On Alignments

[JPS]

As some of you might have noticed, I'm not a great fan of alignments, but I finally managed to find an approach that actually makes sense.

 

The "Problem" with Alignments

 

Mostly things that I have already thought about (which might be why I like it...), but still interesting.

[Loké]

As some of you might have noticed, I'm not a great fan of alignments, but I finally managed to find an approach that actually makes sense.

 

The "Problem" with Alignments

 

Mostly things that I have already thought about (which might be why I like it...), but still interesting.

As interesting saw it was long.

[BevH]

A good piece and it explains alignments well. It's nice to know that the game finally recognizes that people change and there shouldn't be a penalty for it.

[Bri]

Well, we usually did without alignments ourselves. One's actions spoke louder than words. And in second edition where like a ranger or a paladin had their spells given by gods, if the gods themselves didn't like their actions, then they would be penalized with spell loss, ability loss, etc. without needing an alignment shift (just as an evil deity would punish one of their priests if they did other than the ethos of the dark god).

[BigRob]

Same here. Alignment was always just a general descriptor of personality with my role playing. We usually had character personality well worked out and alignments were reflected in this. Just because you're evil, doesn't mean you can't cooperate with people, as long as you gain out of it.

 

And just because you're good, doesn't mean you can't be affected by hatred or prejudice (Anomen, anyone?).

[Bri]

This talk of enlightenment stirred up some memories for me of another RPG. They didn't really have alignment for one's character, but rather, motivation.

 

The RPG? Ghostbusters...(Yes, they made Ghostbusters, and when the second movie came out, they revamped it. It was by West End Games, original makers of Paranoia).

 

What can I say, it was kinda fun to make a character who's motivation was to find a free lunch. (I know, not really pertinent...but hey, its noobermeet)