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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8051151" data-attributes="member: 5142">There is a discussion <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/wotcs-jeremy-crawford-talks-d-d-alignment-changes.673029/" target="_blank">here</a> regarding alignment. Needless to say, opinions are divided on the utility of alignment. Shocker. I would like to use this thread, however, to brainstorm some possible ideas I had about how to make alignment and inspiration both more meaningful in 5e play. It's kinda well-acknowledged by this point that alignment does not have much mechanical weight in this edition. I vaguely recall the comment somewhere that in 5e a cleric's magic items care about their alignment more than their god does. Why Inspiration? Because it's also kinda vestigial to play, with some people loving it, but often kinda "meh" at most tables for various reasons. I also think that Alignment and Inspiration could potentially reinforce each other better while addressing a few criticisms that people have of both. But first, let's talk about the Great Wheel. The Great Wheel provides a backdrop for the mythos of D&D and where its cosmic forces of evil, chaos, law, and good transpires. So let's lean into that for both Alignment and Inspiration. The cosmic forces of Evil, Good, Law, and Chaos want to "win" and bring free-willed mortals to their respective sides. So they try to induct mortals who further their goals by showing them their favor. (Here I am admittedly implying a potential agency to these cosmic forces that may be utterly lacking. However, one could easily imagine that a warlock's patron or cleric's deity may be active agents in this process.) PCs devote themselves (or not) to an alignment (or two). Choosing an alignment is not so much about choosing your character's MBTI or astrological sign. It's about actively choosing your character's allegiance to the various cosmic forces. Whose cosmic favor are you, O Mortal One, trying to court? The forces of Chaos, Law, Good, or Evil? Because these cosmic forces are far more substantial than the inhabitants of the planes themselves, even the gods and demon princes. A character who is Chaotic Neutral is devoting themselves to Chaos. A character who is Lawful Good is devoting themselves to Law AND Good. So how does Inspiration factor into this? It's the subtle way in which cosmic powers bestow their favor on mortals. To reinforce this idea, let's rename inspiration to favor. PCs can gain favor by committing acts, deeds, and the like in the service of their allied forces. One possible way to handle this is in a similar manner as per Dungeon World. In DW, characters devote themselves to an alignment. (Though class availability varies, these can either be Good, Law, Neutral, Evil, or Chaos, but not blended alignments like Chaotic Good, or Lawful Evil, etc.). At the end of the session characters gain bonus XP for performing the class-derived method for adhering to an alignment. For example, below is the alignment entry for DW clerics: In this brainstormed proposal, players may gain Favor for likewise demonstrating allegiance to the four cosmic alignments (Chaos, Law, Good, Evil) via either class-derived or other methods. This ties Inspiration/Favor into the cosmology of the Great Wheel and its constituent alignment forces. It becomes less of a meta-currency rewarded by the GM and spent by the player (for who knows what?) and more about the feedback relationship between the player and their place in the Universe. A character may devote themselves to up to two forces via their alignment. A Neutral Good character devotes themselves solely to Good. A Chaotic Evil character devotes themselves to Chaos and Evil. A Neutral character does not devote themselves to any of the cosmic forces.  Here, I am imagining that Neutrality is less a cosmic force in itself and more a byproduct of the Great Wheel. This does mean, however, that a character devoted to two of these forces has potentially more ways to garner favor than a character devoted to one or none of these forces. Also, there are some potential reasons why I'm thinking of not having Neutrality be something that one devotes oneself to. The reason for that pertains to my next point. Consequences: By earning and using your cosmic favor to further the interests of your "cosmic patrons," you are yourself becoming saturated with that cosmic force. This is what lets you activate alignment-based magic items. This may come with benefits as your favor increases with your benefactors, it also decreases with your benefactors cosmic opponents. You become a greater nuisance to their interests, and they will have a greater invested interest in stopping you as an agent of their enemies. Thus, if one devotes themselves to two alignments (e.g., Law and Good) then that character will have at least two opposing factions to deal with. This is a part of the potential risk/reward of the alignment feedback loop. The "extreme" alignments (e.g., LG, CE, LE, CG) come with greater risks to compensate for their greater opportunities to garner Favor. This is why I'm kinda okay with Neutrality not getting anything. It represents the character not playing the alignment game or trying to take an allied stance with these cosmic powers. So they don't get Favor, but they also don't risk "disfavor" with other factions. But if players can earn Inspiration with a more player-facing mechanic, such as performing some good class-based deed or what not, what is the drawback? Here I also have in mind the possible idea of a Countdown Clock for players with alignment. When the player earns Favor with one faction/alignment, the GM ticks a countdown clock with the opposing alignment/faction. I also am thinking that when a player uses Favor/Inspiration, the GM gets their own that they can spend on enemies with the opposing alignment. So a player spending their favor to ease their challenges can also be used by the GM for further challenges. I am also now musing about the idea of players being about to make "cosmic bargains" (much as Devil's Bargains in Blades in the Dark) that provide a potential short-term gain at the cost of a long-term consequence. Again, half-baked, but if there must be alignment in this game, I would rather see it in a more palpable form that is based in and reinforced by the fiction and its gameplay in a way more meaningful than MBTI "what your alignment says about you" mumbo-jumbo.</blockquote>

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