Not everyone in the world is caught up in the universal ideals of good, evil, law, and chaos.  Most people have complex desires, motivations, and morals that are not easily categorized.

In Dalleth, these ideals are cosmic forces that shape the world.  Aligning yourself with one or more of these forces must be a conscious action, and breaking your ties to these forces has consequences.

The Six Alignments

There are six ideals to which a person might dedicate themselves: Good, Evil, Law, Chaos, Balance, and Neutrality.  These are grouped into pairs of opposites.

Good and Evil

Good implies selflessness and compassion, altruism and respect for life.  Characters who swear themselves to the concept of Good are sworn to protect the innocent and help those in need.

Evil encompasses hatred and greed, oppression and cruelty.  Characters sworn to Evil will make an active effort to cause harm.

A character cannot swear themselves to both Good and Evil.

Law and Chaos

Law implies not just obeying the laws of a given region, but for following orders and believing in disciplined action.  In fact, a Lawful character may be sworn to something they consider a higher Law: a Lawful priest will obey the tenants of their deity before the laws of a kingdom.

Chaos is the absence of order and discipline.  Chaotic characters might openly flaunt laws, and will disobey orders unless given a compelling reason not to.  Chaos implies rule by might - only the powerful have the right to give orders.

A character cannot be sworn to both Law and Chaos.

Balance and Neutrality

Balance and Neutrality appear very similar on the surface.  A character sworn to Balance will always try to mete out Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic actions in equal measure, consciously trying to achieve the goals of each.  An advocate of Neutrality, on the other hand, attempts to avoid involving herself in the ways of the world.  Hermetic priests and druids might take an Oath of Neutrality.

A character sworn to either Balance or Neutrality cannot be sworn to any other alignment.

The Oath of Alignment

A character who wishes to swear herself to an alignment must take an Oath of Alignment.  This does not have to be a ceremony, although it can be.  It does not even have to be spoken aloud.  It simply takes a conscious decision to abide by the precepts of the alignment.  This forms a connection between the character and the appropriate elemental plane.  In the case of Balance, it forms a small connection to all 4 planes.  Neutrality forms such a connection to the plane of Stasis.

The bond formed can be effected and detected by magical means (see Alignment and Magic, below).  If the character acts severely or repeatedly against the precepts that the alignment is based on (at the DM's discretion), his connection to the plane may be severed, breaking the Oath.  The shock from this event causes the player to lose 100 XP per level.  This experience can be restored if the character atones (see the spell Atonement).  The loss of an alignment may have further detrimental effects, depending on the character's class.  This can be determined by the DM.

Alignment and Class

Any character may choose to take an Oath of Alignment.  However, some classes in the Players Handbook have alignment restrictions.  In Dalleth, these work somewhat differently.  The differences are described in detail on the Changes to core classes page.

Alignment and Magic

Many spells and magical items detect, require, or forbid the presence of alignments.  In Dalleth, these spells work on anyone who has taken the appropriate Oath of Alignment.  Balance and Neutrality are additional choices for any of the alignment-based spells.