Alignment
Alignment is the measure of an individual or individual institution's position on the law-chaos and the good-evil ontological axes. Though characters and their institutions are by necessity subjective, alignment creates objective observations about behaviors with their inherent moral textures. An important fixture in The Domains of Dread, as the Realms of Terror seek to pull certain individuals to axiom extremes whether good or evil, lawful or chaotic. Yet the Misty Border obscures easy assessment of alignment. Whether it does this to abet evil by having the quality of being evil harder to definitively determine or to force, ironically, subjective judgement of actions is a matter best left to the philosophers.
The following details alignment from its overarching, objective perspective and how it impacts play in The Domains of Dread. It should be assumed that no playable character in the Realms of Terror will have detailed knowledge of alignment as a metaphysical concept except for the existence of good, evil, chaos and law.
Clarifications and ruling regarding alignment different from base Third Edition are also proscribed; in all cases alignment as described on this page is how alignment functions in The Domains of Dread, superseding information that can be found elsewhere.
Alignment as Pattern
A character's alignment is, at its core, a statement about how they behave in an environment where their behavior is unforced. It reflects their true (inner) self, without regard for public persona. It is in fact the rule rather than the exception in the Realms of Terror that the greatest living evils often have the presence of mind to be polite in public, even charming or superficially helpful - but when allowed to be as they really are, such pleasantries melt away into the Mists.
As such, alignment is a pattern of behaviors that carry ontological weight. People in the Realms of Terror do not snap into another alignment for any one choice - however chafing against their nature has consequence in the form of internal conflict. Should a person feel they have violated their inner selves to the degree of believing that they have become something other than, no further action need be taken: the Mists will have made it so. Absent of such catastrophic revelations, people shift alignment as the result of continued action to the contrary in periods of months or even years.
Intention in Alignment
Intention does play a role in alignment in the Realms of Terror, though it is no exonerating salvo - objective misdeeds are objective misdeeds, even if they are done for subjectively good or at least feasible reasons. Simply put, a character who does something for the simple joy of doing so will receive more of an alignment slide toward the position of that action than someone who does so with regret, ignorance or gritted teeth - but they both will slide.
The Nine Alignments
Lawful Good
A lawful good character acts with the certainty of someone as good as they are honorable. They will oppose evil wherever they are found, refusing to be passive except to work toward that evil's destruction. Yet they also will help those in need, knowing that law and creed is useless unless serving to the benefit of common folk. Lawful good is the rarest alignment in the Realms of Terror, as the Mists often invent scenarios where those who cling stringently to feckless ethics find themselves challenged again and again. Few that remain with this alignment will die old, happy and fulfilled.
Neutral Good
A neutral good character understands that pursuing good in the Realms of Terror is subject to a level of complexity that requires discretion. Though they make for benevolent public servants, healers and scholars, they do not feel an inherent offense for the rule of law, nor the need to protect the rule of law itself. Many are content pursuing the betterment of their communities in their own individual way without lamenting the bigger picture.
Chaotic Good
A chaotic good character cannot stand idle by injustice. This is not dissimilar to lawful good, however their reasons could not create greater contrast. Where a lawful good character may see a poisonous law and speak out to change it, a chaotic good character often finds offense with the very institutions installing such laws themselves, arguing they are the tools for tyranny, not order. They will not necessarily advocate for total anarchy, but are naturally suspicious of authorities and their true intentions.
Lawful Neutral
A lawful neutral character champions codes and standards without quandary over their moral structure. They believe that carving exceptions where exceptions might be made creates long term doubt in the strength of a society or organization to what is right by their own traditions. This is often the alignment of ecclesial churches, their adherents, and the platonic ideal of governments even as the nature of the Realms of Terror often make such dispositions difficult in practice.
True Neutral
Most people in the Realms of Terror are born true neutral and, unless circumstances permit their cottoning onto another as they mature, remain that way through their lifetime. The Realms of Terror produce the greatest heroes and the most wretched villains, true, but if not for the thousands of common folk who speak to no side beside, they would cease being so great or so evil. These are the people who live to live, and do so without zeal.
Chaotic Neutral
A chaotic neutral character upholds themselves only to their own individual beliefs and desires. They guard their individual rights greedily yet won't fight for the freedoms of others, if they consider "the other" at all. They do not make intentional disruption in the fabric of order as to do so would imply ideology or greater purpose, which the chaotic neutral would not espouse. Instead they are individualists, putting premium on the ability to decide however they would like with minimal regard for consequence.
Lawful Evil
A lawful evil character exacts what they need within the barest limit of their code of conduct, no matter who it hurts. They might care about tradition, loyalty and order, but not freedom, dignity or life. Many institutions in the Realms of Terror are lawful evil when understood as a collective - though the alignments of their rank and file may vary, they serve ultimately evil masters under the guise of "following orders". While a valuable smokescreen for debating others, the Mists remain canny to hand down their objective judgement.
Neutral Evil
A neutral evil character is content to do whatever they think they can get away with. In this way neutral evil represents perhaps the most dangerous kind of villainy in the Realms of Terror - calculating, constructive evil not bound by base urges or the appearance of higher order. They often embed themselves into positions of high society, content to appear as they are not until provided with the opportunity to express their inner, horrible ambition.
Chaotic Evil
A chaotic evil character abhors the sanctity of life and the premise of order itself. They are often thrust by mad, hungry compulsions that inure tremendous destruction wherever they are unopposed. Though they may put on the airs of something else so to better survive, their lack of discipline makes any charade difficult to maintain in the long term. Much of the undead in the Realms of Terror are chaotic evil, representing their disdain for the life they no longer have and today consume.