Alignment and code of ethics

A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. She combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. She tells the truth, keeps her word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished.

Lawful good combines honor with compassion.

Lawful good characters are proficient at understanding bureaucracies, following laws, and cultivating order and structure in their own lives and in others'. They are naturally helpful, and others find them trustworthy, even if they don't share the same alignment. Additionally, lawful good characters are adept at deciding which actions are lawful and benefit society rather than the individual. With their focus on order, they can often build governmental stability where none previously existed. These characters sometimes have problems defying laws, even when the laws are unjust. Instead of disobeying or protesting against such laws, they work within the provided structure or system to change those laws, and they implore others to do so as well. They feel guilty lying to others, even if only asked to fib to provide a ruse for their companions. Similarly, they won't break the law to help good-intentioned party members perform actions that might have beneficial results.

When they're adventuring in urban areas with their companions, lawful good characters may feel compelled to excuse themselves from certain plans or attempt to reason with those more lenient in their interpretation of the law. It's much easier for lawful good characters to ignore the bad behavior of other party members when exploring ruins and wilderness areas outside the direct jurisdiction of a governing body.

Lawful good characters regard law as necessary for the welfare of society. They fight to abolish or change laws they deem unjust, and they always aid those in need. Lawful good characters strive to be forthright in their words and deeds, refuse to lie to others, and keep their covenants. They oppose evil wherever it is found, and avoid putting the good of the individual ahead of what is good for the masses. For these characters, the end rarely justifies the means. Characters drawn to honor, righting wrongs, or making sacrifices for others might be attracted to this alignment.

A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping others. He works with kings and magistrates but does not feel beholden to them.

Neutral good means doing what is good and right without bias for or against order.

Neutral good characters excel at seeing both sides of a situation, and they use this ability to inform their actions, doing what they believe will produce the most good. These characters seek balance and harmony in their dealings with others; they know to avoid conversations leading to heated topics, and keep their responses to the middle of the road. They understand the value of nature, and realize that expanding civilization into the wilderness is not always the most appropriate thing to do. Because of their ability to see all facets of a situation, neutral good characters can sometimes have difficulty in choosing a side between other good beings. For this reason, others may label them as wishy-washy or not capable of serious conviction.

Dealing with other characters aligned along the lawful-chaotic axis can also be challenging, especially in mixed-alignment adventuring groups. The neutral good characters will not always agree with the lawful good characters' meticulous need to plan their actions, control others, or prevent others from disobeying laws that interfere with the party's goals—sometimes less-than-honest tactics are necessary, after all. Conversely, neutral good characters might find chaotic good characters a little on the uncontrollable side, not liking the wild bent of their ideas or actions. Too much freedom of thought and action, they believe, just makes one irresponsible.

Neutral good characters can see both sides of the lawful-chaotic axis, understanding that some choices are indeed better for all, and others are better for individuals. Because supporting either extreme on the axis does not motivate them, neutral good characters are often considered the “true good” alignment. They seek to do the most good in the world to make it a better place and to help others when possible. Neither anarchy nor the need for strict order concerns them. Neutral good characters support laws that benefit all, but have no qualms about ignoring unjust laws or tyrannical rulers.

Neutral good characters give great consideration to their actions before deeming them correct; some neutral good characters find it unfathomable that others cannot see their viewpoint as the most sensible.

A chaotic good character acts as his conscience directs him with little regard for what others expect of him. He makes his own way, but he's kind and benevolent. He believes in goodness and right but has little use for laws and regulations. He hates it when people try to intimidate others and tell them what to do. He follows his own moral compass, which, although good, may not agree with that of society.

Chaotic good combines a good heart with a free spirit.

Chaotic good characters follow their own consciences and are adaptable, easily rolling with life's punches. They rarely make plans too far in advance, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach to most things, which allows them to adjust their actions or reactions in a single heartbeat. They have no qualms about breaking laws, especially when doing so will save others or protect others' rights from being trampled. Chaotic good characters want freedom for themselves and others, and find it difficult to live in societies they deem too restrictive to individuals. They view laws and regulations as unneeded mechanisms of control rather than protection. Deeply inherent in the chaotic good character's philosophy is the belief that most individuals are good and will do good if given the freedom to act as they please. In this regard, these benevolent, kind-hearted individuals can be viewed as the most idealistic of the good alignments. Other good characters call their live-and-let-live attitude overly idealistic, instead believing that individuals are more selfish than kindhearted in nature and need guidance to become good. The chaotic good philosophy, however, holds that because individuals are not all like-minded persons, imposing such guidance and laws to force them to conform to a single mold deforms their spirits, creating flaws and cracks where evil can more easily find a foothold.

