Specifically, I need help in trying to find actions that I as a Lawful Good player can do in order to reclaim my Chaotic Good alignment or become Neutral Good.
My character in this campaign (using 2.0 rules with 3.5 supplements) is a Human Ranger-2/Fighter-4/Scout-1........ I didn't purchase the Complete Adventurer until it was too late
, otherwise there would be no ranger levels :P.The reason I want to become CG again is because of the items I bought when my GM went a little crazy one session (half the players didn't show up and we still somehow advanced the plot greatly) and gave us 8000 platinum each and allowed us to level up. Needless to say, all of us who were there made a mad dash to spend our money as fast as possible. Among my purchases were a Bow of the Wintermoon and Millenial Chainmail.... items that have alignment restrictions of NG, CG, and CN.
I had previously roleplayed a conversion to the worship of Corellon Larethian (we had recently performed a great service for the elven people and a party member was a bastard child of nobility), and I took the True Believer feat. I think I was bored and planning a Ruathar build to try and shake things up.
Unfortunately, when I achieved level 7 and leveled up to Scout-1, my DM had me roll "the-percentage-dice-of-ill-conceived-notions" to determine what my alignment would become. And thus I am now Lawful Good, rendering the benefits I will eventually receive from my items moot.
"how can you be lawful if you keep breaking the law, im cutting you to neutral" something of the such.
just do stuff like a reckless maniac.
Also, take the feat Swift Hunter, from complete scoundrel. It lets ranger levels and scout levels stack for favored enemy and skirmish. Have fun!
I didn't know there were die rolls to determine alignment change. Is it a 2.0 only thing?
My advice for your situations is: act chaotic good or chaotic neutral. Be selfish but not evil. Act agains authority and hierarchy. Break the law a few times, but not for evil reasons. Anyways, the advices already given in this thread are very good. Also, here's another one: talk to your DM. Warn him that you are seeking an alignment change. He should comply sooner or later.
Also n° 2: I know that there are atonment rituals to recover Lawful Good alignment for paladins and clerics. Well, as a true believer and friends with the Corelian church, maybe you could try an atonment thing to recover Chaotic Good alingment? I don't know if there is such a thing, but that would be a cool idea.
I didn't know there were die rolls to determine alignment change. Is it a 2.0 only thing?
Sounds like a houserule.
On the more negative side, you could be Chaotic as a reaction to Law. In this case, you would have been hurt or disillusioned by Law, and reacted by having a distaste for regulations and order in general. Since you are Good aligned you need not have been personally hurt; seeing the evil done by a LE bad guy, especially a king, is quite sufficient.
I don't think you need to see someones alignment to know if you can trust them or not.
Alternatively, buy a ring with your god's holy symbol on it and go around punching evil-doers in the head with it so that everyone can see the mark of your god on their foreheads and know that they have done evil.
Epic Fail
Hrm. Seems he's big on vigilance. Have any sneaky skills? Start spying on friend and foe alike, you never know where evil is. Lie about where you are going.
Warfare? Offer to train militias in guerrilla warfare, especially if the state has a standing army. Openly state that honorable warfare will simply get you killed honorably, which results in nothing other then your family being killed unhonorably. Teach them to fight dirty. Tell small children where to punch. (Hint: It's shoulder height for children)
He's also big on magic and sword play. Seek more power where ever you can without violating your good alignment. Don't bother with tradition, go for electic learning, taking something from here, and something from there...New things should always be tried out, tradition is only good if it works, otherwise abandon it.
Ask him straight out:
"Why did you change my PC's alignment? What can I do to change it back?"
Also, invite him here, I double-dog-dare-ya. :P Let us see how he defends this, and how he reacts to our advice.
Play to your Lawful good alignment.
When it comes time to use your items, just USE Them. Ignore the stated alignment that they need, don't bring it up, don't make an issue of it.
Once you have used them in game, you can safely revise your alignment on your sheet...because since they were able to be used, in game for a few sessions, obviously your alignment has changed back to chaotic good or whatever, because otherwise the DM has to admit he made a mistake in not accurately tracking the items.
