Alignments

Any person, creature, deity or extraplanar realm in Dungeons & Dragons can have one of the
nine alignments. The sourcebook Complete Scoundrel cites real world fictional characters as
examples of aligned individuals. In an attempt to simplify the codes of conduct for characters,
non-canon takes on alignment sometimes occur.

[edit] Lawful Good

Lawful Good is known as the "Saintly" or "Crusader" alignment. A Lawful Good character
typically acts with compassion, and always with honor and a sense of duty. A Lawful Good
nation would consist of a well-organized government that works for the benefit of its citizens.
Lawful Good characters include righteous knights, paladins, and most dwarves. Lawful Good
creatures include the noble golden dragons. Lawful Good outsiders are known as Archons.
Lawful Good characters, especially paladins, may sometimes find themselves faced with the
dilemma of whether to obey law or good when the two conflict - for example, upholding a sworn
oath when it would lead innocents to come to harm - or conflicts between two orders, such as
between their religious law and the law of the local ruler.
In the Complete Scoundrel sourcebook Batman, Dick Tracy and Indiana Jones are cited as
examples of lawful good characters.[7]

[edit] Neutral Good

Neutral Good is known as the "Benefactor" alignment. A Neutral Good character is guided by his
conscience and typically acts altruistically, without regard for or against Lawful precepts such as
rules or tradition. A Neutral Good character has no problems with co-operating with lawful
officials, but does not feel beholden to them. In the event that doing the right thing requires the
bending or breaking of rules, they do not suffer the same inner conflict that a Lawful Good
character would. A doctor who treats soldiers from both sides in a war could be considered
Neutral Good.
Examples of Neutral Good characters include Zorro, and Spider-Man.[7] The Neutral Good
outsiders are known as Guardinals.

[edit] Chaotic Good

Chaotic Good is known as the "Beatific," "Rebel," or "Cynic" alignment. A Chaotic Good
character favors change for a greater good, disdains bureaucratic organizations that get in the
way of social improvement, and places a high value on personal freedom, not only for oneself,
but for others as well. They always intend to do the right thing, but their methods are generally
disorganised and often out of alignment with the rest of society. They have no use for those who
would try to push them around and tell them what to do.

While they do not have evil intentions, they often do bad things (even if they do not necessarily
enjoy doing these things) to people who are, in their views, bad people if it benefits their goal of
achieving a greater good. Most elves are Chaotic Good, as are some fey.
Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica, Malcolm Reynolds from Firefly, and Robin Hood are
examples of Chaotic Good individuals.[7] Eladrin are the outsider race representing Chaotic
Good.

[edit] Lawful Neutral

Lawful Neutral is called the "Judge" or "Disciplined" alignment. A Lawful Neutral character
typically believes strongly in Lawful concepts such as honor, order, rules and tradition, and often
follows a personal code. A Lawful Neutral society would typically enforce strict laws to maintain
social order, and place a high value on traditions and historical precedent. Examples of Lawful
Neutral characters might include a soldier who always follows orders, a judge or enforcer that
adheres mercilessly to the word of the law, a disciplined monk.
Characters of this alignment are neutral with regard to good and evil. This does not mean that
Lawful Neutral characters are amoral or immoral, or do not have a moral compass; but simply
that their moral considerations come a distant second to what their code, tradition or law dictates.
They typically have a strong ethical code, but it is primarily guided by their system of belief, not
by a commitment to good or evil.
James Bond, Odysseus, and Sanjuro from Yojimbo are considered by Complete Scoundrel as
Lawful Neutral.[7] Three exemplars of Lawful Neutral outsiders exist. These are the Formians,
the Inevitables and the Modrons.

[edit] Neutral
Neutral alignment, also referred to as True Neutral or Neutral Neutral, is called the "Undecided"
or "Nature's" alignment. This alignment represents Neutral on both axes, and tends not to feel
strongly towards any alignment. A farmer whose primary overriding concern is to feed his family
is of this alignment. Most animals, lacking the capacity for moral judgement, are of this
alignment. Many roguish characters who play all sides to suit themselves are also of this
alignment.
Some Neutral characters, rather than feeling undecided, are committed to a balance between the
alignments. They may see good, evil, law and chaos as simply prejudices and dangerous
extremes. Mordenkainen is one such character who takes this concept to the extreme, dedicating
himself to a detached philosophy of neutrality to ensure that no one alignment or power takes
control of the Flanaess.
Druids frequently follow this True Neutral dedication to balance, and under Advanced Dungeons
& Dragons rules were required to be this alignment. In an example given in a D&D
rulebook[citation needed], a typical druid might fight against a band of marauding gnolls, only to switch
sides to save the gnoll's clan from being totally exterminated.

