Hello all,
I've been doing some thinking about "Alignment", and how it works with PlaneShift roleplay to easily define a character, their probable goals, intentions, and what sort of characters they may associate with on a friendly basis, and what sort of characters they will likely fight with.
I am of the opinion that Lawful/Chaotic and Good/Evil as factors is too simplistic. These alignment factors are generally written for entire civilizations in the case of D&D and PlaneShift takes place under one government, which is either Lawful Good or Lawful Neutral, depending on your IC/OOC opinion.
Good/Neutral/Evil: Stays the same.
Therefore, rather than mentioning "Chaotic", a word that has got rather negative connotations in this game, I propose using Law Adherant and Law Avoiding. Adherants follow the law and include citizens, members of the Octarchial guard, etc. etc... Avoiders tend to avoid the cities, or at least the surface of them, preferring the countryside, sewers, either because they are criminal or do not agree with the Octarchial view on politics. The reason they should not be called 'chaotic' is because it encourages loose cannon characters, something in my opinion is less than realistic for PlaneShift roleplay.
However, I also propose a few new additions to this Alignment factoring.
Sane/Insane: Whether your character is mentally healthy has a massive factoring in their goals, ambitions, and overall Alignment. In some ways, you could say I have broken Chaotic into a few factors that used to be within the chaotic area. In my opinion it is better to break into these seperate factors to better describe one's Alignment with the rest of the world. There is no Neutral to this factor, you're either mentally healthy, or for some reason, you're not.
Traditional/Neutral/Modernist: This is another big factor, especially in societies that have retained their traditions. It is a measure of how integrated into the Octarchial "politically-correct" politics your character has become.
Self-Serving/Rule-Driven: This deals with whether your character is a Rogue-ish character following his own goals, or if he (and probably his guild) adhere to a ruleset and share the same/similar ambitions, that aren't entirely equal to the law. [This was added to deal with Rigwyn's point in his reply.]
Perhaps, we could add the religious alignment of the character too. Talad/Laanx/Xiosia/Dakkru/[Black Flame]/Agnostic/Atheist/Multiple/Neutral
Example: Akaiddo Kivikar, Nekaduky'a of the Kore Irka Clan.
Good, Law Adherant, Sane Rule-Driven Traditionalist. Follows Multiple religions with a preference for Talad and Laanx.
Have a go at using this system to define your character, and give me feedback as to whether you think it encourages better thought and depth of character when one is making a character.
