LordEntrails
Hero
First, love the delve into History Snarf.In effect, Gygax did what Gygax often did- he created rules and a superstructure around yet another part of the game
Now, how many folks actually used all these minor mini-game systems? I know we tended to ignore them.
Except for magic and magic items, which we used, did anyone actually use these mini-games? Specifically the bonuses and penalties for "playing your alignment"? Again, we didn't. Just like we didn't give fireballs a 300-yard radius when outdoors.Between this and the training bonuses/penalties for roleplaying your alignment (DMG 86), alignment had massive mechanical functions throughout the game, in addition to the uses and restrictions for spells and magic items.
But see, for us, I would rather know that a PC has anger issues than they are Chaotic Good. Anger issues gives me a lot more go on with role playing than a generic CG label ever has.BIFTs on the other hand are specific statements with no bearing in any common understanding. Its a series of 4 sentences of particular characteristics that somehow make up an entire personality (which is not something I have been able to boil down any of my RPG characters to). In practice, nobody could recall the BIFTs of anybody else in any but the most simplistic of terms. PC1 has anger issues, PC2 likes books, etc.. The GM has to recall them all, or as I experienced just ignore them. I didnt find them particularly useful as a game aid or as a role playing guide. YMMV.
Wasn't that only for PCs? NPCs still had the 9+unaligned possibilities right?4e detoured into a five point alignment after 1e-3e nine point.