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Setting Brainstorm: A world without evil
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<blockquote data-quote="Igfig" data-source="post: 6719857" data-attributes="member: 74153"><p>This morning I had an idea, and now I can't stop thinking about it.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH]70832[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>So let's imagine that a couple hundred years ago, a supernatural plague came through an until-then typical fantasy world and killed every being with an Evil alignment. Tyrants fell dead from their thrones, evil humanoid populations fell by 95%, undead spontaneously combusted in their tombs, and fiends... well, there are probably plenty out on the Outer Planes still, but if you summon one they only last a few rounds before expiring.</p><p></p><p>The plague never went away; everybody in the world is a symptomless carrier. That means that anybody who turns toward evil, even today, sickens and eventually dies. This ensures that the alignment restrictions stay in effect.</p><p></p><p>What kind of effect would this have on a world?</p><p></p><p>It wouldn't be a utopia, of course. Conflict wouldn't just go away. Law and Chaos are still in play, and people go to war for reasons that have nothing to do with alignment. There are still neutral people around, and even good people can be unintentionally cruel; you could still perform evil acts (as long as they were small enough to not flip your alignment to Evil in one shot), and suffering would still exist. For the average person, things might not be so different.</p><p></p><p>But then you have things like people living in literally mortal fear of falling into evil. Worrying that every ache and pain is a judgment on your moral rectitude. Watching as your child, who's a real <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> but still <em>your child</em>, slowly wastes away, too young to understand why. Hating the plague for doing this to you, but fearing that that hatred will kill you. What would that do to people?</p><p></p><p>On a larger scale, nations grow ever more authoritarian, secure in the knowledge that however draconian they might be in their enforcement of The Law, they're still doing The Right Thing. The wilds are even more dangerous than before; without tribes of evil humanoids hunting monsters for food, unaligned beasts swell in numbers. Alternatively, oppressive laws might disenfranchise ever more people, leading them to run off into the wilderness to become bandits, preying on caravans because they have no other way to survive. </p><p></p><p>Adventuring would experience a boom, what with all the former evil lairs suddenly empty. Delve the ruined drow cities and recover their treasures, or seek out the lost hoard of a dead red dragon. Or if you prefer a plottier game, fight for the cause of chaos and freedom against the oppressive governments. (CF. <em>"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman</em> by Harlan Ellison.) But keep in mind: <strong>everyone you kill is a decent person.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>So how about it? What else would this world be like?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Igfig, post: 6719857, member: 74153"] This morning I had an idea, and now I can't stop thinking about it. [ATTACH=CONFIG]70832._xfImport[/ATTACH] So let's imagine that a couple hundred years ago, a supernatural plague came through an until-then typical fantasy world and killed every being with an Evil alignment. Tyrants fell dead from their thrones, evil humanoid populations fell by 95%, undead spontaneously combusted in their tombs, and fiends... well, there are probably plenty out on the Outer Planes still, but if you summon one they only last a few rounds before expiring. The plague never went away; everybody in the world is a symptomless carrier. That means that anybody who turns toward evil, even today, sickens and eventually dies. This ensures that the alignment restrictions stay in effect. What kind of effect would this have on a world? It wouldn't be a utopia, of course. Conflict wouldn't just go away. Law and Chaos are still in play, and people go to war for reasons that have nothing to do with alignment. There are still neutral people around, and even good people can be unintentionally cruel; you could still perform evil acts (as long as they were small enough to not flip your alignment to Evil in one shot), and suffering would still exist. For the average person, things might not be so different. But then you have things like people living in literally mortal fear of falling into evil. Worrying that every ache and pain is a judgment on your moral rectitude. Watching as your child, who's a real :):):):):):):) but still [I]your child[/I], slowly wastes away, too young to understand why. Hating the plague for doing this to you, but fearing that that hatred will kill you. What would that do to people? On a larger scale, nations grow ever more authoritarian, secure in the knowledge that however draconian they might be in their enforcement of The Law, they're still doing The Right Thing. The wilds are even more dangerous than before; without tribes of evil humanoids hunting monsters for food, unaligned beasts swell in numbers. Alternatively, oppressive laws might disenfranchise ever more people, leading them to run off into the wilderness to become bandits, preying on caravans because they have no other way to survive. Adventuring would experience a boom, what with all the former evil lairs suddenly empty. Delve the ruined drow cities and recover their treasures, or seek out the lost hoard of a dead red dragon. Or if you prefer a plottier game, fight for the cause of chaos and freedom against the oppressive governments. (CF. [I]"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman[/I] by Harlan Ellison.) But keep in mind: [B]everyone you kill is a decent person. [/B] So how about it? What else would this world be like? [/QUOTE]
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