History Main / MoralityKitchenSink

** Mages as individuals are usually trying to achieve good ends. The main conflict is RomanticismVersusEnlightenment, with the Romantic Traditions embracing old school mysticism and trying to awaken humanity and the Enlightened Technocratic Union trying to empower humanity ForScience. Then there are the EldritchAbomination-serving Nephandi and the insane-as-all-Hell RealityWarper Marauders. The conflict started with the Traditions clearly being morally superior to the Technocrats, but the Technocracy got a little CharacterDevelopment later on and it became very hard to say either side was right.

See also ShadesOfConflict, SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes and SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains. When you've got a specific group to which this trope applies, you've got a FourPhilosophyEnsemble. Compare TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil along with WhiteAndGreyMorality. Contrast BlackAndBlackMorality, where nothing is good or morally ambiguous about the characters. Also contrast WhiteAndWhiteMorality where nobody is truly evil.

* ''DragonBall'' where many of the protagonists are former villains [[HeelFaceTurn who change sides]] after meeting [[TheMessiah Goku]].

* ''CodeGeass''. There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably good person, [[RebelliousPrincess Euphemia]], ([[NaiveEverygirl Shirley]] is debatable, because while she is certainly kind-hearted and sweet, she is only concerned about her own feelings and school life while all hell is breaking loose outside, so she can come across as somewhat self-centred). There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably evil person, [[CompleteMonster Luciano]] [[BloodKnight Bradley]]. Every other character's alignment can be debated. The main character himself can be convincingly argued to fall under [[http://alsosprachodin.deviantart.com/art/Lelouch-s-Alignment-Chart-148296568 any morality alignment]].
* ''{{Karakuridouji Ultimo}}''. Naturally, as it's a series about the different kinds of good and evil.
* OnePiece is a HUGE example of this. The protagonists are [[ChaoticNeutral morally ambiguous]] pirates that are motivated by self-interest and [[ToBeAMaster personal goals]] rather than any abstract moral considerations, but tend to do good anyway by defeating more evil pirates (or marines) that happened to [[ItsPersonal do something to offend them.]] Other pirates can be anything from ChaoticGood adventurers to SelfishEvil [[JerkAss jerkasses]] to [[CompleteMonster Complete Monsters]]. Likewise Marines can be anything from [[HeroAntagonist legitimate heroes]] to [[PunchClockVillain guys who just want a check]] to [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning extremists]] to [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]]. One Piece characters have all kinds of varying motivations and alignments - it very much depends on the individual person rather than what group they belong to, which is quite realistic.

* ''{{The Chathrand Voyages}}''. There's so many plots and counter-plots going on that this is bound to happen. The three heroes need to constantly reassess who they can trust depending on which evil plot they're fighting at the moment.

[[folder:{{TableTopGames}}]]
* While all Table Top Role Playing Games allow you to make a character who is anywhere on the map, different games have within their "default" tone different views. Please consider a game's "normal" tone and not what players might decide to do. For example, you ''could'' play a completely virtuous character in ShadowRun, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a dark and grimy cyberpunk world where amoral mercenaries work for backstabbing corporations and inhuman spirits.

** PlaneScape may most exemplify this. You could literally be a divine servant from a fantasy version of Dante's Purgatorio, a SnarkKnight anti-hero out of fantasy Charles Dickens, or a CompleteMonster from a Milton-like hell. The various groups in the game are all over the map on their ethical stance.
* While most of the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' has BlackAndGrayMorality, ''TabletopGame/ChangelingTheDreaming'' and ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' follow this trope.

* ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is shaping up to be an example of this. From what we know so far, it's just as possible to play a Light sided Sith as it is to play a dark sided Jedi, and a number of characters on both sides are morally grey.

** However, let it be known that "Light Side" and "Dark Side" are very different concepts for Imperial characters and Republic characters. At worst, a dark sided Republic character will be a TokenEvilTeammate, generally they'll be AntiHeroes. On the other side, Light sided Imperials are generally AntiVillains of various degrees, with the best being [[SlidingScalesOfAntiVillains Type IVs]], devoid of villainous actions, but still on the "bad side."

* OnePiece is a HUGE example of this. The protagonists are [[ChaoticNeutral morally ambiguous]] pirates that are motivated by self-interest and [[ToBeAMaster personal goals]] rather than any abstract moral considerations, but tend to do good anyway by defeating more evil pirates (or marines) that happened to [[ItsPersonal do something to offend them.]]. Other pirates can be anything from ChaoticGood adventurers to SelfishEvil [[JerkAss jerkasses]] to CompleteMonsters. Likewise Marines can be anything from [[HeroAntagonist legitimate heroes]] to [[PunchClockVillain guys who just want a check]] to [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning extremists]] to [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]]. One Piece characters have all kinds of varying motivations and alignments - it very much depends on the individual person rather than what group they belong to, which is quite realistic.

