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Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft Review Round-Up – What the Critics Say
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<blockquote data-quote="Shadowedeyes" data-source="post: 8287696" data-attributes="member: 7027005"><p>I know you replied to two of my posts, but I think this is the better laid out argument between the two, so I actually wanted to address it. I think the argument that a shorthand, or jargon, on how to play a NPC or monster could be useful, so that argument for alignment is compelling.</p><p></p><p>That said, jargon is most useful when the people who use it are all on the same page. I would guess that for most of the people who find alignment useful, the group they play with probably generally agree on how to interpret alignment. The problem comes in only if a group is not on the same page on what the shorthand means. </p><p></p><p>Which is why I think it's not particularly helpful. If the Relentless Killer is lawful, what does that mean, and more importantly, are we all on the same page with what it means? No shorthand, or even detailed explanation is going to be perfectly interpreted the same by everyone, but alignment seems to be quite varied, probably not helped by different explanations throughout D&D's history.</p><p></p><p>I'm starting to ramble though. I think unless WotC wants to focus heavily on alignment and defining it, it's not terribly useful. The counter argument is that removing it doesn't add anything. Which is I suppose true. I'd argue that removing it makes the DM and players actually think about why the character or monster is doing what it is doing rather than falling back on the shorthand. I'll admit that is just an opinion on my part though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shadowedeyes, post: 8287696, member: 7027005"] I know you replied to two of my posts, but I think this is the better laid out argument between the two, so I actually wanted to address it. I think the argument that a shorthand, or jargon, on how to play a NPC or monster could be useful, so that argument for alignment is compelling. That said, jargon is most useful when the people who use it are all on the same page. I would guess that for most of the people who find alignment useful, the group they play with probably generally agree on how to interpret alignment. The problem comes in only if a group is not on the same page on what the shorthand means. Which is why I think it's not particularly helpful. If the Relentless Killer is lawful, what does that mean, and more importantly, are we all on the same page with what it means? No shorthand, or even detailed explanation is going to be perfectly interpreted the same by everyone, but alignment seems to be quite varied, probably not helped by different explanations throughout D&D's history. I'm starting to ramble though. I think unless WotC wants to focus heavily on alignment and defining it, it's not terribly useful. The counter argument is that removing it doesn't add anything. Which is I suppose true. I'd argue that removing it makes the DM and players actually think about why the character or monster is doing what it is doing rather than falling back on the shorthand. I'll admit that is just an opinion on my part though. [/QUOTE]
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Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft Review Round-Up – What the Critics Say
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