How to Choose and Correctly Role Play Your Alignment in Dungeons and Dragons V3.5

Understand that in D&D morality is an Absolute. In the real world morality is nothing but a sea of gray, however in D&D everything is very clear cut. Evil people consider themselves evil and enjoy being that way.

Understand the Law/Chaos axis. Everyone gets the good/evil axis but not everyone understands the law/chaos axis. Nearly everyone understands the description "lawful" but there is a lot of confusion when it comes to "chaotic". Being of a chaotic alignment does not mean that your character is random in their actions. Try to think of chaotic as the opposite of lawful as evil is the opposite of good. Chaotic in D&D alignments means independent, free, and distrustful of authority. These characters are the type of people who resent being told what to do.

Lawful Good. Lawful good characters have a strict moral code, usually coinciding with societal mores, and they almost never break it. They favor order, structure, and upright behavior. They will desire to help others when the opportunity presents itself, unless doing so would conflict with their moral code. These characters would not break the law except in very rare circumstances. They do not feel that the ends ever justify the means. A "by the book" cop is an example of a real life lawful good person.

Neutral Good. Neutral good characters always do what is good, right, or helpful which is why this alignment is sometimes called True Good. Unlike lawful good characters they are more flexible in their day to day actions. A neutral good character would consider bending the rules to do what is right. A doctor who fudges paperwork to help a needy person get health insurance is a neutral good person.

Chaotic Good. These people want to do what is right but they do not do it with any real structure or system. They are perfectly willing to break the law to do what is right, and some even enjoy doing just that. The best time to play a chaotic good character is when there is a lawful evil authority to rebel against. Without such a target for a rebellion many chaotic good characters are indistinguishable from neutral good characters. A hacker who uses his skills to take down child pornography sites is chaotic good, willfully breaking the law to do good. Robin Hood is the most famous example of chaotic good.

Lawful Neutral. Lawful neutral people tend to be dispassionate and calculating. They have a set of behavioral guidelines but these guidelines allow for some good and some evil behavior. A lawful neutral character tends to care a lot more about the letter of the law than the spirit. An ideal judge would be lawful neutral, making all rulings based on the letter of the law without an eye towards helping or hurting others or their personal feelings.

True Neutral. Neutral characters are hard to play because they lack defining moral values. This is essentially a person who evaluates each situation independently and makes a decision, but the criteria might be different in each different situation. If you play this alignment you must balance all your decisions on both the law/chaos and good/evil axis. A true neutral person in real life is almost unheard of.

Chaotic Neutral. Chaotic neutral is the ultimate free spirit. This character essentially does what they want when they want regardless of whether or not it is good or evil, legal or not. Chaotic Neutral is sometimes referred to as "evil light" because many people feel it borders on evil without technically being evil. Most antiheroes in fiction and literature are Chaotic Neutral.

Lawful Evil. Lawful evil characters are in essence, tyrants or dictators. They have a code of laws that is generally oppressive and brutally enforced. Lawful evil characters do not tolerate anyone questioning their authority, nor will they share their authority. A lawful evil character is out for personal gain, but is more given to scheming and intimidation than to random bloodshed. Don Corleone is one example, although there certainly are others who are more evil.

Neutral Evil. Neutral evil characters are essentially pure evil. They do not follow any set of laws, nor are they concerned with obtaining power. They tend to be the kind of people who enjoy hurting others. They are not concerned with the law in the slightest. Serial killers are often neutral evil.