Alignment

Alignment is the compass of your character's soul — their stance on the great questions of law and chaos, and of good and evil. It is not a box that traps you, but a description of the person you have chosen to be, and a promise to the table about how you mean to behave.

The two axes

Alignment runs on two lines that cross to make nine positions.

• Law vs chaos — the line of order. Law values structure, tradition, authority, and predictability; chaos values freedom, individuality, whim, and flexibility; neutrality sits between, seeking balance or simply uncommitted.
• Good vs evil — the line of heart. Good is altruism: helping others, protecting the helpless, willing to sacrifice for the common good. Evil is selfishness: harming others, taking for personal gain, caring for none but oneself. Neutrality walks between.

Every alignment is one point on these two lines — a lawful answer and a good one, a chaotic answer and an evil one, and so on through all nine.

The nine positions

• Lawful Good — the Crusader. Order and justice working together. The paladin's alignment: honor the law, protect the innocent, build the good society through the rules. Keep your word, fight for what is right, and never take the easy cruelty.
• Neutral Good — the Benefactor. Good comes first; the law is a tool, not a master. Do what genuinely helps people, and break the unjust law gladly when that is what mercy requires. The ranger and the healer live here.
• Chaotic Good — the Rebel. Freedom and conscience before all. Act on your heart, defy the tyrant, help the oppressed whatever the rules say. Robin Hood is your patron. Unpredictable, impulsive — but unmistakably good.
• Lawful Neutral — the Judge. Order is paramount, above even mercy and above self. Follow the code, keep the promise, maintain the tradition, whatever the outcome for good or evil. The monk and the incorruptible officer stand here.
• True Neutral — the Balancer. Seek equilibrium. Avoid the extremes of every axis; be pragmatic, see all sides, and act to keep the scales level. The druid is bound to this path, which is a position of real conviction, not cowardice.
• Chaotic Neutral — the Free Spirit. Freedom is all, with no allegiance to good or evil as such. Follow the whim, resent control, honor no obligation you did not choose. Unpredictable to allies and enemies alike.
• Lawful Evil — the Dominator. Use order and tradition for your own rise. Keep your own code of honor, exploit the rules, and let hierarchy serve your ambition. The tyrant, the corrupt official, the crime lord with principles.
• Neutral Evil — the Malefactor. Pure self-interest, unencumbered by law or scruple. Do whatever benefits you, betray whenever it pays, and hold no loyalty beyond usefulness. The amoral opportunist with no line they will not cross for gain.
• Chaotic Evil — the Destroyer. No rules, no limits, no mercy. Act on the violent impulse, cause suffering for its own pleasure, and tear down whatever you cannot own. The demon and the madman; rarely a hero, and rarely long-lived.

How alignment plays

Alignment matters most in two places.

Choosing a class. Some callings demand an alignment and the world enforces it. A paladin must be Lawful Good, a druid True Neutral, a ranger any good alignment — and a priest's alignment should match their deity's. If you wander from your calling's code, the powers of that calling may withdraw their gifts.

Playing consistently. Alignment is a guideline, not a straitjacket. Good people make mistakes; evil people can be charming; nobody is flawless. What matters is that your character's actions generally match their stated alignment, and that when they deliberately and repeatedly betray it, the world takes notice.

Changing alignment

Your moral center can drift with your story, through roleplay, magical influence, or the referee's judgment on your deeds. A change of heart is a story beat — but it has teeth. A paladin who falls from Lawful Good loses all paladin powers and becomes a fighter. A cleric may lose their god's spells for defying them; a ranger may lose their abilities; others may pay an experience penalty. Shifting alignment is not a rewrite of your sheet for convenience; it is a judgment the world passes on who you have actually become.

Play the conscience, not the label

The best characters have alignment as a background hum, not a script. A lawful good hero can hesitate, can fail, can doubt — and is all the more moving for it. An evil villain can love their mother and still be a monster. Write your alignment on the sheet as an honest answer to who you intend to be, then play the person underneath the label. The label should follow your deeds, not the other way around.