Alignment

What Does Your Alignment Mean?

Good – Evil

Good implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings. Good characters make personal sacrifices to help others.

Evil implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient or if it can be set up. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of duty to some evil deity or master.

People who are neutral with respect to good and evil have compunctions against killing the innocent but lack the commitment to make sacrifices to protect or help others. Neutral people are committed to others by personal relationships.

Lawful – Chaotic

Law implies honor, trustworthiness, obedience to authority, and reliability. On the downside, lawfulness can include closed-mindedness, reactionary adherence to tradition, acting judgmentally, and a lack of adaptability. Those who consciously promote lawfulness say that only lawful behavior creates a society in which people can depend on each other and make the right decisions in full confidence that others will act as they should.

Chaos implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment towards legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility. Those who promote chaotic behavior say that only unfettered personal freedom allows people to express themselves fully and lets society benefit from the potential that its individuals have within them.

Someone who is neutral with respect to law and chaos has a normal respect for authority and feels neither a compulsion to obey nor a compulsion to rebel. They are honest but can be tempted into lying or deceiving others.

What Happens When You Act Contrary to Alignment

1. You start with 0 guilt points.
2. Make a Will save, DC = (guilt + 1) x 10.
3. If you fail your Will save, increase your guilt by one.

Example: Samir, who’s Chaotic Neutral, sees someone dumping trash in a safe, but legally prohibited, area. He tracks the person down, subdues him, and turns him in to the authorities. This is very lawful behavior, so Samir has to make a Will save. He has 0 guilt points, so his DC is (0+1) x 10 = 10. He gets a 6, failing his Will save, so his guilt goes up to 1. The next time, he’ll face a DC 20 ((1+1)x10) Will save.

1. Your guilt score is a misc. penalty on all of your saving rolls, reflecting your growing subconscious feeling that you deserve to be punished.
2. Making significant alignment-oriented achievements will erase guilt points.
3. If you accumulate more than 4 guilt points, your alignment shifts.