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I don't get the dislike of alignment as a character-building concept
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<blockquote data-quote="Aurumvorax" data-source="post: 5709436" data-attributes="member: 87266"><p>^^^I've also adapted D20 Modern and Conan's oath/organization system. You believe in THIS so this is how you behave. If you falter in your beliefs, you have no one to blame but yourself. No invisible hand is there to wag "no, no" when you fail but other people might hear about you and think differently of you if they believe the same thing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And if they don't? How do you determine what their goal is and for that matter how can you tell if it's something truly comic-book style nefarious like "annihilation of all life?" If a band of goblins have to raid travelers for supplies because they live in a barren area and no human civilization would ever let them settle or trade, are their actions not justified as preservation of life? If you replace "monsters" with adventurers, suddenly you have a situation where the heroes are trying to annihilate the goblins and the goblins must defend themselves. Should the adventurers know this? Is it feasible for them to take the time to find out? Should the game be jeopardized because players are more afraid of acting out of character -- playing the damn game -- than whatever challenges the DM can throw at them?</p><p></p><p>This is why alignment as a mechanic is pointless to me. It's impossible to tell what the enemy's goals and intentions are, it's impossible for the DM to judge what the player's goals are, and it's impossible for all situations to be uniform because of how D&D's alignment functions. No player should be penalized, no paladin should fall, no levels should be lost, and no spells should be off limits because only the DM can possibly comprehend the result of the character's actions. This is why I encourage my players not to use alignment as anything other than their character's general disposition. "I'm a lawful good guy so I try to live up to these standards but may fall once in a while." I don't ask any more and don't penalize for going out of character because it's expected.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aurumvorax, post: 5709436, member: 87266"] ^^^I've also adapted D20 Modern and Conan's oath/organization system. You believe in THIS so this is how you behave. If you falter in your beliefs, you have no one to blame but yourself. No invisible hand is there to wag "no, no" when you fail but other people might hear about you and think differently of you if they believe the same thing. And if they don't? How do you determine what their goal is and for that matter how can you tell if it's something truly comic-book style nefarious like "annihilation of all life?" If a band of goblins have to raid travelers for supplies because they live in a barren area and no human civilization would ever let them settle or trade, are their actions not justified as preservation of life? If you replace "monsters" with adventurers, suddenly you have a situation where the heroes are trying to annihilate the goblins and the goblins must defend themselves. Should the adventurers know this? Is it feasible for them to take the time to find out? Should the game be jeopardized because players are more afraid of acting out of character -- playing the damn game -- than whatever challenges the DM can throw at them? This is why alignment as a mechanic is pointless to me. It's impossible to tell what the enemy's goals and intentions are, it's impossible for the DM to judge what the player's goals are, and it's impossible for all situations to be uniform because of how D&D's alignment functions. No player should be penalized, no paladin should fall, no levels should be lost, and no spells should be off limits because only the DM can possibly comprehend the result of the character's actions. This is why I encourage my players not to use alignment as anything other than their character's general disposition. "I'm a lawful good guy so I try to live up to these standards but may fall once in a while." I don't ask any more and don't penalize for going out of character because it's expected. [/QUOTE]
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I don't get the dislike of alignment as a character-building concept
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