types or personal philosophies,
so two lawful good characters can still be quite different from each other."
- D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook
 |
via Know Your Meme
What is your GM's alignment? |
When you are told, "Here are the nine things you can think. Have fun roleplaying!", then yes, that seems overly restrictive. But that view of the alignment system is overly simplistic (Ironic that accusations of being overly simplistic themselves come from an overly simplistic view. And doubly ironic that I am presenting such a view in an overly simplistic manner. But let's continue, before I am buried under a pile of my own straw-men). Alignment is really a two-axis spectrum broken down into nine parts for ease of use. Different viewpoints are possible within any given alignment, not just between two adjacent alignments. And it is possible for a Lawful Good character and a Chaotic Good character to see eye-to-eye on a situation, just as it is possible for two Lawful Neutral characters to have completely different takes on the same situation.
It is important to think of the alignment system as descriptive, not proscriptive. That is, the thoughts and actions of your character define your alignment, your alignment doesn't define the thoughts and actions of your character. The alignment written on your character sheet is a measure of your character's actions to this point, or perhaps represents the goal that your character strives for. Furthermore, a character's position on the alignment spectrum is fluid, not fixed. It is constantly shifting about as he or she makes new decisions, is confronted with new choices, and has moments of introspection. A Lawful Evil character may slip up with a few Chaotic (or even Good) acts before steering back to LE. Some of the best roleplaying moments can come from a character's journey through a change in alignment. After all, what is drama without character development?
Part of the problem of the perception of these alignments as restrictive or overly simplistic may rely on the words used to define them. As the Devil says in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, "The Law is a human institution." Laws are something we are all familiar with, and we know that laws change from country to country, or even city to city. Does a Lawful character always have to follow the laws? This is the kind of thinking that leads to the "It's illegal not to kill babies" situation I described above. Chaos, on the other hand, is unordered and random. One of the chief complaints I have seen leveled against the Chaotic Neutral alignment is that players use it as an excuse to act in random (or randumb) and illogical ways that derail the campaign. I've seen suggested linguistic fixes for this: characters with alignments like 'Social Good' or 'Honorable Neutral'. That kind of thing might work at your table, and that's fine, but I think that legacy is core to the D&D experience. The familiar Law-Chaos/Good-Evil alignment axis is one of the things that separates D&D from other tabletop fantasy RPGs, and it is so core to the brand that even people who have never played it know about it and associate it with D&D.
The idea of legacy being core to the D&D experience was so much a part of the design principles of 5th Edition that I am surprised the 5th Edition Player's Handbook doesn't talk more about alignment. Every edition has a different amount to say on the subject, from 1st Edition AD&D's half a page to 2nd Edition's whopping five pages (including an extensive and amusing description of a hypothetical party comprised of one character from each alignment trying to agree on the division of loot after a battle). Despite having such a rich history to draw on, 5th Edition devotes but a single sentence to each alignment, saying even less than 1st Edition does.
To take full advantage of D&D's alignment legacy and get a sense for what the alignments have stood for and how that has changed over time, I've taken a look at the Player's Handbooks of 1st, 2nd, 3.5, and 5th Editions (I don't own a 4th Edition book, but as that was the edition that decided to throw legacy out the window, I'm not sure how enlightening it would have been here).
In 1st Edition AD&D, we can see where the Chaotic Randumb alignment originates. 'Randomness' is a key word in every Chaotic alignment description, with Chaotic Neutral being the most amusing: "Above respect for life and good, or disregard for life and promotion of evil, the chaotic neutral places randomness and disorder. Good and evil are complementary balance arms. Neither are prefered, nor must either prevail, for ultimate chaos would then suffer." In the Lawful alignments, the need for 'law and order', 'discipline', and 'regulation' is emphasized. It is already hinting that Lawfulness goes beyond just the laws of man, and includes personal discipline and an appreciation for 'predictability' and 'the benefits of this society'. Good seems to be defined by an appreciation for the inherent value of life, truth, and beauty. Evil, in turn, is defined both by the absence of such an appreciation, and by the desire for power; Chaotic Evil characters seek to "bring themselves to positions of power, glory, and prestige in a system ruled by individual caprice and their own whims", and Lawful Evils "hope to impose their yoke upon the world", whereas Neutral Evils desire to bring 'maximum evilness' to the world. On an unrelated note, dibs on 'Maximum Evilness' as an album title.
