D&D General Alternate Alignment for an all-goblin campaign

[Ancalagon]

I think an outsider race (lizardfolk is a really good candidate IMO) would ad some variety... aaaaand you know some players really like to play the outsider, it gives them an outlet to do that.

 

[GreenTengu]

An alternate alignment system isn't such a terrible idea in this regard.

In fact, something like this certainly gets more at the heart of "who are you and what drives you?" than the classic alignment system does. "good" and "evil" are so hopelessly nebulous and "law" and "chaos" can be entirely unhelpful too as it often depends very much on where the rules on coming from in regards to a character's likelihood to obey them. And someone saying that they follow their own internal code is well... totally not helpful, everyone follows their own internal code.

Really, what the whole thing ought to get at is "What does your character want, and what are they willing to do to get it?" so that the DM knows what sort of prize to float out there to get the adventurer invested in the adventure.

Also "To what degree is the character selfish or altruistic?"

Obviously altruistic characters are better as, despite whatever it is they want, they also want to make sure the rest of their pack stays alive and gets what they want too. Despite being categorized as "evil", it strikes me that it cannot be so unusual for goblins to be altruistic towards their own tribe, even if it rarely extends beyond that, given just how many babies they are raising in such squalid conditions and yet still manage to get a remarkable number of them alive to adulthood.... Bugbears, however, might be on the opposite end of that. It always seemed to me that Bugbears were characterized by no more than a few of them sticking together and liking to live somewhere deep in the wilds where no one else can bother them. They must get tired of being around others for too long and their self-serving attitude means that if there are ever more than a few of them living together, they must start to bicker and the groups splits up and going their separate ways.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I think an outsider race (lizardfolk is a really good candidate IMO) would ad some variety... aaaaand you know some players really like to play the outsider, it gives them an outlet to do that.

In the 5e game I'm playing in, there are three Dwarves, two half-elves, and a Goliath. The Goliath is definitely the outsider character.

In the game I'm running, there are three players playing "native" or local races (Tortle, Aasimar, Tiefling), and one playing a Goliath. The Goliath is, again, the outsider.

So I think it is a good idea to have a Goliath analogue.

 

[BookTenTiger]

An alternate alignment system isn't such a terrible idea in this regard.

In fact, something like this certainly gets more at the heart of "who are you and what drives you?" than the classic alignment system does. "good" and "evil" are so hopelessly nebulous and "law" and "chaos" can be entirely unhelpful too as it often depends very much on where the rules on coming from in regards to a character's likelihood to obey them. And someone saying that they follow their own internal code is well... totally not helpful, everyone follows their own internal code.

I think that's it right there.

I feel like traditional alignment fits in campaigns in which law and chaos, good and evil, really mean something and are thematic to the events. But often alignment gets ignored because it's just not important to the storytelling.

I guess this whole experiment shows me that you CAN use alignment as part of the world building.

In fact, it would be fun to develop unique alignment axes with the players as part of a Session 0!

For example, if the group decides they want a campaign themed around survival and the outdoors, you could ask:

Who are you?
Woodsmen, travelers, barbarians, druids...

What do you want?
Conservation, hunting, exploration...

So you might wind up with:
Cosmopolitan - Rural - Wild

Conservationist - Explorer - Poacher

Or something like that!

 

[LordEntrails]

I was avoiding this thread at first, but after reading the OP, I actually like it. Not sure about the Indivualist - Partisan - Nationalist axis though. The first one feels really goblin-ish. Though I also admit I like the idea of instead of a couple of alignment axis, to have the players pick some traits. Perhaps group them similar to axis, but I don't think I would force a player to pick from each group. Maybe having 4-6 groups and having players pick from 3 or more would be sufficient.

Now I'm wondering how I could use a similar idea is a regular campaign. More than just Bonds, Flaws, etc...

 

[Ancalagon]

Perhaps a good "outsider" would be a troll-kin. Some creature that isn't a full blown troll, but has perhaps a weak regeneration and scent?

Or a half ogre?

 

[KahlessNestor]

I've been going back and forth on that. It might be fun to have one "outsider" race, like orc or lizardfolk. But if I want this imaginary campaign to be focused on the story of the Goblinoid Empire, then it would be interesting to limit it to goblin races.

To add some variety to the three goblin races, I could borrow subraces from other D&D races... Maybe some Gnome and Halfling subraces for the goblins, and so on.

If it is a Goblinoid Empire, this shouldn't be too hard. Empire implies rule over people other than your own (as opposed to kingdom, which typically meant a more homogeneous population). The Bourbon Kingdom of France vs the Hapsburg Empire. So it isn't inconceivable that your Goblinoid Empire has an elite Elven archery unit drawn from conquered elven lands. Something like the Jannisaries. Or maybe a dwarven mountain unit, or a halfling spec ops team.

 

[BookTenTiger]

If it is a Goblinoid Empire, this shouldn't be too hard. Empire implies rule over people other than your own (as opposed to kingdom, which typically meant a more homogeneous population). The Bourbon Kingdom of France vs the Hapsburg Empire. So it isn't inconceivable that your Goblinoid Empire has an elite Elven archery unit drawn from conquered elven lands. Something like the Jannisaries. Or maybe a dwarven mountain unit, or a halfling spec ops team.

Love these ideas!