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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8450324" data-attributes="member: 7023840">Morality is a difficult issue in TTRPGs. Here's my take-I'd start by contrasting the introduction of morality systems in videogames. I remember when the Ultima series (which was very popular) introduced a morality system in Ultima IV. There were a lot of people that absolutely hated it. The idea that your actions would have an impact on your character (and could curtail your options later) was viewed very unfavorably by a lot of people! When it came to videogames, the idea that &quot;actions have consequences&quot; was anathema. Even later, we see this attitude. Games (such as the Infamous series) might have branching options depending on your choices in the game (do you get the good or the evil powers) but it is still fairly rare for a video game to approximate real-world impact of morality.In a certain way, I think that this is also reflected in D&amp;D. The concept of morality can be notoriously hard to pin down- that's why people can still argue about the early Gygaxian view that hobo-murdering of &quot;evil&quot; creatures is a &quot;good&quot; activity. Morality itself is a complex subject that people are not in universal agreement on .... that might be the understatement of the year.Which leads to my opinion on the issue-1. You can have a very simplified, &quot;basic fantasy&quot; morality system. There are goodies, and there are baddies. And there is very little complexity or ambiguity. There is no Mitchell &amp; Webb moment where the heroes are standing over the slaughtered corpses of countless humanoid monsters and say, &quot;Wait, are we the baddies?&quot; You have a fairy-tale morality system for a fairy-tale world. 2. You embrace the ambiguity. At this level, you look at individual moral choices, and those choices will have consequences. Characters can make their choices based on their personal ethos, or their religion, or theirs oath, or other personal motivations, and consequences will flow from those decisions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8450324, member: 7023840"] Morality is a difficult issue in TTRPGs. Here's my take- I'd start by contrasting the introduction of morality systems in videogames. I remember when the Ultima series (which was very popular) introduced a morality system in Ultima IV. There were a lot of people that absolutely hated it. The idea that your actions would have an impact on your character (and could curtail your options later) was viewed very unfavorably by a lot of people! When it came to videogames, the idea that "actions have consequences" was anathema. Even later, we see this attitude. Games (such as the Infamous series) might have branching options depending on your choices in the game (do you get the good or the evil powers) but it is still fairly rare for a video game to approximate real-world impact of morality. In a certain way, I think that this is also reflected in D&D. The concept of morality can be notoriously hard to pin down- that's why people can still argue about the early Gygaxian view that hobo-murdering of "evil" creatures is a "good" activity. Morality itself is a complex subject that people are not in universal agreement on .... that might be the understatement of the year. Which leads to my opinion on the issue- 1. You can have a very simplified, "basic fantasy" morality system. There are goodies, and there are baddies. And there is very little complexity or ambiguity. There is no Mitchell & Webb moment where the heroes are standing over the slaughtered corpses of countless humanoid monsters and say, "Wait, are we the baddies?" You have a fairy-tale morality system for a fairy-tale world. 2. You embrace the ambiguity. At this level, you look at individual moral choices, and those choices will have consequences. Characters can make their choices based on their personal ethos, or their religion, or theirs oath, or other personal motivations, and consequences will flow from those decisions. [/QUOTE]

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