June, 1979
D&D Variant
Another View of the Nine-Point Alignment Scheme
by Carl Parlagreco
With the expansion of the D&D alignment system, there seems to be a bit of confusion as to who can do what, or can’t do what, and more than a few expeditions have been bogged down in arguments over whether chaotics should be allowed in parties, or if neutral goods are compelled to kill neutral evils, or if its open season on neutrals by every- body else. Since I’m not too fond of this type of arguing, and am very fond of charts, I made one up which has a brief list of rules and guidelines which should be followed by each alignment. It needn’t be followed any more strictly than the DM wishes, but I see it as a great aid to play. Now, a brief explanation on the items.
On the matter of keeping one’s word, I would assume that Lawfuls would do this, as if people never did what they said they would do, things wouldn’t be very orderly, now would they? Neutral and Chaotic Goods would only feel compelled to keep their words to persons were basically good. For Neutrals and Chaotic Neutrals, giving one’s word would probably be little different from not giving one’s word. For Neutral and Chaotic Evils, their word would be next to useless.
The attacking of an unarmed foe seems to me to be a pretty nasty thing to do, and one which Evils would thrive upon. A Good would at least have the decency to allow the poor fellow to draw his sword, even if he weren’t allowed to put on his armor. Neutrals, on the other hand; probably wouldn’t be fool enough to let an angry 15th level Lord get hold of a sword, and then themselves, especially if they were of fairly low level.
Poison is another no-no for Goods. This restriction, however, is primarily directed towards its use against intelligent creatures. Wyverns and things of that sort I consider to be fair game for anyone with a little belladonna.
Helping those in need is, once again, something a Good would do. Neutrals would do it as the whim struck them, or if they were offered a reward. Evils wold probably only do it if offered a sizeable reward, or if they thought they could use the services of the rescuee.
The major precept, at least in my mind, about Law and Chaos is the attitude towards Organization. Lawfuls inherently like organization, which means working together with others. Chaotics would shudder at the thought of co-operating with others. Dealing with Higher Authority is the same way. For a Lawful, one must follow the directives of those above, or the order of things would quickly crumble into chaos. This is precisely what Chaotics want, and they would tend to not like following orders in most cases.
Trusting in the inherent worth
Being trustful of organizations is another Lawful characteristic. main effect of this is to have Lawfuls putting their money into banks or hotel safes, while Chaotics would rather do it themselves, like burying it, or hiding it in a hollow tree, or whatnot.
As I said, these aren’t firm restrictions, but open to interpretation by the DM. You have probably also noticed that I didn’t say too much about the neutrals in most of the explanations. This is due to the fact that they can usually go either way on a matter. Because of this, they, especially the True Neutrals, will take a lot of watching before you can pin them down.
LAWFUL NEUTRAL
Will keep their word if they give it
May attack an unarmed foe
May use poison
May help those in need
Prefers to work with others
Responds well to higher authority
Trustful of organizations
LAWFUL EVIL
Will keep their work if they give it
Would attack an unarmed foe
Will use poison
Will not help those in need
Prefers to work with others
Responds well to higher authority
Trustful of organizations
NEUTRAL GOOD
Will keep their word to others of good alignment
Would not attack an unarmed foe
Will not use poison
Will help those in need
May work with others
who Indifferent to higher authority
Indifferent to organizations
TRUE NEUTRAL
Will keep their word if in their best interest
May attack an unarmed foe
May use poison
May help those in need
May work with others
Indifferent to higher authority
Indifferent to organizations
NEUTRAL EVIL
Will not necessarily keep their word
Would attack an unarmed foe
Will use poison
Will not help those in need
May work with others
Indifferent to higher authority
Indifferent or organizations
CHAOTIC GOOD
Will keep their word to others of good alignment
Would not attack an unarmed foe
Will not use poison
Will help those in need
Prefers to work alone
Responds poorly to higher authority
The Distrustful of organizations
CHAOTIC NEUTRAL
Will keep their word if in their best interest
May attack an unarmed foe
May use poison
May help those in need
Prefers to work alone
Responds poorly to higher authority
Distrustful of organizations
LAWFUL GOOD
Will keep their word if they give it
Would not attack an unarmed foe
Will not use poison
Will help those in need
Prefers to work with others
Responds well to higher authority
Trustful of organizations
CHAOTIC EVIL
Will not necessarily keep their word
Would attack an unarmed foe
Will use poison
Will not help those in need
Prefers to work alone
Responds poorly to higher authority
Distrustful of organizations
A Paladin supports and defends Good and opposes Evil.
A Paladin is a Leader in righteous combat.
When it is necessary to fight, the Paladin will seek to guide and inspire his comrades, taking a forward position in the battle and facing the foe boldly. A Paladin does not hide from his foe or sneak about.
A Paladin is a Protector.
He will seek to prevent harm to the innocent and will place himself at risk in order to accomplish this if need be.
A Paladin is Just and works to promote and enforce Justice and the Law.
If a Paladin does not agree with a law, he must still respect it and should work to change it rather than disregarding it. The only exception to this is if the Paladin believes the law to be truly Evil. In this instance, the Paladin must follow the dictates of his conscience.
A Paladin is Honest.
He will not lie or otherwise seek to deceive a person. A Paladin does not cheat or seek to take unfair advantage in his dealings with others.
A Paladin is Loyal.
He does not betray his god, his liege-lord, his guild, his family, or his friends.
A Paladin is Holy.
He seeks to do that which pleases his god in all manners of the Code, and knows that the purity of his soul has a profound impact on the abilities the gods bless him with.