Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Herpes Cineplex" data-source="post: 3336045" data-attributes="member: 16936">That's where I come at it from, too.&nbsp; I've actually never seen this whole people-playing-CN-as-CE thing that everyone else is talking about.Anyway, what's the old bromide?&nbsp; &quot;Alignment is not a straitjacket&quot;?&nbsp; I tend to believe that the C in CN can encompass lots of different attitudes, and a good player's going to pick one that will mesh well with the group and be interesting.&nbsp; Sometimes that'll be the guy who dislikes authority (with a wealth of possible reasons and levels of vehemence available to suit the campaign).&nbsp; For another character, maybe it'll be a philosophical position: the universe is not subject to immutable, predictable laws, and so he refuses to think in absolutes and distrusts those who do.&nbsp; Another character's Chaotic might be an expression of his reluctance to accept responsibility.&nbsp; All are distinct from the rightfully-maligned &quot;coin-flip Chaotic,&quot; and could probably fit into most parties pretty easily.Likewise, the N can cover everything from moral ignorance to moral ambivalence to staunchly utilitarian pragmatism to &quot;I help my friends and family, and strangers can look out for themselves,&quot; and points in between.And each character's going to put a different emphasis on the individual halves of the alignment anyway.&nbsp; Some are going to be more concerned with the law/chaos axis than they are with good/evil, or vice versa.&nbsp; Some characters might be more True Neutral With Slight Chaotic Tendencies, some might be more Chaotic Good With Moral Defects, or whatever.At that point, all the alignment's really doing is telling the GM whether to apply extra damage from magic weapons (Holy/Unholy or Lawful/Chaotic) and whether an opponent's &quot;Protection from [whatever]&quot; spell applies or not.&nbsp; As long as the PC's actual personality as it's being played is a decent fit with the tone of the game and with the rest of the party, I have to say I honestly don't give a crap whether the player wants to take extra damage from a Lawful weapon or doesn't want to be affected by a Protection from Good spell, any more than I would care about whether their character uses a longsword or a battleaxe.&nbsp; It's a mechanical choice they can make for themselves, and I'll accept whatever alignment they write down on the sheet as long as it's not diametrically opposed to how they're actually playing the PC.--you can't kick puppies and spit on contracts and claim to be lawful good, after allryan</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Herpes Cineplex, post: 3336045, member: 16936"] That's where I come at it from, too. I've actually never seen this whole people-playing-CN-as-CE thing that everyone else is talking about. Anyway, what's the old bromide? "Alignment is not a straitjacket"? I tend to believe that the C in CN can encompass lots of different attitudes, and a good player's going to pick one that will mesh well with the group and be interesting. Sometimes that'll be the guy who dislikes authority (with a wealth of possible reasons and levels of vehemence available to suit the campaign). For another character, maybe it'll be a philosophical position: the universe is not subject to immutable, predictable laws, and so he refuses to think in absolutes and distrusts those who do. Another character's Chaotic might be an expression of his reluctance to accept responsibility. All are distinct from the rightfully-maligned "coin-flip Chaotic," and could probably fit into most parties pretty easily. Likewise, the N can cover everything from moral ignorance to moral ambivalence to staunchly utilitarian pragmatism to "I help my friends and family, and strangers can look out for themselves," and points in between. And each character's going to put a different emphasis on the individual halves of the alignment anyway. Some are going to be more concerned with the law/chaos axis than they are with good/evil, or vice versa. Some characters might be more True Neutral With Slight Chaotic Tendencies, some might be more Chaotic Good With Moral Defects, or whatever. At that point, all the alignment's really doing is telling the GM whether to apply extra damage from magic weapons (Holy/Unholy or Lawful/Chaotic) and whether an opponent's "Protection from [whatever]" spell applies or not. As long as the PC's actual personality as it's being played is a decent fit with the tone of the game and with the rest of the party, I have to say I honestly don't give a crap whether the player wants to take extra damage from a Lawful weapon or doesn't want to be affected by a Protection from Good spell, any more than I would care about whether their character uses a longsword or a battleaxe. It's a mechanical choice they can make for themselves, and I'll accept whatever alignment they write down on the sheet as long as it's not diametrically opposed to how they're actually playing the PC. -- you can't kick puppies and spit on contracts and claim to be lawful good, after all ryan [/QUOTE]

Verification