Continuation. See the Good Alignment posts. All information credited to OP.
The Neutral Alignments – Those who Justify
Lawful Neutral, “The Enforcer” – Good and Evil can be unclear to most people, some born without a conscience, others having theirs whittled away by strife, whatever the case, there are those who value law and order over virtue and kindness. These are characters called Lawful Neutral and they are among the most difficult to play mainly due to the shifting of law and order but also due to a misunderstanding of “neutral”.
The Grizzled Guard – This character is one who has the law engrained in him through experience and training. Whether or not he began as a man from any alignment, he has seen what chaos and chaotic behaviours can do to his lifestyle, he has seen that even good people break the law, and sometimes bad people are more reasonable. He is sick and tired of people pussyfooting and preaching and teaching ways to beat around the bush. All in all, all he could only put his faith in the law all this time, and he will protect it, by any means necessary. The ends justify the means for him, but only if the means lead to a lawful end.
The True Noble – One who believes everything has a natural order. The gods placed us in our given spots, with given fates, destinies and abilities, and this character was placed in a place of high-esteem. Pampered from a young age and raised to believe she was the best, the true noble is a figure that believes that all should follow the order of their birthright. It is a sacred law-for good or ill-that noblemen are better than commoners and will always be of a finer pedigree. She will reprimand and attack any who would defy this law, but for those who fall under it, she will always favour, though probably not respect. She will do anything to maintain her natural lifestyle.
The Monastic Bureaucrat – Order is everything to him. He sits at his desk, day in and day out, finishing his work and enacting as many laws, rules and goals for said work to accomplish. He reaches these rules through study of past laws and through rational attention to varying moralities, ensuring efficiency in every regard for every occasion. His desk is neat, his clothes and skin clean, his eyes alert but focused and his head always filled with an ordered meditative thought. He may be a clerk, or a monk, or a lawyer, but he is always one who conforms to rules.
True Neutral, “The Unaligned” – Though not always selfish, those of true neutral alignment are by far the most self-absorbed. Why? To be Neutral is to be uncaring of the causes of others, law, chaos, good and evil must mean nothing to you, only your own goals or balance must prevail. These characters are usually sheltered, never being victimized by the various scrutiny of the other alignments, or they are victims of all four, and thus cast off their shackles in search of the most independent path possible: pure reason.
The Pure Druid – This woman is one with nature. Much like the inherent gods of nature, she is not subject to the ways and sways of those addled with emotion, honour and pleasure. Nay, she pursues the natural path, that which comes with instinct. She kills when she is threatened, but may always find a use for an opponent. She is in tune with nature, but only maintains the balance and has no sympathy for individual creatures. She seeks power but maintains aloofness as to where it comes from. The wood is her home, she will protect if need be, but not always with force.
The Arcane Sage – He who seeks power in the ways of the arcane are aware of one thing: alignments are trapping. A spellcaster cannot learn spells that are opposite to his descriptor, and thus the good never learn to destroy, the evil never learn to heal, the lawful never learn to confuse and the chaotic never learn to focus. The only way to freely choose from these is true balance, and how does one achieve personal balance? Apathy. The Arcane Sage will not get involved in anything that does not give him a profit in the form of power. Any means could lead to such an end, but the end must be in sight.
The Ever-Hermit – Some believe that it is man’s association with others of his kind that meet his undoing. Many creatures, large and small, live solitary lives, and the ever-hermit believes he is one such creature. He left civilization as soon as he could, heading into the forest, learn to hunt, craft and keep himself alive. He has no interest in the affairs of tribal, civilized or religious folk, and would rather be left to his own devices in his shack. He is more likely to flee at the sight of others than stick around and fight them, and does not believe in territory or boundaries. It is rare to see an old ever-hermit, as although many are obsessed with solitude, those who favour a god are eager to enter the after-life.
Chaotic Neutral, “The Free-Spirit” – Chaotic neutral is the reason I began this guide. Described as “a character that follows their whims” many players, new and experienced, use this alignment as an excuse to make ill-defined characters who can do as the player’s wish without consequence. This is not the case, a free-spirit does not cut off a shop keep’s head for fun and then save an orphan from a burning building ten minutes later. A chaotic neutral character, like most neutral characters, instead tends to avoid good or evil actions, not commit to both. Chaotic neutral characters are difficult to play, but the general idea would be to maximize personal gain and minimize the amount of moral attention devoted to said action.
The True Rogue – One step ahead of the law and ten steps ahead of herself, she is always one to rush headlong into that which interests her. The true rogue hunts anything of value, but that need not be monetary or even physical. For instance, a true rogue loves to defeat an opponent who underestimated her, whether it is a guard searching for her as she hides, or a rival swordsman who belittled her in the town square, watching the smug look on their face fade fills her with glee. This feeling, however, is not replicated with those who would pose no challenge to her. Killing unarmed weaklings not only bores the true rogue, but disgusts her, and usually she would prefer to gain something from them through a more “fun” method.
The Nature Fang – Treated like dirt by law and ignored by good, the nature fang found refuge in the great wilderness and has decided it is the only treasure worth keeping. Ruthless and easily angered, the nature fang strikes out at any who would harm their home, no matter their colour or creed. Despite this, there is a particular tang of fun to be had when slaying those upstart lawfuls and a nature fang rarely passes an opportunity to attack and raid a trespassing guard or knight. However, despite the fact the nature fang may slay trespassers, it does not mean they enjoy it, and although they may slay anyone, they must be trespassing.
The Wild Vagabond – Always on the move and always ready for more coin, the vagabond is one of the poor and down-trodden to have never been lucky enough to meet those pure of heart who could help or was one too prideful to ever accept the help. Giving up on the world and cities in general, they take to the trails and wander from town to town in search of coin to fill their bellies. If a place is charitable, the vagabond remains until it stops being charitable. If a place ignores them, the vagabond takes what he needs through force or guile. Usually he cares not who he robs, but if someone is willing to give, he rarely takes more than they offer.