D&D General Rethinking alignment yet again

[Cadence]

Also don't forget: alignment is worthless because it doesn't tell us whether or not they like pineapple on their pizza.

It certainly does!

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It certainly does!

Anti pineapple: Lawful
Pro pineapple: Chaotic

 

[Cadence]

Anti pineapple: Lawful
Pro Pineapple: Chaotic

I assume this is B/X alignment

 

[Crimson Longinus]

The Devil is an invention that predates us by a bit more than two thousand years and yet there are people actively believing it will come to tempt them and blame him for all sorts of thing... A scarecrow is still a scarecrow.

Taking bad experiences from the past and putting them back to the front is a thing that happens all the time on various experiences and topics. This is nothing new. We have a say in French: "A cat burned by hot water fears cold water". In other words, if it looks like something that hurt you; there's a big chance you will not even go near it. This is what we are seeing.

My opposition of alignment is not due such bad experiences, I just feel alignment is painfully dumb and the game would be better without it. It is a terrible way to characterise things to begin with, and it fosters simplistic us vs them narratives and often is used justification for uncomfortable apologism for (fictional) racial violence.

 

[Micah Sweet]

My opposition of alignment is not due such bad experiences, I just feel alignment is painfully dumb and the game would be better without it. It is a terrible way to characterise things to begin with, and it fosters simplistic us vs them narratives and often is used justification for uncomfortable apologism for (fictional) racial violence.

If people like something, that has been in the game for a long time, is the cornerstone of a beloved setting (Planescape), is deeply entrenched in pop culture, and is actually useful to many people, it should not be wholly removed. As has been said many times, if you don't like it, don't use it.

 

[Oofta]

My opposition of alignment is not due such bad experiences, I just feel alignment is painfully dumb and the game would be better without it. It is a terrible way to characterise things to begin with, and it fosters simplistic us vs them narratives and often is used justification for uncomfortable apologism for (fictional) racial violence.

Some of us want simplistic 80% of the time. D&D is often an escape from the real world, sometimes I want it to be simple. Even if ... actually especially if ... real world morality is a quagmire. Well, except for pineapple on pizza. Chaotic. Definitely chaotic.

 

[Helldritch]

Also don't forget: alignment is worthless because it doesn't tell us whether or not they like pineapple on their pizza.

Pineapple on pizza is EVIL to the CORE! Anchovies are the way to heaven and goodness!
Mark my words, anyone who puts pineapple on their holy pizza only want to desecrate pizza!

 

[Helldritch]

My opposition of alignment is not due such bad experiences, I just feel alignment is painfully dumb and the game would be better without it. It is a terrible way to characterise things to begin with, and it fosters simplistic us vs them narratives and often is used justification for uncomfortable apologism for (fictional) racial violence.

Racial violence is part of games without alignments too. Even more so than I ever thought possible. There is a reason I do not play some games. I have seen horrors that alignments would have refrained, made impossible to do without losing the character (remember my no Evil policy?). I am not going to talk about these bad experiences with alignmentless systems in any details but believe me, I would be instabanned just retelling what I saw. Alignment can be very good to stop these stupidities.

 

[RuinousPowers]

You clearly seem to just not like alignment. That's fine. Enjoy not using it in your own game, and let other people use it in theirs. Some people clearly find worth in it (like me).

Relax friend, I promise I won't sneak into your home and erase alignment from all your books.

 

[Vaalingrade]

"Don't like it' don't use it"

~Looks at other places on the forum and in thi thread that celebrate DMs ruling with an iron fist and kicking people out for not respecting their authoritah~

Yup. That's a thing everyone can choose.