Aligning Misconceptions #1 - True Neutral

I figure the best place to start off the discussion about alignments is in the middle.

True Neutral.

No strong feelings towards ethics and no strong feelings towards morality. This alignment is the gray area. Rather selfish as a whole; this alignment can be given to altruism.

In my mind; this is the commoner alignment. The stereotypical view of peasants for this time period is a hard life; one too difficult to be blatantly good or evil. Working within the law, but out for their own benefit if possible. The PHB describes this alignment as undecided in part.

This is a good alignment for people who have never gamed to start out as. This can allow them the freedom to define the character as they are comfortable instead of trying to play to an ideal they may not understand. An old GM that I knew would refer to this as the cop-out alignment; because there is no definition for people play to. They can work with the GM to discuss what alignment they are playing after the game and that opens up discussions for a better understanding of alignments to see what they want to try in the future.


The most relevant example from Wikipedia of a True Neutral character is Han Solo, at least at the beginning. Self-interested, no strong convictions beyond himself. Later in the series, his alignment changes to reflect his changing attitudes.

Pro-tip: True Neutral ignores all of the protection spells. So there's that.