Cosmology of Law and Chaos in The Dungeon

One of the many things that OD&D and the 1981 Basic Set (as well as its subsequent iterations) differed widely from the rest of D&D was in terms of alignment: Whereas AD&D and all later editions used the two-axis alignment (Law-Chaos, Good-Evil), apart from 4e which had a weird set of alignments, much like Holmes did in his 1977 Basic Set, Moldvay strove for OD&D's much simpler take and preserved the one-axis alignment. In D&D B/X therefore, characters must choose between three alignments: Law, Neutrality, and Chaos, with specific characteristics for each aspect. Thus, Lawful characters are law-abiding and altruistic, Neutral are self-sufficient and survivalists, and Chaotic are selfish and unpredictable. One of my biggest gripes concerning these early systems is the assumption that Chaos usually equals Evil. In Keep of the Borderlands, Gygax states (pg. 6):

Always the forces of Chaos press upon [the Realm of mankind's] borders, seeking to enslave its populace, rape its riches, and steal its treasures. If it were not for a stout few, many in the Realm would indeed fall prey to the evil which surrounds them.

 That statement holds somewhat true in B/X. As Moldvay notes in Basic Rules (B11):

Lawful behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "good" [...] Chaotic behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "evil"

Perhaps this Law/Good and Chaos/Evil axis stemmed from Gygax's vision of clash between civilisation, which inherently registers as good, and wilderness, or rather the evil, destructive part of it. Anderson may have had a role in this, as Chaos according to him would be represented by the natural forces. Moorcock, for certain though, wasn't referring to Law and Chaos as such, but extended this battle on a cosmic scale. Whatever the case, I argue that Law doesn't necessarily imply Good (tyrants have a lot to say), and Chaos can be beneficial to the world (Robin Hood's acts against the oppressive Sheriff of Nottingham). Furthermore, what I find restrictive is the consensus that alignment sets a character's ethical behaviour, a sort of personality traits that correspond to each alignment choice.

As the Great Khan expertly notes in his post from 2012, law and chaos don't have to be about considerate lawful citizens or rebellious chaotic individuals:

[...] Law and Chaos aren't really moral/ethical/behavioral outlooks on life, but rather an allegiance to the concept of being pro or anti civilization [...]

In other words, alignment has nothing to do with your character's morals and ethics; rather, it serves as a reminder of which side you choose to fight for. This gives limitless possibilities to one, considering the abstract notions of Law and Chaos. I find single-axis alignment much more fascinating and engaging, since you don't deal with perceptions of good and evil, rather what constitutes Law (civilisation, order, technology, light etc.) and Chaos (wilderness, individuality, nature, darkness etc.).

In order to separate the alignment-personality relationship, as well as dismiss the dichotomy of Law/good and Chaos/evil, and further integrate alignment into the world, I've come up with an idea for the cosmology of The Dungeon, mainly inspired by the works of Moorcock, Warhammer Fantasy, and the Thief series, with extensive research in OSR blogs. Moorcock provided the cosmic struggle between Law and Chaos; Warhammer laid the groundwork for visualising Law as the Civilisation (Empire) of Man facing the destructive forces of Chaos, without either being shown as good or evil; and the three Thief games showed us the conflict of Law (Hammerites) and Chaos (Pagans) through various levels, all staged in a mostly neutral ground (the City). A couple of notes, too: we're talking about a human-centric world with a sword & sorcery theme (as it was befitting of D&D settings of that era); history is only known through, often biased, tradition, gods are mysterious and terrifying entities, and world perspective is narrowed down to usually what humans perceive.

Law and Chaos consist of two opposing cosmic forces, and the world of mortals is their battlefield. Each force bears its own aspects, which manifest as mysterious entities that mortals call gods. In the eternal battle between Law and Chaos, everybody takes a side, even though the notions of both forces have changed depending on which culture prevails. Picking alignment therefore is equivalent to the character choosing their allegiance to one of the two cosmic forces (or the lack of, see Neutrality).

In the current historical period, where humans dominate the known world, Law reflects (human) civilisation, order, the light against darkness and wilderness that wishes to devour and annihilate mankind. Humans, and proponents of Law, are in a constant struggle with the elements of nature. Lawful characters view stability as an important part of civilisation, fight to preserve status quo, and seldom stray from the sure and safe path.

On the contrary, Chaos denotes wild nature that clashes with civilisation in infinite ways (instead of the one true mean, which is the natural way of life for the Lawful). Proponents of Chaos point the oppressive and monotonous side of civilisation against free and wild life, and technology that destroys natural beauty. Chaotic characters seek to bring the old ways back, revere the Old Cthonic Gods, and are attracted by the unknown, however risky it may be.

Between those two battling factions stands whoever wishes to remain neutral, passive in the cosmic battle, or to just care for themselves. This collection of people corresponds to Neutrality, the abstinence of siding with a cosmic force rather than a side in itself. These people make up a part of human civilisation, who adhere to all social contracts but may express their tendency towards one or the other side. Ironically, the majority of humans belong to this Neutral faction, even though they know that either in this mortal world or the world of the dead, they have to choose which cosmic force they shall fight for.

And this sums up my take on alignments and the cosmology of The Dungeon. That way, I feel that I don't compromise player agency, concerning personality and behaviour. The players are free to choose to fight for mankind (whatever that may imply) or against it and their methods of obtaining their goals is theirs to pursue; for the cosmic forces of Law and Chaos, it's less your ethics and more the end that justifies the means. I should also mention Ander's excellent post about clerics and their religion, a set of ideas that helped me form my take on the cleric in The Dungeon.