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Bring back alignments?
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<blockquote data-quote="Spatula" data-source="post: 5634807" data-attributes="member: 2198"><p>No, and they're still around in any case. Although I would have chosen different alignments to get rid of in 4e, or gotten rid of them altogether. Personally I find that allegiance systems are a much better role-playing tool than alignment ever was.</p><p></p><p>IME, alignments were used as a straightjacket ("I can't do that, I am lawful"), as an excuse to misbehave ("I kill the other party members in their sleep. You can't get mad! I'm just role-playing my character!"), or just ignored. Alignments are a neat concept, and an interesting lens to view a fictional world through, but they don't map well to the mass of contradictions that people actually are. As a result, alignments tend to hinder role-playing rather than enhancing it, IMO.</p><p></p><p>Arguments about what your character must or must not do? Misunderstandings about the meanings of law and chaos? Paladins getting unfairly punished? Having to ban CN as a PC alignment because misanthropes used it as an excuse to misbehave?</p><p></p><p>Not really. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I do kinda miss the flamewars. It was always reassuring to know that at any given moment in time, there was someone, somewhere, arguing whether or not paladins can kill orc babies, or if paladins have to follow the laws of an evil kingdom, or which alignment best fits Batman. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spatula, post: 5634807, member: 2198"] No, and they're still around in any case. Although I would have chosen different alignments to get rid of in 4e, or gotten rid of them altogether. Personally I find that allegiance systems are a much better role-playing tool than alignment ever was. IME, alignments were used as a straightjacket ("I can't do that, I am lawful"), as an excuse to misbehave ("I kill the other party members in their sleep. You can't get mad! I'm just role-playing my character!"), or just ignored. Alignments are a neat concept, and an interesting lens to view a fictional world through, but they don't map well to the mass of contradictions that people actually are. As a result, alignments tend to hinder role-playing rather than enhancing it, IMO. Arguments about what your character must or must not do? Misunderstandings about the meanings of law and chaos? Paladins getting unfairly punished? Having to ban CN as a PC alignment because misanthropes used it as an excuse to misbehave? Not really. :) I do kinda miss the flamewars. It was always reassuring to know that at any given moment in time, there was someone, somewhere, arguing whether or not paladins can kill orc babies, or if paladins have to follow the laws of an evil kingdom, or which alignment best fits Batman. :) [/QUOTE]
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Bring back alignments?
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