Book of Perfect Balance

[dead]

I noticed that in the FR "Underdark" book that there's a magic item called the Book of Perfect Balance. Is this the neutral version of the BoVD and BoED?

If so, WotC should release the "Book of Perfect Balance", it'd make a great companion volume to BoVD and BoED. I mean, if you treated "perfect balance" as just being on the good/evil axis, then you could do a lot of stuff with the forces of Law like the Modrons and the forces of Chaos like the Slaadi.

I'd like to see this book happen.

What'd others think?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Nah. I'd rather see a book devoted to chaos and a book devoted to law.

To me, neutrality isn't an active force like good, evil, law, or chaos. It's inaction. It's apathy. It's indecision. It's self-interest. Actions can be good, evil, lawful, or chaotic, but neutrality is more inaction.

Besides, I think you could easily get a full book's-worth of material out of law and chaos as two separate subjects. Why reduce them to sharing parts of a single book that's not directly related to them?

 

[I'm A Banana]

I definately think Law and Chaos could come first (Book of Ineffable Order, and Tome of Undefinable Freedom, perhaps)

But I'd groove on a book about Neutrality, too...there's enough there for a book, I know. Still, D&D tends to view Neutrality as 'everyone else', not choosing a goal, the way everything in between is...Neutrality isn't generally it's own force, it's Law + Chaos + Good + Evil in varying degrees....still, I'd love to see it come into it's own as a force.

 

[Li Shenron]

To be honest, neither a book of neutrality nor ones about chaos and law excite me very much... good vs evil is still the top opposition IMXP

 

[RithTheAwakener]

A book of neutrality seems like it would be boring, like a Book O' Druids, which is also like MoTW, which wasnt all that great IMO. (im tired, i hope this sentance makes sense) XD

 

[Trickstergod]

True neutrality isn't inaction, it's doing just what most folk do every day. It's maybe donating blood and tipping extra, but not putting up a fuss when you get promoted over someone you know is better qualified then you, just because the manager likes you better. It's paying your speeding tickets but, simultaneously, not letting that stop you from going 75 miles per hour after pulling out of the courthouse parking lot. Those are all tame examples, but they could easily be amplified.

As it is, though, as I pretty much got around to, it's nothing that needs philosophizing over. True neutrality is just people being people. If anything, it's defined by all the other alignments. When those different things join and clash and interact. The cop that cuts corners and skirts the law for the purpose of seeing justice served. The person who volunteers at a soup kitchen but goes home and engages in domestic violence.

Not to mention that alignments such as Chaotic Good and Lawful Good aren't the opposite of the other. Chaotic Neutral and Lawful Neutral, however, are. I suppose a book focusing on their contrasts could be interesting, but by that same token, so could that focused on, say, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil and the way they blended together for True Neutrality. To which I say, hey, just go for a book focusing straight on alignment at that point.

I'm with Ari; two separate books, one for Chaos and one for Law, sounds much more interesting.

 

[dead]

I reckon one more book would make for a nice trilogy and that there'd be heaps of jucy material.

Slaad Lords
Primus and the modrons
Xaositechs
The Rod of Seven Parts/ the Aaqu / Miska and the Wolf Spiders
The Outlands
Sigil

This all assumes "neutrality" on the good/evil axxis only, though.

 

[HellHound]

I would DEFINITELY prefer a book of Law and a book of Chaos.

But then again, I'm a huge Moorcock fan, so Law and Chaos are at LEAST as important in my campaigns as good and evil.

 

[Pants]

I reckon one more book would make for a nice trilogy and that there'd be heaps of jucy material.

Slaad Lords
Primus and the modrons
Xaositechs
The Rod of Seven Parts/ the Aaqu / Miska and the Wolf Spiders
The Outlands
Sigil

This all assumes "neutrality" on the good/evil axxis only, though.

That'd be what it SHOULD cover; LN, TN, and CN. There's enough subject matter there to fill one nice book.

 

[DragonLancer]

I think that books for Law, Chaos and Neutrality need to be done. I'd certainly buy them all.

Neutrality does need a book like these, because of all the alignments Neutrality needs explaining more than any other.