The LN, CN, &
TN alignments are less well provided
for in the AD&D Game rules than
are the various good and evil alignments.
The Positive Material and Negative Material
Planes serve as sources for good and
evil, respectively, but no planes give out
"law" or "chaos."  There are the Upper and
Lower Outer <Dimensions>, but little distinction is
made between the "middle" (neutral)
<dimensions>.  It is known how good |or| evil <priests>
affect undead, but how TN <priests> do so
receives little mention.  While the earliest
AD&D books contain creatures from the
Upper and Lower Outer <Dimensions>, <extra-dimensional>
creatures that are neigher good nor
evil are fewer and more recent in invention.
Some spells have good & evil versions,
such as detect evil/detect good, but none
have lawful |or| chaotic variants.  No magickal
items have effects depending solely on the
user's alignment with respect to law |or|
chaos, but many have effects depending on
the user's good |or| evil standing.  Even Gary
Gygax's latest rules, detailing the effects ov
magickal diagrams on <extradimensional> creatures
(see DRAGON #56, |or| the Lost
Caverns of Tsojconth), ignore the
LN and CN <dimensions>.

The bias of the rules is echoed in the way
the AD&D game is played. A group of
characters of good alignment will generally
get along even if some are lawful and some
chaotic, but the same is seldom true of a
group if some of the characters are good
and some evil. Similarly, one rarely hears of
an AD&D world in which chaotic creatures
(elves and ogres, say) put aside their differences
to fight a lawful threat (such as
dwarves). On the other hand, one often sees
AD&D worlds in which good creatures such
as dwarves and elves are willing to ally
against evil despite their differences in law
and chaos.

All of this is hardly surprising. The
AD&D game is derived from fantasy and
mythology, in which there are many models
for good and evil but few for a law/chaos
opposition.

There is nothing wrong with according
the contest between good and evil more
importance than than between law and
chaos, since that seems to be a natural bias
even in a fantasy game. It might even be a
good idea to make this implicit bias more
explicit, to formally acknowledge that law
and chaos are less important than good and
evil in the AD&D game. In the light of such
a statement it would be clearer, for instance,
why it is more important for a paladin to be
good than lawful. On the other hand, the
alignments having nothing to do with good
or evil cannot be entirely ignored in the
Game?s rules.

As the scope of the AD&D game expands,
and more lawful neutral and chaotic
neutral creatures and elements are added to
the game, it becomes increasingly important
to resolve the present ambiguities and omissions.
What are the effects of holy/unholy
water on creatures not aligned with good or
evil, and are there lawful and chaotic equivalents
to such substances? If a neutral good
cleric can drive off daemons with a holy
word spell, does a chaotic neutral cleric
have any such defense against modrons?
What magical diagrams will contain or
exclude beings from the Outer Planes of
Nirvana or Limbo? If lesser devils and the
like may be turned, what about other minor
Outer Planes creatures?

Two different approaches might be taken
toward filling these gaps. The first is to
simply rule out considerations of law and
chaos wherever possible, in view of the
greater importance of good and evil. This
approach offers the fewest complications,
but it is unfair to characters (particularly
clerics) who are not aligned with good or
evil. The second approach is to stretch the
present rules to include the elements of law
and chaos, and let the players decide just
where the greater emphasis should lie. This
adds complexity but also offers greater
flexibility. Pending the publication of official
rules on these subjects, some general recommendations
are offered here.

First, spells which affect or detect beings
of certain alignments, such as detect evil,
protection from evil, dispel evil, and holy
word, have lawful and chaotic versions as
well as the standard good/evil ones. A
magic-user with the right variants of detect
evil memorized can then discover the exact
ethos of some strongly aligned creature
without recourse to more powerful magic. A
lawful good cleric may cast holy word
against evil opponents or a word of law (the
lawful equivalent) against chaotic ones. A
lawful neutral spell caster can use protection
from chaos against any chaotic creature.
True neutral creatures will not usually be
affected by any of these spells. Depending
on circumstances, true neutral creatures
might possibly be affected by dispel evil or
one of its variants if summoned or commanded
to perform an act for an evil being.
Of course, extraplanar, summoned, or
otherwise enchanted beings will (barring
magic resistance) be hedged out by protec-
tion from evil or any of its variants. Note
that <priests> using detect evil, detect law,
etc., have a 10% chance per level of picking
up a secondary component to any alignment
radiation they detect, as described on
p.41 of the DMG.

