Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9323909" data-attributes="member: 7035894">I think it just doesn't focus on morality in the way that those people want. Certainly not in the way that I want. Gygax was a strongly moralistic person (see his many statements about morality and alignment) and so, for that matter, are most of the fantasy texts that influenced the early development of D&D. Fantasy as a genre is extraordinarily moralistic, and it reflects in D&D.The problem (for me) with D&D's morality isn't that it's missing, it's that it defaults to a simplistic morality that generally doesn't generate the kinds of stories that interest me. Kind of like most fantasy fiction, to be honest. So I just get rid of alignment and ask players to come up with an initial want and need for their characters, and go from there.Well, I think the alignment system is an attempt to get players to play their characters in ways that do address moral issues and hopefully generate stories and conflict. It's just really ham fisted. I agree that it doesn't exactly synergize super well with other aspects of character play and development, but, you know, that's kind of D&D for you. It's not news that it's a messy system (I write that with love). I know that the alignment system works well for lots of folks in terms of adding a moral element to their game, even if it's not for me. I see it in the context of Gygax trying to figure out what an RPG was, and trying to force players to do more than just play as themselves.I think PbtA games have the potential to do morality better because they encourage characters to think more in terms of wants and needs, often framed as bonds, relationships and so forth, and this typically leads to players having to confront moral dilemmas in a more complicated way. Basically, instead of telling players "your character is lawful good, have them do what a lawful good person would do", PbtA games typically lead to stories where players have to work out moral responses based on relationships and context. It tends to be more nuanced and realistic, IMO.TLDR: I think it's a strength that PbtA games don't try to force morality ("choose your alignment") but rather provide an avenue for players to create and discover their character's morality, recognizing that it might change with time and context.</blockquote>

Verification