Basic Fantasy Alignment Creator's Kit.pdf

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Open Game License version 1.0a

Alignment Creator's Kit

A Basic Fantasy RPG Supplement

Basic Fantasy Website: basicfantasy.org

INTRODUCTION

Alignment is a way of describing the moral code of a creature. This supplement is intended to help the Game Master

create a system of alignments for his or her own game world. These rules are for use with the Basic Fantasy Role-

Playing Game rules. If you do not already have a copy of the Basic Fantasy RPG rules, please visit the website and

download a copy.

Alignment, in a role-playing game, refers to a system of

defining ethics and morality in the campaign world. The

very first role-playing game possessed an alignment

system, basically defining “sides” to which the heroes and

monsters belonged. Later games have expanded on this

concept in several details. How alignments are defined,

judged, and applied in the game world has long been a

point of contention.

Law vs. Chaos

The most classic alignment system assigned characters to

one of three alignments: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic. In

general, a character is Lawful if he or she believes in the

importance of the group over the individual; laws and

customs dictate how individuals within the group interact,

and the Lawful character believes that obedience to law

and custom is important.

The Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game rules do not define

(or require) any rules for alignments. This article is

intended for the Game Master who is considering the use

of alignment in his or her world. The author has spent

many, many years playing and running role-playing

games, and has heard or read most of the arguments

about alignment. I hope that the following may be of use

to you.

The Chaotic character is a stark contrast, believing that

the individual's importance is primary. A Chaotic

character will be suspicious of any Lawful organization (if

not outwardly hostile to such an institution).

Neutral characters straddle this line, obeying the laws of

the land most of the time but having no real devotion to

them.

A Note About Moral Relativism

Good vs. Evil

Wikipedia says this: “Moral relativists hold that no

universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical

proposition's truth.” Thus, what is “good” to one group is

“evil” to another. In the author's opinion, attempting to

apply an alignment system in a world of moral relativism

is madness. What is the point of defining your character's

alignment when other characters in the game world may,

with complete confidence, define your character's

alignment entirely differently?

Another axis of alignment involves good and evil. Early

games made the assumption that all Lawful characters

were “good” and all Chaotic characters were “evil,” but a

careful consideration of people in real life shows that this

is overly simplistic. Just because a character believes in

anarchy (Chaos) does not mean that he is evil; and

likewise, a character may be Lawful and be devoted to a

system of law which encourages torture of prisoners or

the oppression of the poor.

In most fantasy game worlds, there are gods who define

morality and ethics. They are the “universal standard”

mentioned above, defining what the alignments of the

world mean. Thus, in this document, all discussion of

alignment is based on the concepts of moral absolutism

(the opposite of moral relativism).

Good characters believe in the value of sentient life. All

thinking, feeling creatures are considered to have value,

and slaying such a creature is only acceptable when

allowing it to live will bring harm to other sentients. Good

characters will almost never participate in torture or other

abuses of prisoners.

I advise Game Masters wishing to run worlds where moral

relativism is “in force” to stop reading now and give up

on using alignment rules in their games.

Evil characters consider all beings other than themselves

to be of no intrinsic value. Evil characters freely (and

often joyfully) participate in murder, torture, and other

things that bring harm to other sentients.

Characters who are Neutral with respect to Good and Evil

may be truly amoral, or they may consider that only some

(but not all) sentients have value. A common form of

A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT

ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT

ethical neutrality is the belief that one's own family, tribe,

or nation are the only true “people” in existence, while all

others are little more than animals.

Neutral Evil: These characters revel in cruelty and

hatred, generally working in small bands so as to inflict

maximum suffering while still acting on a personal level.

Chaotic Good: Characters of this alignment believe that

only true personal freedom can bring complete

happiness.

Other Axes

I have seen alignment systems employing other measures

than the above, but I must admit that I find none of those

alternatives compelling, so they are not discussed herein.

There is no reason that you, the Game Master, cannot or

should not employ one or more alternative alignment axis

if you wish.

Chaotic Neutral: These characters are entirely self-

centered; they are neither friendly and merciful nor cruel

and hateful.

Chaotic Evil: These characters are true psychopaths;

they desire only to harm others for their own pleasure.

Constructing An Alignment System

More information on the Nine Alignment system can be

found in the document “ Alignments: A Basic Fantasy

Supplement ,” available from the basicfantasy.org

website.

