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

[Enevhar Aldarion]

It has come to my attention that Naomi Osaka identifies as chaotic neutral in her twitter bio: https://twitter.com/naomiosaka?lang=en

And yet, tennis is such a lawful sport.

Eh, any individual sport, like tennis or golf, is going to be less lawful than the team sports. And for tennis, look back at one of the greats, John McEnroe, for less lawful, more chaotic behavior.

edited for typo

 

[Malmuria]

Eh, any individual sport, like tennis or gold, is going to be less lawful than the team sports. And for tennis, look back at one of the greats, John McEnroe, for less lawful, more chaotic behavior.

I meant aesthetically lawful, as the ball is either inside or outside of the line. And yet, with so much creativity between the lines, so maybe neutral. Neutral good. I was also joking, but am now interested in making an alignment chart of all sports.

 

[FrozenNorth]

It has come to my attention that Naomi Osaka identifies as chaotic neutral in her twitter bio: https://twitter.com/naomiosaka?lang=en

And yet, tennis is such a lawful sport.

Requires quite a bit of discipline to be successful as well!

 

[Pauln6]

It helps inform how an NPC might react to certain stimuli, whether they might avoid harming allies in combat, surrender or flee. It can add colour to a brief description. I don't want to have to think about that for every NPC.

 

[Mistwell]

I found it useful back when Orcs were monsters, there for the slaughter as they were savage and brutal and unrepentant.

Now that Orcs are just humans in rubber masks, Alignment has no purpose.

I think it might come in handy as a touchstone for new players to help them embody their PC better. As you said though, you can easily do that with keyword touchstones.

Orcs are still monsters listed as Chaotic Evil in the MM, and in DNDBeyond. You can play them without alignment, but there is no "one way" to play them.

 

[J.Quondam]

I find that alignment - as an inherent quality of the cosmos - can be helpful for explaining effects like this:

Spoiler: elemental evil!

 

[MGibster]

If players want conscience-free murderable enemies ... theres always constructs.

As far as my players are concerned, all of their opponents are conscience free muderable enemies.

 

[Vaalingrade]

It has come to my attention that Naomi Osaka identifies as chaotic neutral in her twitter bio: https://twitter.com/naomiosaka?lang=en

And yet, tennis is such a lawful sport.

In 3e, becoming Chaotic would cause her to lose the ability to serve or volley and become unable to get any gains from training until she atones before the memorial to Arthur Ash.

 

[zarionofarabel]

Orcs are still monsters listed as Chaotic Evil in the MM, and in DNDBeyond. You can play them without alignment, but there is no "one way" to play them.

That's why I see no point to Alignment. If Orcs can be good, why bother listing then as evil?

 

[Mistwell]

That's why I see no point to Alignment. If Orcs can be good, why bother listing then as evil?

If Orcs can use a longbow, why bother listing them with a javelin? If Orcs can wear plate armor, why bother listing them as wearing hide armor? If orcs can be good at the Arcana skill why bother listing them as a -2 intelligence and no proficiency in arcana?

It's all just a baseline to work from. The listing is just a generic typical orc, but you've always been free to adjust it to fit your campaign. It always said that right in the Monster Manual. The published adventures often did that as well.