Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Masterpsyker 01-29-07, 07:16 AM	I recently signed up to play in a game for saturdays and sundays in the afternoon (my only real free time). Our DM gave us free reign over any books that we wanted with the guideline that we had to play an evil alignment. I take this as an awesome chance to do some serious breakage (we get to start at level 10) and play my favorite character there is: The Edipian Human Warlock. The problem with my character is that typically he is CG... so I warped up his backstory a little bit to this: When he was young, the first manifistation of his powers killed his mother. He knows that the village in which he lived would have tried to kill him if he stayed, so he took everything that he could and left. Exhausting his supplies, he begins to feel helpless, weak, and is beginning to see delusions. Having no food left on the road (he doesn't know about rationing yet), he wanders into a forest to get some grub. Long story short: he becomes part of a nomadic tribe who welcomes him for who he is. The nomads follow what I believe to be a LE society (his induction wasn't by choice) and my character has come to follow that. Here is where the problem comes into play: The nomads, being nomads, would worship a nature god (in this campaign, religion and alignment are apparantly tied together) who represents neutrality and balance. As such, I felt that it would make sense for my alignment to follow that of the tribe, as would my religion. This doesn't work though because apparantly, "I have to worship the god of Evil and Death to be LE." I tried arguing it with him and the end result was, "If you aren't going to do it my way, then just leave." I enjoy the atmosphere and my fellow players, and aside from this one instance of pidgeoning me, the DM is a nice guy. How do I get around this bad instance of DMing?
hiroshimahamster 01-29-07, 07:36 AM	Your DM appears to have a very narrow view on the alignment system. You can get evil druids, can you not? Chaotic Evil tends not to work very well in a party - what incentive would they have to work as a team with others? Neutral Evil doesn't quite cut the mustard either... Lawful Evil seems to be the only logical choice. It is his campaign, however, so rules such as this may have to remain. I am also a DM and the only time I imposed strict alignment rules was when it was key to the storyline. Why do you have to be evil? Do you even have to worship a deity? You can't really get around this - except by changing your background a little. Perhaps the nomads DIDN'T worship a nature diety? Perhaps they were forced to be nomads because of how they acted, or who they worshiped? Hope this helps!
Masterpsyker 01-29-07, 07:46 AM	You can't really get around this - except by changing your background a little. Perhaps the nomads DIDN'T worship a nature diety? Perhaps they were forced to be nomads because of how they acted, or who they worshiped? Hope this helps! This is perfect! The problem here is that his "story" as it was revealed to us last night, is that Belial (the god of evil and death) has chosen to charge us (his champions...) with the task of gaining back his image and power over man. Last time I checked, I didn't do anything to warrant being a "Divine Champion." I personally think that he is just forcing us into his story arc, and isn't a really good DM. I'm hoping to get opinions on this from others, and some options that I could potentially take to make this a less bumpy experience. Ah, and we have some CE characters... a point that I don't agree in at all.
Flushpuppie 01-29-07, 08:56 AM	well if a DM comes up with a main storyline and a pc doesn't want to follow it (even before the game started) I understand he forces you into playing a certain alignment. If not, what kind of situations can you think of? my first thought was: the Neutral char that believed in a different god gets slain on the first time playing. and hey, if I were an evil god who chosen its champions to bring back its power. Id choose someone willing to do so. The unwilling I would slay.
Alex_ 01-29-07, 04:25 PM	I recently signed up to play in a game for saturdays and sundays in the afternoon (my only real free time). Our DM gave us free reign over any books that we wanted with the guideline that we had to play an evil alignment... In this campaign, religion and alignment are apparantly tied together" I'm not seeing the conflict then. Religion and alignment are tied together in this campaign, and the DM said he wanted everyone to be evil. Sounds a lot like he would also have your alignment strongly associated with a specific religion. Change your character concept. While I understand that the DM's rules and setting assumptions may place limitations on the exact kind of character/background you want to play, the DM has gone through lots of trouble crafting this world and campaign. The least you could do is make a character more appropriate to the setting and it's rules/assumptions. And if indeed, you find youself unable to play in such a campaign while everyone else is more or less fine with it, for the benefit of everyone (yourself included) I think it'd be best if you sat this particular one out.
DarkNick 01-29-07, 05:29 PM	Long story short: he becomes part of a nomadic tribe who welcomes him for who he is. The nomads follow what I believe to be a LE society (his induction wasn't by choice) and my character has come to follow that. Here is where the problem comes into play: The nomads, being nomads, would worship a nature god (in this campaign, religion and alignment are apparantly tied together) who represents neutrality and balance. As such, I felt that it would make sense for my alignment to follow that of the tribe, as would my religion. This doesn't work though because apparantly, "I have to worship the god of Evil and Death to be LE." I kind of see two things happening here. The DM has his own vision of how the campaign world is, you have come up with a background that you don't want to change significantly and it clashes with that vision (in effect you are pidgeoning yourself). Personally I think you should start over. Start with whatever alignment you want to be, check with the DM what gods might be relevant. Make a background that fits..I don't think this is bad Dming, it is just setting things up so that that game will work. Though he probably should have told you about the whole need to worship a god based on your alignment thing. Just some things to consider - the alignment of individuals does not have to match the alignment of the society. You could always pay lipservice to the nomads gods while following your own. Nomads can follow whatever god they like, individual nomads can follow their own gods.
Salla 01-29-07, 07:29 PM	So ... don't have a deity. Seems like a simple solution. :)