If you are unfamiliar with the concept of alignment, please read below. Otherwise, feel free to skip this section and get on with the test.
Alignment is a categorization that groups people in a very general way according to their morals and personal beliefs. Each alignment represents a broad range of personality types and philosophies, and so two people of the same alignment may be quite different from each other.
The concepts of “good” and “evil” are arranged along an “ethical axis” with good on one end and evil on the other. Being good or evil can be a conscious choice, but more often it is the reflection of an attitude that one recognizes but does not choose.
Good people, on principle, protect innocent life. Being good implies altruism, respect for life, and concern for the dignity of sentient life.
Evil people debase or destroy innocent life, whether for fun or profit. Being evil implies opressing, hurting, or even killing others. Some evil people act in such a way for sport or personal gain, while others may do so out of a sense of duty to an evil master.
Those who are “neutral” with respect to good and evil will not intentionally harm the innocent, but feel no strong urge to sacrifice to help or protect others. They feel commitment to others via personal relationships. Also, creatures that lack the conscious ability to tend towards ethical action are neutral. This is true even of a hippopotamus who kills a person because they lack the capacity to understand the ethical implications of their actions.
The concepts of “law” and “chaos” are arranged along a “moral axis” with law on one end and chaos at the other. This axis is usually placed perpendicular to the ethical (good-evil) axis, such that they form a square, finite two-dimensional coordinate system. For some people, the tendency towards law or chaos is a conscious choice, but more often it is an element of one's own personality that is recognized over time.
People who are lawful tend to tell the truth, keep their word, honor tradition, respect authority, and look down upon whose who lack conviction for their duties. Being lawful implies honor, trustworthiness, reliability, and obedience to authority. Sometimes being lawful also brings with it close-mindedness, judgementalness, and inflexibility. Lawful people often support the idea of a lawful society where people can depend on each other with confidence that others will act as they should.
People who are chaotic tend to follow their own conscience, favor new ideas over tradition, resent being told what to do, and will honor their promises only if they want to. Being chaotic means valuing freedom, flexibility, and adaptibility. With chaotic behavior can also come recklessness, irresponsibility, resentment towards legitimate authority, and arbitrariness. Chaotic people tend to believe in unfettered personal freedom, allowing individuals to fully express themselves, and the idea that only then can society benefit from the full potential of the individuals of which it is composed.
People who are “neutral” with respect to law and chaos has a healthy respect for authority, but feels no strong need to either obey or rebel. Neutral people are generally honest, but can be tempted into lying or acting deceptively. Also, creatures that lack the conscious ability to tend towards moral action are neutral. Though dogs may seem loyal and obedient to their masters and cats may seem free-spirited and aloof, they lack the intellectual capacity to act according to set moral code, and so are neutral.
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