<< Dungeons & Dragons Basics, Part II
Revised Jan. 2026
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Alignments
Alignment provides a quick guide to a character's moral outlook. To create an alignment, you choose where a character falls on two spectrums: good/neutral/evil and law/neutrality/chaos. These values represent how a character usually acts. While occasional breaches happen, there are only so many cruel things a good person can do and remain good. Once cruelty becomes a regular and accepted part of how they operate, they shift to evil. Certain combinations clash more often, so some groups bar characters with certain alignments to cut down on unpleasantness. Some Dungeon Masters and gaming groups do, too.
In earlier editions, alignment was embedded in many mechanics. Some classes were only available to characters of particular alignments and most of their features were lost if they shifted to other ones. Spells like Detect Evil could be used to identify evil-aligned creatures, including player characters, whether they were currently acting in harmful ways or not. More recent editions have focused on it less. At every table, Dungeon Masters interpret how alignments affect gameplay but what the rest of the group wants also matters, so it's worth having a conversation about if and how it will be used.
To get a better handle on these concepts, it can help to consider the different positions on their own first before blending them together. So take a moment to consider the following:
The Chaotic/Lawful Axis
The Adherent
Lawful characters value social obligations and expectations and adhere to laws enforced by their government. The more strictly lawful a character is, the more likely they are to follow rules and restrictions, even when it hurts them and goes against their desires. Related to this, lawful characters value consistency. After all, it's difficult to fulfill responsibilities when one is fickle and unreliable. It's nearly impossible to follow all rules and be reliable at all times, so characters will rationalize why their breaches are acceptable or suffer guilt when they can't.
The Rebel
Chaotic characters value personal freedom and independence and are willing to break rules that go against their wishes more often. The more chaotic a character is, the more likely they are to violate social expectations and strictures, even when it will hurt them and others. They're also more unpredictable because they're willing to follow whims and instincts, and they may not care much about doing what others demand of them. They don't break all rules all the time, nor are all of their decisions random; they will often follow what pleases them.
The Evil/Good Axis
The Martyr
Good characters value altruism and are willing to forego their own needs to provide for others. The more good they are, the more likely they are to help not just loved ones but strangers, and even at great personal cost. Good characters genuinely care about others' feelings and desires at least as much as their own. They are attentive to emotions and avoid doing things that will probably hurt others. They prefer to create than to destroy, to add kindness to the world instead of harshness, and to defend life and joy.
The Tyrant
Evil characters are inclined to be selfish and are more willing to hurt others to get what they want. Even people they value aren't safe. (And yes, evil characters can value others, but they rarely care about anyone more than themselves.) They're more willing to justify cruelty because only their desires really matter. They don't believe that kindness is the default state of the world or that it necessarily should be. You either coerce or manipulate others into treating you well, or you fail and get what's coming to you.
Neutral
The Survivor
Neutral characters tend to live in the moment and base decisions on present circumstances. The main goal of any encounter is survival; suffering minimal losses is secondary. This means doing what seems necessary without hesitation; if they live to see another day, then it must have been the right thing to do. No law, philosophy, feeling, or desire is more important than life and the conditions that allow for continued existence. Neutral characters are capable of selfishness and sacrifice, conformity and rebellion - whatever gets the job done.
The Nine Alignments
By joining lawful, chaotic, or neutral to good, evil, or neutral, you create one of the 9 alignments for your character, which can look like this (though your opinions may vary from these interpretations):
Lawful Good
Lawful Good characters respect authority and order while cherishing life and fairness. They have compassion and will sacrifice their own comforts (and even lives) to protect others from harm. At the same time, they uphold strict standards of behavior for themselves and others and expect reasonable consequences for those who violate those norms.
Neutral Good
Neutral Good characters care that life and love are encouraged and protected more than how they're nurtured and preserved. If more rules or a stricter system is needed for the greater good, they'll allow it; if laws and norms are doing harm, they'll change them. No system is sacred, but kindness is.
Chaotic Good
Chaotic Good characters value personal freedom above duties to others, but only to an extent. They want to make their own fortunes and make their own choices, but they care about not leaving damage in their wake. In general, they strive to treat others how they would like to be treated.
