D&D 5E Do you find alignment useful in any way?

[Doug McCrae]

Quotations about D&D alignment and its sources, including Poul Anderson and Michael Moorcock.

And another, from Michael Moorcock: Fiction, Fantasy and the World’s Pain (2016) Mark Scroggins.

Law and Chaos... cannot be simply equated with good and evil. Chaos is disorder, but it is also life-giving change, evolution; Law is boundary and regularity, but it is also enforced conformity, the suppression of vitality and creativity. The ideal state, both for the individual and for society as a whole, lies in a mean between the two extremes. The Law versus Chaos opposition can be expressed as Realism versus Romanticism, Reason versus Emotion–perhaps its ultimate Freudian resolution is Thanatos versus Eros.​

 

[Ruin Explorer]

At this point, in 2021, I honestly do not find it at all useful.

Like, not even slightly.

Except for it causes people to make extremely amusing alignment-grid-based memes.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Not even remotely useful. I won't stop a player from writing one down on their character sheet if they want to, but I'm not interested in them telling me what it is. And if a DM wants me to write it down when making a character I'll stick something in there, but I won't refer to it when deciding how my character will act.

When I made character sheets for my new campaign I literally didn't include a place for alignment.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

It’s useful for a shorthand on how a given npc or monster acts. In fact for me it’s far more useful for npcs than pcs which is why I find it baffling it was removed from statblocks, even for unique characters where it actually makes sense.

 

[payn]

Most complex personalities will fall into 2, 3 or even more alignments in major parts. I mean, even a serial killer often has portions of his life where he is much more normal or even good. Alignment is very poor at representing a true personality, since people tend to self-box themselves into that one alignment, which makes for a very one dimensional PC. That's why it's good for new players who need it, and not all new players do, and me as DM for my NPCs which aren't important enough to create a deep personality for.

I guess I've never attached alignment to personality. I use alignment to tell me if the character is more traditional and structured, or individualistic and relative. It also tells me how far they are willing to go and it which ways to achieve their goals.

I also find the self-box into one alignment strange too. It's a moral compass on where the character lands most of the time, but not all the time (like when they have a gun to their head). Thats when things get interesting. Did the character reach their breaking point and hit an arc? Or was this just one of the most trying times for the character?

This works great for everyone, not just new players. Is it necessary? Of course not, but if you like to examine your RP like a philosophy 101 class, its a blast. I get that's very not for everyone.

 

[Lidgar]

Yes, it helps characterize tendencies and reactions. You can always ignore it, but as a DM it’s a short cut for running behaviors.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

The question is not how useful you find alignment. The question is just if you find alignment useful in any way in any of your 5e D&D games?

If you care to comment how you've found it useful, or how you've found it to be no use at all, please do so.

Yes. I find it useful ALL the time...and not just for "D&D" RPG's.

They are immensely useful for an "at a glance" personality bedrock for a newly encountered creature or NPC. The proprietor of "The Black Spoon Inn" will give me a HUGE idea flood based on what I see under "Alignment"...
Ex...:
..
(1) "Lawful Neutral". Ok, this guy is a stickler for rules and regs. No fighting, period! Won't haggle on prices. Doesn't give 'deals' unless there is some kind of written agreement about exact means of compensation. Fighting outside = call for the watch (Fighting in Public, Disturbing the Peace, Interfering with a Shopkeepers Business, etc).
..
(2) "True Neutral". Right...pretty much just stays out of everyone's way...he's running a business. Give money, get room. Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis, but only if needed and he feels the person is "trustworthy". If you fight...take it out side.
..
(3) "Chaotic Good". Have fun! You break it, you buy it. Try not to get to out of hand, and outright 'deadly violence' is forbidden...unless well-deserved or for obvious self defense.
..
etc.... As I said, quick "ideas" based on Alignment. If that NPC/creature becomes more important or a more likely re-occuring encounter, then I work out the details of personality (...and this is where I pull out my Hackmaster GMG [the 1e/2e/BECMI version] and turn to pages 157 to 160 ).

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Mind of tempest]

the lack of apathetic neutral in the poll disappoints me.

 

[Hriston]

Yes, I use it to modify encounter reactions and social interaction DCs.

 

[Fenris-77]

the lack of apathetic neutral in the poll disappoints me.

I thought that was the Lemon Curry answer...