TEXT: Alignment Creator's Kit
  A Basic Fantasy RPG Supplement
  Release 1
  Copyright © 2008 Chris Gonnerman
  All Rights Reserved
  Distributed under the terms of the 
  Open Game License version 1.0a
  Basic Fantasy Website:  basicfantasy.org
  INTRODUCTION
  Alignment is a way of describing the moral code of a creature.  This supplement is intended to help the Game Master 
  create a system of alignments for his or her own game world.  These rules are for use with the Basic Fantasy Role-
  Playing Game rules.  If you do not already have a copy of the Basic Fantasy RPG rules, please visit the website and 
  download a copy.
  Alignment, in a role-playing game, refers to a system of 
  defining ethics and morality in the campaign world.  The 
  very  first  role-playing  game  possessed  an  alignment 
  system, basically defining “sides” to which the heroes and 
  monsters belonged.  Later games have expanded on this 
  concept in several details.  How alignments are defined, 
  judged, and applied in the game world has long been a 
  point of contention.
  The Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game rules do not define 
  (or  require)  any  rules  for  alignments.   This  article  is 
  intended for the Game Master who is considering the use 
  of alignment in his or her world.  The author has spent 
  many,  many  years  playing  and  running  role-playing 
  games, and has heard or read most of the arguments 
  about alignment.  I hope that the following may be of use 
  to you.
  A Note About Moral Relativism
  Wikipedia  says  this:   “Moral  relativists  hold  that  no 
  universal standard exists by which to assess an ethical 
  proposition's truth.”  Thus, what is “good” to one group is 
  “evil” to another.  In the author's opinion, attempting to 
  apply an alignment system in a world of moral relativism 
  is madness.  What is the point of defining your character's 
  alignment when other characters in the game world may, 
  with  complete  confidence,  define  your  character's 
  alignment entirely differently?
  In most fantasy game worlds, there are gods who define 
  morality and ethics.  They are the “universal standard” 
  mentioned above, defining what the alignments of the 
  world mean.  Thus, in this document, all discussion of 
  alignment is based on the concepts of moral absolutism 
  (the opposite of moral relativism).
  I advise Game Masters wishing to run worlds where moral 
  relativism is “in force” to stop reading now and give up 
  on using alignment rules in their games.
  Law vs. Chaos
  The most classic alignment system assigned characters to 
  one of three alignments: Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic.  In 
  general, a character is Lawful if he or she believes in the 
  importance of the group over the individual; laws and 
  customs dictate how individuals within the group interact, 
  and the Lawful character believes that obedience to law 
  and custom is important.
  The Chaotic character is a stark contrast, believing that 
  the  individual's  importance  is  primary.   A  Chaotic 
  character will be suspicious of any Lawful organization (if 
  not outwardly hostile to such an institution).
  Neutral characters straddle this line, obeying the laws of 
  the land most of the time but having no real devotion to 
  them.
  Good vs. Evil
  Another axis of alignment involves good and evil.  Early 
  games made the assumption that all Lawful characters 
  were “good” and all Chaotic characters were “evil,” but a 
  careful consideration of people in real life shows that this 
  is overly simplistic.  Just because a character believes in 
  anarchy  (Chaos)  does  not  mean  that  he  is  evil;  and 
  likewise, a character may be Lawful and be devoted to a 
  system of law which encourages torture of prisoners or 
  the oppression of the poor.
  Good characters believe in the value of sentient life.  All 
  thinking, feeling creatures are considered to have value, 
  and  slaying  such  a  creature  is  only  acceptable  when 
  allowing it to live will bring harm to other sentients.  Good 
  characters will almost never participate in torture or other 
  abuses of prisoners.
  Evil characters consider all beings other than themselves 
  to be of no intrinsic value.  Evil characters freely (and 
  often joyfully) participate in murder, torture, and other 
  things that bring harm to other sentients.
  Characters who are Neutral with respect to Good and Evil 
  may be truly amoral, or they may consider that only some 
  (but not all) sentients have value.  A common form of 
  
  A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT
  ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT
  ethical neutrality is the belief that one's own family, tribe, 
  or nation are the only true “people” in existence, while all 
  others are little more than animals.
  Other Axes
  I have seen alignment systems employing other measures 
  than the above, but I must admit that I find none of those 
  alternatives compelling, so they are not discussed herein. 
  There is no reason that you, the Game Master, cannot or 
  should not employ one or more alternative alignment axis 
  if you wish.
  Constructing An Alignment System
  You as Game Master must decide what sort of alignment 
  system applies in your world.  It is entirely reasonable that 
  the gods of your milieu care little about Law or Chaos but 
  consider questions of Good and Evil paramount.  Or, the 
  opposite might be true, with Law and Chaos being the 
  only significant factor.  Some campaigns might apply both 
  measures, calling characters Lawful Evil, Chaotic Neutral 
  or Neutral Good.  Some suggested alignment systems are 
  described below.
  Three Alignments
  This is the most basic system.  The GM simply selects one 
  of the axes described above (Good vs. Evil or Law vs. 
  Chaos) and ignores the other.
  Nine Alignments
  This is the most advanced system.  As described above, 
  the two axes are crossed with each other to produce the 
  following combinations:
  Lawful Good: Adherents to this alignment believe that 
  only through law and order can the benefits of good be 
  brought to the greatest number.
