Alcamtar
Explorer
What would the 3E world look like if you took the rules at face value and extrapolated their effects on society. Any rules are fair game, not just magic.
I was thinking about the Detect Evil/Good/Law/Chaos spells, for example, and it occurred to me that any government would LOVE to have a guaranteed means to identify and malcontents in society. Especially if alignments are real objective magical forces and not just personal worldviews.
A Lawful Good society might, for example, identify any Evil characters and either imprison or execute them BEFORE they have a chance to commit any crime. Chaotics might be sent to a rehab center to be educated on the importance of law for the health of society. Neutrals (of either flavor) might be ignored, profiled, or rehabilitated as well. Of course a Good society might only do this to willing subjects, so everyone else might be given the option of exile instead. Anyone who is rehabilitated would be released only when they detect as Lawful *and* Good. There's no guesswork about who's been "cured" and who hasn't.
It might sound chilling, but then only a non-Lawful, non-Good person would be unhappy with such a state of affairs... If you never break the law or do anything selfish, why would you want your neighbor to be free to do so?
It is easy to imagine the process. First evils are culled out and executed for the good of society. This results in a "good majority." A reformer realizes a lot of money and trouble could be saved on police and legal proceedings if Chaotics are eliminated too. Soon the society has an "LG majority" who sees neutrals as dangerous and unreliable, and popular pressure mounts to do something about it. Once 99% LG is achieved over several centuries, somebody realizes that since everyone is altruistic and trustworthy and hardworking, a moneyless socialist system would eliminate inequality, etc.
A lot of research might go into things like "City Gates of Detect Evil" so you would not be allowed into a city if you had the wrong alignment.
Basically, the government has the means to guarantee that all citizens are Lawful and Good, thus creating a utopia without crime, which pleases the LG citizenry and produces enthusiastic support. Society looks like the Federation from Star Trek. (No, I'm not a socialist; this is fantasy and I'm curious where it leads.)
What of Evil governments? Well, they want to quell dissent and ensure their own power. They probably don't want Good citizens who are likely to rebel against Tyrranny, but they most definitely what obedient Lawful citizens. So they use a similar program (though probably far more brutal in their methods) to create a submissive LN populace. Not quite utopian, but highly lawful and oppressively regulated.
A neutral or chaotic government might not make use of these spells, but since neutrality and chaos are inherently unstable (especially with the flood of Evils and Chaotics fleeing the LG society), I'd expect them to eventually transform into a LG or LN/LE society. Once aligned, the societies would be self-maintaining and would resist re-alignment.
Imagine a LG utopian society. No private property, everyone shares willingly with their neighbor, and the government manages large scale distribution. Everything is free, because everyone gives freely to those in need and nobody is greedy. Money becomes obsolete and is eventually eliminated. The benevolent government could provide free medical benefits (healing and resurrection) to the populace. It might provide a transportation network of free Gates and Portals linking communities. Roads become a thing of the past, transportation and communication is instantaneous. It could take time to build such a system of course. No police are needed, which saves resources; the government instead sponsors high-level commando teams that deal with dissidents and military matters. Magic items are created and distributed by the government on a need-to-use basis, and turned back in after you're finished with them.
Adventurers? No point in looting dungeons in a cashless society. No crime to avenge. Nothing to investigate, since government clerics and wizards can solve nearly any mystery in a matter of hours, and probably do so for free. The LG populace has no taste for gladiatorial combats. Adventurers would probably be either rangers, patrolling the wilderness for monsters and outlaws (with the Portal system, nobody ever goes into the wilderness anymore); or they could be a military unit dealing with external threats. Or they could be merchants, trading with a LN society which does use money.
How about the LN(E) society? Crime still happens here, but it is mostly of the embezzlement variety since nearly everyone is Lawful. The big brother inquisition is everywhere, using Detect Thoughts, Scry, and every other available means to keep tabs on the populace. Weapons are prohibited and punishments are harsh. This one still vaguely resembles the normal D&D world in that it has a money based economy and there are probably plenty of wrongs to avenge. But the government is always breathing down your back, taxes are probably astronomical, and there is little chance for the average citizen to ever get ahead. You can't hide your wealth from the tax collectors, they can find out exactly how much you have and exactly how much you need to survive.
The entire world is accurately mapped, probably topographically, since cartographers can fly or scry. All governments have an aerial military force and magical artillery. Heavy armor and ground troops may be obsolete, since magic missile wands can replace guns. Castles call easily to earthquakes and disintegrate spells, so they are obsolete too. Military intelligence is heavily based on scrying, and no major decision is ever made without at least Augury.
Potions are easy to make, and it seems likely that they would be mass produced. Magical beasts (even dragons) would be farmed to harvest their components.