You as Game Master must decide what sort of alignment

system applies in your world. It is entirely reasonable that

the gods of your milieu care little about Law or Chaos but

consider questions of Good and Evil paramount. Or, the

opposite might be true, with Law and Chaos being the

only significant factor. Some campaigns might apply both

measures, calling characters Lawful Evil, Chaotic Neutral

or Neutral Good. Some suggested alignment systems are

described below.

Five Alignments

This odd variation of Nine Alignment systems is favored

by some. In this system, the four alignments Lawful

Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, and Chaotic Neutral

are omitted from the list. It is otherwise much the same

as the Nine Alignment system.

Three Alignments

About Neutrality

This is the most basic system. The GM simply selects one

of the axes described above (Good vs. Evil or Law vs.

Chaos) and ignores the other.

There are two schools of thought about Neutral

characters (particularly “True” Neutral characters, that is,

those who are Neutral in both Law vs. Chaos and Good

vs. Evil). The first school of thought holds that the

Neutral character believes in the “cosmic balance.” Such

a character believes that neither Law nor Chaos, Good

nor Evil should be allowed to become too powerful. If

living in a mostly Lawful territory, the Neutral character

will work in favor of Chaos; this may mean law-breaking,

or it may mean attempting to undermine the government.

On the other hand, a Neutral character in a Chaotic (i.e.

lawless) land will work with those attempting to establish

order.

Nine Alignments

This is the most advanced system. As described above,

the two axes are crossed with each other to produce the

following combinations:

Lawful Good : Adherents to this alignment believe that

only through law and order can the benefits of good be

brought to the greatest number.

Lawful Neutral: These characters believe that order is of

paramount importance, and are not concerned with the

happiness or unhappiness of others.

The other school of thought is that the Neutral character is

indifferent to the extremes, considering none of them

important. Such a character living in a Lawful land will

generally behave as if he is Lawful, but may engage in

illegal behavior when he feels it safe to do so. If he finds

himself in a lawless region, he will behave as if Chaotic.

This sort of Neutral character is only interested in the

survival of himself and his family and friends. This is

distinct from being Chaotic in that the Chaotic person

cares for nobody but himself.

Lawful Evil: Characters of this alignment prefer to live in

a society where the powerful rule over the weak.

Neutral Good: These characters are interested in

promoting good, and uninterested in questions of law or

chaos.

Absolute, or True, Neutral: This alignment can be

interpreted in at least two different ways; see About

Neutrality, below, for more details.

ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT

A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT

This second sort of Neutrality, incidentally, includes all

creatures of animal intelligence.

Religion and Alignment

If you are considering using an alignment system, you are

probably planning to assign alignments to the gods of

your campaign world. Generally, the gods in such a

world will expect their mortal followers to be of the same

alignment. Clerics, the official representatives of the gods,

must maintain their alignment scrupulously. Failure to do

so should be met with penalties.

I have been told, in emphatic terms, by other Game

Masters that the second definition of Neutrality is not

possible for sentient beings. They assert that all Neutral

sentients will automatically work in favor of the “cosmic

balance.” While I disagree, this is entirely an issue that

you, the Game Master, must decide upon for your own

game.

Basic Fantasy RPG does not include alignment as an

official rule. The gods of “standard” Basic Fantasy RPG

worlds (such as the Western Lands, as seen in BF1

Morgansfort ) expect their followers, especially Clerics, to

obey their commandments. It is thus entirely possible to

define the ethics and morality expected by the gods

without the use of alignment. (In fact, one might say

that's how it is done in real life.)

Alignment Tracking

In some old-school games, the Game Master was

expected to monitor the actual behavior of each player

character, and compare the behavior to the character's

stated alignment. In cases where the GM felt it was

warranted, he was expected to notify the player that the

character's alignment had changed. Such involuntary

alignment changes often included penalties in the form of

lost experience points or even levels of ability.

Building Your Alignment System

Alignments are often a point of contention. The most

important thing you, the Game Master, should do if you

plan to use alignments in your game is to make the rules

clear to the players. Be sure that all players know how

you define Neutrality. Make sure they know if you plan

to track their character's alignments, and if so, what sort of

penalties they can expect for transgressing. Fail to do

this, and you run the risk of spending a game session

arguing with your players.

I'll tell you honestly, I'm not sure what the point of this is.

I don't see why a Fighter, or a Magic-User, or a Thief

should suffer a loss of experience as a result of changing

alignment. However, there is one case where I do see a

point to tracking a character's alignment: the Cleric.

A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT

ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT

Open Game License

INTRODUCTION

Alignment Creator's Kit: A Basic Fantasy Supplement (hereinafter “the

Supplement”) is based on the System Reference Document v3.5 ("SRD"), which

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