Pinned
I wish more people used Magic the Gathering's Color Pie instead of D&D's alignment all of the time.
Like, saying a character embodies the selfishness and impulsivenes of Red Black offers more depth than Chaotic Evil
It’s substantially deeper.
Good enough for me
I hate Good vs Evil as a Character alignment choice. Hate hate HATE hate. I’m sorry, but Good and Evil can be measured along many axes, and fucking nobody wakes up in the morning and goes “golly I sure do love being Evil! Gonna go make the world worse on purpose because I’m just so awful!”
Get the fuck outta here with that Protestant-ass characterization. I got something better for you:
[Watsonian; the colors of magic are drawn from different landforms, such as islands or mountains, and are characteristics of a type of magical currency called Mana which serves as the mechanical resource used to cast spells.]
[Doylist: each color has its own philosophies and opinions and perspectives about the world that influence Design beyond simple aesthetics]
Hence:
Each Color has its own axioms about Good/Evil!
White: Without Rules, without Order, without Law, there is only Chaos, and Good cannot exist amongst Chaos. We must all do our part.
Blue: Ignorance inevitably results in Evil; Good can only be accomplished with Knowledge. Even distasteful or horrifying Knowledge has Utility.
Black: People will label anything that they Like as “Good” and whatever they dislike as “Evil.” Whoever has the most Power gets to dictate what that means in practice.
Red: Ya wanna know what’s Evil? A single man ordering around thousands of others! “Evil Empire” is redundant, all Empires are “Evil.”
Green: The nature of Evil is to Take more than is Needed, to Exploit, and to Exclude. If one wishes to be Good, one should endeavor to be Respectful, Generous, and Harmonious.
—-
As you can see, this gives us substantially more dimensionality for characterization.
Your standard high fantasy village is in grave peril. The village elders confer, and a champion is chosen to go forth to save the village.
Red: A despotic Tyrant has been building an Empire, conquering kingdom after kingdom and bringing them to their knees. Even if you surrender, your culture and way of life will be destroyed.
Green: This village has long been a haven for Outcasts, Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos. It’s tucked away, not very rich, but rich in Love and Family and very nice hand crafts. Unfortunately, it sits on top of a large copper vein that the Imperial Treasury wants to exploit, and you all are very much in the way.
White: Your village has long suffered raids from bandits, barbarians, and outlaws, and the strain of recovering each time is becoming too great; something must be done.
Blue: The land suffers under the iron-fisted rule of a despotic tyrant. Your village has discovered the secret to his awful power and how to destroy him. Unfortunately, he knows that you know.
Black: Truth be told, your village isn’t actually “in peril” (at least, not any more than usual). Nobody sent you. You were not chosen. But there is Evil afoot, and you are offended by this Evil, and you will see to it personally that it ends.
I'm at work atm but yes all of this. You understand the complexity beyond just Good Vs Evil and how the colors are both a simple and complex character building tool. And you haven't even gone over the beauty behind wedges/shards (yet?)
Chaotic good? You would do good above all else? How? Because using the color pie you've got White Red, a passionate fight for justice, almost zealot like.
White Blue, perhaps justice at the cost of some personal freedoms? A calm controlling fight because they know best
Or White Black, justice for you and yours. A fight where the ends justify the means and history is written by the winners.
I could classify all of those as Chaotic Good, but they're all technically different.
cracks knuckles
Blue: A digital archivist sits at a bank of monitors, collecting, preserving, and distributing banned books, explicit art, and radical music.
Black: “Why? Because fuck ‘em, that’s why. Who says they’re the Good Guys? Them? You gotta open your eyes, man.”
Red: “I just feel like, if you wanna live in a Free Society, you gotta occasionally inconvenience those who are accustomed to getting whatever they want.”
Green: The Secret Police would kill him on the spot if they knew how many Scapegoats he had smuggled to safety. He had no great love for these people, but as far as he was concerned they were innocent and did not deserve to die.
White: [Actual Public Face of The Resistance. Wrote The Manifesto. Spends most of The Revolution de facto imprisoned.]
I don't really get this yet (especially the difference between Red and Black tbh) but I'm going to read more about it because it is cool
You see, the colors are partially defined by their relationship to each other; they don’t fully make sense without discussing all 5. So.
Red is also an ally of Green, whereas Black is allied with Blue. They both hate White.
