Radical Shift in Alignment Rules midgame. Thoughts? Advice?

[SidusLupus]

I've been running a homebrew game and it's been going along nicely. Eberron has been interesting but has yet to inspire me in anyway to do things with it. The way alignment is handled was interesting but I paid it no mind. Heroes of Horror just came out and I picked it up and like it very much. There are suggestions in the book to make things a little darker by either throwing out alignment or replacing it with taint or what have you.

After reading the suggestions in Heroes of Horror I deceided I'd like to change the way alignment works ingame. Either throw it out or replace it with taint. I'd like to make the departure from the rules in such a fashion as to bring a bit more spice to the game. By making things a little more murky I think it would accentuate the PC victories and make them savor them more.

Currently the game is an open ended adventure as you please kind of thing. There's no overarching plot that they've picked up on which isn't in the way to create a snarl o

What I'm hung up on (besides the the players saying yes) is would it be bad to make a sweeping change like this in the middle of an established game? Should I perhaps put it on hold and wait for a new beginning to do it?

Also, besides the obvious alignment based spells and abilities which would need mechanical changes, what things do i need to consider about such a change? How does one handle outsiders with alignment subtypes?

If you've done it, how did you handle the departure?

Comments and Advice appreciated.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Well, I'd say first and foremost is speaking to your players. If they don't mind making such changes in mid-campaign, great. If they do, though, you're better off waiting until you start a new campaign, rather than alienating the rest of the group.

 

[SidusLupus]

Yeah, I sent them an email outlining my thoughts first =)

So far they seem very amicable to the idea.

Oh, and kudos on the book btw.

 

[Mouseferatu]

Yeah, I sent them an email outlining my thoughts first =)

So far they seem very amicable to the idea.

Oh, and kudos on the book btw.

Thank you.

To delive a little deeper into your question, it's worth noting that I tend to be fairly alignment-lax in my own games. I still use it, but it's a lot more of a guideline than a rule. Essentially, I use the "behavioral alignment" option, whether or not I'm running a horror game.

I haven't seen too great an impact. The character still make occasional use of abilities like detect evil, they just know not to rely on it, since it's not always accurate. And they know, too, that if they ever get an overwhelming result, they're dealing with something really scary, like a demon or something else of innate evil.

I tend to use the protection from evil spell as protection from hostility as well, again without any major impact.

Now, I should point out that what I've seen in my group isn't necessarily representative. We're all fairly rules-light players, and my players don't tend to make a lot of use of divinations. So, as always, YMMV.

 

[Conaill]

If your players are ok with the change, and alignment hasn't really played much of a role so far, I see no reason you couldn't switch mid-game. Just act as if that's the way the world has always worked...

 

[Umbran]

If the players like the idea, then that's all you need.

The only reason to not make such a change is that it would muck with the underlying assumptions upon which some of the PCs may hinge. If none of the plaerys feel it makes things bad for them, you can go ahead, I think.

 

[fusangite]

Don't formally replace the rule. Just stop paying attention to it. Let it die of neglect.

 

[Li Shenron]

Also, besides the obvious alignment based spells and abilities which would need mechanical changes, what things do i need to consider about such a change? How does one handle outsiders with alignment subtypes?

Maybe you don't really need to change these spells or similar ability that works on alignment. Just start describing them in a slightly more free way.

Characters still refer to themselves with words like "good", "evil", but with taint rules they probably start watching practical consequences on those who shift towards what they call evil. If it helps, you may erase the alignment from the character sheet, without changing the IC situation.

A spell like "Detect Evil" still detects evil from the character point of view, while the DM knows it actually detects creature with a taint score, while "Detect Good" detects creature without a taint score, for example.