What Alignment system do you use now?

[Shemeska]

Even if I ever ran a game using the 4e ruleset, I'd still use a 9 alignment system if I was running a planar campaign, simply because some of the PCs and many NPCs are or are in part, physical manifestations of those alignments. It's heavily integrated into the baseline flavor and metaphysics of the campaign, so it's nonsensical in that situation to remove them when they have both a flavor role and a mechanical role within the game.

 

[Dragonhelm]

I think what folks are saying here (at least it's what I'm saying and how I understand the others) is that you can still have this dichotomy under the Unaligned umbrella. If one of them acts in a way consistent with the old description of LN, and the other with CN, then the conflict is still there, even if both say Unaligned next to their names.

It's true, you can still have that, but it seems to lose a little something, IMO. I'm afraid that people will look at these deities as a couple of neutral deities, rather than being on the opposite end of the spectrum in their neutrality.

 

[chintznibbles]

My problem with alignments is that they've always been way too abstract and cliquish. They actively stifle characterization in my view.

"Why'd you beat that guy up?"
A. "cuz im evil lolz"
or
B. "because he was pretty clearly evil, and I'm good!"

And yet, the act performed is the same. People don't care or think about their actual motivations, it's just a name. Which team you're on. Sure, the base meanings of good and evil are amalgamations of personal ethics and real-world comparisons; people inform their idea of "good" based on their own ideas of how good things should be, and generally evil is simply an antithesis to this, but in the end it just comes down to whether you want to rebel against the establishment in some way or "do the right thing", whatever that means.

I usually use the system from D20 modern. Players are required to disclose four or five things, in decreasing order of importance, that they find important and devote themselves to. If good or evil (or law or chaos) has a place on that scale, then that's fine, but it is in this case clearly a personally-defined philosophical concept, not an overwhelming force.

(Okay, going over this, I'm pretty sure my perspective is mostly based on the actions of the players I've had over the years, who have chiefly been of the hack-and-slash variety (for whatever reason). Maybe I'd have a different view if I'd looked in the drama clubs and such...)

 

[celloshane]

I'm kind of with Umbran in that being able to "turn on" a full-on option is good for me, though I don't want to HAVE to use it. 3e was a pretty good middle ground -- when I go to my "full 9" 4e campaign, I will have to add in effects like the 3e alignment spells. Thankfully, it shouldn't be too hard to add that into 4e.

Ideally (for myself) 4e would have included the 9 + Unaligned. I saw no reason to cut down the chart except that the designers intentionally wanted to de-emphasize Law and Chaos to focus on Good and Evil. Adding Unaligned in was kind of a "Doh" moment for me; I was already using it, but I hadn't bothered to codify it into an alignment choice. I always gave PC's in my games a healthy amount of leeway on following their alignment, but what I miss in 4e is the spells and effects that interacted with alignment. I'd love to have guidelines to add those back in.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

My problem with alignments is that they've always been way too abstract and cliquish. They actively stifle characterization in my view.

"Why'd you beat that guy up?"
A. "cuz im evil lolz"
or
B. "because he was pretty clearly evil, and I'm good!"

This is a player problem, not a game or alignment problem.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

Add me to the "Set alignment, Forget alignment" pile.

If I may ask, what is the point of having an alignment system if it doesn't impact the game?

Because it's a sacred cow from older editions.
Just like Use Rope skill and Knowledge: Architecture skills
(I do miss Architecture though, it's better than Dungeoneering).

The old 9-point system was good for flavor, but it gets me thinking about Diablo II alignment system...
My Diablo 2 Alignment system would be:
: Party up
: Mass slaying of monsters (and there are lots of them)
: Do easy quests and get treated like kings and stuff
: Feel good in your cool (albient hacked) armor and item sets

God I miss the D2 days. A Diablo 2 alignment system would be much better, and fit Points-Of-Light setting better.

 

[Jhaelen]

When I play 3.x, I use the 3.x alignment system.

When I play 4e, I use the 4e alignment system - since the 4e alignment system has no mechanical impact, I find this equates to not having an alignment system at all.

I actually like having a system that has no real alignment to speak of, and another in which morals and ethics are palpable forces in the universe. It gives me a choice of flavors.

Ditto, ditto, and ditto