Playing true neutral characters

[Zhentarim]

How do you play these in a group? Wouldn't they just sit around and not care about anything that doesn't help them, and be too indecisive to do what they need to to advance themselves?

[legomaster00156]

A quick Google search brought up this guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?453304-Pursuit-of-Happiness-a-practical-Guide-to-playing-True-Neutral).

[PhantasyPen]

Only if your players don't have any imagination.

A True Neutral might not necessarily care about the world at large, but they will have something that matters to them.
Some characters are Neutral because those of other alignments have failed them. I've played a character who was True Neutral because he was a former slave, and he was disillusioned with the so-called "causes" of the other alignments.
A dedicated keeper-of-the-balance type True Neutral is going to be adventuring for the sake of making sure that cosmic forces remain in balance. If one side becomes too powerful they need to go out and restore the balance by defeating it or aiding it's opposition.
There's always the option that your antagonist has done the stupid option of making the True Neutral angry. Nothing is more likely to get you beaten black and green by a True Neutral than making it personal.
For a True Neutral, it has to be personal. Tie the plot to your backstory somehow, a captured sister or destroyed village is probably the swiftest way to get a True Neutral to hunt you down until you're dead.
Read this. Just... just read this. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?453304-Pursuit-of-Happiness-a-practical-Guide-to-playing-True-Neutral)

[ATHATH]

You could just not meet the requirements to be any other alignment and/or have conflicting alignment traits.

[death390]

A quick Google search brought up this guide (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?453304-Pursuit-of-Happiness-a-practical-Guide-to-playing-True-Neutral).

i second the pursuit of happiness guide. in fact ill drop this link.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448812-Alignment-Handbook-Super-Thread

as a general guide to any alignment page (has the pursuit to happiness) as a easy to read directory.

[KillianHawkeye]

The thing to remember is that the majority of people (in real life as well as in the game world) are going to be Neutral. Sometimes, that does mean that you just keep your head down and mind your own business, but PCs are supposed to be exceptional. That means that they don't just stay at home, they at least care enough to do something when problems arise. Also, Neutral people are no more or less indecisive than anyone else.

You can help people without being Good. Maybe you don't do it for free, or there's a limit to how much risk you'll take on, or you're only helping because they're part of your own family/friends/village/city/country/race. Maybe you're adventuring for your own selfish reasons and helping people is just a coincidental side effect. Sometimes you need to put a little thought into making a Neutral character who still has good reasons to show up to the adventure, but there are a lot of ways to do it.

Similarly, you can favor the rule of law without being Lawful, or prefer the freedom of self-determination without being Chaotic. You can even be hurtful to others without really being Evil. Alignments cover a broad range on the entire spectrum of behavior, and most characters take actions that are characteristic of all the alignments on a regular basis. This is especially true of Neutral characters because they lack a strong focus towards any particular alignment.

[Wonton]

Whenever "how do I play X alignment" questions come up, I always like to link people to an article written on this very website by The Giant himself, called Making Tough Decisions: http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html

The second half, subtitled "Decide to React Differently" should literally be required reading for players IMO. Basically, it outlines the idea that no player should feel like their character is shackled to any course of action by their alignment because their character is a figment of their imagination that they made up and they can literally change it at any time for any reason.

Here is the excerpt relevant to the question of "why would a TN character care about anything":


Another useful application of this concept involves accepting story hooks your DM gives to you. Try to never just say, "My character isn't interested in that adventure." A lot of people mistake this for good roleplaying, because you are asserting your character's personality. Wrong. Good roleplaying should never bring the game to a screeching halt. One of your jobs as a player is to come up with a reason why your character would be interested in a plot. After all, your personality is entirely in your hands, not the DM's. Come up with a reason why the adventure (or the reward) might appeal to you, no matter how esoteric or roundabout the reasoning.