What does this mean?
You probably noticed that both Red and Black are Selfish; their motivations are intrinsic, and they do not believe that they owe the world anything. This is what we mean when we say they are both “enemies of White”, as White in this context is the color of self-sacrifice, of giving yourself away.
But they disagree on other points.
Red and Blue are enemies. Blue is ultimately concerned with Control; of the self, of others, of the laws of reality itself. It pursues knowledge, and treasures it, but generally does not believe that it should be free to all. Blue gatekeeps.
Red hates all of that.
Black? Black is fine with it. Considers it useful, even. Black and Blue are allies. They get along fine. See, Black is much more likely to have minions than companions; more likely to desire sycophants than advisors. Additionally, Black and Blue both understand Politics.
Vise versa; Black and Green are enemies. Can’t stand each other. Green thinks Black is an ego-driven narcissist and will absolutely call them out on it. Green doesn’t take any one person very seriously. Green is a big fan of councils and democracy; Green likes community gardens and libraries. And when Black tries to pull a power grab, tries to assert dominance, do you know who will be standing right next to Green saying “not on my watch?” Red.
Red and Green get along fine. They both appreciate the world for what it is. They’re not trying to conquer or subjugate it. Red says “Strength is Freedom” and Green says “Strength is Responsibility” but they both agree that things like political machinations and inherited titles are a subversion of The Way Things Should Be.
So.
Yes, Black and Red are both Selfish, they do not consider The Community to be their personal responsibility. But. They have very different opinions on the subject of Authority.
I've been playing MTG (Magic the Gathering) since 2010/2011. And let me tell you, @asteroidtroglodyte has put the color wheel of MTG Into alignments PERFECTLY. While I could add to it, I am under no illusion that I could do any better or even as well as they have. Even if you know nothing of MTG, you should read this in its entirety because it is so painfully accurate that it feels good.
And if there is ever more additions? I shall be here waiting because this is pure gold.
(Ah yea, validation, that’s the good stuff)
Cracks knuckles
White: The Organizer, the Team Leader, the Mastermind. They’re not even in it for The Money; they’re gonna give most of it away, donate it to charity or something. Their principle contribution is the team itself: knowing the right people, being able to convince them to join this mad scheme, coordinating them through The Big Plan. Nobody else is capable of wrangling a Crew like this.
Blue: The Technical Wizard, Master of Gadgets, Hacker of Computers. The actual technology involved is irrelevant; this is the person who understands the arcane secrets: they have Keys to The Backdoors; they know exactly how long the Important Door is vulnerable; they know the things the Casino doesn’t want them to know. They will spend the money gaining more control in their life: more anonymity, debts settled, perhaps a new identity.
Black: The Face, The Impersonator, The Confidence Artist. Gets recruited to The Crew when the White interrupts them in the middle of a Confidence Scheme. Consummate liars, actors, impersonators; they can be whatever, or more precisely whoever, is required by The Heist. In it for the money. You can always trust them… to act in their own self interest. Sex appeal part of the toolkit almost by default.
Red: The Escape Artist, Driver of Getaway Vehicles, Captain of The Exit Strategy. Unfazed by Chaos, unruffled by changes to The Plan. Generally heavily ADHD coded, with a pinch of Adrenaline Junky sprinkled on top. Master of vehicles, evader of Law Enforcement, the one responsible for ensuring everyone’s freedom at the end of The Plan.
Green: The Muscle. Martial Artist, Mercenary, or Military Veteran? A good question that will never be adequately answered. The Casino is very likely to resist being robbed, and Green is here to Apply Force. The precise nature of that force will depend on genre and rating, but if there’s gonna be a showdown with law enforcement or security, that scene will be Green’s moment of glory.
I'm trying to understand green, and differentiate it from white. So green and white are both colors of peace and community, but their relationship to blue is different.
Blue is the color of progress, of never being satisfied, of an unending crusade of betterment.
White, as an ally of blue, takes a similar mindset, of "I want to change the world for the better." White wants to unite the world under its own banner of peace and law.
Green, meanwhile, opposes blue's obsession with progress. It's the color of tradition and preservation. Green is less concerned with changing the world. Instead it believes in protecting it from any force of control. It's also more concerned with local concerns than the entire world.
Did I get that right?
