Quasqueton
First Post
Do you prefer playing D&D with black and white morality, or shades of gray?
Note the qualifier "mostly" in the poll choices.
Quasqueton
Note the qualifier "mostly" in the poll choices.
Quasqueton
Morality in your D&D - b&w or gray?
- Thread starter Quasqueton
- Start date
JackGiantkiller
First Post
You don't have a poll...
But when playing D&D I prefer black and white. Evil is Evil, Good is Good, and most people know which is which. The Paladin crusades for the Right, and if the Gods say (via Detect Evil) that someone is smite-worthy, then you damn well smite them.
I play other systems for my shades of grey.
edit: i jumped the gun (not the shark...) you now have a poll. Sorry.
But when playing D&D I prefer black and white. Evil is Evil, Good is Good, and most people know which is which. The Paladin crusades for the Right, and if the Gods say (via Detect Evil) that someone is smite-worthy, then you damn well smite them.
I play other systems for my shades of grey.
edit: i jumped the gun (not the shark...) you now have a poll. Sorry.
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mhacdebhandia
Explorer
I prefer moral questions to be ambiguous. It's easy to say that the evil cult sacrificing people in the sewers to awaken the Rat Queen must be destroyed; as much as I love that sort of game, in the long term I prefer conflict to arise from tensions that can't easily be resolved.
Imret
First Post
I find the "mostly" important there. To borrow the cult of the rat queen example, that's the kind of thing that most people don't approve of, but I let the PC's chart their own course through the muddied waters of motive. Do they track down the cult and slay them because they're horrified at human sacrifice? Maybe because the mayor wants the killings to stop, and pays in gold? Because a friend or relative was sacrificed? Because the Rat Queen is clearly subservient to the God of Vermin and Rot worshipped by the PC's, and these heretical upstarts must be taught a lesson (so yeah, clearly, I'm okay with PC's of pretty ambiguous morality)? Because they really like killing things and taking loot, and the guards will encourage them murdering the cult instead of merchants?
That's for them to decide. Even if the PC's aren't heroes, they're still the stars of the show. I'm just here to window-dress their stories and make some outside conflict occur.
Edit: As Crothian posted while I was typing mine, he made a point I hadn't thought of. The gods are either Good (defined as, if not in fact benevolent, at least not hostile to mortal life) or Evil (hostile to the concept of mortal life, wishing them only misery and pain). Mortals, however, unless they bring those essences into themselves (by being able to cast divine spells), are just mortals, like playing pieces on a board. You can't Smite the burglar or the tax collector, but the Priests of the Void are itchin' for holy anger.
That's for them to decide. Even if the PC's aren't heroes, they're still the stars of the show. I'm just here to window-dress their stories and make some outside conflict occur.
Edit: As Crothian posted while I was typing mine, he made a point I hadn't thought of. The gods are either Good (defined as, if not in fact benevolent, at least not hostile to mortal life) or Evil (hostile to the concept of mortal life, wishing them only misery and pain). Mortals, however, unless they bring those essences into themselves (by being able to cast divine spells), are just mortals, like playing pieces on a board. You can't Smite the burglar or the tax collector, but the Priests of the Void are itchin' for holy anger.
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WayneLigon
Adventurer
Mostly black and white. What 'gray' we use is mainly for flavoring, not something that normally happens. Outside of D&D, our games are generally more gray but not a great deal so more. Certainly milage will vary but in almost every D&D game I've been in where the DM said 'I want a more morally gray world', what he got was an 'everyone is evil' world.
MerakSpielman
First Post
Black and white for purposes of determining alignment.
However, each religion has its own list of virtues and desirable traits. Following those - doing the "right" or "good" thing in the eyes of that diety - doesn't necessarily mean the character is doing the "right" or "good" thing in terms of alignment, but it might be the right thing to do to enter eternal paradise in that deity's realm after death.
However, each religion has its own list of virtues and desirable traits. Following those - doing the "right" or "good" thing in the eyes of that diety - doesn't necessarily mean the character is doing the "right" or "good" thing in terms of alignment, but it might be the right thing to do to enter eternal paradise in that deity's realm after death.
Jupp
Explorer
I like it gray(hawk)
I think a game where the border between evil and good is washed and not too clear gives the players more freedom to try out new things and they can have a wider spectrum of possibilites on how to react to game situations. For the DM it is more interesting because he can add new obstacles that are not seen as such in the beginning but they slowly evolve into them. And it will be more interesting to see how the players will decide which side to choose when the good and the evil are not that clearly seen as such.
I think a game where the border between evil and good is washed and not too clear gives the players more freedom to try out new things and they can have a wider spectrum of possibilites on how to react to game situations. For the DM it is more interesting because he can add new obstacles that are not seen as such in the beginning but they slowly evolve into them. And it will be more interesting to see how the players will decide which side to choose when the good and the evil are not that clearly seen as such.
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