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 allowed for nine alignments in combination. The nine alignments can be shown in a grid, as follows:

History

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