D&D 5E Alignment

[GMforPowergamers]

So who keeps standard alignment, and who discards it?

What do you use instead? Does this affect the standard cosmology based upon alignment?

Thoughts and discussion.

we did away with alignment and make it optional if you want to fill anything out... some times we put funny things in (Chaotic Goodish) sometimes genre type (steampunk) sometimes make fun of buddies at the table ("I'm neutral Jimmy"), but I would say half the time we just leave it blank... we want complex xharacters that don't fit in the boxes

 

[Nightfly]

Genuine question: Why couldn't the sword just be...murderous and corruptive? Why does it need to be "Chaotic Evil" specifically? What does labelling it "Chaotic Evil" do that calling it "tainted" or "corrupted" or "morally hazardous" would not?

Well, that's what we called it when I started playing D&D 40-ish years ago, so it's very familiar terminology. At the very minimum it's nostagia; at best, it conveys a great deal of information in only two words.

 

[CreamCloud0]

Not a DM myself but I’d like to at least comment how I’d like to run alignment if i was one

-I’d lay down simple clear concise explanations for what each of the two scales mean, these would to be understood by the players to be what the alignments mean and are considered to represent in universe for their purposes at my gaming table

-following from that, alignment is not relative to character culture it is established in the setting with concrete meanings none of this ‘well your bad is my good in my culture so what I actually did was a noble act instead of an atrocity’

-they are an extension of TBIF, the player is declaring with their alignment how a character thinks and evaluates things (however declaring your alignment as one thing doesn’t prevent you from actually being another if your character acts contrary to that declaration, in which situations I’d talk to the player and say ‘change what it says on your sheet or start trying to act in line with what you said your actual alignment was’

-following from that they are now another way to gain inspiration by playing to those traits/mindset

-a sign for which extraplanar aligned entities (if ever interacted with) are more likely to want to endorse or oppose the characters and to a lesser extent mortal npcs who are aware of the characters reputation if any.

 

[FrozenNorth]

I’m gearing up for a PF2 game, where unlike D&D, alignment affects susceptibility to many (mostly divine) spells and effects. I have a very good idea of what my character is like, and forcing him into one of 9 alignments just isn’t helpful and hinders roleplay.

I’m thinking of telling the DM to slot him into TN and ignoring it for the rest of the game.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I have it but don't use it.

I don't really use it except for with creatures cosmologically defined by it (angels, demons, etc.). I enjoy throwing some light moral conundrums at the party, but I don't find the neat little 9 boxes that no two players quite conceptualize the same way a useful construct for facilitating much of anything. Someday I might use an alignment restricted magic item if it is useful in making it clear which party member it is intended for but it hasn't happened yet.

I still have alignment because it is on the standard character sheet, players expect to have it, and I don't want to get into debates about alignment. If a player wants to play to their alignment (and they aren't a jerk about it) then more power to them. If a player never bothers to write anything in the alignment line then more power to them. If players want to have a whole alignment debate, fine. I'm not paying much attention as long as nobody is being picked on, and I'm always happy for a break to prep the next thing.

When I helped kids make character sheets at Summer camp I never bothered with having them write in an alignment unless they asked about it, and actually continued to be interested when I explained the alignment system. One kid wrote "Smart" for his alignment, and I thought that was pretty great.

 

[RuinousPowers]

I don't find alignment all that useful. Some people say it provides an easy shorthand for certain personality traits- I say I'd rather write down the traits I wanted and ditch the "middleman".

 

[Fifinjir]

It’s been touched on in the one-shots I’ve run, but not delved into. If I run Curse of Strahd at some point, the Dark Powers and whatever force behind the Symbol of Ravenkind are probably going to care about it….

 

[Clint_L]

I didn't even use alignment back in the AD&D days. It serves no function in the game, aside from a few spells that are easily modified. Just make it an optional rule.

 

[Zardnaar]

I usually keep it house rules are more along the lines of no disruptive players.

LE Tony Soprano type character is better than your CN griefer stereotype.

 

[payn]

I wouldn't mind a setting that leans into alignment myself. Give something back to those of us who like the mechanic.