What are your ideas? What would the world be like, if we took it seriously? Or if you think it would resemble Greyhawk or the Realms, why do you think so?
I was thinking about the Detect Evil/Good/Law/Chaos spells, for example, and it occurred to me that any government would LOVE to have a guaranteed means to identify and malcontents in society. Especially if alignments are real objective magical forces and not just personal worldviews.
A Lawful Good society might, for example, identify any Evil characters and either imprison or execute them BEFORE they have a chance to commit any crime. Chaotics might be sent to a rehab center to be educated on the importance of law for the health of society. Neutrals (of either flavor) might be ignored, profiled, or rehabilitated as well. Of course a Good society might only do this to willing subjects, so everyone else might be given the option of exile instead. Anyone who is rehabilitated would be released only when they detect as Lawful *and* Good. There's no guesswork about who's been "cured" and who hasn't.
It might sound chilling, but then only a non-Lawful, non-Good person would be unhappy with such a state of affairs... If you never break the law or do anything selfish, why would you want your neighbor to be free to do so?
It is easy to imagine the process. First evils are culled out and executed for the good of society. This results in a "good majority." A reformer realizes a lot of money and trouble could be saved on police and legal proceedings if Chaotics are eliminated too. Soon the society has an "LG majority" who sees neutrals as dangerous and unreliable, and popular pressure mounts to do something about it. Once 99% LG is achieved over several centuries, somebody realizes that since everyone is altruistic and trustworthy and hardworking, a moneyless socialist system would eliminate inequality, etc.
A lot of research might go into things like "City Gates of Detect Evil" so you would not be allowed into a city if you had the wrong alignment.
Basically, the government has the means to guarantee that all citizens are Lawful and Good, thus creating a utopia without crime, which pleases the LG citizenry and produces enthusiastic support. Society looks like the Federation from Star Trek. (No, I'm not a socialist; this is fantasy and I'm curious where it leads.)
What of Evil governments? Well, they want to quell dissent and ensure their own power. They probably don't want Good citizens who are likely to rebel against Tyrranny, but they most definitely what obedient Lawful citizens. So they use a similar program (though probably far more brutal in their methods) to create a submissive LN populace. Not quite utopian, but highly lawful and oppressively regulated.
A neutral or chaotic government might not make use of these spells, but since neutrality and chaos are inherently unstable (especially with the flood of Evils and Chaotics fleeing the LG society), I'd expect them to eventually transform into a LG or LN/LE society. Once aligned, the societies would be self-maintaining and would resist re-alignment.
Imagine a LG utopian society. No private property, everyone shares willingly with their neighbor, and the government manages large scale distribution. Everything is free, because everyone gives freely to those in need and nobody is greedy. Money becomes obsolete and is eventually eliminated. The benevolent government could provide free medical benefits (healing and resurrection) to the populace. It might provide a transportation network of free Gates and Portals linking communities. Roads become a thing of the past, transportation and communication is instantaneous. It could take time to build such a system of course. No police are needed, which saves resources; the government instead sponsors high-level commando teams that deal with dissidents and military matters. Magic items are created and distributed by the government on a need-to-use basis, and turned back in after you're finished with them.
Adventurers? No point in looting dungeons in a cashless society. No crime to avenge. Nothing to investigate, since government clerics and wizards can solve nearly any mystery in a matter of hours, and probably do so for free. The LG populace has no taste for gladiatorial combats. Adventurers would probably be either rangers, patrolling the wilderness for monsters and outlaws (with the Portal system, nobody ever goes into the wilderness anymore); or they could be a military unit dealing with external threats. Or they could be merchants, trading with a LN society which does use money.
How about the LN(E) society? Crime still happens here, but it is mostly of the embezzlement variety since nearly everyone is Lawful. The big brother inquisition is everywhere, using Detect Thoughts, Scry, and every other available means to keep tabs on the populace. Weapons are prohibited and punishments are harsh. This one still vaguely resembles the normal D&D world in that it has a money based economy and there are probably plenty of wrongs to avenge. But the government is always breathing down your back, taxes are probably astronomical, and there is little chance for the average citizen to ever get ahead. You can't hide your wealth from the tax collectors, they can find out exactly how much you have and exactly how much you need to survive.
The entire world is accurately mapped, probably topographically, since cartographers can fly or scry. All governments have an aerial military force and magical artillery. Heavy armor and ground troops may be obsolete, since magic missile wands can replace guns. Castles call easily to earthquakes and disintegrate spells, so they are obsolete too. Military intelligence is heavily based on scrying, and no major decision is ever made without at least Augury.
Potions are easy to make, and it seems likely that they would be mass produced. Magical beasts (even dragons) would be farmed to harvest their components.
What are your ideas? What would the world be like, if we took it seriously? Or if you think it would resemble Greyhawk or the Realms, why do you think so?
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