How to Play TriadCity

The TriadCity Players' Guide

Moral alignment and Conversion

Moral alignment is a key concept in TriadCity. Your characters can choose to be Evil, Good, or Neutral, and this choice will impact the ways in which they experience the world, the character Roles that are available to them, the Items they're able to use, and many other things.

In TriadCity, all characters are born Neutral. While your actions will cause you to drift from your initially perfect Neutral alignment, that drift isn't enough by itself to cause you to become Evil or Good. You have to make a deliberate choice to do that. This choice is called "Conversion", and while it's one of the major life experiences your character may choose to undergo, it's a simple act.

To Convert to Evil, you must be Neutral (not Good), and your alignment drift must be exactly -1000. Go to the Temple of Night, and prostrate yourself before Nuit. You'll be asked to perform some actions; and if you agree, Evil you'll be.

To Convert to Good, you must be Neutral (not Evil), and your alignment drift must be exactly +1000. Go the the Cathedral of Light, and bow to Luz. A ritual will be enacted, you'll be asked to do some things; and if you agree, Good you'll be.

Of course, you can usually change your mind about being Evil or Good, and can Convert back to Neutral. Usually. To do this, your alignment drift must be +1000 for Evil, or -1000 for Good. Go to the Temple of the Laughing God, and laugh to the Buddha. There'll be a short ritual, you'll be asked to do some things; and if you agree, Neutral you'll be.

Keep an eye out on your alignment drift. Certain actions will cause you to drift Evil very quickly. Violence, for instance. If you drift too far off center your existence will become unbalanced; and this will have consequences for you throughout the game world.

You should note there are not many simple ways to correct an unbalanced alignment drift. In some MUD traditions you can simply sacrifice some equipment and your drift will be corrected. In TriadCity, you usually have to undertake specific actions; and they're not always easy to do. So watch out for your soul.

One final note. We've been very coy here and haven't told you what the terms "good" or "evil" mean. We'll stress: they don't mean "the authors approve" or "the authors disapprove". There's a complex, rich metaphysical content to these terms in TriadCity which we'll leave for you to discover.

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