Just Curious: Alignment Restrictions and Game Balance

[Satori]

Chaos as a defining force for perfection.

A split set of theories that comprise the concept of symmetry and logic.

One route states that the world is governed by a set of immutable laws that never change. Similar to this, another theory states that even chaos is controlled through patterns and an organizational force.

This is what I tend towards with a Lawful Monk.

Yet....what if someone truly believed that everything in this world that attempts to maintain shape/order becomes flawed. Groups fall apart, kingdoms crumble, religions defy their own edicts...everything that attempts to develop a routine to their existence falls apart and displays an inherent weakness.

What if said monk had an epiphany upon this thought, and suddenly came to the understanding that perfection is achieved only through the defiance of organization, routine, and structure? Only through the continual chaos that results from randomness can true perfection exist, and only through the emulation of such perfection can an imperfect mortal hope to understand the defining current behind the tide of existence.

A discipline of randomness...training for chaos...unpredictability as a goal...

Wow...I think I just came up with another character idea, and the "Chaos Monk" from "Unorthodox Monks" fits beautifully!

 

[Warden]

alignment is pure flavor

Alignment, as provided, is pure flavour. It can easily be modified to make a more significant impact on the game itself by turning it from a series of morality codes into a force of the multiverse, much as elementals, gods, and apple pie.

 

[Shining Dragon]

Allowing any CE character is a recipe for disaster (unless, of course, you have mature players).

But I don't see any issue with relaxing alignment restrictions on those classes. Except for the problem that a CE Paladin with Detect Good won't find such a power very useful....

 

[Tonguez]

The Drunken Master and King Monkey seem like the classic archetypes of a chaotic monks to me.

I've played a barbarian/psychic warrior whose rage was an internal focus of all his psychic energy to be released through his muscles. It could easily work as a Lawful barbarian

so yeah its all fluff and imho alignment is uneccessary

 

[Shemeska]

Allowing any CE character is a recipe for disaster (unless, of course, you have mature players).

But I don't see any issue with relaxing alignment restrictions on those classes. Except for the problem that a CE Paladin with Detect Good won't find such a power very useful....

The paladin is one where it should be LG, simply because it has always been defined as the upholder of LG as an alignment. The alignment is an intimate part of the class definition, unlike the alignment restrictions on monks, bards, and barbarians. The LG issue with paladins isn't something that randomly cropped up in 3e like only Lawful monks, etc so it makes sense to me. The others don't, at all (though I'd laugh at a person attempting to multiclass barbarian/monk).

 

[Quasqueton]

Alignment, as provided, is pure flavour. It can easily be modified to make a more significant impact on the game itself by turning it from a series of morality codes into a force of the multiverse, much as elementals, gods, and apple pie.

This *is* alignment in D&D, as it is already written.

Quasqueton

 

[Umbran]

Well, the restriction does mean that GMs don't have to worry about arguing about whether the Barbarian/Paladin can rage and smite at the same time...

 

[ThirdWizard]

Well, the restriction does mean that GMs don't have to worry about arguing about whether the Barbarian/Paladin can rage and smite at the same time...

Yeah, but there was a discussion on whether or not a barbarian/ninja can use ki abilities while raging.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Just a note:

It's entirely possible to multiclass barbarian and monk with the rules as is. The only penalty for becoming nonlawful as a monk is that you can no longer take monk levels - and you can't do that if you take other class levels anyway. You lose nothing by having an alignment change too.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

The Drunken Master and King Monkey seem like the classic archetypes of a chaotic monks to me.

You shouldn't have to take a PrC just to play your character concept.