I've been watching a lot of Magic the Gathering videos recently, with some emphasis on the
morality and attitudes of the Colors in their color pie. I've seen the color pie suggested as an alternative to SnD's Alignment chart, and any real discussion about upgrading or replacing the alignment chart has to consider morality. As well as ethics.
One heartwarming idea I've seen in superhero fiction is a pair of questions. "What would superheroes do if all the supervillains and monsters were beaten? Or if they stopped?" It is paired with "what would supervillains do if all of the superheroes were defeated or surrendered? Or if they joined villains?" In the former, traditional superheroes would generally continue to help with disaster relief, social programs, and research technology to improve the lives of civilians in their society. With the latter question, supervillains would not reign in their excesses. They would butt heads with each other and cause collateral damage in their attempts at conquest and resource gathering. They would ruin government institutions and services.
The color pie of white, blue, black, red, and green is not the same binary as above- though for the above there are exceptions, like superheroes who would try to run for office or would uproot a corrupt foreign government with some risky plan.
The color pie helps explain what a person will focus on, how they see the world, and what they would do with power.
As much as the color pie appeals to me, I'm willing to acknowledge it is
just a tool. It is just like modern astrology, a tool for categorizing people- a framework to talk about the world in useful ways. It is not "
The Truth."
Oppression, indoctrination, deception, enforcement of ignorance (and murder of intellectuals), war crimes, intolerance, segregation, greed...
There are many possible reasons someone will permit cruel deeds, will perform cruel deeds, or will try to prevent cruel actions. The big arguments will come from disagreements on what behaviors and traditions are more cruel? So... Everyone has to internally prioritize capital-G GOOD and capital-E EVIL for themselves.
Truth, integrity, freedom, compassion, equity, justice... A sapient creature in TTrpg fiction, or a human, who is blue-aligned probably won't prioritize Freedom as much as someone red-aligned, but they will still
care about when their freedom is restricted. What matters is, will they care enough to act?
To make sacrifices and take risks in order to see that freedom restored? Or to set right an injustice? Or to spread truth to people misled by deception or propaganda?
The question when it comes to morality, in easy cases and in cases as tricky as modern soldiers' actions and impact, is all about priorities. Do you priorities match your society? This is considered in the MtG Alara sets. When the shards are brought back together and missing mana flows back into every portion of the plane, people (outcasts of each world) are finally able to feel their worldview, their priorities, recognized by the world around them.
That is my last point. You have your primary color or colors, and your society has its own. There may be a little overlap, none, or you could match it exactly. But if you match your society, then you'll probably have a harder time understanding the world from the perspective of others who have a different alignment. And that matters because, as indicated with the wheels within wheels link above, different colors (or archetypes, or astrological signs) have different ways of understanding the world. They would do different things if they held power, and they see different motivations from others when they see power wielded.
To bring this back around to TTrpgs- consider your character's color alignment. This is a cohesive philosophy for living and understanding the world. Consider the society the campaign is set in's color alignment, which could clash with your character's or which could cause it to call another particular alignment "evil" and immoral. And finally remember that the way a player can feel emotionally satisfied through RPG play (go watch a "The X types of players" video) may depend on their color(s).
Edit: hmm, really rambled on with this one.
