D&D Online Alignment Test
By David Noonan

Your Character’s Alignment

Based on your answers to the quiz, your character’s most likely alignment is Lawful Neutral.

Lawful Neutral

A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs her. Order and organization are paramount to her. She may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or she may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. The common phrase for lawful neutral is "true lawful." Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot.

--excerpted from the Player’s Handbook, Chapter 6

Keep in mind the alignment suggested by the quiz is just that: a suggestion. It describes your character no better than a 36-question test would describe you. But it’s a good way to start thinking about how your character acts when confronted with issues of alignment.

Now that your character has taken the test, make a note of which questions scored in the opposite direction from your overall alignment. These exceptions can tell some interesting tales about your character Are you a good character with a greedy streak? Are you a lawful character who can’t stand the village elders? Don’t just roleplay your alignment -- roleplay your alignment exceptions, too. Few characters perfectly embody their alignment choice.

Try the test again

Changing Alignment

From time to time (say every three to five levels), it might be a good idea to retake this alignment test to see whether your character is experiencing "alignment drift." Perhaps you intended him to walk the straight and narrow, but (having fallen in with bad company), he’s becoming increasingly comfortable with behavior that would make his mentors blush. Or perhaps you intended her as a hard-bitten cynic, yet find that she’s the one who makes sure the rescued survivors get safely back to town, sometimes slipping them a few gold pieces to replace their losses.

Don’t despair: People change over time, and characters do too. Some become more lawful (there’s nothing like amassing a stockpile of loot to make you want banditry and thieving to stop). Others relax their earlier strictures to embrace a more flexible approach. The alignment you choose while creating the character may not be the alignment that best fits how you play that character. Retaking the test later on also has the advantage that, instead of abstract conditions, you can plug in specific examples of how the character behaved when faced with any of the situations outlined in the "test."

Note that some characters (paladins, clerics, monks) suffer consequences of shifting alignment. Consider this test a qualifying exam for beginning characters in this class ("Well, you seem to score poorly on lawfulness, Sir Eadgar -- are you sure you want to be a paladin?") and a moral and ethical compass for those already on their chosen path.

Read about the creation of the Hero Builder’s Guidebook in our Personality Spotlight interview!