Author Topic: How I view alignments; or, how I would have written them in the first place.  (Read 1254 times)

Offline Amechra

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Alright, let's get this show on the road:

The Dichotomy of Good and Evil

There is no war of Good against Evil. Or, well, there is, but both sides are only called that; both are, in fact, evil in their own way.

No, the ideal of good wouldn't raise a hand to stop their aggressors, not because they are fools, but because no one would attack them. A truly good man would be a friend to all, even the ones that believe themselves his enemies; think of Gandhi and Mr. Rogers combined into a single person.

On the other hand, evil is, fundamentally, alone. Even surrounded by others, the ideal of others would be as separate as if they were the last being alive. That is what, at it's core, drives "evil" to acquire, to enslave, to hurt, to maim, to kill.

Because every night, when they sleep (if they sleep at all), it comes back to the fact that they are alone. They may have convinced themselves that they do not need others, that all they need is their own strength, or that they have filled their own gap with the positions that they have grabbed for themselves, but there is still that nagging, grinning void of loneliness...

This will continue forever until, unnoticed by the war raging around them, the ideal of evil ceases to resist the ideal of good's overture of companionship, and they are both transformed into something. Something both alien, and, from that moment on, familiar to everyone.

The war will continue; it never truly was about good and evil, after all, only "Good" and "Evil". It will change, though; in how it is fought, and, eventually, in what they say that they are fighting it for.

The Dichotomy of Chaos and Law

Law and Chaos touch the lives of mortals less than good and evil, simply because they are both present, balancing each-other out.

The true ideal of law prefers that the trains will come on time, that everyone agrees on rules (even if they are simply "might makes right"), and that there is some form of organization to the world. They see the world as non-functional if there isn't some shape imposed upon it, and they see people as fundamentally argumentative and divisive, with only the strictures of rules making sure that no-one is harmed beyond reason.

Chaos, on the other hand, lives in a state of constant flow, of live-and-let-live. They see the world as fundamentally a neat place to hang out, and why are you harshing up the vibe with silly rules, Law? I mean, we cool, right? Right. In a sense, the ideal of chaos would simply hang out, with everyone just doing what they want, and it would all work out in the end, right?

As you might notice, Chaos is poor at long term planning, and Law is poor at spontaneity.

When the ideals of law and chaos consider each-other, they both see each-other as, fundamentally, idiots; really dangerous, childish idiots. The ideal of law sees chaos as a savage who wants to tear down all the rules, not understanding that the inherent violent dislike culture has for itself will come to the surface in an orgy of violence. The ideal of chaos thinks of law as a slow, doddering tyrant, who doesn't have any fun, and who doesn't get shit done when it has to be.

This will continue until, one day, law and chaos will understand that they do not oppose each-other, but compliment each-other; law sees to the future, while chaos sees to the present. They will understand, and will cease to be as they are. And the world will change to account for this transmigration.

Alignment and the World

The above only deals with the pure, unadultered forms of the alignments; no being, from the most vile Balor to the purest Solar, have ever come close to these ideals.

The War between Good and Evil are not disagreements related to alignment; that very idea is the propaganda used to foster sympathy among the material races. Truly, it is more over disagreements older than most races, that most Outsiders have forgotten about (except the oldest; most of the "old guard" is dead by now, however); land grabs from before there was the land, disputes over treatment of lower-class citizenry, the very existence of a "lower class" when most Outsiders are spawned for their purpose, and so on and so forth. It is not likely to end. Ever. Even once good and evil dance together, and pass beyond current mortal knowledge.

The Blood War, however, is about alignment. Sort of, at least; the native fear and disagreement that law and chaos have between themselves provided a spark, especially given that the [Evil] outsiders have a high natural resonance with the ideal of evil, meaning that they tend towards lack of empathy, meaning that they see no wrong in striking out over a disagreement, which led to retaliation.

The Blood War could end, at some later point, once law and chaos realize that their disagreement is silly, understand one another, and dance beyond human understanding.

What most denizens of the planes do not know is that the very purpose of the multiverse is to serve as a morality play, moving towards a point where these agreements between the very ideals of alignment will come to the fore, and will become fact, not mere speculation.

The very purpose of the planes is for everyone to be friends, or to at least respect each-other.

You see, the world wants you to smile, and to laugh from the sheer joy of life.

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"There is happiness for those who accept their fate, there is glory for those that defy it."

"Now that everyone's so happy, this is probably a good time to tell you I ate your parents."