I've read the entry in the MM for the Half-Celestial template. It applies to a non-evil creature and the creature becomes "always good". What does this phrase mean? What happens with a half-celestial character that tends to neutrality or commits evil deeds?
DnD 3.5e – Meaning of ‘Alignment: Always Good’ in Half-Celestial Template
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Best Answer
"Always" isn't precisely the right term
A creature that is "always" a certain alignment is only that alignment about 95% of the time, with the other 5% being composed of various exceptions such as those created by spells, an inclination to a different alignment, corruption, redemption, or just plain cussedness.
Alignment is contradictory
Though many sources (the Player's Handbook, Book of Exalted Deeds, Book of Vile Darkness, Heroes of Horror, Champions of Valor and Champions of Ruin especially) talk about alignment, they don't particularly get along with each other. Alignment is a contradictory mess full of double-standards, exceptions, confusing 'hard rules', and just plain lack of moral thought. This makes it hard to talk about in 'always' cases, especially ones like Half-Celestial that were published early on.
However, free will is a common trend
Think of Half-Celestials as having an innate instinct for goodness - they understand about mercy, empathy, compassion, love, and forgiveness the way normal people understand about breathing. As free-willed beings, they don't have to listen to these instincts - but they do have to live with them. Evil is not comfortable for such beings. Perhaps some turn to it out of a perverse thrill, the way masochists get attached to pain, but outside of those exceptional few evil is difficult and uncomfortable for beings whose essence is at least partially composed of elemental goodness the way a fire elemental is made of fire. No, there's nothing stopping a fire elemental from taking up, say, water skiing but it's certainly not the best hobby in the world for it.
There are examples of 'always' beings outside of those alignments
Fallen celestials, lawful slaadi, chaotic modrons and risen fiends exist in the 3.5 universe, often as published NPCs. The alignment rules state that if a being acts in accordance with a new alignment, they take up that alignment. From a mechanical perspective, if a half-celestial does consistent evil, then it is evil-aligned.