"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.
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.
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.
Notes[]
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- The true neutral alignment title is "reconciler".