Green and White resemble each other (from a distance, if you squint) for a lot of the same reasons Red and Black resemble each other: in the simplified “Good Vs Evil” systems (like D&D), Black/Red is “Evil” and Green/White is “Good.” Green and White agree on things like “serving the community” and “the greater good.” They both believe in self-sacrifice, which is why they both hate self-serving, egocentric Black.
Where they differ, much like Red and Black, is in their relationship to Authority.
As you observed, White’s amicable relationship with Blue is indicative of White’s desire to enforce an agenda; they want to change the world. White’s agenda is nominally one of Peace and Harmony, but, unlike Green, White isn’t actually willing to take “No” for an answer.
White believes in Authority by Rule of Law; White loves Rules; White is an Empire Builder.
Green? Not so much.
You see, things like Empire have certain requirements: for example, having an administrative ruling class necessitates a subservient labor class. Having “Rule of Law” necessitates things like “state monopoly on force” and “law enforcement.” And Green? Green spends waaay too much time hanging out with his buddy “all cops are bastards” Red to really have enthusiasm for “Crime & Punishment.”
Green is very Grounded.
In a room full of White soldiers, a man in a fancy hat makes a speech about sacrificing your life to secure the nation’s future. There is cheering.
In a room full of Green warriors, the exact same speech is met with “If I die in some field far from here, who exactly will protect my family? You?”
Not to imply that White doesn’t care about their family as much as Green does! They do! But “family” means something different to each of them.
White values the Family Name. White wants to have a bazillion babies and encourages them all to be doctors and lawyers and judges. White is a disciplinarian who believes in tough love. A good plan to make a White-aligned parent proud is to go forth and accomplish things.
Green values the Family Members. Green encourages their children to just be themselves, even if that’s not exactly in line with what society expects. Green prefers the carrot to the stick. One of the best ways to make a Green-aligned parent proud is to simply be there for your family.
The grim side of Green is that Nature is both brutal and savage, and Green doesn’t actually see a problem with that. Predation and Plague both have valuable roles to play in Nature, and Green respects that. Green is also skeptical of things like “private property” and has very little ethical issue with simply taking things (when in need).
So, yea. You hit the nail on the head there.
Every color has 2 allies and 2 enemies. Blue is allies of White and Black, and enemies of Green and Red.
What does this mean?
Blue and White share a big picture perspective. They care about abstract ideas: ideas like Justice and Fairness, concepts like Civilization and Progress. White and Blue can wax philosophic together through many days and nights, eagerly debating the finer points of Law and Order over endless cups of coffee.
At a different table, on a different night, Black and Blue discuss different sorts of ideas. Ideas like Politics and Tactics, or the gap between Power on paper and Power in practice. They sip expensive whiskey in a private corner and discuss Secrets and Gossip; make plans together to secure their interests.
Blue bridges the gap between Black and White. Black wants the power to help themselves, and White wants the power to help others; what Blue wants is the power to acquire more power.
But there are 2 major obstacles: Red and Green. You can’t control these guys; they don’t take orders.
Green’s utter lack of ambition makes them impossible to tempt or bribe. They’re endlessly sentimental and highly skeptical of anything new. Believing that life is already perfect, they cannot be sold on the idea of Progress.
Red will disobey an order just because it’s an order; even against their own self-interest; just to prove a point. Red is deeply emotionally motivated, and being ordered around feels bad. Plus, Red is incapable of taking anyone seriously, which rubs Prideful Blue very much the wrong way.
When left to its own devices, Blue will do Research. Ultimately, what they want is to understand. They wish to know how the universe works so that they can manifest their will and ideas into it. Blues are thinkers.
I want to add:
Colorless - Mostly mindless artifacts, robots, etc. that can be used by anyone and don’t have an agenda. But also eldritch aliens who’s agenda is too incomprehensible to fit the color system.
Multi-colored - Some individuals, groups, etc. are best regarded as a mix of two or more colors. This can make for some interesting combinations that may not feel like they perfectly fit the 5-color system.
Approved. Good explainer, @asteroidtroglodyte !
Just to add to this excellent post:
Black is often portrayed as the con man or the person who gets ahead at any cost, which isn’t by itself evil but often lends itself to bad guys (or antiheroes who end up doing good things for personal and selfish reasons.) But I think there can be unironic Black aligned good guys sometimes too. Black is very individualistic like Red. “I want to make my own way. I want to prove myself. I want my rank in society to be something I earned.”
