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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DMScott" data-source="post: 1766428" data-attributes="member: 11734">What I do nowadays is make it clear that the two-letter code on their character sheet is not an all-encompassing personality guide, but rather a measure of which (if any) divine rules they're closest to following. In effect, there's a divide between the subjective nature of mortals and the dictates of the deities; the latter are what determines how alignment-based game effects apply. Alignment then is relatively restricted, measuring only behaviour in an area important to the gods. Those who can't achieve the sort of consistency the gods prefer (which is most of humanity, at least) are considered Neutral in the eyes of the divine - that doesn't mean they're not a good person in many ways, just that they can't or won't live up to the relatively strict behavioural guidelines set down by the higher powers. Someone who acts in a completely Lawful Good manner has a lot of trouble coexisting in normal human society.For characters that aren't dedicated to a particular religion or philosophy, it's normal for alignment to wander a bit in response to their recent actions, and every few sessions I let everybody know where they stand. For those who have levels in classes with alignment restrictions, I try to let them know ahead of time what rules they have to live by in order to keep their status. I'm also thinking of changing the alignment names to get away from everyday descriptions - it's quite possible for someone to be considered a good person without living up to the Good alignment. Even more likely in many cases, since a person who's Good must abide by some restrictions on their behaviour that (paradoxically enough) make it hard for them to act in some situations. They must trust in the gods that these restrictions are just, and take solace in the fact that mortal existence is transient while their spiritual behaviour has presumably eternal consequences.So human society is generally neutral. Non-human societies are sometimes aligned - for example, Dwarves are still generally Lawful Good and Elves are generally Chaotic Good. This means that their respective societies are very alien to humans, and much less pragmatic. That's one of the reasons humans are the dominant culture in the mortal world - they may not be as in-tune to the will of particular deities, but that also means they don't have as many restrictions on their behaviour. For example, one aspect of being Good is that the only intelligent creatures you may kill are the Evil ones. So Elves and Dwarves do not make war on humans (or each other), but human nations are not so constrained. The prevailing alignment of the Dwarves and Elves is a big part of the reason they have largely withdrawn to lands considered inhospitable to humans.</blockquote>

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