Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)

In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of player characters, non-player characters, and creatures.

The original version of D&D allowed players to choose among three alignments when creating a character: lawful, implying honor and respect for society's rules; chaotic, implying rebelliousness and individualism; and neutral, seeking a balance between the extremes.

The 1977 release of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set introduced a second axis of good, implying altruism and respect for life, vs evil, implying selfishness and no respect for life. As with the law-vs-chaos axis, a neutral position exists between the extremes. Characters and creatures could be lawful and evil at the same time (such as a tyrant), or chaotic but good (such as Robin Hood).

The two axes allow for nine alignments in combination. These nine alignments can be shown in a grid, as follows:

D&D co-creator Gary Gygax credited the inspiration for the alignment system to the fantasy stories of Michael Moorcock and Poul Anderson.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D), released between 1977 and 1979, continued the two-axis system. The 1981 version of the Basic Set, however, went back to the earlier one-axis alignment system.

AD&D 2nd Edition, released in 1988, retained the two-axis system. In that edition, a character who performs too many actions outside their alignment can find their alignment changed, and is penalized by losing experience points, making it harder to reach the next level.D&D 3rd Edition, released in 2000, kept the same alignment system.

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