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Alignment can be tricky to navigate. While it isn't a straightjacket, it IS a guideline as to how your general behavior is perceived by the DM, and it can change if you act more as another alignment than your own. This generally only has meaning if you belong to a class that requires a particular alignment (paladin, barbarian, monk, druid) or if you're targeted by spells and/or abilities that deal with alignment.
Here's a guide to alignment for this game.
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LG
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LN
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LE
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NG
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-
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TN
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NE
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CG
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CN
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CE
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Good - Neutral - Evil
Lawful - Neutral - Chaotic
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Lawful
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A lawful character believes in authority and hierarchy. If a law is wrong, it should be changed in a lawful manner.
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Chaotic
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A chaotic character believes in personal judgement and freedom. If a law is wrong, it should be ignored. Unlike in most games, 'chaotic' is not another word for 'crazy' or 'evil.'
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Neutral
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"Neutral people draw the line around those people they know, those they care about and those whose lives affect them. A neutral villager will help out his neighbour if there is a bad harvest, but is less likely to help out the next village. He's likely to defend his home village with the other villagers, but you won't catch him volunteering to go fight someone else's war. The Neutral person is not indifferent to the suffering of others, he just looks after himself and his own first, dealing with the problems he can see rather than the ones he cannot. He might not send food to the starving village ten miles away, but he won't refuse a meal to a starving man on his doorstep. They see the people they know as people, but those they do not know are an abstract."
- Dabbler (Paizo forum)
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Good
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A good character has compassion for others, sentient or not, and demonstrates respect for them (i.e. doesn't put his own good ahead of theirs). Good is defined as a willingness to go out of your way to aid and avoid harming others.
"Good people know that the line has no boundaries. They know that the people in the next village are just like them and just as deserving of compassion and mercy. To the good person, there are no abstract people.
- Dabbler (Paizo forum)
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Evil
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An evil character behaves selfishly and is willing to use and harm others to have their way; they always think of themselves first. Evil is defined as the willingness to harm others needlessly and/or deliberately. (Evil people rarely think of themselves as evil - they just think they're wise to the ways of the world, or that their actions ultimately benefit others, or that they have a right to do what they're doing, or that it isn't really their fault.)
"Evil people draw the line much closer to home, usually just around themselves. Few evil people actively enjoy hurting others (though the worst ones do), they really are indifferent to it. They have no problem harming others because they are indifferent to such harm. The evil person looks after himself first and foremost. To the evil person, everyone else is an abstract.
- Dabbler (Paizo forum)
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There can still be a lot of confusion about what constitutes a particular alignment. One of the big stumbling blocks is usually the question of attacking a monster with an evil alignment. My opinion on this is that the alignment (as opposed to the behavior) of someone/thing else shouldn't really impact YOUR behavior, especially since creatures rarely wear placards proclaiming their alignment. But for the record: monsters in my game are not innately evil unless they're Evil outsiders such as demons or devils, or unintelligent undead and the like (see the entry on alignment in the Pathfinder Bestiary, page 5).
The Paladin's Code (Sarenrae)
"Be as a caring parent or sibling to all in need. Help heal the sick and lift the fallen. Be a guiding light into the darkest hearts and lands."
1. Heal those that ask for it, regardless of if they can pay.
2. Mercy must be granted to those that ask for it, or request asylum.
3. Help those that can't help themselves. Basically tithe 15% (money earned only. Gear not counted)
"Only respond to violence in kind with swift metal and scorching light."
4. Don't initiate combat if another path seems open.
5. Actively seek out and destroy any cult of Rovagug.
6. Destroy any mindless undead or beasts as well as anything related to Rovagug as they are beyond redemption.
"Each new day brings hope and renewed opportunity. You must not let darkness into your life."
7. Can't knowingly tell a lie.
8. Can't knowingly use poison.
9. Must never own a slave, and must do your best to free those in bondage.
"May the strength of the sun guide you through the fog of mortal words."
10. A paladin must respect the laws of the land he/she knows are just (fair and good). Whenever in doubt, especially when travelling abroad, it is the spirit of the Law that must be followed, if ever the letter of the law is corrupted or unknown.
Maps
The Rusty Dragon (click to enlarge)
The Hagfish
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