The 2nd Edition Player's Handbook, not surprisingly, has the most in-depth discussions of alignment in any of the books. It describes the Law-Chaos axis as representative of a character's relationship to society, with more Lawful characters seeing the inherent value in societal structures - no matter how imperfect - and Chaotics valuing personal freedom or selfishness. Lawful philosophers, it says, believe that Lawfulness is an inherent property of the universe, whereas Chaotic philosophers believe events are not preordained and are largely unrelated to each other.
 |
Jurassic Park - Universal Pictures
"Ch-Chaotician, chaotician, actually!" |
2nd Edition's philosophical approach to alignment provides a lot of fodder for approaching the subject, especially in defining the relationship of the Law-Chaos axis with society. However, this is limiting in its own way, especially in its definition of neutrality as a struggle to maintain balance between disparate forces. The main problem here is that there is little room for a character that just doesn't care about philosophy. True Neutrals, apparently, are morally opposed to anyone getting ahead, which leads to this strange description:
To a great extent, they are compelled to side with the underdog in any given situation, sometimes even changing sides as the previous loser becomes the winner. A true neutral druid might join the local barony to put down a tribe of evil gnolls, only to drop out or switch sides when the gnolls were brought to the brink of destruction. [...] Clearly, there are very few true neutral characters in the world.
Despite emphasizing the fluid nature of alignments (see quote at the top of the page), and providing an excellent discussion of what the alignment axes mean, 2nd Edition's descriptions of the individual alignments tend toward extremes, with the result that some of the alignments seem unrealistic and many are incompatible with an adventuring group. Take the description of Chaotic Neutrals:
Chaotic neutral characters believe that there is no order to anything, including their own actions. With this as a guiding principle, they tend to follow whatever whim strikes them at the moment. [...] Chaotic neutral characters are extremely difficult to deal with. Such characters have been known to cheerfully and for no apparent purpose gamble away everything they have on the roll of a single die. They are almost totally unreliable. In fact, the only reliable thing about them is that they cannot be relied upon! This alignment is perhaps the most difficult to play. Lunatics and madmen tend toward chaotic neutral behavior.
Finally, an alignment for lunatics and madmen! Clearly, the philosophical approach to alignment has (unnecessarily) created characters that are living embodiments of philosophical principles. This is fine for Angels, Demons, and other outsiders from the various aligned planes, but not so much for actual characters.
The 3.5 Player's Handbook moves to a more pluralistic view of the alignments. In its discussion of the Good-Evil axis, it says:
'Good' implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.
'Evil' implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of a sense of duty to some evil deity or master.
Of the Law-Chaos axis:
'Law' implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include close-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, judgmentalness, and a lack of adaptability. Those who consciously promote lawfulness say that only lawful behavior creates a society in which people can depend on each other and make the right decisions in full confidence that others will act as they should.
'Chaos' implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility. Those who promote chaotic behavior say that only unfettered personal freedom allows people to express themselves fully and lets society benefit from the potential that its individuals have within them.
What results is a mature, realistic, and nuanced approach to the alignments. Overly simplistic it is not, nor is it restrictive. As an added bonus, 3.5 attempts to put a stop to the Chaotic Random alignment by redefining Chaotic Neutral to be more about being a free spirit. In fact, it specifically says, "He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it." Yay, now it's not an alignment exclusively for crazy people!
Taking lessons from my delve into the history and evolution of the alignment system, I've put together four descriptions of potential character outlooks for each possible alignment. Some of them are overtly philosophical, others are more naturalistic. My goal was to show that each alignment could contain multiple - sometimes competing - moral outlooks on the world, and that members of different alignments might often be able to find something to agree on. You may notice that one of the Neutral Good ones sounds like a modern libertarian, and another sounds like a modern socialist. That's because I thought it would be funny (but also apt) to show how two competing political ideologies could feasibly fit within the same alignment. And also because I was having trouble coming up with more Neutral Good descriptions.
LAWFUL GOOD
"If I were assured of your eventual destruction I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept my own."
