What are the D&D Alignments & How Do They Work? A Complete Guide

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The history and mechanics of D&D’s alignment system
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Are you curious about Dungeons & Dragons’ alignment system and how it works? Or are you simply trying to pick an alignment for your character and need a refresher on each option? Either way, we can help! Alignments in D&D are based on two axes: law vs. chaos and good vs. evil. There are 9 alignment options from lawful good to chaotic evil based on the two axes, plus unaligned for creatures incapable of making moral decisions. Read on for a comprehensive overview of alignments in D&D 5e, including character examples and more.

D&D Alignments at a Glance

Alignments in D&D rely on 2 axes: good vs. evil and law vs. chaos, with neutrality at the center of each. Thus, there are 10 total D&D alignments: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, true neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, chaotic evil, and unaligned.

Section 1 of 4:

All D&D Alignments

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    Lawful good characters are compassionate, honorable, and dutiful. They strive to do good work but also typically follow a strict code or set of laws, working within the system to help others and fight evil. So, a lawful good character might not do something that would break a law or violate their code, even if that action is “good” in nature. [1]
    • Character examples: Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Star Wars ), Hermione Granger ( Harry Potter ), Jean-Luc Picard ( Star Trek ), and Ned Stark ( Game of Thrones ).
    • Lawful good deities in 5e: Tyr (the god of justice), Ilmater (the god of endurance), and Torm (the god of courage).
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    Neutral good characters strive to do the most good that they can; they believe in goodness and compassion first and foremost and are less concerned with things like law or chaos. They often follow the rules by default but aren’t afraid to deviate and break the rules if it means doing the right thing in the end. [2]
    • Character examples: Captain Kirk ( Star Trek ), Harry Potter, Gandalf the Grey ( Lord of the Rings ), Spiderman, Leia Organa, and Luke Skywalker ( Star Wars ).
    • Neutral good deities in 5e : Chauntea (goddess of agriculture), Mystra (goddess of magic), and Lathander (god of dawn).
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    Chaotic good characters strive to do good on their own terms. They aren’t the least bit concerned with laws or societal expectations; they believe in following their own moral compass and doing the right thing, even if it breaks the rules. These characters mean well but may cause a fuss if they choose to disregard the law at the wrong time! [3]
    • Character examples: Robin Hood, Wolverine, Iron Man, Jack Dawson ( Titanic ), Jyn Erso ( Star Wars ), Han Solo ( Star Wars ), Marceline Abadeer ( Adventure Time ), and Katniss Everdeen ( Hunger Games ).
    • Chaotic good deities in 5e: Selûne (goddess of the moon), Lliira (goddess of joy), Eilistraee (goddess of beauty and dance), and Sune (goddess of love).
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    Lawful neutral characters follow their society’s rules without much concern for ethics or morality. They don’t really care if a law is “good” or “evil”; they simply believe in an orderly society over a chaotic one no matter what (or they’d rather comply with the law than stand up to an unjust authority figure). [4]
    • Character examples: Judge Dredd, Percy Weasley ( Harry Potter ), Spock ( Star Trek ), Nick Fury (Marvel), James Bond, Amanda Waller (DC), Mace Windu ( Star Wars ), Batman, and Robocop.
    • Lawful neutral deities in 5e: Kelemvor (god of the dead), Helm (god of protection), and Azuth (god of wizards).
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    True neutral characters tend not to feel strongly toward any alignment. Some simply care about their personal needs first and foremost and otherwise aren’t inclined to help or hurt others, nor conform to or rebel against authority. On the other hand, some true neutral characters believe in balance and strive to prevent any force (good, evil, law, or chaos) from getting too powerful. [5]
