Desciption of Alignments
Law, generally, holds to the precept that structure is
necessary to society, that it must be organized in order to survive. Lawful
individuals and ideas characters generally reflect the concepts of authority.
They are organized, capable of establishing and maintaining chains of command,
giving and taking orders. They will defend existing governments, even when
they are manifestly "wrong" by some other standard. They prefer strong
governments such as monarchy over weaker forms such as democracy, and believe
that order intrinsically permeates the universe. It is the antithesis of
Chaos.
Chaos, generally, believes in the rights of individuals.
Those who adhere to this belief prefer randomness, and shun order. While
some of these presume to give orders, chaotics will rarely take orders
except when a) unity is required temporarily to oppose some alternative
threat, b) some threat of force sufficient to enforce obedience accompanies
the order, or c) the order is something which the chaotic would do anyway,
or at least is something which it would not be sensible to disobey (e.g.,
if the command is issued with the intent that the chaotic will do the opposite).
Chaotics prefer anarchy over government, and adhere to the maxim that the
government which governs least governs best. Chaos is the antithesis of
Law.
Good is the belief in the promotion of the general well-being
of all creatures. It is, at times, necessary that those who oppose this
should be forcibly stopped, even killed; but those who are good will avoid
causing unnecessary suffering, and will only resort to violence when it is
necessary and justifiable. In monetary terms, good characters tend to spread
wealth around, and will only save money on the justification that the character
will ultimately be able to use the money to further good, such as by buying
a ship to pursue pirates, or building a keep or fortress to defend the local
peasants, or constructing a chapel to further the worship of good deities
and provide a focal point for charity. It is the antithesis of Evil.
Evil is characterized by selfishness and purpose. It
maintains that it is both important and correct that those who are worthy
should succeed, while the weak and unworthy perish. The efforts of good
to distribute wealth generally are viewed as cheating the truly deserving.
Evil characters do not regard other characters--not even other evil characters--as
worthy of respect. They are always willing to take advantage of another’s
misfortune. Any generous act, either by giving away treasure or by taking
risks on behalf of another, must be justified by some advantage to the character
taking the action. Evil characters often believe that good and neutral
characters are pretending they are not evil in order to fool others and
gain an advantage.Good and Evil are usually referred to as the "moral" dimension or axis of alignment, while Law and Chaos are referred to as the "ethical" dimension or axis. Thus neutralities may be distinguished as Moral Neutrality or Ethical Neutrality.
Neutral is the denial of the values of Law and Chaos,
or Good and Evil. A subject may be neutral in the moral dimension or the
ethical dimension or both; neutrality in both dimensions is called True
Neutral. Neutrality takes three essential forms: pragmatic, oblivious,
and druidic. The pragmatic neutral considers certain things to be merely
tools, to be used to promote other values. Thus, a Lawful (pragmatic) Neutral
believes that good and evil are both useful tools in the promotion of Law,
and a (pragmatic) Neutral Good believes that law and chaos may both be used
to promote Good. The oblivious neutral is unaware of the meaning of certain
values. Thus, a Chaotic Neutral could be so dedicated to the notion of
individual freedom, that good and evil are meaningless concepts used by others
to cloud the essential issue of independence, and a Neutral Evil could imagine
that ideas of Law and Chaos are merely the efforts of others to steal his
wealth or power. The Druidic Neutral believes that in the nature of the
world, certain things are or should be in balance, either by design or by
the continued conflicts of equal opposing forces. Thus, a (Druidic) Neutral
Good or a (Druidic) Neutral Evil would make an effort to balance structure
and freedom, and a Lawful (Druidic) Neutral or Chaotic (Druidic) Neutral
would similarly attempt to balance good and evil.