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Who created the alignment system? Was it Gary Gygax & Dave Arneson (D&D)? Or David A. Hargrave (Arduin)? Or perhaps Michael Moorcock and Paul Anderson? Where did it come from? In what publication is it first written (in detail)?

According to the wiki the first edition D&D (1974) had three alignments: L, N, C. But soon after Anduin (1977) included all nine. However, AD&D (1977) also included all nine alignments. The wiki claims this was taken from Anduin but no evidence or citation is offered. Another wiki article writes that "Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax credited the inspiration for the alignment system to the fantasy stories of Michael Moorcock,[3] and Poul Anderson." But again little detail is given.

Any further information on this would be appreciated. The bibliographic information of the earliest known D&D publication (or related) discussing this at length would be appreciated. And a citation of any publication of any kind whatsoever prior to D&D discussing the alignment system would be appreciated as much if not more so.

Thank you!

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Is asking about the concept of alignment systems full stop, rather than any particular alignment system? Does it count if a publication has a good side (the players) and an evil side (the enemies) and that's it, or does it have to be one that allows the players to choose their alignment? – Jonathan Hobbs Dec 13 '12 at 23:31
Check the famed Appendix N of AD&D. The concept of alignment as alignment largely came from Moorcock, hence why it was initially all about Law vs. Chaos. – SevenSidedDie Dec 13 '12 at 23:45
@JonathanHobbs - I specifically have the 9 alignment system in mind, and anything standing as a historical forerunner. I'm more interested in the history and development of the theory of the 9-alignment system than its use. So choosing alignment or having players at all might not even be relevant. – J.R. Dec 14 '12 at 0:04

1 Answer

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A quick Google search found this article, attribute to Gygax in 1976. This link says the article originated in The Strategic Review issue 6. The Wiki entry on Dragon says that The Strategic Review stopped publication in 1976. This entry dates Arduin to 1977, so D&D was certainly the first of the two by this evidence.

Gygax credits Moorcock and Anderson as influences in several places. Moorcock's fiction never uses the word alignment, as far as I know, and doesn't discuss neutrality, only Law and Chaos (the Chaosium Moorcock-inspired games added the idea of Balance). The Moorcock alignment system is actually closest to the Moldvay Basic D&D Alignment system.

I also found this reference to Anderson's work from 1953. The author certainly thinks Anderson nailed it.

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Actually, Moorcock does directly write of the Cosmic Balance, and in a number of places, most notably the Elric and Hawkmoon expressions of the Eternal Champion works, although there are elements in Corum's as well. It is more that beings tend to one end of the scale or the other while the universe seeks balance - in a manner of speaking. – Runeslinger Dec 14 '12 at 2:30
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@Runeslinger The universe, Nature, seeks balance, and the True Neutral (druid-y variant) seeks to help it achieve and maintain balance. Yeah, that Cosmic Balance is where I see the genesis of the kind of neutrality exemplified by the D&D druid. – SevenSidedDie Dec 14 '12 at 3:52
@SevenSidedDie I agree~ – Runeslinger Dec 14 '12 at 4:29

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