Alignment
Alignment is a dubious concept in roleplaying which attracts as much controversy as that of levels. The idea is that each character should be classed as belonging to one of a set of alignments, such as Good and Evil, and should be expected to keep to their alignment. Those roleplayers who believe in the importance of characterisation think that this is a ludicrous restriction on playing interesting characters, while more adventure oriented gamers find it a convinient shorthand.
As with most standard concepts in roleplaying Alignment derives from Dungeons and Dragons, and many gamers will describe their characters in terms of AD&D alignments regardless of their system. These alignments are as follows:
| Lawful Good Belief in order and law above all else. |
Neutral Good A balance of order and chaos is important, but you must always be good before anything else. |
Chaotic Good Moral and conscientious but neither righteous nor fanatic. Belief in justice over law. |
| Lawful Neutral Strong government and order is vital. Orders should not be questioned nor disobeyed. |
True Neutral The need for a balance between order and chaos over-rides all other concerns about justice or compassion. |
Chaotic Neutral Good and evil are irrelevant, there is no such thing as order, and so all actions are equally valid, and equally irrelevant. |
| Lawful Evil Laws must be obeyed, but laws should be made to protect the individual and make sure that the better people profit and prosper. Laws are there to ensure your own benefits, if someone else suffers or gets hurt... to bad. | Neutral Evil Others are irrelevant compared to your own concerns, the object is to get ahead by the best means avilable. | Chaotic Evil Take what you want any way you can get it, and what the hell if you hurt or kill others, its more fun that way! |