Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Emmaneel May 04, 2015 11:49:44	I'm Totally in the dark when it comes to the use of alignment. And now I came across this: http://www.madadventurers.com/angry-rants-alignment/ What do you think?
#2 Mechatarrasque May 04, 2015 12:36:56	I think he is right about TN--masochism has it place, but not at the gaming table.   I tend towards similar things to this:   But, here’s where it gets tricky. Every character SHOULD have a real, true alignment. One that reflects the universe’s judgment of them. And if you want to use alignment, you should keep track of that. And only reveal it through the world itself. For example, a “lawful-good” character who casts detect alignment might discover they are chaotic-neutral. Or they might learn they don’t count as good when they get struck with an anarchic weapon. Let them noodle that one over. Likewise, if a really powerful paladin starts to slip, maybe it is time for a visit from an angelic servant of the gods to say “hey, dude, check your alignment because it ain’t as pretty as you think it is.” I think alignment for PC's works best if they have to earn it.  I care about what the players put on their characters sheets in terms of alignment mostly as a goal for the PC.  If someone says they want their PC to be LG, I, as a DM, should give them plenty of opportunities to be so.  I figure alignments shouldn't last forever.  Saving a puppy at level 1 and murderhoboing for 19 levels shouldn't make you NG at level 20.  Some things should last longer than others, but periodically recharging the alignment well should be a goal for the player concerned about alignment.  Since it is something the PC has to work for, I think there should be rewards.  With consulation with the table, I usually give an inspiration point and one time access to lower level spells that aren't in the PHB/supplements that are only available via alignment acts (my favorites are conjure modron legion [just like conjure minor elementals but with modrons], "you ain't the boss of me", which lets you use a reaction to save with advantage against a charm or domination spell if you have already failed a save, summon variant familiar [imp or quasit], and "good is its own reward" [if you are under a condition, it ends when you are magically healed]).  Nothing game breaking (you can only use the spell once and at the minimum level, but you can use it regardless of class).   Of course, the higher level the PC's are, the more they interest outsiders interested in recruiting powerful souls.....
#3 OoftaMeg May 04, 2015 12:55:56	As the blog points out, alignment and it's use is controversial.  Don't expect any consensus on the topic here.   I can tell you that while I do use alignment as a quick sketch to start figuring out how NPCs and monsters, I only rarely ask the alignment of my player's characters.  Even then it's only to fill in the picture they gave me with their other traits and bonds.  Alignment (for me) is not handed down by the gods, it just one descriptive aspect of describing an intelligent creature.   My view of alignment is based on the idea from psych 101 that people view the world based largely on patterns and experiences that they've built up over the years.     Lawful: views the world like a clockwork mechanism.  Things work better when people follow the rules.  Respect is due to those hold specific offices of power, or who claim certain titles.   Chaotic: There is no underlying mechanism, just random events that people react to.  Trying to put a veneer of order on the natural chaos of the world is pointless.  People deserve respect based on their actions.   Good: a good person values other people's lives and has empathy for others.  Helping others and charitable acts are ends unto themselves.   Evil: other people have no more value than the value that they provide to you.  An evil person may care deeply about others (even obsessively so) in the same way that I care about my favorite pair of shoes.  Charitable acts are a waste of resources unless you can get something out of it. But that's it.  Alignment is not a straight jacket, it's a guideline to how a person or monster would perceive the world and how they would react to it.
#4 bawylie May 04, 2015 13:32:28	I'd like to dig deeper into alignment's use in 1st Ed.    My bro in law used to use it as a sort of "who Attacks who" hierarchy. As though there were a sort of gravitational or magnetic animosity between aligned creatures.    Anyway, there's a second article coming and I'm waiting for that.
#5 BRJN May 04, 2015 14:37:20	I use Alignment as "what the rest of the world expects you to do".  Most Drow capture slaves, kill surface-dwellers who have the bad luck to cross their path, worship a goddess of spiders (ick) and chaos, and were cursed by Correllon Larethian for something horrible they / their forefathers did.  However the Drow standing in front of me might actually be Drizzt, who is a pretty decent stand-up kind of guy.  I don't know that until I've interacted with him for a while.   Some creatures - almost all are from other planes of existance - are defined by their alignment.  Devils are always LE and Demons are always CE, for instance, and both act accordingly.  Most intelligent creatures in the Natural World are Neutral: capable of either Good or Evil acts.  Monster races tend towards Evil because, well, they are monsters and the game needs villians / opponents.  Traditional ally races tend towards Good so the group's members can presuppose they will work together.  (There are a few threads cropping up about players who do not want to presuppose they will work together; the game suffers for it.)   PC alignment has taken a major hit in the most recent generation, I think because many (too many?) people do not want somebody else "judging" them - for instance by saying "That would be Evil for you to do, man."  I've played since 1980 and have dealt with character classes that HAD to be a certain alignment or their powers shut off.  It takes a more-open mind to think through how the character will act, you can't just follow your first impulse.
#6 Illithidbix May 04, 2015 17:12:48	The article raises some good points.   Introducing Good & Evil and Law & Chaos as real cosmic forces that exist beyond even the gods, makes a huge difference on the nature of the world. Even from most literary fantasy settings.   Yet it is the default assumption of D&D, in a way that perhaps isn't really thought about to many players and DMs.
#7 Greenstone.Walker May 04, 2015 19:21:09	There's a many-page thread in the General Discussion forum on alignment. http://community.wizards.com/forum/product-and-general-dd-discussions/threads/4188246