So if he has them stop working you can validly argue, then how come it was working recently? Did I suddenly change alignment again? Then tell him make up his damn mind, or just quit right there.
If suddenly, when you go to use your items the DM says "AHA! you Can't use them because your alignment is all messed up!":
You can easily say, damn. Okay. I'm going to roll a die. Since that was how my alignment was changed, On a 1 in 6 on a d6, i'm leaving your game, because YOU, DM screwed me out of my items, while i've been properly playing this New alignment that you gave me, all along.
Something along those lines.
He's screwing you, so your option is put up with it and be quiet, or vote with your feet.
A third option is to ask nicely if your items can be retconned into items that work with your alignment. If he says no, then I'd just sell the items, buy a keep, and retire the PC, or leave the game.
A fourth option is to not do any adventures at all except consult sages and such asking, "how do I change my alignment?"
A fifth option is to run your own game, of course.
Good luck.
Ask him straight out:
"Why did you change my PC's alignment? What can I do to change it back?"
Oh I know exactly why he changed my alignment. The percentage die roll (I rolled 0o 7) was divided like this: low = LG, high = NG. He tried to rationalize it by stating that in order to receive training to become a scout, it would mean I was learning from the orderly elf armed forces scouts, or from the elfy back-to-nature wilderness scouts.
My DM is a sadistic 60ish ex-military guy, and he seems to enjoy messing with me. If I didn't know for a fact that he hasn't read most of the novels, I would swear he is trying to change me into Drizzt (I neglected to mention that when I showed up yesterday he had me randomly roll to see if I was feeling moody about being absent from the presence of my elven fiance (long story, wasn't my choice)..... which I will try to exploit as an excuse for Chaos).
From the ideas presented, I think I'm going to go along with playing up my devotion to my god. By emphasizing the True Believer aspect of my character (and my past actions being rather Chaotic), I will try to make him believe I cannot play LG as I must remain true to my faith (I used the opportunity to convert when I gained the elven fiance). I think I can actually do something with the "sneaky skills" plan, just because of the monkey wrench he recently introduced with 2 new CN party members.
Barring any of the above I will use the "god ring" idea or the "items have cured me of law" plan since he has set a precedent in the past where some artifact-y type items changed the alignments of the wielder.
After all, he's an okay DM, he just needs a little more training with a rolled up newspaper.... plus I always have that gnome-with-1-level-of-every-base-class-possible build that I've been saving for the day my character dies.
Oh I know exactly why he changed my alignment. The percentage die roll (I rolled 0o 7) was divided like this: low = LG, high = NG. He tried to rationalize it by stating that in order to receive training to become a scout, it would mean I was learning from the orderly elf armed forces scouts, or from the elfy back-to-nature wilderness scouts.
Oh BULLS--T!!! So he made you roll a percentile die to randomly see what group of elves you learned scouting from? And none of the choices applied to your character's chosen path in life? That's stupidity incarnate! It's like randomly choosing from a die roll what your college major will be. . . NO ONE makes that choice randomly!
Here's a better way to handle that.
DM: "So you want to be a scout? Well, you can learn from the Silver Guardsmen or from the Wilderness Stalkers, or you can follow that slightly psychotic elf with the raccoon-skin hat who mutters all the time about his stronghold in the woods for when 'The revolution comes'."
Player: "I kinda agree with the last guy: the kingdom is getting way too powerful. I'll go with him."
DM: "Great. You spend several months learning the best way to stalk enemies, hunt for food, set up caches, and destroy the military-industrial complex that is choking society. Moving on to Jim, what spells do you want to learn from your time at the magic academy?"
For Pete's sake, dude, a steamed eggplant could DM more fairly than your guy. Either stand fast or quit is my call.
Well, beyond leveling up again and taking "another shot" at becoming Chaotic Good, there are a few things I can think of...
Atonement spell as was mentioned. If it didn't exist or work that way in 2.0, make one up. Alternately, find a priest of Corellon who can suggest that perhaps you have become too Lawful, and as punishment you should stand in a corner and write "I want to be Chaotic Good" 1,000 times -- but then you quit after 5 minutes and run off to play.
