But fun as it is, it's also a very confusing topic, partly due to a number of misconceptions people have. Hopefully some or all of this little guide will help some of you figure out the D&D Alignment system, though I'm sure many of you will disagree with what I say. First, we'll deal with the misconceptions.
Myth #1: Alignments are Restrictive
Many people try to play their alignment, rather than playing their character. If they're lawful good, they are lawful good all the time, even when it doesn't necessarily make sense or simply isn't believable. Your alignment should reflect your character, not the other way around. At the end of the day alignment is simply a tool for utilizing various core aspects of D&D spells, abilities and a few largely inconsequential pieces of lore. In other words, it's more for DM's than for you.
Doesn't it seem like a tool to help DM's figure out how to give plot hooks to their players? It does to me.
Anyway, point is, don't stress over alignment. Pick what seems best for you and move on. If you find yourself believing a different alignment would work best, contact a DM and inquire about a possible change. Explain your reasons and odds are you'll either be told to stay as you are or will get the desired change.
Barring cursed items in D&D that change alignment (which do not exist in Arelith), an alignment change should not affect how you play your character in any way. Alignment changes should be made in response to character growth, not the other way around.
Myth #2: Morality isn't Absolute
Many will say that in real life Absolute Morality is a cop-out, not real, dangerous, or a mix of the three. Good and Evil as objective forces seem impossible to define to us, but in D&D they are very real forces. It's important to keep this in mind as you consider D&D Morality.
That said, from an in-character standpoint, it is fully acceptable to adopt the sort of viewpoint that there's no such thing as Good or Evil. As was said before, outside of a few mechanics and bits of lore and magic, the alignment spectrum to me seems to have been made as a tool for DM's more than anything.
The Spectrum Made Easy
Moral Spectrum
Good: The Good of the Many
Neutral: The Good of the Few
Evil: The Good of the One
Ethical Spectrum:
Lawful: Honorbound
Neutral: Goal-Oriented
Chaos: Capricious
It's my personal opinion that people trying to be overly legalistic when it comes to alignments are those who have the most difficulty and cause the most problems with it. Simple, straightforward definitions are all that are required. Anything beyond these simple definitions are best left up to the player in question to help him flesh out his character, rather than be an added weight that he has to haul around.
However, I'll explain my reasoning for the above to give people a better idea of where I'm coming from.
MORAL
Good: Good characters take an active interest in the affairs of other people beyond their immediate friends and relatives. They will often happily go out of their way to assist others as needed, even should they have to make some personal sacrifice to do so. If you ask them for bus money, they will give you it and directions to where you're going and wish you luck in your upcoming job interview.
Neutral: The vast majority of humans are Neutral. While we like to think of our neighbors as "good," in D&D terms they're probably just Neutral. Only adventurers and special NPC classes tend to stray outside of the True Neutral alignment in D&D.
Neutrality is defined best as "minding your own business." While a neutral character isn't necessarily apathetic to the world around him, as that is closer to the mindset of an evil character, they tend to focus on their own circle of friends and family. When it comes to their own family, friends, even village, they can be quite generous and kind.
When confronted by a stranger in need, a neutral character will often help as necessary, though is hesitant to make a personal sacrifice and may even only grudgingly assist, or be quick to send them to someone else to get help, such as the temple priests.
Neutral characters are not necessarily neutral because they have a bit of an evil streak. That would make them evil. Rather than a balance between good and evil, it is best to view Neutral as its own distinct alignment with its own traits and habits.
Evil: The Good of the One, as I said above. Evil characters are more or less apathetic to the pain of others, though some delight in it. Evil goes above and beyond being "mean-spirited" or "greedy." Evil characters put themselves and their interests (which can incidentally include friends and family) above the wellbeing of others without a second thought. Even when they commit evil for the cause of family, they tend to view their family more as an achievement or possession than as an actual family.
While Good characters take an active interest in helping others, Evil characters are more likely to look to others as a source of advancement in their own goals. Even the less intelligent denizens of the "Forces of Evil," such as orcs and goblins, might look at wandering travellers as a source of coin and sadistic pleasure, while a Cyricist might look at the debtor as a potential tool to exact his God's revenge on the masses. In this, evil is the opposite of good in that while good will generally give, evil will generally take.
Evil doesn't always have to take, though. There are several taboo things one can do to become evil without necessarily harming others. The arts of necromancy, dabbling in the Lower Planes, and even incorporating the power of Aberrants are quick ways of warping your mind and becoming evil. Though down the line it's more or less likely you will seek to use this power, and it is unlikely you will do so in a kind or goodly manner, leaving you undeniably evil.
ETHICS
Law: Starting off the Ethical Spectrum is Law. The Law vs Chaos debate is a difficult one to figure out. The most important thing to note is that Law does not mean you follow the Law. There are Maskarran Monks for crying out loud. That said, nearly all Lawful characters attempt to obey the law. But for that matter most Neutral characters do, and a hefty portion of Chaotic characters are law-abiding. Your stance on the Ethical Spectrum has only a small bearing on how law-abiding your character is.
As such, a Lawful character is better defined as "Honorbound" or "Orderly." He lives by a code, in simplest terms. The code itself is up to the character, but it is usually rigidly defined and religiously followed. For a lawful character to be forced to break his code or otherwise catch himself slipping would be akin to a young teen who always does well in school and tries to behave his best being arrested. It would be devastating.
Neutral: So if Law means you follow a code religiously, Neutral means you have it but you kind of don't always follow it, right? Yeah? No. Like with the Moral Axis, Neutrality here should be treated as its own unique alignment as opposed to a simple blend of Law and Chaos. I treat it as "Goal-Oriented," which essentially means the same thing as a mix of Law and Chaos. They'll often use a variety of means and tactics to achieve a desired end, dependent on what their goal is and what their moral alignment is.
The easiest example of this I can give is an assassin who has no rules but is reliable, efficient and always gets the job done by whatever means necessary. Neutral characters are a mix of adaptability and dependability.
Chaos: Chaotic doesn't mean you're insane, unpredictable or a criminal, though many who are one or more of these things are chaotic. To say a character who is Chaotic is "all over the place" would be acceptable in many cases, however. Chaos is also used at to explain elven culture and aberrations, seen as "too complex or alien for mortal minds," though at the same time many elves are actually lawful, especially Sun Elves.
Chaotic characters can have honor and a code of conduct, though this is often looser than with a Lawful character, with a greater emphasis placed on their moral alignment than on this code. They are highly individualistic, prone to rebelling against orders and rules that conflict with their own beliefs, but also tend to be very open to change. To define "chaos" is difficult, as it is by definition disorderly and confusing, but in my mind a chaotic character is god of their own little world, determining right and wrong based on their own thoughts and feelings, contrasting the Lawful characters that live more strictly in the real world and its rules.
