Principles

A principle is a line a person will not cross, written as never plus an act category: never betrays a confidence, never lies, never harms, never steals, never breaks a promise, never abandons, never trespasses. The seven categories are fixed, and they name what an act is rather than what a verb is called — so harm covers any act the world classifies as harm, however it was performed.

An obligation is the positive form: protects <person> and answers honestly. Obligations are narrower than they look, and the difference matters. never lies forbids a false statement; it does not compel a true one, so a character with never lies and no answers honestly can refuse, deflect, or say nothing at all without violating anything. Evasion satisfies the principle. If you want a character who must answer, say so with answers honestly.

Principles are what a temperament gets weighed against. A person with never betrays a confidence who is also frightened does not quietly leak the secret because fear scored higher — the principle holds, and the pressure goes somewhere else, which is what Conscience is about.

create Catherine Shelby
  a person, proper, loyal
  temperament duty over fear
  never betrays a confidence
  protects Chelsea Sumner

create John Barber
  a person, proper, cunning
  never lies