I think of Alignments very differently than many people I think, and in a way it's based on a combination of viewpoints that I've heard over the years. To me, alignment is very important yet simultaneously useless. That's gonna sound weird, but it's how I feel. Alignment is useful as a mechanic and as a neat and quick run-down on the kind of character's personality, but it's way too vague to mean anything of substance from a storytelling perspective. If I say "The lawful good character wants to stop the chaotic neutral character because he was getting into trouble with the law," it doesn't really say much. It says about as much as if I said "the dwarven fighter" and "the halfling rogue" instead of calling them by their alignment. Your little imaginative brain can fill in the rest but it might not even be close to the actual story.
I look at alignments instead, as a necessary mechanical tag that is used for certain effects in a game. When I create a character I ask what their motivations are. Why are they in the game and what are they trying to do to get there? This doesn't get me to the alignment just yet but is the first step of my process, and to let you know, no I do not start with alignment on a character almost ever if I can help. However I do need it, so let's take a look at the steps I go through to produce alignments for characters, and then I'll give an example at the end. Let me give you a warning, alignments are highly subjective, but I use my system because I've spent way too much time debating the topic and finally found an approach to the topic that I feel is more useful.
The Process
Step 1: What is your character's goal?
You should not have any character in a story or game that does not have a goal. If you make a character in D&D, and he doesn't have a goal, you should make him one. Why? Because goals aren't hard. A farmer wants a bountiful yield this year so he can make a little extra cash. The dwarven fighter wants to come back home with a mountain of gold and an ever larger pile of stories to tell. It's easy. Feel free to let them get a little more complicated than that.
Step 2: Why do they want that?
This is somewhat optional but I'd recommend coming up with something. For example: The rogue wants that money badly, but why does he want it? Well, he has a daughter at home that will starve if he can't get it; which brings us to step #3.
Step 3: How far will they go to get what they want?
This determines the Good vs. Evil (GvE) axis, and is honestly not all that hard. I don't get why people try to get all philosophical about GvE in D&D, it's a tabletop game. The core of GvE is essentially about this concept of 'how far'. Good characters will try to achieve their goal without harming anyone, they will likely even try to spare bad guys (such as bandits) if they're given the choice. Evil characters will be willing to murder, lie and steal to get what they want; genocide is not even out of the question for some. Keep in mind, this step and the next step are on a 'scale' of sorts, so you can have a neutral leaning good character, but that's unnecessary in terms of alignment classifications.
On a scale of 1 to 9, how far will they go? 1 is as good as you get, 9 is as evil as you get.
Step 4: When they tackle their problem, how do they go about it?
This determines the Law vs. Chaos (LvC) axis. I could get into a whole spiel about why I think LvC is a terrible concept and how it should be Order vs. Chaos, but I won't as it's sorta pointless; and it's hard to frame this step without a description. The examples below might shed a little more light but here's my explanation. Lawful characters appreciate authority, obedience and order, they are organized and generally methodical. Chaotic characters are about impulse and freedom, they do not care much for authority and would prefer that authority stays out of their way. If we take the rogue from step 2 and clone him, then make him chaotic good, and his clone becomes lawful good you'll see the difference. The lawful good rogue will likely try to pick up some jobs from a bounty board, legal or not, he's going to go look for an opportunity to make money in an organized, controllable way. The chaotic good rogue is probably going to just break into a house on the fly and try to hawk it to a nearby merchant.
On a scale of 1 to 9, how organized are there methods? 9 is on the fly and completely chaotic, 1 is structured and cautious.
The Example
We're going to use an NPC from a game that I ran about a year ago. Albert Stark, the primary antagonist of our game, and an evil NPC in an evil campaign. You might be thinking "Wait ... the players are playing evil characters why are they fighting an evil character?" that's a good question! One that I do not have anymore space on this page for, but here's my two cents on the idea. Evil characters, don't think what they are doing is evil. For all intensive purposes, Albert Stark thought he was a good guy.
Step 1: What is your character's goal?
Albert Stark wishes to reclaim the imperial throne for his family.
Step 2: Why does he want that?
He wishes to gain power, and feels that his family was cheated of their rightful place.
Step 3: How far will he go to get what he wants?
Stark was never willing to commit genocide, but he wasn't afraid of murdering anyone who stood in his way. I'm gonna put him up at an 8.
Step 4: When they tackle their problem, how do they go about it?
He is incredibly organized, a methodical thinker with a propensity for manipulation. Stark was a fantastic schemer in a world of politics, created on a foundation of scheming. I'm going to put him all the way down at a 1 for this.
Which according to my scale puts him in the lawful evil quadrant. I have no qualms with this, it's a great description for him.
And here's a little table for you, with a somewhat transparent grid on top for you to use. I find that a more detailed grid helps a bit more to define just how far your character is on these alignments. You can be a chaotic evil character and be leaning more towards true neutral, but not actually true neutral. You'd be in the top left corner of chaotic evil and that can help you make decisions about "what would this character do?". He's not a psychopath, he's not even an 'agent of chaos'; he's an unorganized dude who's probably a bit of a dickbag. Yes, I said dickbag.
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