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Some things about alignment that need be understood before delving into them: 1. There is a difference between Personal and Social alignment. The first thing that must be understood about alignment is that it means different things depending upon whether the subject is the alignment of an individual, or the alignment of a group. Either a single creature (individual) or a region or organization (group) may be described with the same alignment label, but the two work and appear differently.
2. The tendency is toward Neutrality Another thing to understand is that the extreme poles of Alignment in the Dungeons & Dragons game (Lawful, Chaotic, Good, and Evil) represent active involvement and dedication to those goals. Evil and Chaos are not merely the absence of Good and Law; they are deliberate choices unto themselves. The absence or balancing of Good or Evil beliefs and behaviors is moral Neutrality; the absence or balancing of Lawful or Chaotic beliefs and behaviors is ethical Neutrality. With that in mind, it is not hard to accept that there are evil creatures, and [Evil] creatures. A creature that has an alignment tag in its game rule header (such as demons, being "(Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar)") is a creature with a supernatural tendency toward those alignments. Such a creature is not just inclined to that alignment, it IS that alignment given form.
3. There is a balance among the alignments In the D&D core rules, the four alignment "poles" are of equal strength. Law is as powerful and influential a force as Good, Chaos, and Evil. There is as much common ground among Good and Evil creatures with respect to arguments over Law and Chaos as there is among Lawful and Chaotic creatures about the differences between Good and Evil. In Urath, this balance is not the same. The conflict between Good and Evil is more important than that between Law and Chaos. Good and Evil represent the goals of the creature -- Good being generally selfless and Evil being generally selfish. Law and Chaos represent two things: the willingness of a creature to bend the rules in accomplishing its goals, and its tendency to work in groups or alone. In character, Good is referred to as "Light" in Urath, and Evil as "Darkness". |
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