Lawful Neutral
Lawful Neutral characters value order more than notions of good or evil. They believe life and fortunes can't be preserved in chaos, but clear roles and hierarchies ensure that what needs to be done is done. They accept that some will be harmed, whether they deserve it or not but if society is preserved overall, the benefits are worth the price.
True Neutral
True Neutral characters seek balance in all things. Too many rules are as unwise as too few. Not all harm must be worked against, but if destructive forces threaten to overflow, they must be pushed back in whatever fashion works best. Life and bonds are cultivated with an eye toward survival more than kindness.
Chaotic Neutral
Chaotic Neutral characters are dedicated to their own freedom and desires more than anyone else's. They aren't concerned with whether their lifestyle is right or wrong but whether it meets their expectations and needs. And when push comes to shove, they value their own skins too much to martyr themselves for others.
Lawful Evil
Lawful Evil characters prefer strict laws and clear hierarchies so they know what to expect. And although they might bend the rules for their own ends, they won't usually break them entirely. They want to fulfill their selfish desires without major social consequences; seeming like a law-abiding citizen helps them do that. If they can use policies and politics to secure their own power and privilege, even better.
Neutral Evil
Neutral Evil characters will do whatever they must to get what they want. They'll put up with restrictions if they can get ahead by doing so, and they'll tear down structures if it serves their interests. There's no telling how far they'll go to reach their goals, either. They aren't afraid of brutality - in fact, they have a taste for it.
Chaotic Evil
Chaotic Evil characters harm others to make themselves feel strong, successful, and superior. And why not? Their own wishes are all that matter to them. They see civilization and love as pleasant lies and anarchy and brutal force as the ultimate truth and trust no one well enough to convince them otherwise.
Skills
Skills are used to perform specific actions, such as hiding or deceiving others. Each one is tied to an ability score: Dexterity applies to Stealth and Charisma applies to Deception. Players choose which skills their characters is proficient with during character creation based on what's available to their class. From there, bonuses from their level, ability modifiers, and tools are combined and applied whenever that skill is rolled. Proficient characters have an edge, but in 5th edition, anyone can try a raw ability check instead. A rogue proficient in Stealth will have an easier time because they have a higher total bonus to their check, but an untrained cleric making a Dexterity check still has a chance to succeed.
Feats
When characters gain certain levels in 5th edition, players have choices to make: they increase characters' attributes or choose feats instead. Since attribute increases affect many things, there's powerful incentive to take them. Feats offer bonuses to very specific scenarios and actions and may have prerequisites, such as the grappler feat, which gives an edge in wrestling with targets but can only be chosen and used by characters with a Strength rating of 13 or above. Since feats are so focused, they won't always be useful, and only a small selection are available in the Player's Handbook. You shouldn't ignore them, but they aren't as vital to success as they are in 3.5 and 4th editions.
Experience Points
To advance to the next level and gain more power, a character needs to learn and develop. This can be represented by gaining experience points (commonly shortened to "XP"). When they overcome obstacles during play, they earn a number of points based on the challenge's difficulty. Not every impediment will result in XP, however. To gain experience points, there usually needs to be some kind of penalty for failure. Ideally, the character should reach their goal despite an obstacle, but they may get some XP for partial victory. Some challenges, like defeating enemies, are easier to translate into points since enemies in gaming books come with suggested awards. Others might have to be decided by the DM. Once a character reaches certain thresholds, their player gets to advance their class abilities according to their new level (which is called "leveling up").
It's a DM's job to clearly and fairly communicate anything related to leveling. Some DMs don't track experience points; instead, they decide on a milestone the group must reach before everyone gains a new level. If experience points are used, it's a DM's job to present challenges that lead to XP regularly and award each player fairly. Why? Because D&D characters need to level up and obtain enough gear to have fair chances of surviving tougher challenges. For the game to advance and stay exciting, characters need to be presented with ways to earn XP often. And either way, groups should agree on which method of advancement will be used, hopefully before starting a campaign.
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