character ref – The Chaos Bitches

maramahan:

So the other day, I was thinking about the classic alignment chart, and how it doesn’t really do much for me personally since it’s more about how characters interact with systems rather than how they interact with other people

I had a minute, so I figured I’d throw something together that DID suit my needs!

(Note: This chart regards a character’s intent rather than the outcome of their actions—and for sake of clarity, here are the definitions I’m working with:

Good: concerned with the well-being the collective, often at expense of the self

Evil: concerned with the well-being of the self, often at the expense of the collective

Kind: concerned with the emotional responses of others

Cruel: unconcerned with the emotional responses of others)

I like conceptualizing things this way, cause sometimes Bad People behave with ‘good’ or ‘kind’ intentions, and sometimes Good People do things that seem ‘evil’ or ‘cruel’

Also this gives me a way to compare/contrast characters who get lumped together under the other system

mindfulwrath:

I figured out a simple guide to the alignment chart last night

Lawful: Rules matter more to me than individuals.
Chaotic: Individuals matter more to me than rules.

Good: Other people’s well-being is more important than my own.
Evil: My own well-being is more important than other people’s.

Neutrals: My opinion of what is more important is determined on a case-by-case basis.

So a Lawful Good character’s guiding moral philosophy might be “I follow the rules because the rules keep people safe, even if they are sometimes inconvenient or harmful to me or other individuals.” A Chaotic Evil character’s guiding moral philosophy would be like “Screw the rules and screw you.”