More on Alignment

I have given an illustration of how the Lawgiver and Mitraa alignments work. A brief recap:

Alignments:

Lawgiver: Only one path, only one way. Following the rules of society. Collectivism over individualism. Can be good or evil.

For example- if a clanless dude happens to be walking out at day because he needs help finding an herb to save his kid, but societal rules forbid him from venturing outside his settlement except under the cover of darkness. A good-aligned lawgiver sort will say, here is a compromise- I don't want you walking the streets (against the societal law) so please go home, but I will help you find that herb and bring it to you. Both our problems are solved.

An adherence to societal law to such an extent that altruism and compassion take a back seat is not the act of a good aligned lawgiver. So the guy who says, go home and if your kid dies so be it, is a lawgiver but not a good aligned one.

Mitraa: Everyone has their own path. Humanitarian rules- general ethics over societal rules where it applies. Individualism over collectivism. Can be good or evil

For example- remember that clanless guy. An evil mitraa will encourage him to wander the streets and find the herb- rules be damned. A good Mitraa may offer to help because he is human too and no societal rules should interfere with the individual's need to better his circumstances. A guy who encourages flouting society's rules for the sake of it, is not a good aligned mitraa. A guy who will support it if it interferes with a person's happiness - is.

Complicated isn't it?

It gets far more complex.

Ganas (Types)

Ganas simply put refers to the sphere of influence over an individual. If a person is governed only by their own interests, passions and the like- he is of the Rakshasa gana. If his circle of influence includes friends, family, fellow natives, then he is a Manav gana, where he seeks to protect those he cares about. The Deva gana is an oddball. To him the entire world is his family and he seeks the welfare of the entire world equally, or the largest possible group there of.

Think of it this way. You just discovered your dad killed someone. A Rakshasa gana wouldn't care because it doesn't concern him. The Manav gana will try and protect his father from justice or harm. The Deva gana will turn in his dad because his dad committed a sin against humanity.

Conversely, you are in a battle and your family got attacked in their home by a group of raiders. The Rakshasa gana may act to protect his own skin- stay in the battle if he has better chances there, or abandon both if need be. The Manava gana abandons the battle and runs to protect his family. The Deva gana fights on even if it means his family gets slain, so that other families don't face the sorrow he does.

It is said each human has some of the above in them, forming a dominant type of person. Most people have some Manav tendencies, but the predominant tendency will mark you as one "type"

Gunas:

Every act belongs to three types. Those done out of compassion, those that are of passion, and those that are from apathy/ignorance. This is a tricky one.

All acts of altruism are good-aligned acts. There are no "but your help caused him to get lazy" arguments. Acts are not judged by their repurcussions but their purpose.

Satvik: A Satvik person shall always attempt the most non violent act possible because his compassion extends to all. Remember the Deva gana? This is the trait that most closely aligns with it. He will use violence only when absolutely neccessary and views the entire world through an egalitarian lens. He is as altruistic with a stranger, as he is with his closest friends.

Tamasic: Ever turned down a quest because you were not interested? Sorry, but your lack of interest in the suffering of others is a Tamasic act. Apathetic acts, or treating others and self with disinterest, not being actively involved in life, and your surroundings...or to put it in layman's terms having a "meh" attitude to life is Tamasic.

Rajasic: This is the most complex of all gunas because from it comes acts of great heroism, as well as pointless aggression. Simply put, this is the force that fuels the passion and the activity in you. If you are a Rajasic person, you always take the path of action, over the path of diplomacy, compromise or laziness/apathy. The trick is, did you do it for yourself, or did you do it for others. A belligerent bully who beats up others to show they are boss, or a man who intimidates, taunts or uses violence to achieve self-centric goals is showing his Rajasic nature negatively. A man who shows no mercy to baddies, beats up those who otherwise torments, hurts or harms his friends and family is showing positive Rajasic tendencies.

Here is an example of how it works.

Your sister comes home crying that her boyfriend hit her. The Rajasic person will go and beat the guy up either for beating his sister or because he dared to hit HIS sister (there is a difference). The Tamasic person will not care. His sister needs to take care of herself, anyway. He will get his sister out of the situation yes, but he will not abandon the boyfriend. He may try to discern if he can help that guy too in some way. Maybe a stint at the monastery will help him learn anger management?

Conversely, if the Kingdom goes to war, and his tribe tries to slaughter a village of innocent civilians, the Rajasic may not intervene but the Satvik might.

Think of it as all humanity is equal (Satvik), People I care about /I>Humanity (Rajasic), Humanity=0 (Tamasic)

Now if you have found that you have acted most in a Satvik way, you are becoming a Deva Gana person. To a Mitraa, that is an ideal. You have put humanity above a smaller group of individuals. The good aligned Rajasic person who puts family/village/specific God above all considerations is a Lawgiver Ideal. You are showing the tendency to protect those that matter over those that don't. The evil-aligned Rajasic person is mistrusted because he cares about nought but himself. Everyone hates the Tamasic person because they cannot count on them in any situation.

How this gets reflected in Gameplay:

If you are envisioning long dialogue trees with options for each one of the above, don't worry. That is not going to happen. Some quests will have only a satvik component to be gained. Others neither. It is not like everything you say or do reflects on you in multiple ways. It happens over time. It is cummulative over several quests. It is only at set points in the game where you can evaluate what you have done and where you stand, though each time you have made a Satvik, Tamasic, Rajasic (negative or positive), Lawgiver-like or Mitraa-like response- you will get feedback that you did.

Given that this is complex, you will get a chance at the end of the first chapter to erase your score book and start anew if you wish to. The first chapter is like a tutorial where you can explore how some responses have the effects they do and try to get a sense of it. When you stand up for your guardian when someone insults her- you will notice that your rajasic positive increases. When you act disinterested in anyone's plight, and refuse to help, you will notice that the game notices. And when you act in such a way that you honor an individual's desires over societal rules, or societal rules over individual need, or even HOW you word your compromise, it will be reflected as well. And once you think you have a sense of it, you get the chance to renew and restart in chapter 2.