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Message: <blockquote data-quote="00Machado" data-source="post: 3291538" data-attributes="member: 23690">I was thinking about something to put here. More and more though, I keep coming back to a view that something that spawns this much discussion about the game takes energy away from playing it. Since we're unlikely to all agree on how it works (unlike say how we will mostly agree on how a +1 bonus works), the only options we're left with is to only somewhat agree, or even mostly disagree. And what's the point of that?The RAW sets up this conflict from the beginning. Monopoly doesn't create structural problems like this. And I understand RPGs are different from Monopoly. My point though, is that they take the social nature of the game, which should be a strength, and squander it on what can only end up at best in agreeing to disagree, and at worst in breakdown of expectations in play, and making the whole experience less fun. In addition, they create this artificial structure of actions into categorizations. And for what? What does the play experience derive from it?A few rule mechanics work around alignment, like detect evil, paladin's must being of a certain alignment, and so it's needed, which makes it worse. They tie a few rule mechanics to what is mostly a concept rather than a hard and fast rule, and it leaves room for 'interpretation' and ultimately disagreement, resentment, or whatever.Alignment should be eliminated. All rules that rely on it should be rewritten to build on a not up to interpretation element of the game. For example, instead of something like protection from evil, there should be protection from outsiders, because being an outsider means the same thing to everyone playing, whereas being evil doesn't. With a minimal of effort, they can shift alignment from being something that is important to agree on (because of game play), to just a tool for play that helps describe types of personalities and decisions consistent with a person's worldview, as a sort of roleplaying helping aid, to use purely at your own discretion as a play, and that the GM doesn't have to care about at all in play.</blockquote>

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