Alignment is one of those weird game mechanics that can be viewed as both a hindrance and an aid. Because of this it is often the victim of a love hate type of relationship among players that can cause some heated disagreements. If they could apply their thoughts to its use they would not have so many words in lost to indifference.
When I speak of alignment in this article I’m not referring to any one system or style. I’m instead writing about the concept of what it can be in the development of character. If you apply such a system to developing the personality of your individual I believe it can be invaluable. Many of us walk through our lives with no “moral” code, at least not the way an alignment is is presented in game terms. That’s because games have a difficult time presenting alignment in an effective way. Since many alignments are presented as a code that creates a struggle of some sort, usually good and evil, they have to be broad so players can use them effectively with their creations. Not to mention many characters are created with to be adults ready to start their adventuring career. In reality this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In the real world we develop our “alignment” over years of character growth. For us our alignment is directly linked to what we believe, or to be more accurate, what we have come to believe. That is our faith directs our choices. This could mean you are guided by religion, science, or philosophy. It doesn’t matter what guides your thoughts what matters is that when you apply this to your character she has already lost years of development.
