Let's say you have an FtA! style alignment system (law/chaos/balance); and you're writing up a book detailing setting information.

What are the various ways you could use alignment to help express or explain the way a given society functions and feels?

In FtA!, you can be just reguarly aligned, strongly aligned in a given alignment, or you can be a champion of your alignment. It bears to note that the Alignments are stats, a given PC can gain points in any of the three alignments depending on his actions, so its different from the "pick one and stick to it" method of D&D.

One idea I've already come up with was to obviously list the alignment of the rulers and the alignment of the majority of the population.  Whether those two are the same, and how close or far from harmony they are can tell you a lot about social strife.

RPGPundit

I know that I immediately thought that the Ruler of my setting, a decaying empire, would be an ex-Champion, who'd become disillusioned, acted out-of-line and fallen from grace with his deity. He's become a chaotic libertine, a narcissist surrounded by lawful advisors.

I'll probably roll for alignment for npcs, might make it more interesting - how would a chaotic guardsman react to...etc

Don't forget that conflict between a ruler and his/her people is entirely possible weven when their alignments are the same: just because you're the lawful king of a lawful society doesn't mean that people agree with your policies on how to promote lawful ideals.

I like the idea that alignments are in flux, it focuses the player on how their character is acting and how others response to him may change. One of our players has a Bard character who already seems to be getting steadily more chaotic with each adventure. We've got an order of lawful monks who are sliding into fascism and being blessed for it by the lawful deity, which they feel justifies their practices. I wonder how many Champions one would find in a society. I like how the alignment writeup outlines differing tangents that a chaos-aligned character can be, not just BEWARE, EVUL ! so these differences should permeate the setting.

Quote from: WarthurDon't forget that conflict between a ruler and his/her people is entirely possible weven when their alignments are the same: just because you're the lawful king of a lawful society doesn't mean that people agree with your policies on how to promote lawful ideals.

In FtA! That could be reflected by having a King who is "strong" lawful while the populace was just regular lawful, or vice versa.

RPGPundit

That's pretty neat. Is there a convergance of ideals between different cultures at stronger levels of alignment?

I think conflict can exist even between rulers and societies of strong lawful alignment, just as it can between individuals - for example, if the populace is convinced that a particular individual is guiltly of some horrible infraction, but the ruler is privy to information to the contrary which he cannot in good conscience reveal to the general public (perhaps because of some oath) then they could be at odds.

Quote from: LeSquideThat's pretty neat. Is there a convergance of ideals between different cultures at stronger levels of alignment?

Hmm, I dunno, just look at the UN or the EU ?!

Also you may have more than one deity per alignment - they could disagree and bless the people who follow their idea of lawful/chaos or balance ?