If the paladin is to blame for the last problem, this one belongs to the druid. Druids have such a specific set of principles that players often mistake them for being a free pass to demand that each adventure revolve around their goals. Raiding a dungeon for gold doesn't appeal to the druid mindset, so what are you to do if you play one and are presented with that goal? You improvise. Maybe the gold will enable you to purchase magic items that will let you protect the wilderness. Maybe the ruins contain unnatural monsters that need to be killed regardless of the treasure. Maybe, just maybe, the other PCs are your friends and you are willing to help them just because. Too often that last part is forgotten; I don't think anyone reading this has never spent the night doing something they'd rather not because a friend asked.

[Jiece18]

True neutral can be an interesting play style if done correctly. Mechanically it has some bonus since most smite, protecton, and detect spells require the target to be good/evil or lawful/chaotic. Rolyplaying can be done we'll if the player is truly invested. Just need to be careful as some players will use this alignment as an excuse to either ignore role-playing or to justify doing anything they want. Many players I have played with got chaotic or evil added to their alignment before too long.

[Oracle71]

True neutrals just need a reason that isn't along the lines of "just because it's the good/evil/lawful/chaotic thing to do."

To a true neutral, the more typical types of reasons to go on the adventure would be because:
"my friends need my help"
"they're paying us how much?"
"this could really help my reputation"
"that's what I have to do for you to let me marry your daughter?"
"if I don't, the world will end, and I'll die anyway"
"oh, what the heck, I'm not doing anything for the next week. Might be fun!"

Whether out of self-interest, profit, or because their friends need them, true neutrals always have a reason to go with you.

[Calthropstu]

True neutral is most people. It's Farmer Bob and Fisherman Pete, the people who want their own little corner of the world. They may screw someone over to get ahead once in a while but feel bad about it. They like the ideals of law and good and freedom... but they aren't going to go out of their way to achieve it. Rocking the boat is bad, but sometimes it needs to be done. True neutral people will run from danger but will confront evil in large numbers. They are in all walks of life, including adventurers and are, by a huge margin, the most populous of all alignments.
True neutral people generally have a cause they will act for... family, fame, fortune, honor, lust, anger... get them to an extreme for some reason and they will act.
A true neutral adventurer will generally be in it for something. Maybe wealth, maybe for fun, maybe for wanderlust. They'll fight major bad guys because it's the right thing to do, and then expect a reward for it. And if the reward doesn't come, they'll ignore the next threat to come to town. True neutral best fits mercanaries.

[Sleven]

As most people have already mentioned, True Neutral is basically what it means to be a character with some realism injected into them and a personality that isn't a caricature.

When I DM I typically do away with the alignment system. It's a lie. Without going into philosophy overmuch, most people in the world are looking out for themselves and/or who/what is important to them. Little outside of this matters, and people who lead lives seemingly in opposition to these people or ideologies may even be despised (to the point of being thought of as evil). Being Human fits what it means to be True Neutral to a T. We may think the people that touch our lives (like bullies, significant others, or world leaders) are evil or good, but most of the time that's just based on our perceptions of them. The fact is, they're pretty much looking out for their own [insert thing here] just as much as we are.

I personally find the True Neutral character (and party) to be the best at creating a meaningful story with deep ties between party members. It's easy to tell a group to create characters with a personality, rather than creating an alignment, and True Neutral lets you do that. In True Neutral parties, something keeps everyone together, so encourage having everyone write it into their backstories. Something I like to do is have everyone play a few one-shots or modules with the characters they think they'll want to play, then figure out how they interact as a group before taking them into the actual campaign. This also helps people hammer out what exactly those connections between their characters are, and helps the DM create a story that is actually meaningful to their characters.

[Psyren]

Whenever "how do I play X alignment" questions come up, I always like to link people to an article written on this very website by The Giant himself, called Making Tough Decisions: http://www.giantitp.com/articles/tll307KmEm4H9k6efFP.html

The second half, subtitled "Decide to React Differently" should literally be required reading for players IMO. Basically, it outlines the idea that no player should feel like their character is shackled to any course of action by their alignment because their character is a figment of their imagination that they made up and they can literally change it at any time for any reason.

Here is the excerpt relevant to the question of "why would a TN character care about anything":

Indeed, that article is paramount. Figure out a reason for your character to be there - that is true creativity and roleplaying, not taking your ball and going (or staying) home.