Alignment Shorthand

[Sternhund]

I found this while browsing the interwebs. Thought you guys might like.

Law/Chaos axis

Lawful = "I do what I must do..."
Neutral = "I do what I do..."
Chaotic = "I do what I want to do..."

Good/Evil axis

Good = "...for the benefit of others."
Neutral = "...regardless of who benefits."
Evil = "...for my own benefit."

Combine and you get:

CN = "I do what I want to do regardless of who benefits."
LG = "I do what I must do for the benefit of others."
NE = "I do what I do for my own benefit."
etc.

[UnholyWon]

Love it! Add it to the Alignment section in Players Info or where ever that section is in the forums.

[KingHovCopy]

So then Batman is LG ?

[Valo56]

Yep.

[Dr Dragon]

What is Lawful Neutral then?

[ThisIsWonderland]

Lawful = "I do what I must do..."
Neutral = "...regardless of who benefits."

?

[Valo56]

A lawful neutral judge who convicts an adventurer of murder for having slain an assassin without proof is doing what he must do, regardless of who benefits or is punished.

[Adhesive]

I like this.

[Gotham]

LG: I do what I must for the Benefit of Others
LN: I do what I must regardless of who benefits
LE: I do what I must for my own benefit
NG: I do what I do for the benefit of others
NN: I do what I do regardless of who benefits
NE: I do what I do for my own benefit
CG: I do what I want for the benefit of others
CN: I do what I want regardless of who benefits
CE: I do what I want for my own benefit

[The Old Hack]

Meh. I am not entirely happy with it, it is a little bit too simplistic. It assumes that selfish = evil and selfless = not evil. It is entirely possible for a selfless person to do great evil and to be evil.

But as a rough guideline, it isn't too bad.

[Wild Card]

Awesome

[Pandip]

I always thought alignment was a terrible, misunderstood, and ultimately arbitrary mechanic of D&D and while this "system" is convenient for identifying motivations, I do feel it's a bit simplistic and sort of outlines some of the faults of the mechanic itself.

[Jagged]

This chart is pretty good, though of course there are exemptions, like the bad guys who vehemently believe that they serve the greater good and what's in the best interest of the whole.

[Aethereal]

It is good as far as shorthand goes; just keep TOH's caveat in mind. Evil can be motivated by earnest pursuit of the greater Good.

And some types of magic are inherently Evil, just due to the cosmic alignment rules of the Forgotten Realms. (So a Good PC who uses such magic in pursuit of Good, would actually be Neutral at best)

Meh. I am not entirely happy with it, it is a little bit too simplistic. It assumes that selfish = evil and selfless = not evil. It is entirely possible for a selfless person to do great evil and to be evil.

But as a rough guideline, it isn't too bad.

[Teeth in a Bowl]

The thing about alignment is, it doesn't take intentions into account. By RAW, an evil action for good intent remains an evil action, no matter what. It might be MITIGATED, but it's still evil.

That's what makes it so bad.