- Sherlock Holmes (LG Human Expert) to James Moriarty (NE Human Expert/Rogue)
You have a strong moral code which you believe serves the
Greater Good. There are no moral
shortcuts - it may be expedient to steal for the benefit of the poor, or to
kill a helpless enemy who has proven himself to be Evil, but that would make
you little better than those whom you fight.
You are dependable and trustworthy, and always keep your word, even if
it might harm you in the short term - better that than dishonor.
The laws of men are inherently corrupt. The only law that matters is divine Law,
handed down by your god to the people, and manifested in you. Only through strict adherence to the Law,
casting aside all personal desires, can the Greater Good be served.
All who wish to benefit from society must sacrifice some
of their freedoms in the name of security.
You believe that true Good is best fostered by a functioning society,
and society is dependent on obeying the laws.
Violating the law, even with good intent, harms the fabric of society
and opens the way for Chaos to take root, and Chaos breeds Evil. This means that sometimes people fall through
the cracks, but even a floor with cracks in it is better than a gaping
pit. If a law does more harm than good,
or if someone attempts to twist the law for Evil purposes, it is your duty to
work to change things for the better - within legal means, of course.
You have high ideals and a good heart. You try to follow that path you have set out
for yourself as best as you can. Sure,
you may slip here and there, but you are only mortal, after all. In the end, it is the striving for these ideals that is important.
NEUTRAL GOOD
"Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."
- Gandalf the Grey (NG Maia Wizard)
You try to strike a balance between Law and Chaos, for
each has its place in ensuring the Greater Good. A wise lord will craft laws for the benefit
of his subjects, and here you recognize the value of obedience to the law. But a crafty lord might use the law to his
own ends at the expense of the general well-being, in which case it is your
duty to fight back, championing freedom over obedience. After all, a law is only as Good as those who
carry it out.
You believe freedom is essential to foster goodness,
because true good can only stem from free will.
But freedom is only secure if it is enshrined in law. You believe that the greatest good can be
achieved through the minimum amount of law required to ensure the maximum
amount of freedom.
You believe the society that bests serves the Greater
Good is a level society. The bounties of
nature and civilization belong to everybody equally. Too strict of an adherence to law can breed
corruption, but too little can result in chaos and an every-man-for-himself
mentality. Rather, you believe people
should work for the betterment of all, and only this can ensure an equitable
distribution of resources, and therefore, a Good society.
Honor is important, but it can only get you so far. You would lie, cheat, and steal if it served
the fight against true Evil, but only if there were no better option. What good is honor if you are dead? Better to live and keep fighting for
Good.
CHAOTIC GOOD
"I'll organize a revolt, exact a death for a death, and I'll never rest until every Saxon in this shire can stand up free men, and strike a blow for Richard and England."
- Robin Hood (CG Human Ranger/Rogue)
You believe in following your conscience above all
else. Laws be damned, if you have a
chance to do the right thing, you’ll do it!
If that means stealing bread to feed the poor, that’s just fine by
you. Laws are written for the benefit of
those who write the laws, not with society’s health in mind. The second a law gets in the way of the
Greater Good, you’ll happily break it.
You think society just gets in the way of Goodness. As a true lover of freedom, you prefer to
make your own life, and as a Good person, you use that freedom to help
others. Maybe you kill the king’s deer
to feed a poor family. Maybe you patrol
the woods and help those in need. Heck,
maybe you just devote your life to battling the forces of Evil in your own
individual way.
You actively thwart the law for the sheer joy of it. That doesn’t make you a bad person, just a
clever one. You’re a rogue with a heart
of gold; you’d never steal from the needy, or kill someone who didn’t deserve
it. But if you get the opportunity,
you’d definitely kill the greedy baron and his tax-collector stooges. Plus you’d give, say, 10% of the loot to
charity.
You are prone to follow whims and flights of fancy, which
makes some people call you unreliable.
Still, you are Good at heart. You
love to do things to brighten up peoples’ days - random acts of kindness are
your bread and butter. Sure, maybe you
got kicked out of that inn when you tried to pay your tab with a song, but you
know if they had actually let you sing it they would have been convinced.
LAWFUL NEUTRAL
"A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward."
- Stannis Baratheon (LN Human Fighter)
You believe that Law trumps either Good or Evil. The Law is the highest authority in the
land. Only strict adherence to the Law
makes society safe for those living within it, and you look with equal disdain
on those who steal for sustenance and those who murder for fun. You know that Chaos, not Evil, is the
greatest threat to the world, for without order, all things fall apart.
