Find balance. Weigh the good and the bad. Toe the line between morality and ethics. Embrace neutrality regardless of what’s happening around you.
The true neutral character alignment in Dungeons & Dragons forces you to act without choosing a side. Here’s how to make that work.
What Are Dungeons & Dragons Character Alignments?
Dungeons & Dragons character alignments are a rule of thumb for building characters to play in the tabletop game. With “nerd” culture on the rise, these tropes became helpful ways to describe characters in pop culture, from comics to movies to video games.
There are nine primary D&D character alignment types:
- Lawful Good
- Neutral Good
- Chaotic Good
- Lawful Evil
- Neutral Evil
- True Neutral
- Chaotic Evil
- Chaotic Neutral
The character alignments describe where a player falls on two axes: the lawful vs. chaotic axis and the good vs. evil axis.
Lawful vs. chaotic describes how a character feels about laws and regulations, whereas the good vs evil axis showcases the character’s morality.
True neutral is one of the most complicated archetypes to imagine and play. They are neither good nor evil, and have no opinion on society’s laws.
What does neutrality really mean?
Don’t fret; this short guide will help you conquer the true neutral alignment!
What Does it Mean to Be True Neutral?
True neutral characters are neither good nor evil. They don’t care about the law but aren’t out to disrupt it. True neutrals can either be indifferent to the law or feel it doesn’t apply to them.
Personality Traits of True Neutral Characters
There are typically two types of true neutrals: god-like characters and bystanders. The god-like characters feel “above the law,” while the bystanders are indifferent.
Your personality traits will vary depending on which type of neutral character you are playing.
Darren Bogus, a D&D player from Austin, Texas, considers true neutral characters serene masters of their environment above the notions of good and evil. Neutrals see these moral choices as social and cultural constructs that go against the natural order.
True Neutrals tend to be either:
- Stoic
- Wise
- Balanced
- Thoughtful
Or
- Uncaring
- Selfish
- Aloof
- Disinterested
- Instinct Driven
You can play the true neutral character however it suits your campaign.
How to Play a True Neutral Character
Nawras Ganim, founder and CEO of Chargeback, plays D&D to destress in his free time. He says true neutral characters don’t get enough love, but their desire for balance can enhance a campaign. He says with true neutral, “no side is overpowered, and we can easily relate to it like we do in real life.”
Here are some tips for playing the stoic character type.
Consider the Campaign Goals
Bogus said he’d only choose a true neutral character in a campaign if he thought the character’s ideals aligned with campaign goals. A campaign about restoring balance to something would be perfect for this alignment, while a quest about fighting evil might not fit.
Play Devil’s Advocate
Jimmy Watts, CEO of Own the Grill and long-time Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast, always chooses neutral characters. He considers them the bridge between party members and NPCs and listens to all sides of an argument to find a workable solution. Watts plays the neutral character as a sort of devil’s advocate, helping his campaign see problems from different perspectives.
Balance
Balance is crucial for true neutrals. They don’t want evil to triumph but know it’s impossible to strip from the world.
Ganim says they aren’t driven by any desire for heroism or righteousness; they only want to ensure balance.
Lucas Wyland, founder of Steambase, says their desire for balance makes them weigh decisions carefully. They will typically act in their own best interests at any given moment.
Find the Middle Ground
A true neutral’s desire for balance makes them the perfect character for finding the middle ground. Ganim likes to play as the wise character everyone looks to for guidance.
The true neutral should listen to both sides and opt for the action that best maintains balance.
Embrace Ambiguity
Wyland says the true neutrals know the world is gray and embrace it. Is it evil when the hawk kills a rabbit? Is it good when the hawk feeds her children?
The real world runs on ambiguity. Nothing is really good or evil.
Focus on Survival
Many true neutrals run on instinct. Wyland calls them survivors. “Their survival instincts drive them as they prioritize their well-being and adapt to circumstances,” he says.
The focus on survival also showcases the other true neutral quality: reliance on instincts. We can categorize creatures with no morals as neutral because they don’t know right from wrong; they only act on instinct.
Character Classes and Races that tend to be True Neutral
Although you can build your character however you want, a few character classes and races tend towards a true neutral alignment. A class is a character’s job, such as a cleric or barbarian. Class defines your character’s role in the party. The character’s race, such as elf, devil, or dwarf, gives them specific skills, abilities, and tendencies.
According to Watts and Bogus, the halfling race is well suited for a true neutral alignment. Bogus adds that Druids are the ideal class for this alignment because their magic makes them one with the natural world.
Ganim says monks are suited for the alignment. “Monks strive to maintain balance,” he explains. “I always imagine Monks being trained from early childhood. This kind of upbringing makes them naturally inclined towards neutrality. They’re taught to see beyond black and white, which helps them appreciate the shades of gray in between.”
Wyland says Lizardfolk embody the true neutral alignment because they focus primarily on survival and balance.
Examples of True Neutral Characters in Fiction
It’s important to remember that most fictional characters don’t fall neatly into a character alignment. Characters in fiction should grow and develop, make bad choices, and learn from those choices. A character who maintains their alignment throughout a show or movie is often bland.
However, some fictional characters make great examples of true neutral, even if they don’t fit the mold 100%.
Willy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/The Host from Angel
The first few seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer feature a demon bar with a human barkeep named Willy. Willy is slimy and often appears to protect his demon patrons, but he also gives Buffy information when she needs it. His ultimate goal is to run the bar without any trouble. He doesn’t care that the demons go outside and hurt people or that Buffy is fighting demons. All he wants is to ensure his bar remains open and neutral.
The spinoff Angel expanded on the concept of a neutral bar. Lorne, affectionately called “The Host,” owns a bar open to all demon kind, with the strict rule that no harm can come to patrons inside the bar. He even goes so far as to magically enchant the bar to prevent violence from happening inside. Lorne doesn’t concern himself with what happens outside the bar but wishes to keep his bar a neutral space for demons.
In later seasons, Lorne shifts to a more neutral good alignment, joining Angel’s team and fighting evil in his way.
The Xenomorphs (Alien)
Here is where the true neutral alignment can get interesting. The horrifying villains of one of the most iconic science fiction horror franchises of all time are, in fact, true neutral.
The xenomorph from Alien is a terrifying, powerful, relentless killing machine. They hunt humans and use them as incubators for their young. On the surface, they seem like the epitome of evil.
But if you look deeper, you’ll see that they aren’t evil. Xenomorphs have no moral compass and no laws. They are animals, killing because their life cycle demands it, not because they enjoy evil. We don’t consider lions evil for killing zebras. Lions kill zebras because they need to eat.
Humans also do awful things to other animals for the sake of survival, and we have a moral compass. Some humans consider our factory farming and animal slaughter activities morally wrong, but it’s a small group, and we are one of the only species who can even ponder whether it’s right or wrong.
Xenomorphs don’t have that. They follow their natural order and kill out of instinct. Their lack of morality and natural behavior makes them truly neutral, even though their actions are detrimental to humans.
Character Alignments are Just a Guide
Character alignments give us a good baseline for how to play a particular character, but they aren’t the only consideration. A genuinely good character is capable of evil, just as evil characters can potentially do good things. Alignments are general rules of behavior that you should consider but don’t have to be strictly adhered to.
The fun part of Dungeons & Dragons is that you can choose your own path, even while using the alignments as a guide.