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(Reordering/revising the article to start with BioWare's description & pruning the guidelines)
 
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'''"Undecided":''' A neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. She doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to [[good]] vs. [[evil]] or [[law]] vs. [[chaos]]. Most neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil—after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, she is not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way.
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A '''true neutral''' character does not feel strongly one way or the other about [[good]] vs. [[evil]] or [[law]] vs. [[chaos]]. She thinks good is better than evil — after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones — but she is not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. A wizard who devotes herself to her art and is bored by the semantics of moral debate is true neutral. Some true neutral characters, however, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as dangerous extremes. They advocate neutrality as the most balanced road in the long run. Neutral means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.
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<!-- The above comes from BioWare (StrRef 456). Please do not edit mercilessly. -->
   
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This [[alignment]] is seen by some as the most boring, and by others as the most intriguing. A true neutral character might be truly apathetic, not caring about anything, except possibly her own well-being. This does not make for an exciting character (in fact, this is the justification for making most animals and non-intelligent creatures true neutral). On the other hand, if a true neutral character is devoted to something (such as the magical art), the need to deal with others who care about morality could engender interesting confrontations. Even more fascinating may be the character devoted to maintaining the balance between the extreme alignments, as such a character may find alliances to be short-lived and need to find a way to switch allegiances without antagonizing everyone.
Some neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. They believe in the ultimate balance of forces, and they refuse to see actions as either good or evil. Since the majority of people in the world make judgments, true neutral characters are extremely rare. True neutrals do their best to avoid siding wih forces of either good or evil, law or chaos. It is their duty to see that all of these forces remain in balanced contention.
 
   
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The ideal of the true neutral alignment is represented in [[Neverwinter Nights]] as a rating of "50" in both law-chaos and good-evil. The alignment title is "reconciler" on the [[character sheet]], but called "undecided" during [[character creation]].
True neutral characters sometimes find themselves forced into rather peculiar alliances. To a great extent, they are compelled to side with the underdog in any given situation, sometimes changing sides as the previous loser becomes the winner. A true neutral druid might join the local barony to put down a tribe of evil gnolls, only to drop out or switch sides when the gnolls are brought to the brink of destruction. He would seek to prevent either side from becoming too powerful. Clearly, there are very few true neutral characters in the world.
 
   
 
==Guidelines==
 
==Guidelines==
#Doesn't value bravery or corruption.
 
#Lives for himself/herself.
 
#Doesn't care about laws or rebellions.
 
#Won't support good or bad people.
 
#Supports causes with large sums of gold or some other rewards.
 
   
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# May treat others well or poorly as circumstances dictate.
==Notes==
 
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# Neither values nor disregards honor.
* Creatures that have little or no intelligence, such as animals and most constructs, are true neutral. An exception is undead creatures, which are driven by an evil force and are thus evil.
 
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# Is usually not habitually deceptive, but may break promises if circumstances change.
* This is a rare and tough alignment to play. It is generally used to describe either those who are ignorant of the part that the forces of law, chaos, good, and evil play in their lives (i.e. animals and humanoids of very low intelligence) or they actively support the concept of balance between the four.
 
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# May work with or against authority.
* There are many magical items and spells that exploit the weaknesses of evil, good, chaotic or lawful alignments, which will render the true neutral character less vulnerable to such attacks.
 
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# May be loyal or faithless, depending on the character and circumstances.
* The true neutral alignment title is '''"reconciler"'''.
 
 
[[category:alignments]]
 
[[category:alignments]]

Latest revision as of 01:06, 8 July 2011

A true neutral character does not feel strongly one way or the other about good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. She thinks good is better than evil — after all, she would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones — but she is not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. A wizard who devotes herself to her art and is bored by the semantics of moral debate is true neutral. Some true neutral characters, however, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as dangerous extremes. They advocate neutrality as the most balanced road in the long run. Neutral means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion.

This alignment is seen by some as the most boring, and by others as the most intriguing. A true neutral character might be truly apathetic, not caring about anything, except possibly her own well-being. This does not make for an exciting character (in fact, this is the justification for making most animals and non-intelligent creatures true neutral). On the other hand, if a true neutral character is devoted to something (such as the magical art), the need to deal with others who care about morality could engender interesting confrontations. Even more fascinating may be the character devoted to maintaining the balance between the extreme alignments, as such a character may find alliances to be short-lived and need to find a way to switch allegiances without antagonizing everyone.

The ideal of the true neutral alignment is represented in Neverwinter Nights as a rating of "50" in both law-chaos and good-evil. The alignment title is "reconciler" on the character sheet, but called "undecided" during character creation.

Guidelines[]

  1. May treat others well or poorly as circumstances dictate.
  2. Neither values nor disregards honor.
  3. Is usually not habitually deceptive, but may break promises if circumstances change.
  4. May work with or against authority.
  5. May be loyal or faithless, depending on the character and circumstances.