Alignment

There is no D'n'D-style alignment system on Shem. Here, alignment refers to what esoteric energies your character is attuned to.

Energies

There are eight categories for a character to be aligned with:

• Aetherial: energies aligned with nature.
• Ambrosial: energies derived from faith (or derived from a lack thereof) in the Divine (or a rejection thereof). Considered "unaligned".
• Celestial: energies aligned with supporting, protecting, and helping other people, resisting oppression, and fighting for a better world.
• Infernal: energies aligned with maintaining power and control, harming others, oppressing and exploiting others, and fighting for individual power.
• Nommic: energies derived from one's own identity, one's own self. Considered "unaligned".
• Paradoxical: energies derived from the complexities of reality. Considered "unaligned".
• Poioumenonic: eneriges derived from legends and traditions. Aligned with "fey" powers.
• Shebvic: energies derived from conflict. Considered "unaligned".

Antithesis

Some energies oppose each other: aether and celestial essence are opposed to infernal essences (and vice versa).

Congruence

A character's alignment to these energies is determined by their behavior, beliefs, and what energies they choose to wield. Every species has an affinity for a specific energy that falls under one of the above categories, but very few species must align with the energies they are born with (only the undead, inmortals, and some constructs and illittum are consigned to their birth alignment). If a character's species and alignment are of the same energy, they are considered congruent. If not, they are incongruent. If the species and the occupation wield the exact same energy, they are severely congruent. If they are antithetical, they are severely incongruent. Otherwise, they are minorly congruent or incongruent.

Examples

Some examples of alignment and congruence:

• A specularo imperator - a species with an affinity for imperium working an occupation that primarily wields imperium - is aligned to infernal energies (as imperium is infernal) and severely congruent (as both are the same kind of infernal energy - imperium).
• A nymph demonologer - a species with an affinity for dumaqu working an occupation that primarily wields infernum - is aligned to infernal energies (as inferum is infernal) but severely incongruent (as dumaqu is celestial, which is antithetical to infernal energies).
• A minotaur angelologist - a species with an affinity for d'qiarsea working an occupation that primarily wields celeste water - is aligned to celestial energies (as celeste water is celestial) but minorly incongruent (as d'qiarsea is unaligned).
• A ka'ar wyrder - a species with an affinity for lahab al'qalb working an occupation that primarily wields fey energy - is aligned to poioumenonic energies (as fey energy is poioumenonic) but minorly incongruent (as lahab al'qalb is aetherial).
• A chthonian blue mage - a species with an affinity for kazaddarean working an occupation that primarily wields conflueverant - is aligned to aetherial energies (as kazaddarean is aetherial) and minorly congruent (as both kazaddarean and conflueverant are aetherial, but not the same energy).