Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 6460162" data-attributes="member: 3192">Alignment is a descriptor of behavior. Just like the Ability Scores they are not scripts for the players to perform a personality. Alignment used to shift depending upon the actions the players took with their PCs in the game. Kill enough good people with your character and your PC will become evil. That is what their alignment will show. It isn't how the player must play their character. It isn't about what your personality is. It definitely isn't describing who the player "really is" in a moral sense. It's simply a game stat that enables the DM to run a game where the multiverse acts differently toward them depending on each one's alignment. It mostly tells DMs how NPCs behave. But it's in the game as a realm, a game system, for clerics to explore how a particular fantasy ethic works within a fantasy world. The player improves their Cleric character by gaining Cleric XP when they take actions demonstrating their understanding and mastery of the alignment system. Just like Fighters with HP, AC, and To Hit tables. And Magic Users with all those spell stats and the Saving Throw chart. Different systems for different classes to master.Which is all to say, if you don't like Alignment or don't use it (5th doesn't include much by default at all for Alignment) then chuck it. 5th has made this very easy. But IMO removing stuff shrinks the game. Like removing some of the "non-combat" stuff from earlier editions made D&D more about combat for awhile, but now some is now back as well as some new stuff. Removing stuff limits what the game includes. Without Alignment studying and practicing behavior in a "grand scheme" way is no longer possible and Clerics tend to become default Gish fighters without any other opportunities.If you do remove Alignment, you might want to think about swinging 5E's "Interaction" pillar in the Cleric's direction to compensate. Just so they have something more their own in the game world again. Your call.</blockquote>

Verification