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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5426000" data-attributes="member: 42582">If the best that can be said for alignment rules is that they give the GM a mechanical stick with which to beat the player of a paladin who has his PC gratuitously throw a baby out a wind, then it seems to me there's not much to be said.Any player trying sincerely to play a paladin would only have the PC toss a baby out of a window because s/he had some seriously considered reason to do so - either s/he thinks (for example) that it is the lesser of two evils, or in some other way morally permitted even if not optimal (in which case punishment would be gratuitous and one might expect the player to play out some remorse in any event) or s/he is trying to play out some sort of mental/moral collapse on the part of her PC, in which case what s/he goes on to do is likely to be far more interesting gameplay than having the GM say &quot;OK, take XYZ mechanical penalties for breaking alignment&quot;.And if you have players rolling up paladins and clerics but not interested in playing them sincerely, what makes you think that the alignment rules are going to change that?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 5426000, member: 42582"] If the best that can be said for alignment rules is that they give the GM a mechanical stick with which to beat the player of a paladin who has his PC gratuitously throw a baby out a wind, then it seems to me there's not much to be said. Any player trying sincerely to play a paladin would only have the PC toss a baby out of a window because s/he had some seriously considered reason to do so - either s/he thinks (for example) that it is the lesser of two evils, or in some other way morally permitted even if not optimal (in which case punishment would be gratuitous and one might expect the player to play out some remorse in any event) or s/he is trying to play out some sort of mental/moral collapse on the part of her PC, in which case what s/he goes on to do is likely to be far more interesting gameplay than having the GM say "OK, take XYZ mechanical penalties for breaking alignment". And if you have players rolling up paladins and clerics but not interested in playing them sincerely, what makes you think that the alignment rules are going to change that? [/QUOTE]

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