Alignment has always been a part of Dungeons & Dragons. Originally in Basic and First edition, the alignments were important because of the focus on the eternal struggle of Law vs. Chaos in the multiverse.
The fifth edition Player’s Handbook discusses alignment in Chapter 4. Essentially it reads: A typical creature in the game world has an alignment, which broadly describes its moral and personal attitudes. Alignment is a combination of two factors: one identifies morality (good, evil, or neutral), and the other describes attitudes toward society and order (lawful, chaotic, or neutral). Thus, nine distinct alignments define the possible combinations.“
Vecna: Eve of Ruin focuses on the “old school” struggle of Chaos vs. Law, alignments will come into play during the campaign. Usually as a DM, alignment only comes into play if you’re playing a character where alignment “matters” like a cleric of paladin. So it’s important for me, as DM, to discuss the importance of alignment in the campaign.
As an example, maybe your characters are fighting their way through a temple dedicated to demon. Demons are creatures of Chaos, so it is possible that beings of Chaos might be more powerful within the temple. So maybe the effect is that any creature of Chaos (alignment) will have Advantage on all saving throws. Creatures of Lawful and Neutral alignment would have Disadvantage on the same saving throws.
A second example might be the same situation but a temple dedicated to Evil. All beings with an Evil alignment would gain Advantage on saving throws but anyone with a Neutral or Good alignment would suffer Disadvantage.
So let’s discuss Society first. The assumption is that the playing characters are members of a standard “normal” society, meaning that the society around them upholds laws that promote order, respect for life, and the laws we’re familiar with here in the modern United States. Your character’s attitude towards these societal norms dictate the first part of their alignment: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic.
Lawful: An attitude of Lawful simply means that the character does their best to follow the rule of law for their city, state, or region. They might also have a “personal” code of law that they follow that are close to that of the given government in power. They aren’t actively seeking to break the law and in usually situations would be expected to do the “right thing” in a tough situation where “the right thing” is defined by laws of the land. Although a Lawful creature might bend or break the rules in certain situations, they will typically respect laws, show respect for life, and follow the directions of the typical law enforcement officer or official.
Neutral: This attitude simply means that the character neither respects or disrespects the laws or societal norms for the place they live. They do whatever “feels best” in any given situation being as likely to take a life than to try to preserve it. No consideration would be given to “doing what is expected according to the laws of the land.” The creature has no loyalty or attachment to society and essentially acts on instinct with no clear “code of conduct” being applied. Conscience is the guidebook for this type of being.
Chaotic: Creatures of chaos usually act by whim or feeling, focused on the moment and not societal norms or what others expect as “doing the right thing.” In general, Chaotic characters value personal freedom and view laws as tyranny. “Don’t tell me what to do,” should be the motto of a Chaotic character. As a Chaotic being, you may disrespect laws, break tradition, or do the opposite of what’s expected simply because it proves that you “can” do this or to make a point that you can “do what you like in any situation.” When decisions are made, this person would usually choose to do the thing that is opposite of what’s “right” in the eyes of the law.
Again, these are general ideas. Going too deep into these attitudes towards society can be a slippery slope. The general idea here is that given the opportunity, would the character choose the side of Law or Chaos, or would they waffle and sit on the fence as a force of Neutrality?
As an example that you will see in the next section, the rule of law dictates it’s illegal to murder children so the Lawful person just wouldn’t even consider it, the Neutral person would kill the child if it felt right in the situation, and a Chaotic person would kill a child simply to prove that they could if they wanted to, or simply to break the law that says murdering a child is illegal.
The next part of Alignment is morality. Morality has to do with “right and wrong” but this is usually based on a collective expectation of behavior of the world around you. Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper according to society outside of the rule of law. Meaning, using the example from above, you don’t murder children because it’s a terrible thing to do regardless of whether it’s illegal or not. Again, the assumption is made that the characters are in a standard “law abiding society.” If the characters we living in a Drow society ruled by the morals of Lolth, the Spider Queen, the definitions of Good, Neutral, and Evil change to reflect the mindset of the Spider Queen.
GOOD: You have a deep sense of right and wrong based on the norms of the society around you. Simply put, you tend to “do the right thing” in tough situations and seek to benefit the greater good in all situations.
NEUTRAL: You have no attachment to norms or beliefs of the society around you. Your morals are very similar to that of an animal: you do what you need to do in each situation. You do what seems right by instinct and if studied in a broad sense would change without logic in similar situations, following feeling and conscience within the moment without learning from the past or considering outcomes for the future. In a broad sense, all that matters is right now.
EVIL: You oppose the norms of the society norms of what’s right and wrong. You do whatever puts you in a beneficial place of benefit and power. No act of cruelty is too great if it benefits you in the end. Your actions are selfish and when you speak of the “greater good” it secretly refers to whatever makes you come out smelling like a rose despite the harm it may cause to others.
All in all, these “vague” descriptions become very complicated when mixed together. A Lawful person is easily defined until you mix in morality, and then the definitions become complex. There is a difference between a Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral character. The first follows law to the best of their ability and tries to do what society says is “right” in most situations. The second (Lawful Neutral) follows the laws of the land generally but in a moment that morality comes into question rather than “laws as written” then the person would do their best to follow the law while also doing what seems to be the best thing at this very moment.
So for the purposes of our campaign, don’t overthink it. Choose the two parts of the alignment separately and then see what turns out. Or another way to do is is what I usually suggest as a DM: play your character without a chosen alignment. After 3-4 sessions, ask the DM what alignment your character seems to be leaning towards. The DM will know.
Children of the Ampersand 