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"True Neutral": Bunk or Hogwash
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<blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 9858096" data-attributes="member: 2209"><p>For reference here is the 1e PH and DMG descriptions of True Neutral</p><p></p><p>True Neutral: The “true” neutral looks upon all other alignments as facets of the system of things. Thus, each aspect — evil and good, chaos and law — of things must be retained in balance to maintain the status quo; for things as they are cannot be improved upon except temporarily, and even then but superficially. Nature will prevail and keep things as they were meant to be, provided the “wheel” surrounding the hub of nature does not become unbalanced due to the work of unnatural forces — such as human and other intelligent creatures interfering with what is meant to be.</p><p></p><p>NEUTRALITY: Absolute, or true, neutral creatures view everything which exists as an integral, necessary part or function of the entire cosmos. Each thing exists as a part of the whole, one as a check or balance to the other, with life necessary for death, happiness for suffering, good for evil, order for chaos, and vice versa. Nothing must ever become predominant or out of balance. Within this naturalistic ethos, humankind serves a role also, just as all other creatures do. They may be more or less important, but <strong>the neutral does not concern himself or herself with these considerations except where it is positively determined that the balance is threatened.</strong> Absolute neutrality is in the central or fulcrum position quite logically, as the neutral sees all other alignments as parts of a necessary whole. This alignment is the narrowest in scope.</p><p></p><p>Mostly things will take care of themself naturally unless unnatural forces throw the big picture out of whack.</p><p></p><p>It starts to get more extreme in micromanaging a balance in the 2e PH:</p><p></p><p>True Neutral: True neutral characters believe in the ultimate balance of forces, and they refuse to see actions as either good or evil. Since the majority of people in the world make judgments, true neutral characters are extremely rare. True neutrals do their best to avoid siding with the forces of either good or evil, law or chaos. <strong>It is their duty to see that all of these forces remain in balanced contention.</strong></p><p>True neutral characters sometimes find themselves forced into rather peculiar alliances. <strong>To a great extent, they are compelled to side with the underdog in any given situation</strong>, sometimes even changing sides as the previous loser becomes the winner. A true neutral druid might join the local barony to put down a tribe of evil gnolls, only to drop out or switch sides when the gnolls were brought to the brink of destruction. He would seek to prevent either side from becoming too powerful. Clearly, there are very few true neutral characters in the world.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Voadam, post: 9858096, member: 2209"] For reference here is the 1e PH and DMG descriptions of True Neutral True Neutral: The “true” neutral looks upon all other alignments as facets of the system of things. Thus, each aspect — evil and good, chaos and law — of things must be retained in balance to maintain the status quo; for things as they are cannot be improved upon except temporarily, and even then but superficially. Nature will prevail and keep things as they were meant to be, provided the “wheel” surrounding the hub of nature does not become unbalanced due to the work of unnatural forces — such as human and other intelligent creatures interfering with what is meant to be. NEUTRALITY: Absolute, or true, neutral creatures view everything which exists as an integral, necessary part or function of the entire cosmos. Each thing exists as a part of the whole, one as a check or balance to the other, with life necessary for death, happiness for suffering, good for evil, order for chaos, and vice versa. Nothing must ever become predominant or out of balance. Within this naturalistic ethos, humankind serves a role also, just as all other creatures do. They may be more or less important, but [B]the neutral does not concern himself or herself with these considerations except where it is positively determined that the balance is threatened.[/B] Absolute neutrality is in the central or fulcrum position quite logically, as the neutral sees all other alignments as parts of a necessary whole. This alignment is the narrowest in scope. Mostly things will take care of themself naturally unless unnatural forces throw the big picture out of whack. It starts to get more extreme in micromanaging a balance in the 2e PH: True Neutral: True neutral characters believe in the ultimate balance of forces, and they refuse to see actions as either good or evil. Since the majority of people in the world make judgments, true neutral characters are extremely rare. True neutrals do their best to avoid siding with the forces of either good or evil, law or chaos. [B]It is their duty to see that all of these forces remain in balanced contention.[/B] True neutral characters sometimes find themselves forced into rather peculiar alliances. [B]To a great extent, they are compelled to side with the underdog in any given situation[/B], sometimes even changing sides as the previous loser becomes the winner. A true neutral druid might join the local barony to put down a tribe of evil gnolls, only to drop out or switch sides when the gnolls were brought to the brink of destruction. He would seek to prevent either side from becoming too powerful. Clearly, there are very few true neutral characters in the world. [/QUOTE]
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