Choosing an Alignment

There are three things that need to be considered when creating a character-

Race: In T: FotO, this will be a huge factor in determining your character and how she is treated by the world around her. It will also play heavily on engine-supported bonuses and penalties in regards to combat and skill use.

Alignment: Good and evil are not clear-cut. Rather, there are varying shades of gray. Choosing your character's alignment will be another huge factor, for it dictates how she treats the world around her. Alignments are not set in stone, but they certainly lend to refined roleplay as well as set conditions for several factors in regard to gameplay.

Class: This is your character's profession, each being unique and distinct from the other. While it is possible to have it changed, keep in mind that it is often difficult to do so. Classes determine your characters strengths and weaknesses in regard to her skills, whether it be combat, use of magic, or picking locks. Choose wisely.

Listed below is an in-depth breakdown of the selectable alignments in T: FotO. Read them over and make a decision that best suits your playing style. If you have questions, as always feel free to PM me or message me on IRC.

Lawful Good (LG)
Lawful Good characters believe that law, order, and stability are the best path to achieving the ends of Good. They see stability as providing a foundation on which people can build plans for their futures, and thus as providing people with the best chance of eventual happiness. They may accept strict laws, if they believe these to be necessary; for instance a Lawful Good culture could have capital punishment for extreme crimes. (The crimes must generally be extreme, or this would violate the principle of respect for life. However, a sufficiently heinous crime can, in the D&D system, constitute sufficient reason for a Good character to condone execution.) However, they will not accept clear failures of their legal system; a legal system in a Lawful Good culture will tend to favor the rights of the accused, to prevent innocents from coming to harm.
Lawful Good characters tend to have a strong set of personal moral rules, and rely on these for moral judgements; they may do things that they are not very comfortable with, if the moral rules require them. Thus, a Lawful Good soldier will be likely to obey the orders of a superior, even if he has concerns about their moral quality, because he has already committed to obedience.

Lawful Good Characters:
Always keeps his word.
Never lies.
Never attack, harm or kill an innocent foe.
Never harm an innocent.
Never torture for any reason. Will not allow torture.
Always helps others.
Always work within the law.
Respects honor, self-discipline, authority and law.
Works well within a group.
Never take 'dirty money' or items.
Never betray a friend. Ever. For ANY reason.

Neutral Good (NG)
Neutral Good characters are quite willing to have a basic framework of law, but will feel comfortable violating laws when the results of a given law are clearly in conflict with personal ideals. They will twist or bend laws, or simply ignore them, when their ideals compell them, but will generally follow "Good" laws without complaint.
Neutral Good characters tend to have principles, rather than a specific moral code. A Neutral Good character is more likely to evaluate an action in terms of its expected result, than in terms of conformance to a specific set of rules.

Neutral Good Characters:
Always keeps their word.
Is VERY unlikely to lie, except perhaps to an evil person.
Never attack or kill an unarmed foe.
Never harm an innocent.
Never tortures for any reason. Is very unlikely to allow torture for any reason.
Never kill for pleasure.
Always tries to help others.
Works well in groups.
Never take dirty money or items.
Never betray a friend.

Chaotic Good (CG)
Chaotic Good characters believe that a formal structure of morals or law will primarily harm people, and restrict their freedom. They believe that freedom is of paramount importance. They do not have formal sets of moral rules; they pursue good ends by whatever means are at hand. (Of course, those means must not be excessive or inappropriate; this would defeat the purpose.) They will oppose social institutions or structures that limit freedom, especially if they limit happiness.

Chaotic Good Characters:
Keep their word to any other good person.
Lies only to neutral or evil people.
Never attack or kill an unarmed foe.
Never harm an innocent.
Never torture for pleasure or information. Threats may be permissible.
Never kill for pleasure.
Always tries to help others.
Distrusts authority.
Works well in groups, but dislikes confining rules and 'red tape'.
Never take dirty money or items.
Never betray a friend.

Lawful Neutral (LN)
Lawful Neutral characters may be Neutral for a number of reasons. Some may be inclined towards Good, but not committed to it. Others may be trying to preserve a balance. Lawful Neutral characters are more willing than Lawful Good ones to accept harsh punishments for minor crimes; the stability of the system is more important to them than the quality of life under it, or the quality of the results. They are more willing to dismiss the suffering or indignities inflicted on "criminals" or other people that they can isolate from themselves, but they will tend to resist obvious miscarriages of justice.
Lawful Neutral characters tend to have strong personal moral rules, but these rules need not reflect the ideals of Good very well. They are more likely to accept vengance, punishment, and preemptive action than Lawful Good characters are.

Lawful Neutral Characters:
Keep his word of honor.
Lie and cheat only if very necessary.
Never attack or harm an unarmed foe.
Never harm an innocent.
Does not use torture unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. (Never for pleasure)
Never kill for pleasure.
Usually helps those in need.
Works in groups well, especially if it suits his needs.
Will quite possibly take dirty money.
Never betrays a friend.
Has a high reguard for life and personal freedom.

True Neutral (TN)
True Neutral characters may simply be unaligned; we do not discuss those here. Characters who are of true neutral alignment may well be simply characters who have the inclinations of Neutral Good, but not the committment to them. They may be somewhat selfish at times, but will shy from lasting harm to innocents.

