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<blockquote data-quote="Afrodyte" data-source="post: 4945133" data-attributes="member: 8713">Precisely, which is why alignment as a system seems fundamentally flawed from the start. It presents a person's ethics in a sort of mathematical way, where good deeds earn &quot;points&quot; while bad deeds take away &quot;points&quot;, and the sum total is your moral compass. People are more complex than that; they can be both at the same time - even in contradictory ways. Greedy people can be charitable. The same people running companies that use sweat shop labor to cut prices also donate millions to philanthropic causes every year. There are people who are merciless toward their spouses or children but would never harm an animal. D&amp;D's alignment system doesn't really allow for that kind of complexity, even though the mythological and literary inspirations are filled with flawed heroes who, at certain times, seem more like villains.For this reason, I'm more of a fan of White Wolf's Virtues and Vices because it more accurately describes tragic flaws and saving graces. Virtues and vices also give people the ability to choose when to apply which ones.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Afrodyte, post: 4945133, member: 8713"] Precisely, which is why alignment as a system seems fundamentally flawed from the start. It presents a person's ethics in a sort of mathematical way, where good deeds earn "points" while bad deeds take away "points", and the sum total is your moral compass. People are more complex than that; they can be both at the same time - even in contradictory ways. Greedy people can be charitable. The same people running companies that use sweat shop labor to cut prices also donate millions to philanthropic causes every year. There are people who are merciless toward their spouses or children but would never harm an animal. D&D's alignment system doesn't really allow for that kind of complexity, even though the mythological and literary inspirations are filled with flawed heroes who, at certain times, seem more like villains. For this reason, I'm more of a fan of White Wolf's Virtues and Vices because it more accurately describes tragic flaws and saving graces. Virtues and vices also give people the ability to choose when to apply which ones. [/QUOTE]

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