Chaotic good characters are strong-willed and self-directed—masters of their own destiny. They act as their consciences dictate, viewing the plights of the weak and innocent with compassion and correcting injustices when they can. Chaotic good characters disregard others' expectations of their behavior, finding many laws and regulations too limiting to their personal freedom. They resent those who inflict their ideals on others, especially through intimidation, and are often reluctant to conform. Chaotic good characters want the freedom to do as they will and desire others to be free of oppression as well.

While chaotic good characters do not accept that individuals must sacrifice their ideals and follow laws for the good of the whole, they willingly sacrifice themselves (and their individuality) to protect the whole in the name of good.

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government.

Lawful neutral means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those others suffer). a chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as he is to cross it.

Chaotic neutral represents freedom from both society's restrictions and a do-gooder's zeal.

A lawful evil villain methodically takes what he wants within the limits of his code of conduct without regard for whom it hurts. He cares about tradition, loyalty, and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. He plays by the rules but without mercy or compassion. He is comfortable in a hierarchy and would like to rule, but is willing to serve. He condemns others not according to their actions but according to race, religion, homeland, or social rank. He is loath to break laws or promises.

This reluctance comes partly from his nature and partly because he depends on order to protect himself from those who oppose him on moral grounds. Some lawful evil villains have particular taboos, such as not killing in cold blood (but having underlings do it) or not letting children come to harm (if it can be helped). They imagine that these compunctions put them above unprincipled villains.

Some lawful evil people and creatures commit themselves to evil with a zeal like that of a crusader committed to good. Beyond being willing to hurt others for their own ends, they take pleasure in spreading evil as an end unto itself. They may also see doing evil as part of a duty to an evil deity or master.

Lawful evil represents methodical, intentional, and organized evil.

Lawful evil characters believe that law and structure mean power and safety. In their view, a strict, systematic hierarchy enables outcomes impossible for a single individual, so they seek power and security by positioning themselves advantageously within such systems. They may operate according to strict personal codes—private ethics or creeds that may not align with an observer's concept of morality—but more often choose to operate within (and take advantage of ) the framework of the society around them. Many are quick to cite their law-abiding natures when defending their actions. This alignment is particularly appealing to those who want to get ahead and don't care whom they hurt, yet who also want to maintain a sense of self-righteousness or don't want to open themselves up to unnecessary risk. They may take great pride in never breaking their word—and thus rarely make promises—and are invariably methodical and organized in their machinations.

A neutral evil villain does whatever she can get away with. She is out for herself, pure and simple. She sheds no tears for those she kills, whether for profit, sport, or convenience. She has no love of order and holds no illusions that following laws, traditions, or codes would make her any better or more noble. On the other hand, she doesn't have the restless nature or love of conflict that a chaotic evil villain has.

Some neutral evil villains hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil for its own sake. Most often, such villains are devoted to evil deities or secret societies.

Neutral evil represents pure evil without honor and without variation.

Neutral evil characters care only for themselves, and do whatever they think they can get away with. They place no stock in the ability of laws or codes to protect them, and thus don't bother to follow them. At the same time, they're less spontaneous and prone to whimsy than chaotic evil characters. In some ways, neutral evil is the purest form of evil, unburdened by any other tropes or tendencies. Whether a neutral evil character has chosen to practice evil for its own sake or—more often—simply has no empathy for others, the result is the same: cold, unfeeling cruelty.

Those who care nothing for others or the pain they cause, or who strive toward such indifference, are drawn to this alignment.

Ever lurking in the corners of mens hearts the Chaotic Evil character is all whims given form regardless of the suffering of others often snuffed out by good only the truly cunning survive often seeing others as shields and may even work with good to do so seeing them as a brood while others only seek mindless destruction its clear which survives longer