Alignments anyone?

[Vincent Blackwater]

As DM's do you use alignments? Why/Why not?

As players do you like using alignments?

As a DM I give the players the options, some like to have it to use as a guideline.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

As DM's do you use alignments? Why/Why not?

As players do you like using alignments?

As a DM I give the players the options, some like to have it to use as a guideline.

No, I don't bother with alignments as a DM, beyond telling players they can't be evil characters.

As a player I don't like alignment. I'll just write neutral on my character sheet and let the DM determine if that's accurate. I figure no two people will ever agree on alignment, and the DM always wins any such argument, making an argument pointless. I'm more interested in RP instead.

 

[Ringlerun]

As a player and DM i just prefer having good neutral and evil for alignment and then having personality descriptions to add flavour

 

[Dioltach]

I use alignments, if only because it's such an integral part of D&D. For instance, eliminating alignments cancels out a lot of the paladin's abilities.

However, I try to nuance occurences of evil, in particular. A monster or NPC detecting as "evil" is otherwise something of a give-away, and is likely to be attacked by the PCs without further justification. So I like to say that a Detect Evil spell or ability gives results such as "evil deeds in his/her past", "anger and hatred", "plotting misdeeds" etcetera.

As an aside, this also means that questionable acts on the part of the PCs also show up, even if the players argue that their characters aren't necessarily evil.

 

[Yora]

I've stopped using alignment some time ago. It is a useful tool for certain kinds of stories and campaigns. But I am personally not a fan of those. Other types of stories, which I much more enjoy, only really work in an environment where right and wrong are matters of perspective and oppinion.

I think the solution that has been anounced for 5th Edition, alignment only for outsiders and special monster with all humanoid characters being neutral, is the best and most practical one. No more alignment debates about player characters and no more detect villain spells.

 

[Lwaxy]

Not really using alignments beyond the paladin restrictions, and telling players they (usually) can't be chaotic evil as it usually amounts to party conflicts.

 

[enworldatemylogin]

My 3 most recent character sheets don't even have an alignment written down, though I did tell one DM that if you threw a dart at an alignment chart it would land dead center. I'm a big fan of neutral. Not the balance good versus evil bunk, but I'm interested first in my friends and family, then strangers.

 

[Vincent Blackwater]

I can't remember when anyone played a Paladin in our games. That class has been nixed. I don't use alignments at all, but had to make some changes to spell such as protection from good/evil, which has just become a protection spell. It gives you the bonuses to those who are aggressive towards you without provocation. However we haven't had too many players who like to be clerics either so that spell never really comes up as with detect good/evil.

 

[SkidAce]

I think the solution that has been anounced for 5th Edition, alignment only for outsiders and special monster with all humanoid characters being neutral, is the best and most practical one. No more alignment debates about player characters and no more detect villain spells.

Hmmm, we've been doing that for years...did we have a house rule or something?

Anyway, I like that solution. It allows me to have both styles of play. Subtle nuances of behavior i.e. indicators etc., and actual forces of malevolence and good.

The combination of the two "ends" of the spectrum make for good game play.

A fountain of pure Good located in some obscure place that can be tapped into.
A baker who bakes children doesn't detect (although he might have a "flavor", baking kids is pretty bad)
And when a normal person does detect as an alignment, you KNOW they have been infused with some significant . For good or bad.

But the best was when they ran into a floating pyramidal shape of force* that radiated law. It made the chaotic folks uncomfortable, and even the neutral dudes had "maybe I should follow the rules" thoughts.



*my modrons are composed of force, levitate, telekinetic (no goofy hands), and are really unnerving when they decide an area needs their attention. I think the word is implacable...hehe.

 

[Yora]

Hmmm, we've been doing that for years...did we have a house rule or something?

Anyway, I like that solution. It allows me to have both styles of play. Subtle nuances of behavior i.e. indicators etc., and actual forces of malevolence and good.

Yes, it has been around for years and used by several groups. But it's nice to see the developers seeing the wisdom behind this solution that is the best of both worlds while avoiding most of the biggest problems.