    • Character examples: Treebeard ( Lord of the Rings ), Horace Slughorn ( Harry Potter ), The Watcher (Marvel), Lara Croft ( Tomb Raider ), Morpheus ( Sandman ), Booker DeWitt ( BioShock ), and Tom Bombadil ( Lord of the Rings ), and Dr. Manhattan.
    • True neutral deities in 5e: Silvanus (god of wild nature), Gond (god of craft), and Tempus (god of war).
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    Chaotic neutral characters follow their whims, believing in personal freedom first and foremost. Unlike chaotic good characters, they put their own freedom before anyone else’s and care more about preserving their own autonomy than good or evil. In other words, they do what they feel is best for themselves and worry about everything else second. [6]
    • Character examples: Jack Sparrow, Deadpool, Harley Quinn (DC), Rick Sanchez ( Rick and Morty ), Q ( Star Trek ), Catwoman, Mad Max, Loki, The Hound ( Game of Thrones ), and Beetlejuice.
    • Chaotic neutral deities in 5e: Leira (goddess of illusion) and Mask (god of thieves).
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    Lawful evil characters adhere to a set of laws or a code but don’t care about how their actions affect others. Many lawful evil villains are tyrants who twist laws to suit their own ends; they may believe they’re acting for the greater good, or they may know full well that their actions are harmful and seek to dominate as many people as possible. [7]
    • Character examples : Darth Vader ( Star Wars ), Thanos (Marvel), The Punisher (Marvel), Dolores Umbridge ( Harry Potter ), Grand Admiral Thrawn ( Star Wars ), Agent Smith ( The Matrix ), Nurse Ratched ( One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ), and Sauron ( Lord of the Rings ).
    • Lawful evil deities in 5e : Bane (god of tyranny), Tiamat (goddess of evil dragons), and Loviatar (goddess of pain).
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    Neutral evil characters are selfish and committed to the idea of evil itself. They don’t care about following a specific code, and they’re not prone to random acts of destruction; they simply do what they want, no matter how evil, without hesitation or regret, and will hurt others to achieve their goals. They might work with allies if there’s a benefit but would also turn on those allies if necessary. [8]
    • Character examples : Cersei Lannister ( Game of Thrones ), Jabba the Hutt ( Star Wars ), Lord Voldemort ( Harry Potter ), The Governor ( The Walking Dead ), Walter White ( Breaking Bad ), Moriarty ( Sherlock Holmes ), and Scar ( The Lion King ).
    • Neutral evil deities in 5e : Shar (goddess of darkness), Bhaal (god of murder), and Auril (goddess of winter).
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    Chaotic evil characters value personal freedom to the point that they resent being given commands or even working with others. They don’t care about other people’s lives or freedoms, and the goals they have are typically cruel, selfish, and sadistic. They might commit evil acts just for the fun of it; while a lawful evil character would want to rule the world, a chaotic evil character might want to destroy it. [9]
    • Character examples : The Joker (DC), Gollum ( Lord of the Rings ), Hannibal Lecter, Ramsay Bolton ( Game of Thrones ), Freddy Krueger, and Carnage (Marvel).
    • Chaotic evil deities in 5e : Cyric (god of lies and strife), Beshaba (goddess of misfortune), Malar (god of the hunt), and Lolth (goddess of spiders).
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    Unaligned creatures are considered to have no alignment at all. Thus, sentient creatures (including player characters) typically can’t be unaligned because they’re capable of making reasoned and ethical decisions. In 5e, many animals and beasts are unaligned because they act on instinct alone and don’t make moral choices. [10]
    • Examples in 5e : Wolves, owlbears, dinosaurs, animated armor, basilisks, phase spiders, dogs, cats, horses, tarrasques, and wyverns.
    • The concept of unaligned creatures was introduced in D&D 4th edition and continued in 5e; in the 3rd edition and earlier, animals were simply “true neutral.”
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Section 2 of 4:

Alignment Axes in D&D

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    There are 2 axes in the D&D alignment system which create 9 different combinations (and those combinations are the above alignments). The first is law vs. chaos, wherein law represents honor, trustworthiness, and obedience to authority, while chaos represents freedom, adaptability, and resentment toward authority. Law and chaos fall at either end of the axis, and neutrality is at the center. [11]
    • By itself, the law vs. chaos axis isn’t concerned with morality—only a character’s tendency toward order or anarchy.
    • That’s why a lawful neutral or chaotic neutral character doesn’t care about good or evil, only their adherence to the law or personal freedom, respectively.
    • That’s also why fully neutral creatures sometimes feel that both law and chaos are important, and a balance must be maintained between them.
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    The second axis in D&D’s alignment system is good vs. evil, with good representing altruism, compassion, and respect for life, while evil represents a lack of compassion and drive to harm or oppress others. Neutrality is in the middle between the two. Some creatures in 5e, like angels, are inherently good, while others, like demons and devils, are inherently evil. [12]
    • “Good” actions can be anything from helping others because it’s the right thing to do to showing mercy, redeeming evil creatures, healing creatures, and being charitable.
    • “Evil” actions can be anything from betraying an ally to harming innocents, using others for personal gain, exacting vengeance, bullying or oppressing others, or committing murder.
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Section 3 of 4:

Alignment Mechanics in D&D

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    When you’re creating a D&D character, it’s up to you to decide your character’s beliefs and how they’ll behave overall—and pick an alignment that best represents your character and their moral standing. Alignments are simply a tool to help guide roleplaying in the game; players are responsible for their characters, while DMs choose alignments for NPCs and monsters. [13]
    • Tip : Need help choosing an alignment? “Players need to start with a good backstory to determine what kind of character they're going to play and how they're going to play them,” says Lonny Foran, D&D expert and founder of All Things DnD.
    • It’s also important to “Decide through the DM, through collaboration with the other players, is what the group as a whole is going to be playing as,” explains Foran.
    • You might have a hard time getting along with a group of chaotic evil characters as a lawful good character, or vice versa, so it’s a good idea to get a sense of the party and campaign before finalizing your character’s alignment.
    • If you’re struggling to pick an alignment, why not try our alignment quiz ? Get into your character’s head and pick the answers they’d choose!
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    Just because you give your character a particular alignment doesn’t mean they always have to act accordingly. Characters have free will; a good character can commit evil deeds, and a chaotic character can do something lawful. If a character acts outside their alignment enough, their alignment may change to reflect that. [14]
    • For example, if a neutral good character commits murder, their alignment may shift to neutral or even evil, depending on the circumstances and the DM’s discretion.
    • You can try to stick to your character’s initial alignment, purposefully shift your character’s alignment over the course of a campaign (as part of their character arc), or just let events unfold and see what happens!
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    While player characters can be any alignment, certain creatures are innately good or evil—often based on their plane of origin, since certain planes of existence in 5e also have an innate alignment. Thus, spells like Detect Evil and Protection from Evil are designed to protect against evil creatures specifically (like demons, devils, and undead). [15]
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Section 4 of 4:

History of Alignments in D&D

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    In 1974, neutral, lawful, and chaotic were the only alignments a character could have; it wasn’t until the 1977 Basic Set that a second good versus evil axis was introduced. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, AD&D 2nd Edition, and D&D 3rd Edition all used the two-axis system as well—but D&D 4th Edition did not. [16]
    • In 4e, the 5 alignments were lawful good, good, evil, chaotic evil, and unaligned. This was the start of D&D’s attempt to emphasize alignment less, although 5e returned to the 2-axis system with 9 alignments (plus unaligned).
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    Released in 2014, 5th Edition officially stopped limiting the class or race a character could be based on their alignment. Where before alignment had been a more rigid system, 5e turned alignment into more of a roleplaying guide. Furthermore, player and monster races stopped having preassigned alignments as of the 2020 Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything sourcebook. [17]
    • In 2021, official errata even removed suggested alignments from previous 5th Edition sourcebooks.
    • Each playable race is listed as capable of being any alignment, while monsters with a strong association to a particular alignment have “typically” next to the alignment. For example, a demon is “typically chaotic evil.”
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      References

      1. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      2. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      3. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/
      4. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      5. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/
      6. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      7. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/
      8. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      9. ↑ https://5thsrd.org/character/alignment/
      1. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/
      2. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      3. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      4. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      5. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      6. ↑ https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf
      7. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/
      8. ↑ https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/players/alignment/

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