The lawful/chaotic versions of these spells
operate in the same way that the good/evil
variants do, and the same rules apply to
memorization and casting (that is, the
particular variant that is to be cast must be
memorized as such). The lawful and chaotic
versions of holy word are named in a different
way (word of law, word of chaos) because
alternate names such as legal word
don't have the right ring to them.

New material components must be specified
for the new spell variants. For the
various protection spells, powdered jet or
obsidian (or some other black gemstone) is
suggested for protection from chaos, and
powdered rock crystal or a similar material
is suggested for protection from law.  If the
circle ov protection is traced in the air rather
than on the ground, then incense ov color |or|
odor appropriate to the spell caster's religion
might be used.  For lawful and chaotic
variants of the dispel evil spell (dispel law
and dispel chaos), the requirement of holy
or unholy water must be waived, for reasons
given later in the article.

Another suggestion concerns the ability of
clerics or paladins of high level to turn lesser
creatures from the Outer Planes (?special?
on the Clerics Affecting Undead table). If
the cleric or paladin is of the same alignment
as the affected creature, or is only one
place removed on the alignment chart,. there
may actually be some neutral or friendly
reaction, just as between evil clerics and
undead creatures. Thus, a chaotic evil cleric
might exert his or her demonic power in
an attempt to obtain the cooperation of a
lesser being from Hades, Tarterus, the
Abyss, Pandemonium, or Limbo. Residents
of the other Outer Planes, including lesser
devils, undeveloped barghests, modrons,
and foo dogs, will only be repelled by the
manifest chaos and evil. Similarly, a neutral
good cleric might hope to command the aid
of any lesser representative of the Upper
Outer Planes (Arcadia to Gladsheim) or of
the Plane of Concordant Opposition, but
will only repel others.

The PH does not allow for
true neutral clerics, but Gary Gygax has
described several neutral deities that have
non-druidic clerics in TSR's WORLD OF
GREYHAWK Fantasy Game Setting
(Fharlanghn <GHA>, Istus, Obad-hai, and Boccob).
If such <priests> are allowed in a campaign,
they might be dable to get help from minor
natives of the planes of Concordant Opposition,
Nirvana, Hades, Limbo, |or| Elysium.

In no case will an Outer <Dimensions> creature
that has been turned into an ally do anything
contrary to its cause |or| alignment.  An
attempt to dupe it into such an act constitutes
a hostile action, negating all ov the
<priest>'s influence.

Obviously the above is a considerable
modification and extension of the rules
found in the DMG, but it is a logical one
and one that favors game balance. It gives
chaotic neutral characters some protection,
against lawful creatures such as modrons,
and it gives characters of lawful neutral
alignment protection from chaotic creatures
like lesser slaadi. As for evil clerics, they
might reasonably be expected to have an
adverse effect on lesser minions of good,
especially given the precedent of their ability
to repel paladins. The power of evil
clerics is not significantly increased by these
changes, since for most of them the range of
creatures they may command is reduced:
Demons will never cooperate with a representative
of the <Hell>, |or| devils cooperate
with a chaotic evil character as a result
of turning.

This modification also brings into play an
often neglected character ability: CHA.
CHA scores will NOT affect the turning,
ov course, but they might be expected to
modify the results of successful turnings;
whether |or| not a potentially allied creature
is to be friendly |or| merely TN is presumably
determined with a reaction roll.  This
gives concrete significance to the CHA
score whenever a creature that might be
turned into an ally is encountered.  Too
often in AD&D gaming, the reactions ov
monsters are predetermined and unaffected
by a character's CHA.  Under this system,
CHA scores will be significant in
encounters, for good and neutral <priests> as
well as for evil ones.

