This is where the D&D alignment system comes together; when you combine the moral stance of a character with the approach he takes to his morality, you can make a lot of statements about how he will tend to act. Even within a specific alignment, there can be substantial difference between people, with neither necessarily "more aligned" than the other; the D&D system allows for a broad range of conflicting opinions.
Lawful Good characters believe that law, order, and stability are the best path to achieving the ends of Good. They see stability as providing a foundation on which people can build plans for their futures, and thus as providing people with the best chance of eventual happiness. They may accept strict laws, if they believe these to be necessary; for instance a Lawful Good culture could have capital punishment for extreme crimes. (The crimes must generally be extreme, or this would violate the principle of respect for life. However, a sufficiently heinous crime can, in the D&D system, constitute sufficient reason for a Good character to condone execution.) However, they will not accept clear failures of their legal system; a legal system in a Lawful Good culture will tend to favor the rights of the accused, to prevent innocents from coming to harm.
Lawful Good characters tend to have a strong set of personal moral rules, and rely on these for moral judgements; they may do things that they are not very comfortable with, if the moral rules require them. Thus, a Lawful Good soldier will be likely to obey the orders of a superior, even if he has concerns about their moral quality, because he has already committed to obedience.
Lawful Neutral characters may be Neutral for a number of reasons. Some may be inclined towards Good, but not committed to it. Others may be trying to preserve a balance. Lawful Neutral characters are more willing than Lawful Good ones to accept harsh punishments for minor crimes; the stability of the system is more important to them than the quality of life under it, or the quality of the results. They are more willing to dismiss the suffering or indignities inflicted on "criminals" or other people that they can isolate from themselves, but they will tend to resist obvious miscarriages of justice.
Lawful Neutral characters tend to have strong personal moral rules, but these rules need not reflect the ideals of Good very well. They are more likely to accept vengance, punishment, and preemptive action than Lawful Good characters are.
Lawful Evil characters support a strong system of laws because it provides them with a consistent framework in which to build their own power and achieve their own ends. They may favor harsh punishments for trivial infractions, or may prefer a system which encourages "minor" crimes, because they feel they can take advantage of these. Whatever the laws are, though, Lawful Evil creatures will tend to follow them, and will certainly maintain the appearance of following such laws. They will have no compunctions about doing harm that is not illegal.
Lawful Evil characters may have a strong code of honor, but will generally view it only as a means to ensure that others are obligated to treat them similarly.
Neutral Good characters are quite willing to have a basic framework of law, but will feel comfortable violating laws when the results of a given law are clearly in conflict with personal ideals. They will twist or bend laws, or simply ignore them, when their ideals compell them, but will generally follow "Good" laws without complaint.
Neutral Good characters tend to have principles, rather than a specific moral code. A Neutral Good character is more likely to evaluate an action in terms of its expected result, than in terms of conformance to a specific set of rules.
Neutral characters may simply be unaligned; we do not discuss those here. Characters who are of true neutral alignment may well be simply characters who have the inclinations of Neutral Good, but not the committment to them. They may be somewhat selfish at times, but will shy from lasting harm to innocents.
Neutral evil characters are unconstrained by a firm sense of honor, free from compunctions, but willing and able to take advantage of social structures when these suit their needs. They are the precise opposite of Neutral Good characters. They will use a social system to their advantage, but have no committment to a code of honor. Some will pretend to one to gain advantage, however.
Chaotic Good characters believe that a formal structure of morals or law will primarily harm people, and restrict their freedom. They believe that freedom is of paramount importance. They do not have formal sets of moral rules; they pursue good ends by whatever means are at hand. (Of course, those means must not be excessive or inappropriate; this would defeat the purpose.) They will oppose social institutions or structures that limit freedom, especially if they limit happiness.
Chaotic Neutral characters are strongly independant. They don't care much for Good or Evil, and, while they will avoid harming innocents, they will generally make no strong effort to help. They will sometimes act in a benevolent way, but it will be as much because of personal mood as because of any moral principle. They dislike law and society, but will not try to overthrow it; that would require a belief in an end, which would imply Good or Evil.
A classic psychotic villain, the Chaotic Evil character will do whatever strikes him as useful to his ends. He will kill or maim if it suits his needs. If he is sadistic, he will likely kill great numbers of people, but if he isn't, he will graciously only kill those that inconvenience or annoy him. He will make sincere-sounding promises if it suits his needs, but will keep them only when it is convenient or necessary to his goals. He views the world as a convenience to him, and will oppose any social order that might keep him from pursuing his goals.
Back to the Alignment Page.
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