D&D General Do you use Alignment in your D&D games?

[Jacob Lewis]

Are you suggesting that because you don't play that way anymore, it never happened?

What way, exactly? Seems like a lot of people are making a lot of assumptions that I didn't talk about. And very few have been keen to ask me anything.

 

[jmartkdr2]

What way, exactly? Seems like a lot of people are making a lot of assumptions that I didn't talk about. And very few have been keen to ask me anything.

Well, you said the idea that alignment should be enforced is ... just an idea, not a thing that happens. As in, the idea is real but not an actual occurrence.

Which is a false statement. People used to enforce alignment all the time. It's baked into the rules of older editions. It's absolutely a thing that happened.

Because you pulled one line out of my statement, ignored the context, and misconstrued it.

 

[Burnside]

Looks like the majority prefers to use alignments. Case closed.

View attachment 151177

Or let's continue bickering like its 2002 again. Just a few things to keep in mind, though:

1. If you're using words like "repressed", "freedom", or "autocracy" to strengthen your case for something as trivial as a roleplaying game, then your argument was already weak. This just makes it weaker.
2. Characters don't choose their players. If you think they do, then you may have more serious issues to address.
3. D&D isn't necessarily a co-op game, but it is a social one. That means people, not characters, need to find common ground and get along for the benefit of the group. You know, like most mature adults.
4. Alignment has always, and will forever be, a part of the D&D game. But like everything else in the game, you can choose to ignore it or change it however you see fit.
5. If you think you know somebody because they use option A or play with rule B, that says more about you than what you want to say about your ideal character for a game that you feel was created entirely for you.

And if someone takes offense to any of these, just call it a receipt. I've already taken offense from several comments in this thread. And this discussion has run its expected course.

I was prompted to make this thread as a reaction to this one: D&D 5E - Orcs and Drow in YOUR game (poll */comments +)

...in which the OP has created a poll with a variety of options, yet none of them anticipate the possibility that people just wouldn't use alignment at all. Since my perception is that a significant minority of players/DMs in fact don't use it at all, and a majority of players/DMs do use it but only "lightly", I was surprised by the assumption made by that poll that everyone uses Alignment as a matter of course. I was curious about whether my perception was wrong (it wasn't) but the purpose of this thread isn't to determine the one, true God or to convince others that there use/non-use of Alignment is wrong. (Of course, it's devolved into that - but I was more interested in taking the temperature for where Alignment use currently stands.)

I do think the one point you make above, that Alignment "always will be" part of D&D, is less set in stone than you think. Personally, I expect that in 2024 it will be relegated to an "Optional Rules" or appendix of the core books.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Well, you said the idea that alignment should be enforced is ... just an idea, not a thing that happens. As in, the idea is real but not an actual occurrence.

Which is a false statement. People used to enforce alignment all the time. It's baked into the rules of older editions. It's absolutely a thing that happened.

Oh! I thought you were talking about me personally doing this. I never considered myself as enforcing anything, and neither did anyone I ever played with. Can you see my confusion?

Personally, I only experienced it one time. It upset me, not because I thought it was wrong, but because the DM treated it like a gotcha and started bragging about it. There was no discussion during or after, either. But I'm not carrying a white-hot rage with me to every game or edition. I just decided I didn't care for that DMs style and moved on to another game.

No, check that. I took some of his players with me and started running games for them. They weren't happy with it, either. Hope that makes more sense to you.

Because you pulled one line out of my statement, ignored the context, and misconstrued it.

I didn't ignore it. I just prefer to cut to the heart of the matter. I thought I might be getting somewhere with that. Maybe not. Or maybe you just don't see it yet. That's why we have these conversations, right?

 

[payn]

I was prompted to make this thread as a reaction to this one: D&D 5E - Orcs and Drow in YOUR game (poll */comments +)

...in which the OP has created a poll with a variety of options, yet none of them anticipate the possibility that people just wouldn't use alignment at all. Since my perception is that a significant minority of players/DMs in fact don't use it at all, and a majority of players/DMs do use it but only "lightly", I was surprised by the assumption made by that poll that everyone uses Alignment as a matter of course. I was curious about whether my perception was wrong (it wasn't) but the purpose of this thread isn't to determine the one, true God or to convince others that there use/non-use of Alignment is wrong. (Of course, it's devolved into that - but I was more interested in taking the temperature for where Alignment use currently stands.)

I do think the one point you make above, that Alignment "always will be" part of D&D, is less set in stone than you think. Personally, I expect that in 2024 it will be relegated to an "Optional Rules" or appendix of the core books.

Be interesting to see what surveys say now. Lot of new gamers now hanging out that probably were not back in 2012 or whenever they did them last.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I do think the one point you make above, that Alignment "always will be" part of D&D, is less set in stone than you think. Personally, I expect that in 2024 it will be relegated to an "Optional Rules" or appendix of the core books.

As long as there are previous editions of D&D, it will always be a part of D&D and consequently brought up in threads like this one.

Also, I remember similar promises made when 5e was announced regarding optional modules and modes of play for everyone... you can hope, but don't hold your breath. fingers crossed

 

[Burnside]

Be interesting to see what surveys say now. Lot of new gamers now hanging out that probably were not back in 2012 or whenever they did them last.

I'm think about that as well - particularly because so many of them are coming in through Critical Role, where alignment hasn't been mentioned at all since Campaign 1 (2015-17).

 

[Scribe]

Be interesting to see what surveys say now. Lot of new gamers now hanging out that probably were not back in 2012 or whenever they did them last.

Those new (presumably younger) gamers that grew up on Alignment memes?

 

[payn]

Those new (presumably younger) gamers that grew up on Alignment memes?

The ones who might not ever been impacted by mechanics of alignment? Curious what they think?

 

[Scribe]

The ones who might not ever been impacted by mechanics of alignment? Curious what they think?

Yeah, I think they probably make note of it, consider it, but very unlikely they believe its a straight jacket like some here continue to claim it is.