Alignment

Alignment represents a character's moral and ethical tendency. A character begins the game as a certain alignment, usually influenced by race and class choice, but will then have the freedom to shift their alignment based on their actions within the game.

Alignment does not operate on a sliding, black and white scale. Instead, each path has its own point tally system with the greatest of them determining a player's actual alignment.

Alignment affects how certain NPCs view the player, opens up different dialogue options, and in some cases even influences what quests are available to the player.

Good
A good alignment is represented by heroic and compassionate actions such as protecting or helping the weak and innocent. Good-aligned characters do these things because they firmly believe it is simply the right thing to do, and do not generally do so for fame or fortune. They are fulfilled by the action of influencing and bettering the lives of those around them. A good alignment does not necessarily always mean "someone who follows the rules", nor does it imply a pacifist nature. Good-aligned characters will more often simply do what they feel in their heart is the best course of action, the right thing to do, and that which they believe is just. Ultimately, a good-aligned character always prefers peace to war, but will defend themselves and their loved ones when necessary.

Common good-aligned races include Dwarves, Wood Elves, Merfolk, Humans and Halflings.

Neutral
A neutral alignment suggests a character who is not bound by the accepted moral or ethical code. A neutral character will do whatever they feel is best at the time. This does not mean they are necessarily selfish (an evil trait) but simply that they look at the situation without bias. You could say that a neutral-aligned character follows his instinct, and whether that action might be seen as right or wrong does not matter. While a good-aligned character would struggle to sacrifice one innocent life to save several more, an unaligned character might take the more pragmatic route. Neutral characters can be more unpredictable, but their lack of commitment to a particular moral path does not make them entirely chaotic. Generally, neutral characters still lean towards either the good or evil side of the spectrum. A classic example of a neutral character is a rogue who commits thievery for a living but would never take another life unless in self defense. Another might be a wandering warrior who lends his sword to the highest bidder, but does not necessarily commit violent acts without reason.

Common neutral races include Humans, Dune Elves, Barbarians, and High Elves, though nearly any intelligent being in the realms has the capacity to behave within neutral-alignment.

Evil
Evil-aligned characters can best be summed up as self-centered, ambitious, and ultimately dangerous. Like the other alignments, there are varying degrees of evil, but one thing all evil-aligned characters have in common is that they are out for personal gain even if it comes at the cost of others. They care nothing for the well-being of others unless it furthers their own ambition and will discard anyone who isn't of use to them. There is little that has value to an evil-aligned character other than greater power. A classic example of an evil-aligned character would be the mad wizard who would kill another just to get his hands on an artifact that might grant him further power, or the greedy merchant who deals in slavery and will snatch away children or other innocents to be sold to merciless owners.

Common evil-aligned races include Dark Elves, Shades, Nazini, Half-Orcs, Humans, and many other creatures such as trolls, ogres, the undead, and denizens of the Hellrealm.