At its core, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that’s driven by a cast of highly compelling characters. From ruthless lawmen, to endearing criminals, to ordinary citizens just trying to get by, the world is full of characters.
It’s quite obvious that these various characters align with a number of different ideologies, both good and bad. Those ideologies also allow Red Dead Redemption 2 to cross over surprisingly well with another character-driven enterprise: Dungeons & Dragons.
Red Dead Redemption 2 D&D Alignments
I can’t take credit for the idea of blending Red Dead Redemption 2 with D&D. In that case the credit belongs solely to Redditor wildhogking. Over on the official Red Dead Redemption subreddit, wildhogking posted the below alignment chart. D&D fans will notice the chart uses the same core character alignments from the popular pen-and-paper game. Those alignments span not only good and evil, but also attributes such as lawfulness, neutrality, and chaos.
Now, it may be hard to see any of Dutch’s gang as “lawful.” However, as is the case with Dungeons & Dragons, such terminology is meant to be fluid. In this case “lawful” could simply mean the character prefers order and civility over chaos and recklessness. In that regard, Josiah Trelawny and Herr Strauss certainly fit the bill. John Marston may be a bit too hot-headed to be lawful good, at least in his younger RDR 2 incarnation. However, we know from his exploits in both RDR 2 and the original Red Dead Redemption that he is both good and honorable.
I’m surprisingly ok with the idea of Arthur Morgan being chaotic neutral. His gruff cowboy nature certainly fits in the chaotic category. Plus, the fact that he can do both good and evil things depending on the player’s whims feels very neutral. Funnily enough, commenters in wildhogking’s Reddit thread went ahead and made an entirely original “drunk” alignment category using the following characters:
- Lawful Drunk – Karen Jones
- Neutral Drunk – Uncle
- Chaotic Drunk – Reverend Swanson
Yep, that seems right to me. Also, no matter their alignment, everybody could use a solid steed, don’t you’ think?