  Lawful Neutral:  These characters believe that order is of 
  paramount importance, and are not concerned with the 
  happiness or unhappiness of others.
  Lawful Evil:  Characters of this alignment prefer to live in 
  a society where the powerful rule over the weak.
  Neutral  Good:  These  characters  are  interested  in 
  promoting good, and uninterested in questions of law or 
  chaos.
  Absolute,  or  True,  Neutral:  This  alignment  can  be 
  interpreted  in  at  least  two  different  ways;  see  About 
  Neutrality, below, for more details.
  Neutral  Evil:  These  characters  revel  in  cruelty  and 
  hatred, generally working in small bands so as to inflict 
  maximum suffering while still acting on a personal level.
  Chaotic Good:  Characters of this alignment believe that 
  only  true  personal  freedom  can  bring  complete 
  happiness.
  Chaotic  Neutral:  These  characters  are  entirely  self-
  centered; they are neither friendly and merciful nor cruel 
  and hateful.
  Chaotic Evil:  These characters are true psychopaths; 
  they desire only to harm others for their own pleasure.
  More information on the Nine Alignment system can be 
  found in the document “Alignments: A Basic Fantasy 
  Supplement,”  available  from  the  basicfantasy.org 
  website.
  Five Alignments
  This odd variation of Nine Alignment systems is favored 
  by some.  In this system, the four alignments Lawful 
  Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, and Chaotic Neutral 
  are omitted from the list.  It is otherwise much the same 
  as the Nine Alignment system.
  About Neutrality
  There  are  two  schools  of  thought  about  Neutral 
  characters (particularly “True” Neutral characters, that is, 
  those who are Neutral in both Law vs. Chaos and Good 
  vs.  Evil).   The  first  school  of  thought  holds  that  the 
  Neutral character believes in the “cosmic balance.”  Such 
  a character believes that neither Law nor Chaos, Good 
  nor Evil should be allowed to become too powerful.  If 
  living in a mostly Lawful territory, the Neutral character 
  will work in favor of Chaos; this may mean law-breaking, 
  or it may mean attempting to undermine the government. 
  On the other hand, a Neutral character in a Chaotic (i.e. 
  lawless) land will work with those attempting to establish 
  order.
  The other school of thought is that the Neutral character is 
  indifferent  to the  extremes,  considering  none  of  them 
  important.  Such a character living in a Lawful land will 
  generally behave as if he is Lawful, but may engage in 
  illegal behavior when he feels it safe to do so.  If he finds 
  himself in a lawless region, he will behave as if Chaotic. 
  This sort of Neutral character is only interested in the 
  survival of himself and his family and friends.  This is 
  distinct from being Chaotic in that the Chaotic person 
  cares for nobody but himself.
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  ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT
  A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT
  This second sort of Neutrality, incidentally, includes all 
  creatures of animal intelligence.
  I have been told,  in emphatic terms,  by other Game 
  Masters that  the second definition of  Neutrality  is not 
  possible for sentient beings.  They assert that all Neutral 
  sentients will automatically work in favor of the “cosmic 
  balance.”  While I disagree, this is entirely an issue that 
  you, the Game Master, must decide upon for your own 
  game.
  Alignment Tracking
  In  some  old-school  games,  the  Game  Master  was 
  expected to monitor the actual behavior of each player 
  character, and compare the behavior to the character's 
  stated alignment.  In cases where  the GM felt it was 
  warranted, he was expected to notify the player that the 
  character's  alignment  had  changed.   Such  involuntary 
  alignment changes often included penalties in the form of 
  lost experience points or even levels of ability.
  I'll tell you honestly, I'm not sure what the point of this is. 
  I don't see why a Fighter, or a Magic-User, or a Thief 
  should suffer a loss of experience as a result of changing 
  alignment.  However, there is one case where I do see a 
  point to tracking a character's alignment: the Cleric.
  Religion and Alignment
  If you are considering using an alignment system, you are 
  probably planning to assign alignments to the gods of 
  your campaign world.  Generally, the gods in such a 
  world will expect their mortal followers to be of the same 
  alignment.  Clerics, the official representatives of the gods, 
  must maintain their alignment scrupulously.  Failure to do 
  so should be met with penalties.
  Basic Fantasy RPG does not include alignment as an 
  official rule.  The gods of “standard” Basic Fantasy RPG 
  worlds  (such  as  the  Western  Lands,  as  seen  in  BF1 
  Morgansfort) expect their followers, especially Clerics, to 
  obey their commandments.  It is thus entirely possible to 
  define  the  ethics  and  morality  expected  by  the  gods 
  without the use of alignment.  (In fact, one might say 
  that's how it is done in real life.)
  Building Your Alignment System
  Alignments are often a point of contention.  The most 
  important thing you, the Game Master, should do if you 
  plan to use alignments in your game is to make the rules 
  clear to the players.  Be sure that all players know how 
  you define Neutrality.  Make sure they know if you plan 
  to track their character's alignments, and if so, what sort of 
  penalties they can expect for transgressing.  Fail to do 
  this, and you run the risk of spending a game session 
  arguing with your players.
  3
  
  A BASIC FANTASY SUPPLEMENT
  ALIGNMENT CREATOR'S KIT
  Open Game License
  INTRODUCTION
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  Supplement”) is based on the System Reference Document v3.5 ("SRD"), which 
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