Unified Sphere Theory
by Charles TaylorMy main intent for this is to come up with a 'unified sphere theory' tying all phenomena to the 5 Spheres of Immortal power in some way.
Some further thoughts I've had...
Names
The simplest option would be to name each alignment after its appropriate Sphere, but this doesn't seem to quite sound right to me.
Alternatively I have had an idea to name the alignments after the temperaments of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter that correspond to the appropriate temperament of the 4 humours model.
Under this scheme, the five alignments are as follows:
| Sphere | Alignment |
| Matter | Guardian |
| Energy | Idealist |
| Time | Rationalist |
| Thought | Artisan |
| Entropy | Despoiler |
These names actually sound appropriate, and avoid any pre-existing baggage of Law and Chaos. Neutral still exists and indicates a character who follows all 5 spheres equally. A character who does not follow any Sphere is Unaligned. Character's beliefs/behaviours often fall between multiple spheres and are represented by composite alignments, such as Guardian/Idealist.
Alignment Restricted Classes
In BECMI/RC all base classes and class-races have no alignment restrctions, but some of the high-level class options, such as paladins and druids, do. Under my new alignment system, modify these class options as follows:
High Level Fighter Options
| Class | Alignment | Notes |
| Paladin | Guardian | |
| Avenger | Idealist | 4. can only Turn Undead not control undead; 5. cannot have undead hirelings; 6. cannot demand sanctuary from undead |
| Druid-Knight | Neutral | |
| Doomguard | Despoiler | As Avenger but; 4. can only command undead not Turn Undead; 5. hirelings must be undead; 6. can only demand sanctuary from undead |
| Templar | Rationalist | As Paladin |
| Errant | Artisan | As Avenger, including alterations listed above (q.v.) |
In all cases replace all references to the classes stated alignment with its new alignment (i.e. for the Paladin, Lawful becomes Guardian, and replace references to Evil with Entropic, except for the detect evil power, which still works like the spell of the same name.
The numbers in the Notes[i/ column refer to the numbered class features in the RC.
Druids
Druids retain their [i]Neutral alignment restriction but can also be Unaligned, the former representing a belief in the balance of all five Spheres, while the latter representing a devotion to nature and a disregard for the Spheres of power.
Monster Alignment
To update monsters to the new alignment system, I suggest the following rules be followed:
| Monster Type/Alignment | Rule | |
| 1 | undead | alignment becomes Despoiler¹ |
| 2 | Animal | alignment becomes Unaligned |
| 3 | Construct | alignment becomes Unaligned |
| 4 | Lawful | alignment becomes Guardian² |
| 5 | Neutral | alignment becomes Rationalist[i], [i]Artisan or Neutral² |
| 6 | Chaotic | alignment becomes Idealist² |
| 7 | Described as 'evil' or destructive | alignment includes Despoiler |
¹ Exception, Haunt(Ghost) - a Lawful or Neutral ghost changes its alignment to any non-despoiler, but retains its behaviour as listed in the monster description - either giving or seeking aid.
² The monster description should be consulted to determine the final alignment.
Dragons
Revised Dragon alignments are as follows:
| Dragon | Alignment |
| White | Rationalist |
| Black | Idealist |
| Green | Idealist |
| Blue | Rationalist |
| Red | Idealist |
| Gold | Guardian |
| Crystal | Guardian |
| Onyx | Artisan |
| Jade | Artisan |
| Sapphire | Guardian |
| Ruby | Artisan |
| Amber | Rationalist |
Dragon Rulers
In BECMI/RC there are 4 immortal ruling dragons, one for each alignment and The Great One ruling over all. However, the two sources for Immortals (Immortals Set and Wrath of the Immortals) disagree on which sphere the dragon rulers belong to.
The Immortals Set states that the four Dragon Rulers do not belong to any sphere.
Wrath of the Immortals states that all the Dragon Rulers belong to the Sphere of Matter.
An alternative would be to assign one Dragon Ruler to each Alignment (and possibly Sphere), with The Great One remaining aloof from it all;
| Alignment | Dragon Ruler | Notes |
| Guardian | Diamond (Star) | |
| Idealist | Pearl (Moon) | |
| Rationalist | Opal (Sun) | |
| Artisan | Amethyst (World) | same stats as Opal except for Alignment |
| Despoiler | Obsidian (Void) | Same stats as Diamond except for Alignment |
Although this does add two new dragon rulers.
Alternatively, replace the Obsidian dragon with Tiamat!