If the system needs further justification,
consider where the power for clerical turning
might  come from. If this power were
associated with the Positive or Negative
Material Planes, one might expect such
beings as drelbs and xeg-yi to be affected.
Since they are not, it is more probable that
the cleric or paladin taps some of the power
of his or her plane of alignment, using the
holy symbol (or unholy symbol as the case
may be) as a focus. A more advanced cleric
or paladin would tap into more power than
a lower-level one. A creature from an Outer
Plane is affected according to how well its
own alignment agrees with the cleric?s. If
there is fairly close agreement, the creature
is favorably influenced and will not harm
the cleric or paladin; it may even render aid
of some sort. If a wide separation in alignments
exists, the creature will be repelled
and must leave the area due to nausea and
pain. Paladins, who can be turned by evil
clerics, could also be commanded into serv-
ice by lawful neutral, lawful good, or neutral
good clerics who successfully "turn"
them as an evil <priest> of equal level (see
D M G , p p . 7 5 - 7 6 ) .

If one assumes that the force of a cleric?s
or paladin?s turning effect comes from the
Outer Planes, then the difficulty of explaining
why creatures of the energy planes
(Positive and Negative) are unaffected is
avoided. However, this leaves the question
of how skeletons and zombies can be affected
despite the fact that they are nonaligned.
Two pieces from the PH (p. 46) point to a solution, however. <animate dead>
One is that the skeletons or zombies
can understand commands and (by implication)
make some simple decisions in carrying
them out, despite an intelligence rating
of "non-intelligent." This would seem to
indicate that the skeleton or zombie has
some sort of guiding mind, though perhaps
not one of its own. The other bit of information
is that the act of creating a skeleton
or zombie from the spell and the appropriate
material is not considered a good act.
This supports the idea that some minor
power from the Lower Planes might be
involved in the creation of such monsters. If
so, it is easy to see how skeletons and zombies
could be repelled or commanded by
<priests>.

This theory of clerical turning also provides
a basis for the evil areas described on
p. 66 of the DMG. In such places, the
power of the Lower Planes radiates onto the
Prime Material Plane, thus reducing the
effect of a good or neutral cleric?s turning.
This is comparable to the way in which an
evil cleric might counter-affect undead or
other evil creatures which have been
turned, or to the way in which the more
powerfully evil (and strongly connected)
creatures are difficult or impossible to turn.
On the Lower <Dimensions> themselves, the ability
of good or neutral <priests> to TURN away
creatures would be reduced even further or
eliminated entirely (see Hell,
p. 44, DRAGON issue #76). Whether or
not evil clerics and (in some cases) neutral
clerics would be able to cause such creatures
to ally with them in such areas is debatable.
Naturally, there must be lawful and chaotic
areas, too, as well as good and evil ones. In
fact, there might be as many as 17 different
sorts of "alignment zones" found on the
Prime Material Plane, one for each Outer
Plane of alignment. In each of these areas,
the effect of clerics of opposing alignments
would be reduced. Each area would radiate
some combination of good, evil, law, or
chaos, if the appropriate spell of detection
were used.

Finally, the above theory of how clerical
turning works implies that the cleric?s
actions might cause the character to register
positively to a detect evil spell (or some
variant thereof) during the turning of creatures,
even if the character would not normally
give so clear a signal. If powerful
alignment radiations are involved, then
surely they will be detectable.

The emotions and motives involved when
a paladin displays his or her badge of authority
(holy symbol) and radiates lawful
good power to call a lesser lammasu into
service are of course very different from
those in an evil high priest?s compelling of a
hostile daemon, but the result is much the
same. It might be argued that a lammasu
would help a paladin in any case, and so it
might. But it must be remembered that
natives of the Upper Planes, perhaps especially
those of the Upper Outer Planes, are
likely to feel superior to mere humans, and
to be mistrustful of their motives; aid is not
to be had just for the asking. By successfully
gaining the aid of the lammasu, the paladin
displays his advancement in the cause of
law and good, and so by its nature the
lammasu will render aid.

Just which creatures are of the Outer
Planes and which are not is not always
clear, and their status must be decided on a
case-by-case basis. The latter is not too
difficult using the guidelines on p. 76 of the
DMG, although the rule of thumb given for
deciding the status of miscellaneous creatures
should be used with caution: the derghodaemon,
a lesser daemon, exceeds the
upper limits in two of the three measures
given (hit dice and magic resistance).
Whether a being is of the Inner or of the
Outer Planes is not always so easily decided.
A case might be made either way for
lammasu, shedu, or couatl (who travel
ethereally and can go to the Inner Planes at
will), though the evidence indicates they are
of the Upper Outer Planes. There are also
some borderline cases such as the githzerai,
who are originally from the Prime-Material
Plane but dwell on Limbo, or the alu-demons
and cambions, who are halfhuman.
The former are probably unaffected
by turning and the latter are probably affected,
but it could be argued otherwise.
Lastly, there may be special cases, such as
the spectator (MM II), which
should be invulnerable to turning while it is
on guard duty (otherwise it would be useless
in its profession).