You cling to tradition like a shipwrecked man clings to a
plank of wood. Tradition shaped our
society, and to abandon it would be to become no better than the beasts of the
forest. The new king may think his
so-called reforms will benefit the
realm, but you know better; you will keep on doing things the way you always
have, just as your father before you and his father before him, down to the
dawn of time.
Property, gold, health, and love are all fleeting. In the end, all you really have is your
honor. You always keep your word to
others and to yourself. A promise from
you is better than gold. You stick to
your principles above all else, for better or worse, and would gladly die to
defend them. At least people will
remember you as honorable.
The only Law is the Law of Nature - survival of the
fittest. People are just another kind of
animal, and they live or die just the same.
Evil and Good are just words people use to justify their own
actions. To you, the death of a king at
the hands of a usurper is no more a tragedy than the death of a rabbit in the
jaws of a wolf. If you see some men
feasting while others starve, you recognize that it is only because some are
better at finding food than others.
TRUE NEUTRAL
"The Dude abides."
- The Dude (N Human Commoner)
You see the ultimate goal of the universe is a balance of
forces - Good and Evil, Law and Chaos.
You strive to embody that balance in your own life and to maintain it in
the world at large. You do not want to
see the forces of Good triumph over the forces of Evil, or the forces of Chaos
destroy the forces of Law; each side must have its fair share of victories and
losses, and none must grow more powerful than the other. You seek harmony and balance in all things,
and attempt to guide others along a ‘middle path’, avoiding partisanship and
conflict.
Good and Evil, Law and Chaos… you just want to be left
alone. You have no particular interest
in any of the sides. If you had to
choose who to support, you would probably err on the side of Good, just because
they are slightly less likely to utterly destroy your way of life.
You make use of the law when it is convenient, as long as
it ensures that you get what you believe is your due. When the law stands in your way, you champion
radical freedom. Relying equally on Law
and Chaos is the only way to get ahead in this world.
You see nature as the model for the world, rejecting most
conceptions of Good, Evil, Law, or Chaos.
All that happens, happens, regardless of any moral judgments. Only the most extreme examples might you feel
a moral compulsion to intervene; a Lawful Good dictator imposing his morality
on you and your friends, or a Chaotic Evil demon attempting to destroy your way
of life. In most cases, however, natural
forces tend to keep things in a fairly good balance.
CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
"Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing."
- Conan (CN Human Fighter/Barbarian/Rogue)
You are a free spirit, throwing caution to the wind and living a life of simple needs and quick solutions. You take what life gives you and try to make the best of it. You are not afraid to take risks - in fact, you relish in them. The bigger the risk you take, the bigger the party you throw afterwards! Your ultimate life goal is to leave a story on everyone’s lips and a bastard in every town.
Some would describe you as ‘selfish’. You prefer the term ‘rugged
individualist’. You do whatever you
want, whenever you want, however you want, with little thought to how your
actions might affect others. After all,
a life lived entirely for yourself is a life without regrets.
You are a true agent of Chaos, sowing discord and
conflict wherever you can. Good and Evil
are just labels, and the Law is made to be broken. You are an equal opportunity anarchist,
equally willing to bring down a paladin order, a merchants’ guild, or an evil
cult, given the chance. The law of
entropy dictates that all things must eventually fall apart - you just want to
speed up the process.
You steal because you can. You start fights because they are funny to
watch. You lie compulsively. Why?
Because it’s fun.
LAWFUL EVIL
"The rules of drama to which you subscribe as a bard tell us that such tyrannies can exist--indeed, MUST exist-- and persist long enough that no one realistically thinks that they can be defeated. Else, where's the drama in a hero opposing them? And if such kingdoms are necessary, why shouldn't I rule one?"
- General Tarquin (LE Human Fighter)
You work within the laws of society and twist them to
your own benefit. You have an innate
ability to carve out a position of comfort for yourself, often at the expense
of others, through your carefully worded deals and deft manipulation of the
rules. It matters not if hundreds or
even thousands of others have to suffer to further your aims.
You have a strong compulsion to do Evil, usually by
subjugating or harming others.
