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Piracy And Other Malfeasance
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<blockquote data-quote="Argyle King" data-source="post: 9302626" data-attributes="member: 58416"><p>I somewhat alluded to this earlier, but I think one of the "issues" with D&D alignment is that it is based upon tangible in-game-world factors that the characters interact with, yet those factors may not always mesh with how contemporary culture categorizes morality.</p><p></p><p>That I believe an action to be good/evil may not necessarily correspond to what a particular D&D plane, magic spell, or magic item views as good/evil.</p><p></p><p>I don't feel that I need 50 shades of personality tests (as someone mentioned upthread) to categorize a character, but a little more guidance than two letters on a sheet is (for me) better for covering a wider range of characters and archetypes found throughout literature (or history).</p><p></p><p>I think D&D alignment might be a good starting point to get a broad idea of where a character might generally fall. However, I prefer how other ttrpgs handle morality and personality.</p><p></p><p>I'll use GURPS as an example because that's a game I'm most familiar with. For someone like the pirates mentioned upthread, there may be mental "disadvantages" such as "sense of duty: [insert nation]" or "Bloodlust (when fighting the Spanish)" or "Code of Honor (Pirate's)."</p><p></p><p>For a hypothetical character including my three hypothetical examples, what that would mean is that Captain Examplo of the H.S.S. Murder Hobo feels a sense of duty toward the nation for which he sails. As such, even if he's normally a bloodthirsty marauder of the high seas, he tends to lawfully and faithfully serve the needs of his nation (and is posdiblyeven inclined to be generous and helpful toward citizens of said nation). In contrast, Captain Exemplo is especially vicious and cruel when boarding a Spanish galleon. Yet, in either case, he does abide by a loose code of honor that compels him to ensure that loot is divided up fairly among his crew. (In away from books and forget exactly what the pirate code covers).</p><p></p><p>Is Captain Exemplo evil? Maybe he is. His victims certainly think so, and I imagine he has a rather nefarious reputation in Spain, but perhaps he is also known as a cordial and heroic individual among the Dutch -as well as a firm but fair captain among his crew.</p><p></p><p>To me, that paints a better picture of who the character is and what their interactions with others will be.</p><p></p><p>I feel that D&D 4th Edition's Artifacts and Legendary Items did a pretty good job of this too. The descriptions of the items would include what sort of behaviors and actions taken by the wielder would make the item either happy or unhappy.</p><p></p><p>I also feel that D&D 4E's descriptions of the good in the PHB did a good job of describing the general ballpark of what a god(des)'s area of interests were, while also leaving enough wiggle room to fill in more detail within a character.</p><p></p><p>For example, is Erathis (deity of civilization and cities) a representative of good or evil? That depends. Civilized advancement and law can be good, but bureaucracy bending law to favor the few or a sprawling city encroaching upon a rain forest might also be evil. I find that type of dichotomy & conflict to be interesting and a great source of inspiration for writing a story -especially an interactive adventure story in which there are several paths to how a party might solve a problem. I can imagine two paladins of Erathis adventuring in the same party, to protect the city from a rampaging and ravenous horde of gnolls, but also coming to blows in the end -as they disagree on the post-crisis path forward.</p><p></p><p>TLDR: A bunch of thoughts about how more nuance than two letters can be better for adventure. I think the two letters is an okatly starting point, but a little extra detail helps a particular character feel more like an actual person. Also, musing about examples of how non-D&D games might do, as well as how other D&D editions have covered morality.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Argyle King, post: 9302626, member: 58416"] I somewhat alluded to this earlier, but I think one of the "issues" with D&D alignment is that it is based upon tangible in-game-world factors that the characters interact with, yet those factors may not always mesh with how contemporary culture categorizes morality. That I believe an action to be good/evil may not necessarily correspond to what a particular D&D plane, magic spell, or magic item views as good/evil. I don't feel that I need 50 shades of personality tests (as someone mentioned upthread) to categorize a character, but a little more guidance than two letters on a sheet is (for me) better for covering a wider range of characters and archetypes found throughout literature (or history). I think D&D alignment might be a good starting point to get a broad idea of where a character might generally fall. However, I prefer how other ttrpgs handle morality and personality. I'll use GURPS as an example because that's a game I'm most familiar with. For someone like the pirates mentioned upthread, there may be mental "disadvantages" such as "sense of duty: [insert nation]" or "Bloodlust (when fighting the Spanish)" or "Code of Honor (Pirate's)." For a hypothetical character including my three hypothetical examples, what that would mean is that Captain Examplo of the H.S.S. Murder Hobo feels a sense of duty toward the nation for which he sails. As such, even if he's normally a bloodthirsty marauder of the high seas, he tends to lawfully and faithfully serve the needs of his nation (and is posdiblyeven inclined to be generous and helpful toward citizens of said nation). In contrast, Captain Exemplo is especially vicious and cruel when boarding a Spanish galleon. Yet, in either case, he does abide by a loose code of honor that compels him to ensure that loot is divided up fairly among his crew. (In away from books and forget exactly what the pirate code covers). Is Captain Exemplo evil? Maybe he is. His victims certainly think so, and I imagine he has a rather nefarious reputation in Spain, but perhaps he is also known as a cordial and heroic individual among the Dutch -as well as a firm but fair captain among his crew. To me, that paints a better picture of who the character is and what their interactions with others will be. I feel that D&D 4th Edition's Artifacts and Legendary Items did a pretty good job of this too. The descriptions of the items would include what sort of behaviors and actions taken by the wielder would make the item either happy or unhappy. I also feel that D&D 4E's descriptions of the good in the PHB did a good job of describing the general ballpark of what a god(des)'s area of interests were, while also leaving enough wiggle room to fill in more detail within a character. For example, is Erathis (deity of civilization and cities) a representative of good or evil? That depends. Civilized advancement and law can be good, but bureaucracy bending law to favor the few or a sprawling city encroaching upon a rain forest might also be evil. I find that type of dichotomy & conflict to be interesting and a great source of inspiration for writing a story -especially an interactive adventure story in which there are several paths to how a party might solve a problem. I can imagine two paladins of Erathis adventuring in the same party, to protect the city from a rampaging and ravenous horde of gnolls, but also coming to blows in the end -as they disagree on the post-crisis path forward. TLDR: A bunch of thoughts about how more nuance than two letters can be better for adventure. I think the two letters is an okatly starting point, but a little extra detail helps a particular character feel more like an actual person. Also, musing about examples of how non-D&D games might do, as well as how other D&D editions have covered morality. [/QUOTE]
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