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Message: <blockquote data-quote="incognito" data-source="post: 349721" data-attributes="member: 7008">I l_ove_ the idea that neutrality is, or can be, 'undecided' - for who among us has not had a moral dilemma where it was simply tough to know the "right" (good?  lawful?) thing to do.I have this suspicion that DMs should start off all their player's Neutral (alignment restrictions notwithstanding), and allow their actions to mold their alignments over their first few levels.  If I has a nickel for every greedy paladin...sheesh!Also, there has been a somewhat of a general consensus that selfishness is evil.  Let's not confuse that with ambitiousness - for if we cannot be ambitious, then we do not strive for personal gain or growth, and this is a basic living tenet.  the difference comes when our desire for personal gain is strong enough to be willing to harm other to ensure are success.Notice the use of the word ensure.  Competition is not an evil trait, yet every contest has a winner and a loser.  In a world without unlimited resources, your gain is another man's loss...does this make you "evil" - I think not?  In game terms, your "quest" for a magic item, used for the party good, prevents others from using the same item.  If they are good, and perish because of it, does that make your possession of the item an evil act?No, not unless there is causality - ie, the magic item you took was a stone of strength (for a girdle of strength) that kept a damn from flooding a small village.  I will say that complex moral or ethical dilemma’s are the corner stone of many truly engaging games - Our own PirateCat once set up a scenario where an evil succubus had seduced an important NPC contact, who was very friendly with the PCs.   TO make matters worse, the town this helpful NPC ruled was VERY intolerant of demonic "taint" and would've stoned the NPC if this fact had been revealed.  Then there is the whole idea of trauma of an NPC having to lose the love of his life  - either by having it revealed that his love was a demon, or simply convincing the demon to seek greener pastures...This is a truly diabolical storyline, because there are no great solutions, much like life...and there was not "hack and slash" conflict resolution.  It simply had to be role-played.</blockquote>

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