Your Alignment

[Thurnis]

I may or may not be the only person who does this. But sometimes when thinking about how I describe people I know, I cant help but think of them in terms of the moral/ethical 3rd edition D&D alignments.
Needless to say this has caused me to scour the web in search of well constructed alignment quizzes. It didn't take long to find the "official" one, but I wonder about its accuracy.

So I'd be curious to have other people take the test, answering more or less as they would in real life, and report back.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dnd/20001222b

For my part, I tend to end up with Lawful Good, but depending on my mood I could change an answer or two to get Neutral Good or Lawful Neutral. Generally consistent I suppose. Thoughts?

[lisiecki]

Oh this one i know
I'm chaotic evil
Not because im a bad ass, but because
"He is hot-tempered, vicious, arbitrarily violent, and unpredictable. Thankfully, his plans are haphazard, and any groups he joins or forms are poorly organized."

And yet, my employment is advocating for the mentally and physical disabled...
Makes ya wonder

[RTGoodman]

Like most of us NPCs, I'm Neutral. Not like "defend the Balance" Neutral, but like "I'm not really Good, but I'm not really Evil, and not specifically Chaotic or Lawful, either" Neutral.

[Inyssius Tor]

Like most of us NPCs, I'm Neutral. Not like "defend the Balance" Neutral, but like "I'm not really Good, but I'm not really Evil, and not specifically Chaotic or Lawful, either" Neutral.

This. According to that test I'm Lawful Good, but it's biased.

[SadisticFishing]

Lawful Good. Yup.

[Assassin89]

I usually get Lawful Good or one step from it

[Blue Ghost]

Strangely enough, I consider myself Lawful Good, though the test gives me Neutral Good. I'm definitely Lawful in the sense that I have a strict moral code which I adhere to under all circumstances. But I'm Neutral, leaning toward Chaotic, with respect to my feelings toward authority and tradition.
Lately, I've been kind of leaning toward neutral on the law/chaos axis. Not sure if that's a good thing.

[Harperfan7]

Chaotic Good

[The Neoclassic]

I can never think of real-life people in DnD alignments. It's hard enough for me to keep imaginary characters in those boxes, much less my friends.

LN is my result. Yes, I like bureaucracy and organization. However, I mostly stay in line with the rules to stay on the good side of the powers that be (parents, professors, etc) so that I can have more freedom. I am also annoyingly strange at times and have a serious lack of respect for tradition.

Again, I don't think AL fits in real life, useful as it is in-game.

[Inyssius Tor]

Again, I don't think AL fits in real life, useful as it is in-game.

That's because you, and most of the people you know, are neutral.

[Tengu_temp]

That's because you, and most of the people you know, are neutral.

If you ask me, roughly 50% of real life people are neutral, 25% are good and 25% are evil. And similar case with neutral/lawful/chaotic. You don't need to be a saint to be good, you don't need to be a monster to be evil - it's the intentions that matter most. And many more people walk through life with good or evil intentions than you think.

[Harperfan7]

I agree, I think a lot of the people who don't understand alignment are neutral. Same for people who think it's "too restrictive."

[Ozymandias]

Tested Neutral Good, agree.

I think most people are good, insofar as people can have alignments (which really isn't very far at all). I think that people have impulses towards good and evil, and can obviously go to either extreme, but in my opinion the median is that of someone who is shaped principally by society, and societies generally favor altruism and kindness and selflessness and almost never favor murder or anarchy or whatever.

One could argue that they aren't "inherently" good and therefore are neutral, but I don't really like that argument because it implies that peoples' reactions to their environments are not part of their selves at all.

I don't think that alignment applies very well to real life in the first place, but I realize that like all moral philosophies (and, come to that, all philosophies) are subjective and ultimately arbitrary. I still don't find it as satisfying as my "religious" views (secular humanist, if that counts, which it doesn't.)

It's not really fair to say that people who don't like Dungeons and Dragons' alignment system tend not to care about good or evil, though. That's kind of a low blow.

[monty]

I vary among (Neutral/Chaotic) (Good/Neutral), based on the several tests I've taken.

[Mando Knight]

Lawful Good, born and raised.

[Berserk Monk]

Definitely true neutral. I believe in good, but there are times when I just don't care and believe more in being bad ass. I also believe in law and order, but again, depending one the situation, I think it's okay to break the rules.

I'm also Lawful Awesome, Neutral Kick-Ass, and Chaotic Sexy.

[The Neoclassic]

I agree, I think a lot of the people who don't understand alignment are neutral. Same for people who think it's "too restrictive."

Sorry, but hogwash. We cannot respond it kind because we do not so classify, heh. I think it gets down a lot to one's view of morality, especially absolute vs. relative.

Yes, but D&D rules I'm probably neutral because I am indecisive. However, most people I know have done some pretty bad things and some pretty good ones. No, no one has killed anyone or saved someone's life, but if those are necessary for evil and good, then the vast majority of the population is neutral! I view alignments in D&D as representing trends over time, a mix of intent and action, and take them realistically. Low-level evil that goes around stealing and murdering is quickly dead; clearly there are subtler ways.

