Alignment factions primer

I do not think the two-axis alignment system really makes much sense, but unfortunately for me it is baked into the design of the game. Even if PCs do not need to select alignments, the monsters and cosmology (including my homebrew) are still informed by alignment. So I am going to reframe the alignments of chaos, evil, good and law into allegiances loosely based on "Essences" from Mage: The Ascension or "Urges" from Nine Worlds or the factions from Age of Sigmar.

Chaos becomes Discord, Evil becomes Chaos, Good becomes Cosmos, Law becomes Order. (There is no "neutral" faction: the true neutral alignment is subsumed into Cosmos.)

Discord and Order are polar opposites. Order wants security for all by paralyzing all possibility of change; Discord wants freedom for all by forcing everything into a constant state of change. Neither of these extremes is suitable for life as we know it. The fictional inspiration for these allegiances comes from the Stormbringer series of novels, as well as derivatives such as the cenobites from Hellraiser and the fair folk from Exalted.

Cosmos seeks balance, equilibrium and harmony between the extremes of Discord and Order. This harmony is the only way to preserve life as we know it. The mythical and fictional inspiration for this allegiance comes from Ma'at in Ancient Egyptian religion and the Order faction in Age of Sigmar.

Chaos seeks destruction and despair. Out of all the allegiances (even Discord!), it has the most diverse motivations among its constituents and infighting is common. The fictional inspiration for this allegiance is Chaos from Warhammer.

More information will be forthcoming in future posts.