Think the way American culture describes capitalism. (Whether it’s an accurate description is a controversial topic and one I’m not especially interested in arguing about here.) Rather than social rank coming from bloodline, anyone can succeed if they’re innovative enough, clever enough, or ruthlessly efficient enough.
Which means that someone who is Black aligned might be less personally greedy or cutthroat and more “to hell with a society that orders us to protect us. Even if a world where we’re all free is cutthroat and harsh, we can decide who we want to be and fight for it honestly there. If we lose we can hone our skills and get back in the ring.”
Black/red is often depicted as essentially Chaotic Evil, but I think it can also be Chaotic Good. Just not the friendly kind.
I’m writing something now where the protagonist is clearly the good guy, but (as I interpret this stuff) is black/red. Her enemies are the evil, “thinking for yourself is bad so let us do it for you,” version of white/blue.
(There’s a Discworld quote I see now and then that I very much see as good guy Black. It’s the one where the witch fights for what she cares about because it belongs to her, and “don’t mess with what’s mine.”)
Magic The Gathering was first created by one Richard Garfield, while he was in college. He was pulling inspiration from Early Dungeons and Dragons, and the same fantasy pop culture references that Gygax & Co were pulling from, along with his own Jewish upbringing. In the very earliest sets, White is unambiguously GOOD, black is unambiguously EVIL, and blue, green, and red have very little ethical stance, being mostly flavored around things like “red mage cast fireball!” And “elves are forest wizards!” It was very much an unbalanced mess, in terms of mechanics and design philosophy.
It wasn’t until years later, under the helm of Mark Rosewater, that the colors began to really inhabit their current philosophies, which were clearly also influenced by some more nuanced ethics. This is where Black gains the ability to be the “Good Guy” and white the ability to be “bad.”
Under the new framework, and discarding the historical association with angels and demons and other such trappings of abrahamic faiths, Black becomes a valid ethical stance. In fact, one could argue that Black is the de facto core color of modern economic thought. But that’s another post
If you go digging into my post on 2-color characters, I make the argument that The Owl Lady, Eda Clawthorne, is a Black/Red hero.
I’m taking some liberties, to be sure, but I read Mark Rosewater’s blog for years, I studied quite a bit of ethics and philosophy in my spare time, and I feel pretty confident in my understanding of the ideas behind these things.
I cannot tell you how helpful this was when I first found it for reframing how I view and create ttrpg characters and their motivations. Both through philosophies,the environments and associated creature types and the actual mechanics of each colour.
Especially when you get into bi-colour or tri-colour characters. In fact, I often use all 5 colours when creating a character, just to what degree does each colour stand out in a given character.
3 examples I have, probably my most well thought out characters are Iatha, Arastellia and Hope.
Iatha is Green-Red-White. She is from an egalitarian nomadic community that values all as part of the family. They have no currency and trade for things they can't produce with acts of service in small communities as they travel. But they also don't really have any respect for empires, titles or borders, they wander the world because it's the natural place they live in and they want to see it. But Iatha is also very curious and independent, she doesn't want to be tied down to anything and wants to make her own physical mark on the world.
Arastellia is White-Green-Blue. She's from a noble house and was sent to the capital to study and learn from the great painting masters. She is driven and passionate, but chiefly, she fell in with the church of the Goddess of art and beauty. She is charitable above all else, loyal, devoted and pious, travelling mostly to see new beauty as her Goddess commands. She volunteers her time painting reliefs and frescoes for small town chapels and preserves life and culture where she can.
Hope is Green-Red-Black. She and her sister are from a poor neighbourhood in a large city and crossed the wrong people. She's only ever been able to rely on her sister and struggles to doubt her. Her sister, Fear, is Black-White-Blue, but she's not actually my character, so I can't say a lot more detail. Anyway, Hope is the younger one and has been protected by her sister all her life. She hasn't had to have discipline. She's emotional and impulsive and passionate. Hope actively tries to avoid conflict through charm and allure, but if pushed to it, is vicious, unpredictable and effective. She has no qualms about maiming if it means that her sister, whim she owes everything, is safe.
A long ramble, but it's been ages since this crossed my dash and I always love to see it. Cheers to @asteroidtroglodyte for initially sparking a new way to analyse characters.
