D&D 5E Alignment

[CleverNickName]

I was merely jesting. Insta-Kender DMing is illegal in most countries, I believe.

I'm pretty sure it's in the Bible. One of the Ten Commandments, or Beatitudes maybe?

 

[Hussar]

In my experience annoying players, such as griefers, has nothing to do with the alignment of the PC and everything to do with the player.

I tend to find one is a symptom of the other. As in when you meet a new player and the immediately insist on a particular alignment for their character (usually CN), that's a player that you're likely going to have some issues with down the line.

 

[Oofta]

I tend to find one is a symptom of the other. As in when you meet a new player and the immediately insist on a particular alignment for their character (usually CN), that's a player that you're likely going to have some issues with down the line.

The biggest a**-hat I had in the game played LN. Banning CN doesn't change the player.

 

[Quickleaf]

I find alignment superfluous tbh too, tending to put a blurb out at the beginning of the game to determine player behaviour IC.

Alignment is lightly present in my games where I use it almost synonymously with "starting reputation."

This harkens back to the AD&D alignment languages, which from my lens can be interpreted more like an honest city guard thinking "this forthright guy is speaking my language."

Rather than a metric or a measuring stick for character behavior, it is a guideline for initial NPC response or reaction to that character (barring all other potential backstory elements or past events in the campaign). In other words, it's mainly for my benefit as DM when starting out a new game.

After a few sessions getting familiar with their characters and wrecking havoc on a few of my scenes? Yeah, all bets are off.

 

[Umbran]

So who keeps standard alignment, and who discards it?

In 5e, standard alignment is basically irrelevant. It has discarded itself.

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

I haven't used the standard cosmology since the days when 1e was current.

 

[Andvari]

For those using alignments: Do you have a preference between 3-point alignment (pre-AD&D Law vs. Chaos only) or 9-point alignment (Law vs. Chaos, Good vs. Evil) systems? And why?

 

[Aldarc]

Love: Alignment as Cosmological Factions in the style of the Moorcock Multiverse, Star Wars, and Chaoskampf Myths

Loathe: Alignment as D&D's version of MBTI/Astrology/Enneagram

For those using alignments: Do you have a preference between 3-point alignment (pre-AD&D Law vs. Chaos only) or 9-point alignment (Law vs. Chaos, Good vs. Evil) systems? And why?

My preference is three point alignment. Go either Good vs. Evil or Law vs. Chaos. You can even combine them in 4e where extreme Law is associated with Good (i.e., Lawful Good) and extreme chaos is associated with Evil (i.e., Chaotic Evil), but keep it to one axis. IMHO, the co-existence of GvE, particularly having an ultimate "good," with LvC tends to trivialize the latter conflict and most players IME really only have the mental overhead to invest their care into one axis. So I'm an advocate for one or the other, but not both. Most universes with things approximating an alignment system tend to focus on one or the other. Even Dragonlance focuses on Good vs. Evil and marginalizes Chaos vs. Law as part of its setting themes.

 

[delericho]

So who keeps standard alignment, and who discards it?

We kept it up to the end of 3e. Once it lost its last mechanical effects, we ditched it.

We now treat Alignment the same way as Traits, Bonds, Flaws, and Ideals - players are encouraged to define a few of these as an aide to role-playing (but is also completely free to ignore some or all, as desired). Of note, any alignment they state is how it is viewed by their character, which may or may not bear any resemblance to the book definition.

 

[CreamCloud0]

For those using alignments: Do you have a preference between 3-point alignment (pre-AD&D Law vs. Chaos only) or 9-point alignment (Law vs. Chaos, Good vs. Evil) systems? And why?

The 9-point version, with the axis’s as fixed known standards if not in the game’s world then as a meta concept, there ARE gods of good and evil and chaos and law and neutrality that set the bar for what each is, I don’t think alignment is honestly all that complicated, but people try to bring their own perspectives into the matter and not the ones the game tells you to use, I don’t care if you were brought up in the scummiest most backstabbing pit of lowlives there ever was and that’s how you were raised, stabbing that old man ‘because at I’ll least be giving them a quick death than whatever else might come along’ is still going to be an evil act or who try to game the system ‘I’m lawful-my code is that i follow no codes-neutral’ no you’re not you’re chaotic now go sit in the corner on the naughty chair.

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

I always go with that player characters don't use alignment, every other being in the world use alignment at the core, even if it seldom come up in play, and outsiders are physical manifestations of philosophical moral concepts.

Basically, alignment is totally transparent for the players, but I as DM use it in the background.