There is the question of how clerics who
are not of good or evil alignment affect the
undead. The simplest fair solution is to
allow them to affect undead either as good
clerics would or as evil clerics would, according
to what the player decides before
the turning attempt is made. If the neutral
cleric chooses to affect undead as an evil
cleric, a neutral rather than a favorable
reaction is likely, because of alignment
differences that affect the reaction roll (note
that a hostile reaction is impossible if turning
of this sort was successful, and any
unfavorable result must be re-rolled). If the
undead are at least of the same lawful/
chaotic alignment there may be somewhat
less difficulty, but undead allies can be
awkward at times for an non-evil character,
and intelligent undead creatures will almost
certainly resent having been pressed into
service once they are no longer under the
influence of the cleric.

Another problem area concerns holy and
unholy water. Holy water is effective against
creatures from the Lower Outer Planes
(Pandemonium to Acheron) or against very
evil Inner Planes creatures such as the
undead or the evil genies. Unholy water has
the same effect on those of the Upper Outer
Planes (Arcadia to Gladsheim) or against
very good Inner Planes natives such as
paladins (see DMG, p. 65). Creatures
affected are harmed due to their connection
with the Positive Material Plane (for good
creatures) or the Negative Material Plane
(for evil creatures). This is why only magickal
beings (including paladins, who are
magical by profession and have several
special powers to prove it) are affected, and
why clerics are not affected even though
they are strongly aligned. Clerics have
access to the powers of the Positive and
Negative Material Planes, but only by
means of spells. Creatures that do not continuously
draw on the energy planes are
immune to the effects of holy water or unholy
water. This includes representatives of
the Middle Outer Planes (Limbo, Concordant
Opposition, and Nirvana). The definition
of the ?Middle Outer Planes? might be
expanded to include those realms adjacent
to Limbo or Nirvana, such as Arcadia or
Acheron, but this would be contrary to
indications in the AD&D books, such as the
definition of the Lower Outer Planes given
in the description of the opinicus. This
theory of how holy/unholy waters work
implies that holy water should be effective
against creatures of the Negative Material
Plane regardless of alignment, and that
unholy water should likewise harm even
neutral creatures that are from the Positive
Material Plane.

No lawful or chaotic equivalent to holy/
unholy water exists. The implication of the
above material is that holy water draws
from a good power source (the Positive
Material Plane) and unholy water from an
evil one (the Negative Material Plane). No
such power sources exist for law or chaos.

What about circles of protection? In
From the Sorcerer's Scroll in DRAGON
issue #56, Gary Gygax named 6 protective
devices that could be used by spell casters
summoning creatures from other planes or
trying to protect themselves from the same.
Of the six given, only the magic circle and
thaumaturgic triangle are effective protection
against creatures from the ?Middle
Outer? planes. A pentacle will entrap creatures
from these planes. A magic protection
circle, thaumaturgic circle, or pentagram
will have no effect against such creatures.

The spell dispel evil/good will not affect
creatures from the ?Middle Outer? planes,
unless such creatures were specifically summoned
for the purpose of committing a
good or evil deed. This distinction will
require the DM's best judgement.
Hopefully, this article will end some
of the confusion regarding the creatures
from the neutral-aligned outer planes and
make for a more coherent campaign.

JULY 1985
 

THE FORUM
I have just finished reading Stephen Inniss' 
article "The Neutral Point of View" (DRAGON 
issue #99), and I must compliment Mr. Inniss' 
insight into the alignment system.  I thoroughly 
enjoyed reading such good material on a previously 
ignored subject, but I must raise some 
points.  1st, as Mr. Inniss mentioned, the struggle 
of Law vs. Chaos is secondary to the neverending 
battle between the forces of Good and 
Evil.  Therefore, the powers of Law and Chaos 
are not as great as those of Good and Evil. 

