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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 9225681" data-attributes="member: 6877472">I mean, here's the thing.&nbsp; I like the idea of alignment.&nbsp; It's neat.&nbsp; The idea that you have an affinity towards some cosmic forces who are duking it out across the multiverse to decide the ultimate fate of reality.But how alignment has been handled, historically, is bad.&nbsp; It's used far more often as a tool to restrict or even punish players than it ever was to reward them.Oh sure, if you're Lawful Good, you can be a Paladin!....but is that really such a great thing?&nbsp; Maybe you'd be better served as a Fighter/Cleric....or a Fighter/Priest of a specific Mythos.&nbsp; Well as a Paladin, you can use a Holy Avenger...damn near a minor artifact and unlikely to really show up in the game.And being a Paladin comes with a host of restrictions on top of being Lawful Good...hm...Well, no matter, you'll be Good because being a hero is the thing to do!&nbsp; Except, you know, you're now subject to the effects of Unholy Word and similar things.&nbsp; Can't pick up Evil sentient weapons.&nbsp; Might not even be able to associate with some characters....Well ok, obviously playing Evil is bad, nobody would want to do....oh uh, there's an Assassin class, you say?&nbsp; Anti-Paladins in the latest issue of Dragon?&nbsp; This evil God gives cool powers?&nbsp; Oh and there's evil spells that are cool?Oh sure, now you have to worry about Good monsters (who are usually tougher than their evil counterparts), Paladins, and Holy Words, right?&nbsp; But hey, small price to pay for the freedom to do whatever I want!Oh uh, going to the Hells when I die?&nbsp; Pfft.&nbsp; I probably wasn't going to be able to come back to life anyways.The game itself provides very few real benefits for being Good, despite the fact that it's kind of, you know, expected (except for Thieves, why they can't even be Lawful Good...except for that Van Richten guy!&nbsp; Can't trust 'em!).And not a lot of real punishments for being evil.&nbsp; Oh sure, a DM can certainly add these to the game.&nbsp; They can give Good characters a positive reputation with NPC's....though that can be a double edged sword.&nbsp; And what about the Lawful Evil guy with good publicity?And the more over the years the game tried to approach alignment and how it should be used, the more complex it became, and the more likely players would just say &quot;to hell with it, I'll just be Neutral&quot;.And that's why alignment has become increasingly vestigial, because if you know how to make it work, you don't need WotC to tell you.&nbsp; And if you don't, then it might be better you don't attempt to make it work.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 9225681, member: 6877472"] I mean, here's the thing. I like the idea of alignment. It's neat. The idea that you have an affinity towards some cosmic forces who are duking it out across the multiverse to decide the ultimate fate of reality. But how alignment has been handled, historically, is bad. It's used far more often as a tool to restrict or even punish players than it ever was to reward them. Oh sure, if you're Lawful Good, you can be a Paladin!....but is that really such a great thing? Maybe you'd be better served as a Fighter/Cleric....or a Fighter/Priest of a specific Mythos. Well as a Paladin, you can use a Holy Avenger...damn near a minor artifact and unlikely to really show up in the game. And being a Paladin comes with a host of restrictions on top of being Lawful Good...hm... Well, no matter, you'll be Good because being a hero is the thing to do! Except, you know, you're now subject to the effects of Unholy Word and similar things. Can't pick up Evil sentient weapons. Might not even be able to associate with some characters.... Well ok, obviously playing Evil is bad, nobody would want to do....oh uh, there's an Assassin class, you say? Anti-Paladins in the latest issue of Dragon? This evil God gives cool powers? Oh and there's evil spells that are cool? Oh sure, now you have to worry about Good monsters (who are usually tougher than their evil counterparts), Paladins, and Holy Words, right? But hey, small price to pay for the freedom to do whatever I want! Oh uh, going to the Hells when I die? Pfft. I probably wasn't going to be able to come back to life anyways. The game itself provides very few real benefits for being Good, despite the fact that it's kind of, you know, expected (except for Thieves, why they can't even be Lawful Good...except for that Van Richten guy! Can't trust 'em!). And not a lot of real punishments for being evil. Oh sure, a DM can certainly add these to the game. They can give Good characters a positive reputation with NPC's....though that can be a double edged sword. And what about the Lawful Evil guy with good publicity? And the more over the years the game tried to approach alignment and how it should be used, the more complex it became, and the more likely players would just say "to hell with it, I'll just be Neutral". And that's why alignment has become increasingly vestigial, because if you know how to make it work, you don't need WotC to tell you. And if you don't, then it might be better you don't attempt to make it work. [/QUOTE]

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