Been ages since I've done one of these journals, but recently I've been toying with the idea of assigning alignments to my characters. Now, it can be pretty tricky giving certain characters one alignment, since some of them toe the line between two, but I'm pretty happy with what I ended up choosing for them. For those of you not too familiar with alignments though, mainly the Dungeons and Dragons alignment system, allow me to give a watered-down explanation of it:

Basically an alignment comes in two parts. The first part is what signifies a character's 'ethics', and for that part you have:

Lawful: Basically the character obeys the law, much preferring order over chaos. These characters 'can' break the law, but will suffer an inner conflict about doing so.

Neutral: While this person has normal respect for laws, they feel no compulsion to follow them, though they feel no compulsion to break them either. They'll flaunt the rules if need be and feel perfectly-fine doing so, but will usually follow them to avoid trouble.

Chaotic: This character feels no obligation to follow rules, and will freely break the law to suit their ends. They usually value freedom very highly, and often actively dislike the idea of authority imposing rules on others.


The other part of alignment, signifies a character's 'morality', and for that part you have:

Good: Simply-put, these characters are... well... good! A Good character will make personal sacrifices to help others.

Neutral: A Neutral character, while being against needlessly-cruel actions like killing innocents, will at the same time lack the commitment to make personal sacrifices to help others. They will only be committed to others through personal relationships. Neutral characters may also prefer to maintain a balance between Good and Evil.

Evil: Evil characters are exactly what they say on the tin, inflicting harm and hardships upon others if it's convenient to do so. Evil characters have no compassion for others, and will kill innocents without feeling guilt.


This is a pretty simplified explanation of it, but combined, it gives a pretty wide range of possible alignments, and even gives a variety of different alignments within the same traditional alignment.
For example, a Lawful Good character will strive to aid others, and will always obey the law if they possibly can. A traditional righteous paladin will fit here.
However, a Chaotic Good character will strive to do good, but will often go about it by way of criminal activity. A 'Robin Hood-like' character will go here.
Both Good, but both of different alignments.

In my next journal, I will be giving information on what alignments my various men are, or at least what alignment is closest to representing them.