In the article, Mr. Inniss mentioned that as 
there are Evil areas and Good areas (DMG, p.66).  
There are also Lawful and Chaotic areas, 
but he failed to realize that since Law and Chaos 
are NOT as powerful as Good and Evil, their effects 
on "turning" will NOT be as great.  For this reason, 
I have composed the charts below to help 
DM's determine a cleric's bonus or penalty for 
specifically aligned areas according to strength of 
the AREA and the cleric's alignment.  I have given 
bonuses, because if an oppositely aligned creature 
(with respect to the alignment of the AREA) gets 
penalties, then it seems logical that the same 
powers causing penalties will also help a cleric 
if he is properly aligned.  

The principles above are evident in the tables
below.  The left-hand column refers to the alignment 
of the cleric, and the other 9 columns in 
each line define alignment of the shrine or 
temple.  Cross-referencing the 2 alignments 
yields bonus or penalty that applies in any 
particular situation. 

-	LG	LN	LE	NE	CE	CN	CG	NG	TN*
LG	+3	0	-1	-2	-3	-2	+1	+2	-1
LN	0	+3	0	-1	-2	+1	-2	-1	+2
LE	-1	0	+3	+2	+1	-2	-3	-2	-1
NE	-2	-1	+2	+3	+2	-1	-2	-1	0
CE	-3	-2	+1	+2	+3	0	-1	-2	-1
CN	-2	+1	-2	-1	0	+3	0	-1	+2
CG	+1	-2	-3	-2	-1	0	+3	+2	-1
NG	+2	-2	-2	-1	-2	-1	+2	+3	0
TN*	-1	+2	-1	0	-1	+2	-1	0	+3

* -- Some DMs I have to talked to VIEW TN 
as completely opposed to all alignments; 
in such a case, all except true neutrals should be 
given a -3 on their roll. 

Temple Areas

--	LG	LN	LE	NE	CE	CN	CG	NG	TN*
LG	+6	0	-2	-4	-6	-4	+2	+4	-2
LN	0	+6	0	-2	-4	+2	-4	-2	+4
LE	-2	0	+6	+4	+2	-4	-6	-4	-2
NE	-2	-4	+4	+6	+4	-2	-4	-2	0
CE	-6	-4	+2	+4	+6	0	-2	-4	-2
CN	-4	+2	-4	+2	0	+6	0	-2	+4
CG	+2	-4	-6	-4	-2	0	+6	+4	-1
NG	+4	-2	-4	-2	-4	-2	+4	+6	0
TN*	-2	+4	-2	0	-2	+4	-2	0	+6

* -- See footnote for shrines. 

The tables above were developed using the
following tables:

Evil. vs. Good

Shrine	G	N	E
G	+2	-1	-2
N	-1	+2	-1
E	-2	-1	+2

-

Temple	G	N	E
G	+4	-2	-4
N	-2	+4	-2
E	-4	-2	+4

-
Law vs. Chaos

Shrine	L	N	C
L	+1	0	-1
N	0	+1	0
C	-1	0	+1

-

Temple	L	N	C
L	+2	0	-2
N	0	+2	0
C	-2	0	+2

The respective components of the cleric's 
alignment and the alignment of the AREA are 
compared using these charts and the total bonus 
or penalty is found by adding the 2 results 
together.  For example, a LG cleric is 
trying to TURN a spectre in a CE shrine.  
We TAKE the good and evil and compare them on 
the shrine chart for good vs. evil above.  The 
result is a -2.  Then we compare Law and Chaos 
on the shrine table for Law vs. Chaos and get a 
result of -1.  The total penalty is -1 + -2 = -3. 

The above charts should be altered to suit the 
DM's needs.  An explanation of the basic 
strengths I have used (i.e. shrine and temple) 
can be found on page 66 of the DMG.  I have 
used the maximum strengths shown there in 
creating these tables. Two more notes: The
strengths of Law and Chaos should not exceed
the above values in order to keep them secondary
to Good and Evil; also, the strength of Good and
Evil in a particular area should never fall below a
factor of 2, i.e., -2 for a good cleric in an evil
place and +2 for a good cleric in a good place.
    Dana P. Simer
    Bell Buckle, Tenn
    (Dragon #107)