Alignment in Thinia

When you create a new character you are free to choose their alignment based on past actions. However, once the game begins alignment may shift based on the actions taken by characters. This means you could begin as lawful good and drift toward lawful neutral or neutral good or any other alignment. This is meant to add weight to decisions and show progression in a character. If your character consistently supports the law it does not matter that they were at one time chaotic, they have changed and those decisions should be reflected.

Alignment is represented on your character sheet by two numbers next to your alignment between 0 and 100. For example, a lawful good character starts at 80/80 and a true neutral character starts at 50/50. The thresholds for alignment changes can be found below.

Alignment Change Threshold	Alignment
0-30	chaotic or evil
31-69	neutral
70-100	lawful or good

During the course of the game, a DM may decide that your actions impact your alignment. If there is a grey area in a choice the DM has the final say. DMs will rely on the gods as well as generally held beliefs as a means to determine whether an action is good. For example, torture is always an evil act because 1) the goddess of torture, Loviatar is evil and thus her domain, torture, is evil and 2) it is a generally held and accepted belief that causing pain to a helpless creature is evil. There is no "ends justify the means" arguments or utilitarian arguments either. For example, arguing that torturing x person will save 10 other people does not make the torture less evil (this is known as the ticking time bomb justification). We focus on the act itself and not the outcomes of the act. This allows for situations where a character may act against their alignment because they think it will ultimately serve their beliefs and worldview, and that moral question can lead to memorable and impactful roleplay. Some examples of various alignment related actions are;
Good

• Generally, good interactions are those that make others better off without making anyone other than the actor worse off. They do not require sacrifice by the actor per se but can often involve the actor giving something for nothing or incurring personal risk.
• Helping another without the expectation of a reward.
• Offering time or expertise to another.
• Defending an innocent or defenseless creature.
• Turning down a reward from those who are in a difficult position.

Neutral

• Most actions are neutral. These actions usually have little impact on people beyond the actor, or when they do that impact is justified, such as defending yourself. Neutral acts do not impact your alignment. For example, a good creature that acts neutrally does not drift toward neutrality, only evil acts counteract a good alignment.
• Accepting payment for a job or goods.
• Eating.
• Defending yourself.

Evil

• Evil actions have a clear negative impact or are intended to have a negative impact on a creature other than the actor. Evil acts are not justified (like self-defense) and are typically done as a matter of convenience, personal gain, or out of malice. Prevention of possible future acts does not justify something; justice is inherently reactive and responds to an act that has already occurred.
• Torture to gain information is evil regardless of what you are trying to prevent.
• Extortion.
• Murder (meaning an unjustified killing) is evil. Killing and murder are not the same as killing can be justified for example in self-defense.
• Theft. Admittedly this gets grey when you are looting a dungeon, but generally stealing is evil.

Lawful

• These are actions that are guided by an explicit outside source of law or rules. The law could be man-made and that of a community or it could be divine in nature. Personal codes are not lawful as they are internal thus making them neutral or chaotic in nature.
• Following orders from an authority figure.
• Reporting crimes to the proper authorities.
• Submitting criminals to the justice system.
• Engaging in or supporting societies that select rulers/leaders based on a system of rules and laws such as elections or hereditary inheritance.
• Replacing a monarchy with democracy is not inherently chaotic, as both are ordered systems of government. The means by which you replace the monarchy is likely chaotic because may have required disregarding the law around who should govern.

Chaotic

• These are actions that are guided by an internal sense of what is proper (but not necessarily good). A chaotic actor is not concerned with the rules of others and acts based on their own sense of what should be done. Chaotic actions are also those that directly disregard the law. Chaotic actions do not need to be random or non-sensical but they can be.
• Personally dispensing justice rather than turning a criminal over to the justice system.
• Disregarding or working against legitimate authority figures.
• Participating in societies or communities that allow the "strongest" to lead through combat, assassination, or other sudden changes in authority.
• Acting outside of the law to achieve some goal.
• Acting in a wild, unpredictable, or non-sensical manner.

Usual choices will either add or subtract 1-5 points from the related alignment number. This means it is incredibly unlikely that a single choice or game session will result in a change in alignment. Rather, a change in alignment will occur when a Player/character makes consistent decisions to act in a certain way. Change in alignment does not penalize players in terms of features or experience unless they are attuned to items that require a specific alignment. However, your alignment can impact how certain groups or NPCs interact with you. For example, Fiends will have a particular dislike for good characters and celestials will dislike evil characters. Similarly, certain settings and locations are aligned to different alignments and may provide boons and banes to those of compatible and incompatible alignments. For example, the Abyss is aligned to chaos and any lawful creatures that attempt to journey through it will suffer additional obstacles and ill effects.
More Examples:
Lawful Good Acts:

• PC learns about a drug trafficking organization in a nearby city. They find the organization and detain any who surrender while eliminating those who refuse. They turn any who surrender over to the city guard.
• A bar fight breaks out. One PC alerts the town guard while another attempts to break up the fight and reduce damage to all parties.

Lawful Neutral Acts:

• A riot breaksout in a town square. The PCs alert the guards and wash their hands of everything else.
• PCs use gold gathered to support a local noble.

Lawful Evil Acts:

• PCs establish an oppressive regime for their own benefit.
• PCs support an oppressive or malicious ruler for their own benefit and convenience.

Neutral Good Acts:

• A PC uses the proceeds from adventuring to open and maintain an orphanage and school.
• A PC saves a merchant being attacked by monsters.

True Neutral Acts:

• A PC eats food they paid for.
• A PC defends themselves.

Neutral Evil Acts:

• A PC watches a merchant get attacked and killed by monsters then ransacks their goods afterward.
• A PC spreads malicious and false rumors about another person or group.

Chaotic Good Acts:

• PCs aid a rebellion with the intention of tearing down an oppressive but legitimate ruler.
• PCs aid a group of good outlaws evade corupt officials.

Chaotic Neutral Acts:

• A PC insights a tavern brawl and participates for the love of fighting.
• A PC loudly plays music after curfew in a city.

Chaotic Evil Acts:

• A PC commits murder for personal reasons.
• A PC works to disrupt a legitimate and beneficial government for their own personal gain.