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->''Among the Alps and Pyrenees, perhaps, there were no mixed characters. There, such as were not [[IncorruptiblePurePureness as spotless as an angel]] might have [[CompleteMonster the dispositions of a fiend]]. But in England it was not so; among the English, she believed, in their hearts and habits, there was a general though unequal mixture of good and bad. Upon this conviction, she would not be surprised if even in Henry and Eleanor Tilney, some slight imperfection might hereafter appear; and upon this conviction she need not fear to acknowledge some actual specks in the character of their father, who, though cleared from the grossly injurious suspicions which she must ever blush to have entertained, she did believe, upon serious consideration, to be not perfectly amiable.''

[[folder:{{Television: Live Action}}]]
* ''{{Deadwood}}'' uses this to some extent; much of the early part of Season one casts the character of Al Swearengen as the most morally corrupt character in town. That is, of course, until Cy Toliver shows up, who quickly quickly steals the spotlight as villain most evil. Al is made to look almost a hero as the result. This is possibly subverted however, as the show in general uses the morality kitchen sink, and both Cy and Al do indulge in purely "good" acts on occasion.
[[/folder]]

* While most of the Old WorldOfDarkness is GrayAndBlackMorality, ChangelingTheDreaming and MageTheAscension followed this trope.
** Most Changelings were Seelie dominant and generally good, but not necessarily supremely virtuous. Most Unseelie fae were still decent folks. Some Seelie and a few Unseelie were so old-school knightly they might as well have been D&D paladins. Seelie and Unseelie villains alike ranged from operatic HarmlessVillain to ruthless PragmaticVillainy to cannibalistic BloodKnights to EldritchAbomination worshiping {{Complete Monster}}s.
** Mages as individuals were usually trying to achieve good ends. The main conflict was RomanticismVersusEnlightenment, with the Romantic Traditions embracing old school mysticism and trying to awaken humanity and the Enlightened Technocratic Union trying to empower humanity ForScience. Then there were the EldritchAbomination serving Nephandi and the insane as all hell Marauders. The conflict started with the Traditions clearly being morally superior to the Technocrats, but the Technocracy got a little CharacterDevelopment and it became very hard to say either side was right.

** Most Changelings were Seelie dominant and generally good, but not necessarily supremely virtuous. Most Unseelie fae were still decent folks. Some Seelie and a few Unseelie were so old-school knightly they might as well have been D&D paladins. Seelie and Unseelie villains alike ranged from operatic HarmlessVillain to ruthless PragmaticVillainy to cannibalistic BloodKnights to EldritchAbomination worshiping CompleteMonsters.

* ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fits. Most of Team Aang is unequivocally good and the most powerful members of the Fire Nation are power-hungry sociopaths, but almost everyone else falls somewhere in between. [[spoiler: Baa Sing Se]] turns out to be a CrapsaccharineWorld, and the Northern Water Tribe has some pretty sexist moments. The rank-and-file and civilians of the Fire Nation are more often misguided patriots than outright evil. You could make a decent argument that the whole series is a subversion of the AlwaysChaoticEvil trope.[[/folder]]

** Closest to the Hero side of things is [[BoisterousBruiser Bang]], [[CatGirl Taokaka]], [[BigGood Jubei]], [[CuteClumsyGirl Noel]] and [[CuteMonsterGirl Makoto]].
** In the AntiHero section, there's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Ragna]], [[{{Jerkass}} Jin]], [[GoodIsNotNice Hakumen]], [[MadScientist Kokonoe]], [[CreepyChild Carl]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Rachel]].
** As for [[AntiVillain Anti Villains]], there's [[spoiler:[[HospitalHottie Litchi]], [[GreenEyedMonster Tsubaki]] and possibly [[DeadLittleSister Saya]]]].
** Finally, we have the straight {{Villains}}, [[BigBad Hazama]]/[[CompleteMonster Terumi]] and [[ArchnemesisDad Relius]].

* ''BlazBlueContinuumShift'' has changed the tone of the ''BlazBlue'' series so now it's shaping up to be this rather than BlackAndGrayMorality.

* ''FullmetalAlchemist'' - The Elric brothers and Winry are the most purely heroic characters; the heroes from the State Military are more gray, being former war criminals who want to atone for their sins; Greed and Scar are fairly sympathetic antagonists [[spoiler:until they become {{Anti Hero}}es]]; there's Barry the Chopper who is the TokenEvilTeammate for the State Military heroes- he's clearly Evil; finally, the other villain characters are definitely very far down toward the evil extreme of the scale. [[spoiler:And even one of the worst villains [[RaiseHimRightThisTime is spared]] ]]

* ''ErrantStory''. Oh, my, ''yes'', Errant Story.