Lara Croft, Lucy Westenra from Dracula and Han Solo in his early Star Wars appearance are
neutral.[7] The true neutral outsiders are known as the Rilmani.

[edit] Chaotic Neutral

Chaotic Neutral is called the "Anarchist" or "Free Spirit" alignment. A character of this
alignment is an individualist who follows his or her own heart, and generally shirks rules and
traditions. Good and Evil come a distant second to their need for personal freedom, and the only
reliable thing about them is how totally unreliable they are. They typically act out of self-interest,
but do not specifically enjoy seeing others suffer. Many free-spirited adventurers are of this
alignment. Alternatively there are madmen whose actions are chaotic, but are not themselves
inclined towards evil.
An unusual subset of Chaotic Neutral is "strongly Chaotic Neutral", describing a character who
behaves chaotically to the point of appearing insane. Characters of this type may regularly
change their appearance and attitudes for the sake of change, and intentionally disrupt
organizations for the sole reason of disrupting a lawful construct. Characters of this type include
the Xaositects from the Planescape setting, and Hennet from the third edition Player's Handbook.
In Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Chaotic Neutral was frequently assumed to refer to this
subset.
Captain Jack Sparrow, Al Swearengen from the TV series Deadwood, and Snake Plissken from
Escape from New York are Chaotic Neutral characters according to Complete Scoundrel.[7] Slaadi
represent pure chaos.

[edit] Lawful Evil

Lawful Evil is referred to as the "Dominator" or "Diabolic" alignment. Characters of this
alignment see a well-ordered system as being easier to exploit, and show a combination of
desirable and undesirable traits; while they usually obey their superiors and keep their word, they
care nothing for the rights and freedoms of other individuals. Examples of this alignment include
tyrants, devils, undiscriminating mercenary types who have a strict code of conduct, and loyal
soldiers who enjoy the act of killing.
Like Lawful Good Paladins, Lawful Evil characters may sometimes find themselves faced with
the dilemma of whether to obey law or evil when the two conflict - however their issues with
Law versus Evil are more concerned with "Will I get caught?" vs "How does this benefit me?"
Boba Fett of Star Wars, and X-Men's Magneto are cited examples of Lawful Evil characters.[7]
The Lawful Evil outsiders are known as Baatezu (Devils).

[edit] Neutral Evil

Neutral Evil is called the "Malefactor" alignment. Characters of this alignment are typically
selfish and have no qualms about turning on their allies-of-the-moment. They have no
compunctions about harming others to get what they want, but neither will they go out of their

way to cause carnage or mayhem when they see no direct benefit to it. They abide by laws for
only as long as it is convenient for them. A villain of this alignment can be more dangerous than
either Lawful or Chaotic Evil characters, since he is neither bound by any sort of honor or
tradition nor disorganized and pointlessly violent.
Examples are an assassin who has little regard for formal laws but does not needlessly kill, a
henchman who plots behind his superior's back, or a mercenary who switches sides if made a
better offer.
Complete Scoundrel cites X-Men's Mystique, and Sawyer of the early seasons of Lost as Neutral
Evil characters.[7] Yugoloths (Daemons) are the multiversal representatives of Neutral Evil.

[edit] Chaotic Evil

Chaotic Evil is referred to as the "Destroyer" or "Demonic" alignment. Characters of this
alignment tend to have no respect for rules, other peoples' lives, or anything but their own
desires, which are typically selfish and cruel. They set a high value on personal freedom, but do
not have any regard for the lives or freedom of other people. They do not work well in a group,
as they resent being given orders, and usually only behave themselves out of fear of punishment.
It is not compulsory for a Chaotic Evil character to be constantly performing sadistic acts just for
the sake of being evil, or constantly disobeying orders just for the sake of causing chaos. They do
however enjoy the suffering of others, and view honor and self-discipline as weaknesses. Serial
killers and monsters of limited intelligence are typically Chaotic Evil.
According to the Complete Scoundrel sourcebook, Carl Denham from the 2005 remake of King
Kong and Riddick from Pitch Black are Chaotic Evil.[7] The exemplars of chaotic evil are the
Tanar'ri (Demons).

[edit] Variants
In addition, there are also blended or "tendency" alignments (and relative Outer Realms) that
exist between the basic nine, bringing the total of alignment combinations up to seventeen. These
include Neutral Good with either Lawful or Chaotic tendencies, Lawful Neutral with either Good
or Evil tendencies, Chaotic Neutral with either Good or Evil tendencies, and Neutral Evil with
either Lawful or Chaotic tendencies.
In some campaigns, there are even neutral with tendencies towards one of the four cores of good,
evil, law, and chaos (totaling the maximum possibilities to twenty-one), although there are rarely
respective Outer Planes tied to these.