I still remember that took this test once, a good couple of years ago and got Chaotic Neutral. Now, almost a decade later I get Neutral Evil. Ah well, figured as much.
@Kamigoroshi, in first edition, "basic" D&D, there was no "good" or "evil". There was only "lawful", "neutral", and "chaotic". Things were simpler and much easier to decide. God created it, and saw that it was good. And the morning and the evening were the first day. On the seventh day, God rested. He saw His creation, and it was good.
Then came first edition "advanced" D&D. This was the version I grew up with, and it was the first introduction of the four-poled, eight quadrant alignment system (pure neutrality in the middle with four bisecting axes going through it, for a total of nine possible alignments - neutral in the middle, and eight alignments surrounding it - chaotic good, chaotic neutral, chaotic evil, neutral good, neutral evil, lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil.)
God called this "the knowledge of good and evil". He put it all imprisoned in a forbidden fruit on a forbidden tree. He warned the stewards of His creation, people, never to eat of the forbidden fruit of "the knowledge of good and evil."
But the people ate it anyway. God had no choice but to banish them from the good, simple thing He had created to give them only pure pleasure. They had chosen the path of suffering.
So mote it be. People have been arguing and agonizing over these, now not three but NINE, D&D alignments forever since.
"Which am I? Who am I?", wailed the creatures in God's universe. "Which is my character? Who is my character? What about the Other? Which is my opposite gender? What? Who? Why? Which?"
The universe plunged into eternal turmoil, because people chose the "knowledge of good and evil" over the simpler, more pleasant thing that God offered them.
And here we are. So mote it be. Forever and forever, amen.
@belgarathmth I've never before seen anyone go "Old Testament" on the alignments. Well done!
Your allegorical application of the original and Advanced D&D alignments is spot-on, IMO. In OD&D, having only lawful, neutral, and chaotic alignments creates a world much more polarized than AD&D. Order and laws are good; breaking those laws is bad. It's almost childlike in its simplicity.
AD&D alignments really complicate things, because of the Lawful-Evil/Chaotic-Good axis. Suddenly, the world becomes much more complex. Lawfulness can lead to evil acts; Chaotic deeds can lead to good. The addition of a moral axis of the alignment inserts a hefty philosophical bent into the system. Under this system, Jehovah's laws and behavior can be evaluated for their (im)morality, since AD&D "gave" us knowledge of good independently of the previously rigid law/chaos axis in OD&D. It still portrays a fantasy world of absolute values, but is much richer in terms of role-playing.
Comments
Then came first edition "advanced" D&D. This was the version I grew up with, and it was the first introduction of the four-poled, eight quadrant alignment system (pure neutrality in the middle with four bisecting axes going through it, for a total of nine possible alignments - neutral in the middle, and eight alignments surrounding it - chaotic good, chaotic neutral, chaotic evil, neutral good, neutral evil, lawful good, lawful neutral, lawful evil.)
God called this "the knowledge of good and evil". He put it all imprisoned in a forbidden fruit on a forbidden tree. He warned the stewards of His creation, people, never to eat of the forbidden fruit of "the knowledge of good and evil."
But the people ate it anyway. God had no choice but to banish them from the good, simple thing He had created to give them only pure pleasure. They had chosen the path of suffering.
So mote it be. People have been arguing and agonizing over these, now not three but NINE, D&D alignments forever since.
"Which am I? Who am I?", wailed the creatures in God's universe. "Which is my character? Who is my character? What about the Other? Which is my opposite gender? What? Who? Why? Which?"
The universe plunged into eternal turmoil, because people chose the "knowledge of good and evil" over the simpler, more pleasant thing that God offered them.
And here we are. So mote it be. Forever and forever, amen.
Your allegorical application of the original and Advanced D&D alignments is spot-on, IMO. In OD&D, having only lawful, neutral, and chaotic alignments creates a world much more polarized than AD&D. Order and laws are good; breaking those laws is bad. It's almost childlike in its simplicity.
AD&D alignments really complicate things, because of the Lawful-Evil/Chaotic-Good axis. Suddenly, the world becomes much more complex. Lawfulness can lead to evil acts; Chaotic deeds can lead to good. The addition of a moral axis of the alignment inserts a hefty philosophical bent into the system. Under this system, Jehovah's laws and behavior can be evaluated for their (im)morality, since AD&D "gave" us knowledge of good independently of the previously rigid law/chaos axis in OD&D. It still portrays a fantasy world of absolute values, but is much richer in terms of role-playing.