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Alignment, Good Fun and Unnecessary Evil
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<blockquote data-quote="DreamsAndPixies" data-source="post: 7401665" data-attributes="member: 6940607"><p>Because I hate myself, I wrote an article about Alignment. Yes, another one to add to the pile. But since the game is ever changing, it is natural to update that kind of thing.</p><p></p><p><a href="http://dreamsandpixies.com/2018/04/article/design/alignment/" target="_blank">Link</a></p><p></p><p>Here is the TL;DR</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment historically is born from the embedded fight between Good and Evil in Greyhawk, then Faerun.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It was considered key to the game </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Paladins had it hard. </li> </ul> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment is strong as a meme. we love it. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment sows discord as an objective and prescriptive mechanic<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What matters for factions aren't their alignment but their name. That's the tag, the thing that links us to its morals. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">It is hard to have alignment be objective and prescriptive because people disagree about what's wrong and right. Also known as Orc Babies. And we love Orcs now, so that's a problem. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment also hide the true moral conflict, which isn't an argument about the nine labels, but a discussion of what is at stakes and the values of everyone. Alignment is getting into way of the fun here. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment being prescriptive means the DM has to enforce character's alignment. This is also getting in the way of fun. </li> </ul> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Alignment is ok as a short-hand descriptive mechanic.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">But then, you do not need to limit yourself to the nine labels. You can just invent new ones to express the subjectivity of your character, if in the first place everyone agrees the player is in control, and alignment is subjective. </li> </ul> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We are all moral beings (and I feel this is a new argument, not discussed enough).<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Therefore, we don't need Alignment to do our moral thinking for us. Between fictions and our own education, we have more than enough experience to do some. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">We are all moral beings, and that is so natural to us, that we kind of forgot. If we had that in mind when we looked at Alignment, we would have seen that it is not needed. </li> </ul> </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Other TTRPgs: they are fine without it! </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Legacy: it's alright to have legacy systems for the old players, but legacy mechanics should not be anti-fun. </li> </ul><p></p><p>Conclusion: Alignment is some good fun when you use it as a meme, but otherwise it is an unnecessary evil (it creates conflicts, it occults the true debate about the morality of a situation, and other systems do perfectly fine without it).</p><p></p><p>Yes, the TL;DR is long, but so is the article! I hope you enjoy your read. Follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/DreamsAndPixies" target="_blank">twitter</a> and check out my other articles and homebrew on <a href="http://www.dreamsandpixies.com" target="_blank">Dreams&Pixies</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DreamsAndPixies, post: 7401665, member: 6940607"] Because I hate myself, I wrote an article about Alignment. Yes, another one to add to the pile. But since the game is ever changing, it is natural to update that kind of thing. [URL="http://dreamsandpixies.com/2018/04/article/design/alignment/"]Link[/URL] Here is the TL;DR [LIST] [*]Alignment historically is born from the embedded fight between Good and Evil in Greyhawk, then Faerun. [LIST] [*]It was considered key to the game [*]Paladins had it hard. [/LIST] [*]Alignment is strong as a meme. we love it. [*]Alignment sows discord as an objective and prescriptive mechanic [LIST] [*]What matters for factions aren't their alignment but their name. That's the tag, the thing that links us to its morals. [*]It is hard to have alignment be objective and prescriptive because people disagree about what's wrong and right. Also known as Orc Babies. And we love Orcs now, so that's a problem. [*]Alignment also hide the true moral conflict, which isn't an argument about the nine labels, but a discussion of what is at stakes and the values of everyone. Alignment is getting into way of the fun here. [*]Alignment being prescriptive means the DM has to enforce character's alignment. This is also getting in the way of fun. [/LIST] [*]Alignment is ok as a short-hand descriptive mechanic. [LIST] [*]But then, you do not need to limit yourself to the nine labels. You can just invent new ones to express the subjectivity of your character, if in the first place everyone agrees the player is in control, and alignment is subjective. [/LIST] [*]We are all moral beings (and I feel this is a new argument, not discussed enough). [LIST] [*]Therefore, we don't need Alignment to do our moral thinking for us. Between fictions and our own education, we have more than enough experience to do some. [*]We are all moral beings, and that is so natural to us, that we kind of forgot. If we had that in mind when we looked at Alignment, we would have seen that it is not needed. [/LIST] [*]Other TTRPgs: they are fine without it! [*]Legacy: it's alright to have legacy systems for the old players, but legacy mechanics should not be anti-fun. [/LIST] Conclusion: Alignment is some good fun when you use it as a meme, but otherwise it is an unnecessary evil (it creates conflicts, it occults the true debate about the morality of a situation, and other systems do perfectly fine without it). Yes, the TL;DR is long, but so is the article! I hope you enjoy your read. Follow me on [URL="https://twitter.com/DreamsAndPixies"]twitter[/URL] and check out my other articles and homebrew on [URL="http://www.dreamsandpixies.com"]Dreams&Pixies[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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