Nevertheless, you have a strong moral code and constantly couch your
heinous deeds in some twisted justification.
You would never harm the truly innocent, but then again, who is really
innocent these days?
You know that the world would be so much better if only
everyone else would always do what you said and thought how you thought. You could rule them all, and no one could
question you when you had everyone who annoys you executed.
Tradition is the be-all and end-all, the defining aspect
of your morality and your society. Those
who violate your traditional beliefs (and let’s be honest: almost no one is
living by the traditions you hold so dear) must be brought into line by
force. You rejoice in the suffering of
those who spurn your traditions, for they are not True Believers, and you
believe that their sinful lives are worthless.
[Edit: I neglected to include a LE example that would fit, say, an evil underling. You know, stormtroopers, hobgoblins, Hydra agents, and the like. Keep in mind that that's an option, too.]
[Edit: I neglected to include a LE example that would fit, say, an evil underling. You know, stormtroopers, hobgoblins, Hydra agents, and the like. Keep in mind that that's an option, too.]
NEUTRAL EVIL
"Now, I don’t care to discuss the alleged complaints American Indians have against this country. I believe, with good reason, the most unsympathetic Hollywood portrayal of Indians and what they did to the white man. They had no right to a country merely because they were born here and then acted like savages."
- Ayn Rand (NE Human Commoner)
You are committed to doing Evil for Evil’s sake. Tyrants are constrained by their own laws and
strange morality, and Chaotic Evil types put too much emphasis on destruction
and carnage. You pity them, for they are
missing out on the pure joy of an Evil act.
Evil should not simply be a means to an end; Evil is its own end.
Everything is justifiable if it is done to help yourself
or your friends. You would feel no
compunctions about murdering those who got in your way, if things came to
that. You would prefer to keep things a
little more subtle, however. After all,
being openly Evil is a good way to get killed by a paladin. Better to accumulate more power first.
Nature is harsh, and so are you. She is a cruel mistress, who kills at random
and without mercy. You see the natural
beauty of death, and do not fear it.
Civilization, and those individuals who make it up, are outside of nature. Their cities, their ships, their temples,
their castles - all must be destroyed for Nature to once again take its
place.
Death takes us all, and you are its agent. You act without morality, without mercy,
without thought, delivering the cherished gift of death to all who meet your blade.
CHAOTIC EVIL
"All I wanted was to enslave a destroyed universe of tortured dead."
- Lord Katarakis IX (CE Human ???)
You have no respect for life or beauty. Only power is worth admiring. You will follow the most powerful as long as
they let you vent your anger through mindless destruction and the spilling of
blood, but you will always be looking for the opportunity to take power
yourself. When that day comes, you will
unleash a plague of mindless violence the likes of which the world has never
seen! Mua-ha-ha-ha!
The world is cruel.
Law and society are a joke, and the so-called ‘do-gooders’ have only
made things worse for you. You need to walk
your own path, outside of society’s pointless laws. You will do whatever it takes to punish those
who have wronged you.
You believe that you are the only person who really
matters, and you show it by constantly belittling everyone around you. You take every opportunity to break the rules
to make life easier for yourself, or just because it is funny. Hurting other people makes you feel better
about yourself.
You live life on the edge, always striving for greater
excitement. Facing death gets your heart
racing, but the real thrill comes from killing.
The intense pleasure of ending a life is something not many others understand. Fortunately, your friends are adventurers,
and they kill things for a living. They
put up with your eccentricities because you are so valuable in battle. You are so
very good at killing. Still, you fear
that they would reject you if they knew the true depths of your soul. If they ever did, you might have to kill them
too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Far from being restrictive or overly simplistic, the alignment system, when correctly employed, can be very nuanced and allow for a wide breadth of personality types, philosophical viewpoints, and play styles. It must always be remembered - as has been repeated from edition to edition - that your character's alignment is not a straitjacket. Rather, it is a simple tool to describe your character's moral outlook and relationship to society.
Now, those of you who are still reading, think of a random person (real or fictional) that you know a lot about. Think of their words and their actions, their ideals and their motivations. Try to figure out where on the alignment spectrum they might fall. You may find several different alignments that seem to fit. Now try it on yourself.
-your NG human d20 despot
Ugh: Stannis
ReplyDelete