True Neutral Characters:
May or May not keep his word.
May or May not lie to or cheat anyone.
May or May not attack and kill an unarmed foe.
May or May not Use, hurt and kill an innocent without a second thought or for pleasure.
May or May not Use torture for pleasure and information.
Will not kill for sheer pleasure.
Unlikely to help someone only to kill or rob him.
May or May not work well within a group (Depends on if the group maintains a balanced view).
May or May not follow the ways of honour, authority, and self-discipline.
Associate mostly with other Neutral alignments.
May or May not betray friends.

Chaotic Neutral (CN)
Chaotic Neutral characters are strongly independent. They don't care much for Good or Evil, and, while they will avoid harming innocents, they will generally make no strong effort to help. They will sometimes act in a benevolent way, but it will be as much because of personal mood as because of any moral principle. They dislike law and society, but will not try to overthrow it; that would require a belief in an end, which would imply Good or Evil.

Note: Players who choose Chaotic Neutral will be closely monitored due to the difficulty of playing the alignment. If the character does not adhere to the alignment properly, expect an alignment shift.

Chaotic Neutral Characters:
May keep his word.
Lies and cheats if he feels it necessary.
Never kill an unarmed foe, but may knock out or beat up one.
Never kill an innocent but may harm or kidnap.
Will use torture to extract information but not for pleasure.
Seldom kills for pleasure.
Is not likely to help someone without an ulterior motive. (Even if its just showing off!).
Has little respect for authority.
Does not work well within groups - tends to do as he pleases, despite orders to the contrary.
Will usually take dirty money or items.
Is very unlikely to betray a friend.

A note on Evil Alignments: Some NWN server worlds do not allow evil alignments or utilize them as a restricted class. I don't presently feel the need to restrict players in such a way so initially evil alignments will be allowed. After all, there are plenty of "evil" people in this world who feel that they are doing noble things, or "evil" people who take advantage of courageous causes to benefit their own self-interest.

HOWEVER...

Evil alignments will be allowed on a "trial basis." If it causes too much conflict, or doesn't mesh well with the setting, they'll be restricted. So play wisely.

Lawful Evil (LE)
Lawful Evil characters support a strong system of laws because it provides them with a consistent framework in which to build their own power and achieve their own ends. They may favor harsh punishments for trivial infractions, or may prefer a system which encourages "minor" crimes, because they feel they can take advantage of these. Whatever the laws are, though, Lawful Evil creatures will tend to follow them, and will certainly maintain the appearance of following such laws. They will have no compunctions about doing harm that is not illegal.
Lawful Evil characters may have a strong code of honor, but will generally view it only as a means to ensure that others are obligated to treat them similarly.

Lawful Evil Characters:
Always keeps his word of honor.
Lies and cheats those not worthy of his respect.
May or may not kill an unarmed foe.
Never kill an innocent but will harm, harass or kidnap.
Never torture for pleasure but will to extract information.
Never kills for pleasure - always has a reason.
May or may not help someone in need.
Respects honor and self-discipline. Has no time for the law.
Will work with others to attain his goals.
May take dirty money.
Never betray a friend.

Neutral Evil (NE)
Neutral Evil characters are unconstrained by a firm sense of honor, free from compunctions, but willing and able to take advantage of social structures when these suit their needs. They are the precise opposite of Neutral Good characters. They will use a social system to their advantage, but have no committment to a code of honor. Some will pretend to one to gain advantage, however.

Neutral Evil Characters:
Will not necessarily keep his word to anyone.
Lies and cheats indiscriminately.
Will happily kill an unarmed foe.
Will harm and use an innocent, killing if necessary.
Uses torture to extract information. (And enjoys it! May torture for pleasure).
May kill for sheer pleasure.
Feels no compulsion to help others without some sort of tangible reward.
Works with others if it will help achieve his personal goals.
Will take dirty money etc without hesitation.
Will betray a friend if it serves his needs.
Has little respect for others' lives.

Chaotic Evil (CE)
A classic psychotic villain, the Chaotic Evil character will do whatever strikes him as useful to his ends. He will kill or maim if it suits his needs. If he is sadistic, he will likely kill great numbers of people, but if he isn't, he will graciously only kill those that inconvenience or annoy him. He will make sincere-sounding promises if it suits his needs, but will keep them only when it is convenient or necessary to his goals. He views the world as a convenience to him, and will oppose any social order that might keep him from pursuing his goals.

Note: Players who choose Chaotic Evil will be closely monitored due to the difficulty of playing the alignment as well as the potentially damaging effects playing such an alignment may have on the game world. If the alignment proves to be more trouble than its worth, well... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But in the meantime, THINK CAREFULLY before choosing this alignment; you run the risk of losing your character as an NPC if it proves to be that detrimental to the setting.

Chaotic Evil Characters:
Rarely keeps his word. Has no honor.
Lie and cheat anyone.
Most certainly attack and kill an unarmed foe (those are the best kind!).
Will hurt and/or kill an innocent without a second thought. (Or for pleasure).
Uses torture to extract information and pleasure.
Will kill for sheer pleasure.
Is likely to help someone only on a whim.
Despises honor and authority and self-discipline. Views them as weaknesses.
Does not work well in a group. Constantly vying for power and/or command.
Will always take dirty money etc.
Will betray a friend. After all, you can always get another friend.
Associates mostly with other evil alignments.