** Most Changelings were Seelie dominant and generally good, but not necessarily supremely virtuous. Most Unseelie fae were still decent folks. Some Seelie and a few Unseelie were so old-school knightly they might as well have been D&D paladins. Seelie and Unseelie villains alike ranged from operatic HarmlessVillains to ruthless PragmaticVillainy to cannibalistic BloodKnights to EldritchAbomination worshiping CompleteMonsters.

* DungeonsAndDragons and spin-off {{Pathfinder}} in most of its settings has this. There may be a necromancer who is repeating Mengele's work on his victims, a paladin who spends all his days feeding the poor and treating the sick when not rushing off to battle nasties like the necromancer, amoral thieves who just look to make a quick coin clipping purses in the market, well-meaning but ruthless knights who seek to put down the aforementioned thieves without realizing their oppressive lords have beggared the people, and a cult to a god of chaos and magic whose followers BlueAndOrange morality pushes them to do things no one understands. Really, the limitation is the player's and GM's imagination and their willingness (or not) to have certain things in their game. They may even be in the same AdventureTown. Newer, more "mature" games often aim at the more limiting Gray and Gray or Gray and Black morality.

* One of the best examples of this trope is ''TheDresdenFiles''. At the furthest extreme of the Hero end we have Michael, the Fist of God, who only fights monsters, is about as wholesome as a person can be, and never even cusses. Slightly away from the good extreme would be Harry, as he's a generally upstanding guy, but every now and then he'll get practical. Much further toward the evil end, we have Thomas who, as of ''Turn Coat'', [[spoiler: is once again a practicing incubus, but he's trying to promote more responsibility between vampires and their prey]]. Even closer to the evil end than him would be Marcone, who is a crime boss, but his reasons behind his enterprise are good ones. Arguably the furthest down the line toward the evil extreme would be the Skinwalker, who has no seeming goal except to hurt people in whatever fashion it chooses.
** Harry himself, in ''Changes'' when he decides he needs to [[spoiler: make a DealWithTheDevil for a lot of power in a hurry, goes through the list of entities he knows. He tries the Archangel Uriel, but was told he was already being affected InMysteriousWays, the [[NorseMythology god Odin]] contacts him and gives some advice, but also doesn't directly interfere. He considers the Denarians, fallen angels and other BlackCloak wizards; but figures they're too big on being TheCorrupter and that he might get diverted from his purpose. Besides, he could just contact demonic forces directly if he wanted that. Finally he decides on Queen Mab of the [[TheFairFolk Winter Court.]] She's cruel and she'll own his mind and body if not his soul, but she won't make him eat babies.]]

In [[BlackAndWhiteMorality some stories]], the good guys are squeaky embodiments of shiny goodness and fight bearded stage magicians who cackle a lot. Then again, sometimes you [[WhiteAndGrayMorality have stories]] where your caped crusaders largely go up against the misguided and distraught. [[GrayAndGreyMorality Other stories]] might have the pragmatic freedom fighters against a government who alternately sing orphans to sleep or murder their kittens. Still [[BlackAndGrayMorality other stories]] have the world's mightiest, most murderous, most-pants-wettingest [[TheAuthority "heroes"]] you've ever seen against a guy who made entire worlds into slave-states for [[{{Greed}} profit]] and [[ForTheEvulz laughs]].

--> -- '''JaneAusten''', ''NorthangerAbbey''

* The {{Aesop}} of JaneAusten's ''NorthangerAbbey''.

* ''CodeGeass''. There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably good person, [[RebelliousPrincess Euphemia]] ([[NaiveEverygirl Shirley]] is debatable, because while she is certainly kind-hearted and sweet, she is only concerned about her own feelings and school life while all hell is breaking loose outside, so she can come across as somewhat self-centred). There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably evil person, [[CompleteMonster Luciano]] [[BloodKnight Bradley]]. Every other character's alignment can be debated. The main character himself can be convincingly argued to fall under [[http://alsosprachodin.deviantart.com/art/Lelouch-s-Alignment-Chart-148296568 any morality alignment]].

* ''CodeGeass''. There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably good person, Euphemia. There is ''one'' genuinely, unquestionably evil person, Luciano Bradley. Every other character's alignment can be debated. The main character himself can be convincingly argued to fall under [[http://alsosprachodin.deviantart.com/art/Lelouch-s-Alignment-Chart-148296568 any morality alignment]].

* Given that ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and no clear heroes or villains, it's no surprise that the morality spectrum comes in about a thousand shades of gray. You've got extremely honorable, well-meaning people like Ned Stark and Brienne of Tarth, [[CompleteMonster Complete Monsters]] like Gregor Clegane and Ramsay Bolton, and more [[Anti-Hero AntiHeroes]] and [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than can be listed. Among the "anti-"s, fans can't even agree which ones of them are anti-''heroes'' and which are anti-''villains''. It's largely a matter of perspective.

* ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is shaping up to be an example of this. From what we know so far, it's just as possible to play a Light sided Sith as it is to play a dark sided Jedi, and a number of characters on both sides are morally grey.