I'd also like to point out that in such quizzes we often tend to idealize ourselves. I mean, look at the Zimbardo prison experiment; no one thinks they'd do something like that but normal people do crazy stuff. I know most of our decisions are not so serious, but the quiz asks about stuff like saving the king or risking our lives. I know I was biased and picked the more cowardly of two when I was up in the air. Why? I think it'd be unrealistic to get overly optimistic in how I'd act under pressure. So, quiz accuracy, not too swell, and it is the official WotC source on finding our AL!

And, yeah, if you make things loose enough, of course everyone can fit into an alignment. My point is that it is not a good way of describing the character of real folks. Too restrictive is not the best way of putting it, since you can act however you want; too poorly descriptive I think is far better. Heck, even compare Roy and Miko: both were LG and the contrast was striking. Now, take those personalities and make them a dozen times more complex.

This is no offense to people who like to organize their world as such - goodness know I keep enough rows for my ducks - but don't generalize me and how I act because I prefer a different way of boxing things up.

Lastly, I'd like to tip my hat to Ozymandias who said much of my view on this in a rather more efficient manner than I seem to be able to muster lately.

[Harperfan7]

No, no, no, I'm not saying that peolple who don't like the system aren't good.

I'm saying that "it lacks flexibility" isn't true, and to me anyways, sounds neutral. The alignment system DOES have flexibility, in fact, the PHB says that alignment isn't a straightjacket, people can sway, but if they are good, then they act good most of the time and regret any/most of the bad things that they do. If you think it lacks flexibility, you are probably neutral.

Also, if you think it doesn't apply to real life, consider that we live in a neutral world. Most people aren't good, they are neutral. The people who have a descriptor in their alignment (good, law, chaos, evil) are the ones who try (to be that alignment), even if they don't realize it (although some people try to be neutral). If you don't think you fit into the system, you are more than likely neutral and alignment is probably just not important to you.

I'm not saying anything bad about being neutral. Some of my best friends are neutral.

[Harperfan7]

and i got ninjad like 5 times right there

[Inyssius Tor]

... then the vast majority of the population is neutral!

Yes, it is! Exactly!

Other than that, very insightful post. Cookie for you.

EDIT @ Harperfan: I feel your pain, and have taken to posting my thoughts by the paragraph or even by the sentence to mitigate this incredibly familiar situation. Oh, and welcome to the Playground!

[The Neoclassic]

Yes, it is! Exactly!

Other than that, very insightful post. Cookie for you.

Heh, thanks. Though, I guess my point is: Way too many people will agree to that (that being that the vast majority of people are neutral) /and/ claim to be one of those few good people. T'is inconsistent. I shall now wander off and let you guys talk more before I shove my LN goblin nose back in your discussion.

[chiasaur11]

I agree, I think a lot of the people who don't understand alignment are neutral. Same for people who think it's "too restrictive."

What makes a good man go neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

You Neutral types make me sick. Pick a side, hippy!

[RTGoodman]

What makes a good man go neutral? Lust for gold? Power? Or were you just born with a heart full of neutrality?

You Neutral types make me sick. Pick a side, hippy!

Pick a side? Pish-posh! We Neutral folks get to pick ALL the sides!

[Harperfan7]

"If I don't make it, tell my wife... I said hello"

[JaxGaret]

I'm Neutral, but I definitely lean towards Chaos and Good. Pretty close to Chaotic Good, actually. It really depends on where you draw the line.

[lisiecki]

Heh, thanks. Though, I guess my point is: Way too many people will agree to that (that being that the vast majority of people are neutral) /and/ claim to be one of those few good people. T'is inconsistent. I shall now wander off and let you guys talk more before I shove my LN goblin nose back in your discussion.

Not at all.
Im a jerk.
Now, i work for a corporation that dose a lot of good in the world, but i do this, mostly because i get to direct our demon winged hell lawyers at other bad people and ruin there lives.
But i do this, because it alows me to be a jerk in a way that society accepts and rewards.
(I thought i was a good person, untill i started reading CSS case files, then my perspective changed)

[Tequila Sunrise]

Heh, thanks. Though, I guess my point is: Way too many people will agree to that (that being that the vast majority of people are neutral) /and/ claim to be one of those few good people.

Heh, I've always considered myself TN but the test says I'm...LG! WTF?!

TS

[Heliomance]

Judging by the way my characters all seem to turn out, due to me being somewhat unable to separate my real-life scruples from the game world, I'd probably place myelf as NG. I've never really understood the law-chaos axis though. Always seemed a bit arbitrary.

[Tempest Fennac]

I took that test before and it claimed I was chaotic neutral somehow (I class myself as Neutral (Chaotic) Good, and most people on this forum class me as Lawful Good, so the test isn't that accurate (at least as far as I'm concerned).

[Stephen_E]

> Your Character’s Alignment

>Based on your answers to the quiz, your character’s most likely alignment is Neutral.

>Neutral

This wasn't a particuly good test for real life people because it was designed for a RPG world.

I'd also note that many of the questions were way to vague. When asking how you'd react re: your king it needs to state how you feel about him. Same re: your community.

In general on these tests I score N/NG/CN/CG. Depending on the test it varies what I score highest on. I ussually rack up few if any pts for Evil or Lawful.

Stephen E