Alignments

Character alignment is a system of two axes that come together to categorize the basic ethico-moral perspectives various people, creatures, and groups. The horizontal axis of this system is based on the target's ethical perspective (lawful versus chaotic) and the vertical axis is based on the target's moral compulsions (good versus evil). This system originated in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game and has since been adopted as a staple for most fantasy- or medieval-style role-playing communities.

The nine alignments can be represented in a grid, as follows:

Ethics
The precepts of law and chaos which form the foundation of the ethical axis predate those of good and evil in the world's history. A common misunderstanding of this axis is that it refers to literal written law; however, a lawful alignment does not necessarily mean that a character obeys a region's laws, nor does a chaotic alignment necessarily mean that a character disobeys a region's laws. Broken down, the three core ethical positions can be defined as follows:


 * Law (or a Lawful alignment) indicates an individual or group's philosophical belief that everything in the world should or does follow a set order, and that obeying rules, regulations, or other understood norms is the natural way of life. Usually, those who are lawful try to be honest, follow rules, and have respect for living things. They are usually known for staying true to their promises (or for reliably breaking them), and generally try obey laws as long as they do not conflict with moral alignment. As a general rule, if a choice must be made to benefit either an entire group or a single individual, this character will most likely chose the group. Sacrificing the few (whether that be a few people, a few luxuries, a few freedoms, etc) for the greater good of the many is a key behavior to a lawful character. Lawful behavior often goes very well with a character aligned as good.


 * Overall, law implies that a character or group has honor, trustworthiness, obedience, and reliability, but on the downside it can also include closed-mindedness, blind tradition, judgment, and inflexibility or a lack of adaptability. Conscious advocates of lawfulness claim that lawful behavior is the only way to create a happy, coexistant society where those within can be trusted to make the right decisions.


 * Chaos (or a Chaotic alignment) is the opposite of the lawful alignment. It highlights the philosophical belief that life is random and that the forces of chance and luck are the determining factors of the universe. All events are accidental and there is no grand plan for the world that determines fate or what is right; nothing can truly be predicted. For those of this alignment, laws are made to be broken so long as they can be gotten away with, and loyalty to things like honesty or promise is only so deep as which currently provides the most usefulness or practicality to the situation. For a chaotic creature, the individual is the most important thing in the world. Selfishness is advantageous, whether it be taking more than a share of bread or stepping on others to climb up a ladder to success. Chaotics typically act on sudden impulse, desire, and whim, and flourish with creativity. These characters can rarely be trusted and have behavior which is difficult to predict, in contrast with the lawful character who is reliably one way or the other. These characters often believe in the power of luck. Chaotic behavior often goes very well with a character aligned as evil.


 * Overall, chaos implies that a character or group has adaptability, flexibility, variation, creativity, freedom, and open-mindedness, but on the downside it can also encourage resentment of authority, irresponsibility, recklessness, and arbitrary decisions or actions. Advocates of chaotic behavior say that raw personal liberation is the only route to full, free expression, which in turn allows society to benefit from the unhindered potential that all individuals hold within.


 * Neutrality (or a Neutral alignment) is the philosophical belief that the world is split (often but not always evenly) between lawful and chaotic forces. To these characters, to much of either of these forces upsets the balance of the world. This does not necessarily mean that a neutral character would be preaching about universal balance, but rather would find error in any force that aligned too far to either extreme. For a character who is ethically neutral, the individual is important, but there is also merit to supporting the group; it's important and beneficial for the two to work symbiotically. Often a neutral creature is most interested in survival. He believes in his own intuitions and skills before he believes in luck, but is not opposed to having a little faith. The golden rule about how to treat others rings strongly with neutrality and will join a group most often if to do so is in his own best interest, but generally lacks much enthusiasm when it comes to contributing to the effort unless there is a foreseeable benefit to that effort. Neutral behavior can go with good or evil, or neither, depending on the circumstances of its execution.


 * Overall, neutrality implies that a character or group has a normal respect for authority but does not feel strong obligations to rules nor does he have a burning urge to rebel against normalcy. They are generally honest, but can be tempted into lies or deception with the right motivation.

Morals
The conflict between the forces of good and evil is a popular theme in fantasy fiction. Protagonists of stories or games are often aligned as good, while antagonists are often aligned as evil, but it is not unheard of for perspective to change and for evil characters to be painted in sympathetic or admirable light. A common misunderstanding of this axis is that all heroes are necessarily good and all villains are necessarily evil. Broken down, the three core moral positions can be defined as follows:


 * Good implies that a character or group acts out of altruism, respect for life (though personal interpretation of what life is can be flexible), and concern for the dignity of sentience. Such characters can usually be relied on to make personal sacrifice of some kind in the interest of helping others even when to do so leaves them at a personal loss. Paladins, altruistic heroes, and holy creatures such as angels (or in our case, icyene) are usually expected to fit into this alignment.


 * Evil implies that a character or group acts in the interest of harming, subjugating, destroying, or killing other beings and things. Some evil creatures have a complete lack of sympathy or humanity and kill without thought or regret simply if to do so somehow improves their personal situation. Others, however, take an active interest in acts that fall into this alignment, killing for the sake of entertainment or out of subservience to a master who commands such acts, be that master an actual individual or the ideals of a transcendant being. Dasterdly villains and violent criminals are most reliably considered evil, and the same goes for naturally evil creatures such as demons and most forms of undead.


 * Neutral implies that a character or group acts on a line between the two extremes of this axis; such an individual generally has impulses against the slaughter of innocent, but at the same time can rarely be expected to sacrifice personal status or benefit purely for the greater good. Such a character would most likely avoid causing death to respectable sentient beings, but might also hunt down and kill an enemy if to do so would mean protecting himself or a known individual of relevance (like a loved one or the last living person to hear the location of a valuable treasure). Animals are most often considered neutral even when they attack innocent bystanders because their impulses are based not on intelligent morality but on natural survival instinct.

Possible Alignments
Any individual or group, be it person, creature, deity, organization, religion, or otherwise, can have one of the nine alignments. It is safe to say that such a unit can only have one alignment at any given time, and that alignments only change either over time or after a critical perspective-changing event. It would most likely inaccurate to claim that a character "is sometimes lawful neutral and other times is chaotic good," as alignments describe a unit's core personal ethico-moral makeup, and not that unit's current or temporary compulsions.

Tendencies


