D&D General Which edition handled alignment best?

[Celebrim]

"Defined" or "Handled"?

1e AD&D has the least incoherent description of alignment, but its handling of alignment where everything is a hard punish soured people on it. I don't think there has been a perfect implementation of alignment, but I tend to favor 3e in almost all regards.

 

[Micah Sweet]

As much as I love Planescape, speaking strictly of alignment in play I would have to say B/X or BECMI.

 

[SkidAce]

So this is a list of virtues ethics. Which really is a more clearly explained example of what D&D already did. My issues with alignment are just as strong here as in any other version: real people are more complicated. For example, attacking and killing an unarmed foe is here listed amongst "diabolical" traits, but it is not difficult to come up with scenarios where we feel that attacking and killing an unarmed foe would be entirely morally justified by most people's standards.

I hear you, but I would subscrib to the theory that exceptions Do Not disprove the rule.

Of course there are exceptions...but i generally consider kicking a puppy to be mean.

 

[Voadam]

I always felt the Palladium alignments were too specific. They can be fine for a specific individual's code or outlook, but IMO are poor for trying to fit a lot of concepts.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Pure law IS stasis. CN and LN, at least in mortal beings, aren't pure law, though. They are balanced by the N axis.

The point is terms.
To most humans law sounds reasonably good, but stasis does not thus a more evocative image, semantics do matter to a degree.

In my opinion modrons and slaadi are the lamest and least sensible complements for law and chaos in a dungeon grinding game.

True, but you need a better idea to work from to make better enforcers of said idea.

 

[Minigiant]

True, but you need a better idea to work from to make better enforcers of said idea

Actual robot-people and mutants would be better.

Like Magical Cyborgs for Law and Transforming "Bio"-borgs for Chaos.

A lot of D&D has this "Haha Look at this silliness" side, stamps Tradition on it, then tries to make it a serious logical part of the game.

That's why I like 4e's alignment. 4e stepped back and thought about whether we really need some stuff or was it stuff we are just used to having a certain way

 

[Maxperson]

This isn't any more representative than your own personal experience, but back in the (late) 3e days the alignment and Book of Exalted Deeds/Book of Vile Darkness subforums on the Wizards.com forum were absolutely hopping, and home to some of the most over-the-top vitriolic nerd rage the early 00s internet had to offer.

Yeah. Those two books brought some hot takes on good and evil, and started discussion/arguments over them. I don't know that those two books would be representative of 3e alignment overall, though.

 

[Voadam]

Yeah. Those two books brought some hot takes on good and evil, and started discussion/arguments over them. I don't know that those two books would be representative of 3e alignment overall, though.

I feel the short descriptions of alignments in the 3e and 3.5 SRDs is the better take.

 

[Maxperson]

If I don't have the monster, I can't use it

You are arbitrarily limiting things. It's not relevant, because outsiders are not the only creatures with alignments. There are 9 NG monsters in the MM, plus every NPC since they can all be any alignment. There are 8 CG monsters in the MM, plus all NPCs. And you were wrong about no outsiders having NG or CG alignments. Empyreans are celestials in the 5e MM, making them a CG outsider.

I almost never see Slaadi ran. Just referenced.

Ok. I almost never see shambling mounds or Grimlocks. I doubt alignment is why you don't see them.

They have distinguishable differences.

Again my point is until you are heavily roleplaying, the differences don't really come up.

The point is, yes they do. It doesn't take heavy RP, just RP. Sometimes morals come up quickly, sometimes nothing comes up for any alignment for a long time. Depends on what the RP is, not the specific length of time.

Must be my luck.

Yeah.

I haven't run into a LE organized crime ring as a player in decades. It's more often me as a DM and the situation surpassing simple LE alignment.

You haven't had any thieves guilds encountered in decades?

 

[Maxperson]

I feel the short descriptions of alignments in the 3e and 3.5 SRDs is the better take.

The ones in the PHBs for that edition are even better than the SRD, but the core descriptors are better than the books of vile darkness and exalted deeds.