shadow
First Post
I finally have got around to writing up my homebrew system that has been put on the backburner for many years. I decided to scrap a lot of traditional D&D conventions, but still maintain the d20 mechanics. One of the things that has been a sticking point, however, is how to handle alignment. I never been a fan of the traditional alignment system; it never made much sense to me (the weird law vs chaos axis has led to countless debates). I thought of scrapping alignment all together, but I want ethical choices to be part of my campaign. Let me explain some fundamental ideas of the world I am creating:
I am creating a somewhat dark world where characters have to walk the straight and narrow path and resist being tempted into corruption. Good and evil definately exist in opposition to each other, but evil is insidious because it is often so easy and seems so "justified" at the time. Villains aren't evil because they worship dark gods and do human sacrifices (well...those villains might exist, but are rare), but rather because they seek something they want (money, fame, etc.) without thinking those which are hurt. It's not always easy for heroes to do the right thing, but there are consequences for all actions.
Rather than a fixed alignment, I have been thinking about a morality scale (kind of like WoD's humanity scale). Another idea is the idea of corruption (kind of like Star War's Dark Side or Ravenloft Dark Power checks), but I don't like the idea of players "falling" after a fixed number of checks. Finally, I have been thinking about having different areas of ethics such as honesty, mercy, humility, and honor. That would deal with problems created by a single axis system (e.g. a character with low honor wouldn't necessarily be inclined to murder), but it would be very difficult to keep track of. Also, I need to be strict enough with a system to make it important, but not so strict as to be "preachy".
Of course, there is also the problem with players. Some players I know really like the idea of role-playing honor, morality, and ethical dilemma, but other players just want to hack and slash.
Your thoughts?
I am creating a somewhat dark world where characters have to walk the straight and narrow path and resist being tempted into corruption. Good and evil definately exist in opposition to each other, but evil is insidious because it is often so easy and seems so "justified" at the time. Villains aren't evil because they worship dark gods and do human sacrifices (well...those villains might exist, but are rare), but rather because they seek something they want (money, fame, etc.) without thinking those which are hurt. It's not always easy for heroes to do the right thing, but there are consequences for all actions.
Rather than a fixed alignment, I have been thinking about a morality scale (kind of like WoD's humanity scale). Another idea is the idea of corruption (kind of like Star War's Dark Side or Ravenloft Dark Power checks), but I don't like the idea of players "falling" after a fixed number of checks. Finally, I have been thinking about having different areas of ethics such as honesty, mercy, humility, and honor. That would deal with problems created by a single axis system (e.g. a character with low honor wouldn't necessarily be inclined to murder), but it would be very difficult to keep track of. Also, I need to be strict enough with a system to make it important, but not so strict as to be "preachy".
Of course, there is also the problem with players. Some players I know really like the idea of role-playing honor, morality, and ethical dilemma, but other players just want to hack and slash.
Your thoughts?
