"Scooter's occasionally willing to take a corporate contract to pay her rent. I'm more of a fuck 'em all kind'a guy." -Diego Koroveshi
In lieu of a morality system, the characters of Carbon Pink are defined by their Employment Alignment, i.e. what they do for money, and what sort of jobs and adventures they're willing to participate in. This Employment Alignment doesn't indicate a character's personal code of ethics, but it does hint at their greater sociopolitical standing and view of the world. The Alignment is divided by three sections.
Corporate:
Those willing to work exclusively for corporate entities, either as personal mercenaries for an executive or as greater security employees for a company. Corporate leaning adventurers tend to be perfectly happy with the status quo, and are largely unwilling to work with those who wish to enact radical change on the current order. Corporate leaning adventurers are perfectly happy to dismantle smuggling circuits and gang operations, and those under the employ of individual executives are willing to involve themselves in subterfuge and assassinations of other executives.
Corporate adventurers tend to wear black, have exposed, high end cybernetics and frightening, purposeful weaponry. Civilians tend to be very wary around them, and gangs, bandits and rebels are often outright hostile towards them. Corpo-Cops and other mercenaries however, recognize one of their own. Morality is a question for other people.
Freelancer:
Freelancers are willing to work with anyone that doesn't tremendously violate their personal code of ethics. They're more concerned with food and rent than the greater state of the world, and often keep to themselves or their circle. Where a Freelancer is welcome is largely dependent on the last job they pulled; working the bounty board might get them thrown out of a rebel bar, while executive sabotage is likely to bar them entry to higher end smoking lounges and spas. They're the neutral ground, and their refusal to pick a side nets them a lot of creds, but a lot of enemies.
Freelancers tend to wear earthy, subtle colours and mid-tier, utilitarian cybernetics but somewhat uniquely designed weaponry, usually purchased from a street dealer. Civilians pay them no mind, and bandits will attack them without a second thought, but those of either a rebel or corporate faction might start asking probing questions about who they work for. A paycheck is a paycheck, after all.
Rebel:
Rebels are those railing against the system, refusing to participate in the corporate machine and the machinations of executives and directors. The bounty boards tend to have their mugshots front and center, their contacts in the smuggling circuits are a first-name basis, and they have, on occasion, been known to hold up a corporate merchant caravan or steal from a franchise dealer. They're happy to work alongside gangs or reform movements, and even happier to get into a scrap with Corpo-Cops and other corporate mercenaries. Most rebels have a sense of personal morality, and draw their own lines when it comes to what constitutes a crime. Some are complete anarchists, looking to dismantle the status quo through violence and destruction, others are simply sick of the corporate world and are looking to build a life without it. Rebels are more willing to dive into bunkers for loot, sabotage the machinations of the corporate world, or battle against rival gangs, but will refuse to work for the betterment of an executive or corporation's standing.
Rebels tend to wear loud, bright colors and have flashy, personalized cybernetics and weaponry. In familiar territory, civilians will welcome and appreciate them, but outside of their bubble they might get side-glances and defensive attitudes. Corpo-Cops and corporate mercenaries are hostile to rebels, but gangs and bandits are more willing to sit and chat, so long as the rebel's personal code doesn't get in the way of business.
Players Choosing a Side:
When starting your adventure, it's best to have a Session Zero and discover the personal alignments of your party's characters. Freelancers are willing to work with anyone, but get treated with suspicion by everyone. Corporate mercenaries are welcome in the upper echelons of society but derided among the lower levels, and for Rebels the opposite is true. As such, Corporate adventurers and Rebel adventurers will have a hard time working together, as their goals will often directly oppose each other. While there are plenty of stories to be told of opposing factions cooperating for the greater good; world ending threats, murder mysteries, technocult machinations, mutant incursions, mysterious bunkers and forgotten megacities, out-of-control artificial intelligences and rampaging kaiju, for the most part Corpos and Rebels will rarely find themselves in each others good graces.
For your first campaign or handful of one-shots, we recommend using the Freelancer alignment for your player characters, as -while Freelancers have their own personal codes of conduct- their willingness to work for and alongside anyone remains the most frictionless roleplaying experience.