What is your alignment?

[kdogg3403]

I wanted to run this past you all and see if this player would still be considered good alignment.

Our party came across a group of hobgoblins attacking a halfling. The good aligned player told them to halt. Upon hearing his words the hobgoblins looked up and were startled by our group and proceeded to run away. After checking on the halfling we learned that the hobgoblins that were attacking him were in fact slave traders.

The good player, wanting to take out this evil creatures, decided to set off after them. (Somehow, even though they took off on foot 5 mintues ahead of us, it took us an hour to catch up to them on horseback. But that's a mater for the DM. )

So we see them running ahead of us on the road. The good player takes his horse and runs through them instantly killing two of the 5, and blooding another with his bow after he stopped in front of them.

After the "battle" was over, I looked over at him and said in jest, "I'm not sure but I think you just took some negative alignment points for that one."

His defense was that he is a good aligned player and they are evil creatures who are even more evil because they are slave traders.

So does attacking someone who has their back to you, that is no imediate threat to you or your party fall in line with being of good alignment? Even if they are evil creatures? Or am I confusing lawful good with good?

Again, this is more my curiosity thatn anything, I found the whole thing just rather funny. I kept picturing Neverwinter Knights when you would do something that went against your alignment and the negative points would show up over head.

 

[Regicide]

Trick question, 4E doesn't have alignment.

Trick question. 4E doesn't have facing.

And evil, slave trading creatures are ALWAYS a threat to you even with their back turned. If something wants to eat you, kill you and/or capture you to enslave you, does it matter if they're fleeing? Let them go and you take evil points for all the people butchered, raped, eaten and enslaved in the next town.

 

[Holy Bovine]

So does attacking someone who has their back to you, that is no imediate threat to you or your party fall in line with being of good alignment? Even if they are evil creatures? Or am I confusing lawful good with good?

Is the guy honour bound by some code or something? If so it may have been ever so slightly against a LG alignment to attack them unchallenged. Just because he doesn't give every evil scumbag slaver a fair chance in a fight does not make him even slightly evil. I'd congratulate the PC (as DM) on putting a dent in the slave trade in the area and call it a good act.

Trick question, 4E doesn't have alignment.

It doesn't? Then what does the alignment section of my character sheet and PHB mean then?

 

[Oompa]

Maybe the way he did was not okay, but if you look at good vs evil, he did his job..

When he saw them he may could have warned them first "Stop you lousy slavers" and if they stopped maybe he could apprehend them, if they didn't stop he could stop them the hard way (what he did with running them over)

When good aligned, it is not wrong to kill, it's just how you justify it..

Killing a bunch of gnolls because you think they are merciless SOB's who do slave trade is evil.

Kiling a bunch of gnolls because you know they are merciless SOB's who do slave trade is good.

(This all comes from a perspective in the D&D world, not reall world good vs evil)

 

[LostSoul]

The answer is: he's whatever alignment he thinks he is.

Thankfully, 4E dropped the simulationism and didn't dictate moral choices for PCs.

The question is: what are you going to do about it?

 

[babinro]

I've always thought the idea of alignments were silly. Players are free to roleplay in whatever manner they feel is appropriate. It is their actions that dictate the consequences/rewards they receive.

Having said that, the only use for alignment is in general party makeup (party is composed or generally good people for example)...so to minimize silly inter party conflict that can easily ruin the overall game. If the game progresses in a way that the 'good' party starts performing acts that other people in the world consider to be 'wrong', then the consequences begin to arise from said actions.

 

[-Avalon-]

"[It] is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules"

Alignment is now how the character is perceived by the majority of people of the world... I still think alignment should be what the majority of your own people think of you though...

In this case, he is ONLY a good guy, good guys are allowed to ambush people, play dirty tricks, sand in the eyes, whatever... as long as they are doing things for the greater good of the world...

Lawful Good guys would most likely have a form of conflict they stick to, IE call out the name of his opponent before approaching, make sure both combatants have weapons, only fight on even ground so there is no unfair advantage, whatever... this is the reason people hate playing lawful good for the most part and is also the reason they got the nickname "Lawful Stupid" around where I live. (btw, I love playing LG, its more fun and challenging)

So, your guy who basically ambushed 5 slavers... that was a good act, not a "lawful" good act though... but who said anything about laws? lol, he may be a robin hood type and do a lot of ambushing

 

[Ryujin]

He destroyed an evil threat by using an expedient manner. He didn't torture them. He didn't kill them after they surrendered. He didn't chase them and terrorize them with taunts before killing them.The act of killing isn't necessarily evil; the motives and means play heavily into it. In this case the means was morally neutral, while the goal was good.

Keep in mind that in 4e there are no game mechanics to penalize actions that are out of alignment bounds. The only means are social. A Paladin of Pelor who goes on a murderous serial killing rampage retains all of his powers but would likely be hunted down and killed by his fellow Paladins, and would find no solace in Pelor's churches.

 

[Regicide]

It doesn't? Then what does the alignment section of my character sheet and PHB mean then?

Cross out your character's alignment and replace it with the opposite. What has changed? Nothing.

 

[Flipguarder]

Cross out your character's alignment and replace it with the opposite. What has changed? Nothing.

I honestly disagree with this. If you think that role-playing seriously has no place in this game, than you have been playing the wrong game.

You seem pretty bitter about this. Any paticular reason why?