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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5851770" data-attributes="member: 22779">I look at it like this.We've had alignments in the game since pretty much the get go.&nbsp; And, in all that time, decades of play, thousand upon thousands of hours of discussion in Dragon magazine, Internet forums etc, we still cannot even agree on the basics of what an alignment means.&nbsp; At what point should we step back and say that this is a mechanic that just doesn't work?I mean, when you can make a legitimate argument for all 9 alignments for Batman: <img src="http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/batman-alignment.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />just how descriptive is alignment?&nbsp; No single mechanic has caused more problems at tables than alignment.&nbsp; I'd venture a guess that alignment has caused more issues than all other mechanics combined.&nbsp; It slows down play, doesn't actually define anything, and becomes fodder for endless Internet wanks.&nbsp; Why are we still stuck on this?&nbsp; At what point can we finally put a bullet in this and write it off as a mistake?Or, to put it another way, what is actually being added to the game by having alignments?&nbsp; Do people actually need these descriptors to portray their characters?&nbsp; Are DM's so bereft of ideas that ALIGNMENT is the defining characteristic of an NPC?Alignment.&nbsp; Huh.&nbsp; What is it good for?&nbsp; Good god Y'awl.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 5851770, member: 22779"] I look at it like this. We've had alignments in the game since pretty much the get go. And, in all that time, decades of play, thousand upon thousands of hours of discussion in Dragon magazine, Internet forums etc, we still cannot even agree on the basics of what an alignment means. At what point should we step back and say that this is a mechanic that just doesn't work? I mean, when you can make a legitimate argument for all 9 alignments for Batman: [img]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a288/Gugenheimer/batman-alignment.jpg[/img] just how descriptive is alignment? No single mechanic has caused more problems at tables than alignment. I'd venture a guess that alignment has caused more issues than all other mechanics combined. It slows down play, doesn't actually define anything, and becomes fodder for endless Internet wanks. Why are we still stuck on this? At what point can we finally put a bullet in this and write it off as a mistake? Or, to put it another way, what is actually being added to the game by having alignments? Do people actually need these descriptors to portray their characters? Are DM's so bereft of ideas that ALIGNMENT is the defining characteristic of an NPC? Alignment. Huh. What is it good for? Good god Y'awl. [/QUOTE]

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