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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nifft" data-source="post: 3607412" data-attributes="member: 6562">This is an update. The original post is hidden in a block at the bottom of this post.Thesis: In D&D, there is enough information in declared actions to interpret intention, and thus to determine the moral value of the action. (I'm using declared action as jargon. It means, what you declare your character's action to be. Not the result, not the reasoning; just the action declared by the player.)Motivation: A DM must act as the final arbiter of morality. However, he can't see into the hearts of his players, who are the true intentional agents behind the actions of the PCs. Moreover, players should not be incentivised to deceive the DM -- even if it won't come up in most games, I worry such incentives could be very divisive when they do come up.Implications: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Easier to adjudicate and easier to explain, which means less unpleasant surprises.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Puts the focus on the concrete layer where DMs and players interact rather than on something abstract (which may or may not have an analogue in the real world).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Moral defense against accidental outcome becomes easier, and using the ends to justify the means becomes harder.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> It becomes possible to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons, yet have it count as the right thing. Conversely, it also becomes possible to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons, yet have it remain unambiguously wrong. These issues are usually murky, but they can make for great story-telling.</li> </ul>Examples: (are coming in a future edit)More implications? How do you deal with intent in your game?Cheers, -- N[sblock=original post]Title: Alignment Without IntentThesis: In D&D, Deities must judge actions without knowing intent. All they can know is what action you declare.Reasoning: Your PC's actual intent is secret, because it is hidden inside the heart of a player. The deity (or deities) who judge a PC's action are played by the DM, who cannot know a player's true intent.Implications: it's harder to "game" the alignment system via spin. It's also possible to do the right thing (and have it count as the right thing) for all the wrong reasons; likewise, it's possible to do the wrong thing for all the right reasons (and end up on the road to Hell).[/sblock]</blockquote>

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