MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
In D&D's core rules, outside of some magic items, you are right. It really depends on the setting or adventure and I haven't seen it given much weight in official WotC settings or adventures. But because they have alignments provided for monsters and include it as part of the basic rules it is a mechanic that can be easily worked into homebrew and third party adventures and settings.Except that's not true. People are quick to tell you here that it has practically zero mechanical weight in 5e so tables can easily ignore it. So can you explain what are the "actual mechanical repercussions for the PCs's actions" when it comes to alignment in 5e D&D? What are the actual mechanics for alignment in 5e? Can you explain how alignment exists as a game mechanic in 5e?
That fact that tables can easily ignore it is great. Many people dislike alignment, as this thread makes clear.
As I wrote earlier in this thread, I would be okay with it being moved to the DMG as an optional rule. I would miss having it included in monster stat blocks, but it is simple enough for me to assign alignments. Also, if it were added as an optional rule in the DMG, WotC could give guidance on traditional alignments for certain creature types. Also, by having it as an option rule they could get creative with other optional alignment-related mechanics without alienating those who dislike alignment.