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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shades of Green" data-source="post: 2981058" data-attributes="member: 3297">I was thinking about a similar idea. I woudn't remove alignment altogather, but blur it significantly. Most mortals (including most non-outsider, non-dragon monsters) don't have alignments; outsiders have clear alignments (though Good vs. Evil is usually outshadowed by Law vs. Chaos), gods (actually very powerful outsiders/spirits) tend to have very clear alignments, Dragons and most sentient undead have alignments, but these aren't that strict, and they do have a significant amount of free will and variation outside their alignments.Most mortals, unlike outsiders, have free wills, and, in most cases, are redeemable even if they do very bad things; culture and upbringing are far more significant to them than alignment, but even those could be broken from with enough willpower and determination. Thus, most mortals lack alignments, even most criminals lack it - Evil (as an alignment) is not just stealing, lying and even killing, it is *demonic*; a criminal becomes Evil by his actions and choices only if those would befit a demon, not a petty thief or cheater (or even an armed brigand who ends up slitting the throat of a guard or two to get to the loot). Greed isn't evil; it is a bad personality characteristic on its own. Other than in performing extreme deeds, mortals get clear alignments only if they fully ally themselves with outsiders - these are paladins, monks, blackguards and priests, as well as wizards who strike deals with demons. Even in this cases, the aura of evil, good, law or chaos is weak at the first levels, but at higher levels a paladin would have the aura of an angel and a blackguard would have the aura of a demon. Think of my alignment idea as a variant on the (2E) ravenloft Taint (if I recall the term correctly, that was a LONG time ago), but going in BOTH directions - you could fall down the slippery slope of Evil, but you could also climb the steep road to Good.I've used the term "Paladin" abouve liberally; actually, in my world there is no single "Paladin" class, but instead holy warriors of various gods, who are similar to paladins but each having a moral code, an alignment and abilities related to that god. I'd probably replace "Smite Evil" by another ability dependent on the god.</blockquote>

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