If that isn't an option, bring up with the DM that you don't like having your items nerfed for no apparent reason just because one day he made a crazy decision and now wants to take it back.
If you must do it in-character, then being Robin Hood is a good idea if you are in a situation where you can pull that off. You don't just have to commit armed robbery against evil rich barons and save the overtaxed town -- you could simply cheat at gambling and donate your ill-gotten proceeds to an orphanage (or church of Corellon).
If for some reason you are not in a situation where you can do that sort of thing -- for instance, if you are in the middle of wandering around a forest looking for monster-filled ruins and such -- then I suspect you can get the "Chaotic" point across with frequent and inconsequential actions.
1) Let's say you have been wandering around the forest a while. You're a ranger, so make a survival check (or whatever you use) to find some nice strawberries or something. Then, keep them to yourself and don't share them (keep it a secret). This probably borders on a CN action.
2) After a couple of days, you get bored, so while on watch you quietly vandalize some of your teammates' things. Maybe you scribble on their backpacks (or face if you're brave) with ink, put their hand in a bowl of warm water, fill their shoes with animal droppings, etc. Don't make any of these pranks permanent, because that might be construed as slightly evil. Make sure you aren't the last one on watch though...
3) Borrow peoples' things without asking, or ask after you already used it.
- "I hope you don't mind, but I used your flint and steel to light the campfire. I couldn't find mine and I didn't want to spend time looking."
- "Oh, sorry, I drank some of that wine you were saving."
-"Hey, nice bow, I'm gonna try it out on that squirrel!"
-"Hmm, how can you elves wear such tight underwear? Really pinches me."
4) Make offhand, ridiculous statements or flippant insults. Say things that pop into your mind. Make suggestions for things you know will never fly with the rest of the party (and thus you won't actually do any of them):
-"Oh, brilliant idea Regdar. My animal companion could have thought of that!"
-"Why are we on this adventure again? Screw the king and his 'ancient evil' ..."
-"When I get to a town, I'm goin' a-whorin!"
-"Hmm, I had this idea about robbing the national bank and then donating all the money to charity, what do you guys think about that? No? Oh well..."
5) Be "unpredictable" in combats. Insult enemies for no reason, preferably "in the name of Corellon". Sometimes just do tactically unsound maneuvers, like dropping prone after you go through a door for no reason (not recommended when fighting Giants in melee). Make "called shots" against enemies' body parts, or just say "I hope this hits him in the butt" when you shoot your bow. After a tough fight, attack the dead enemy's body for no real reason other than you "felt like it".
6) Lie to enemies (or dumb NPC allies or neutrals) for almost no reason, or purely to trick them. Things like: "OK, if you drop your weapons we'll let you go." And then when he drops his weapon and goes to leave, knock him out, tie him up, and haul him off to jail (or kill him, but that may be Evil). Offer mercy or amnesty when you don't really mean it. Pretend to join enemies, or say you have a message for them from their boss, and walk up while holding a parchment or something, and then sucker-punch them.
These sorts of things ought to make you Chaotic ... something, in no time, with little or no actual risk taken or problems created.
To those who look down upon cheating: I look down upon arbitrarily changing alignments for no reason (also, redundancy... hate it). Two wrongs may not make a right, but they make more of a right than one wrong!
If anyone calls you on it, explain that you didn't think that the group was playing so closely to the rules. After all, alignments are a measure of your attitudes and yours has been changed with no regard to your attitudes!
Sure, you could go in for the rational discussion, but do you really think that is going to help? I, for one, would find ignoring the BS (which some may construe as cheating) more enjoyable. Obviously those with qualms about cheating no matter what the situation would disagree and I'm not going to try to convince them that my way is the One True Path.
My DM is a sadistic 60ish ex-military guy, and he seems to enjoy messing with me. If I didn't know for a fact that he hasn't read most of the novels, I would swear he is trying to change me into Drizzt (I neglected to mention that when I showed up yesterday he had me randomly roll to see if I was feeling moody about being absent from the presence of my elven fiance (long story, wasn't my choice)..... which I will try to exploit as an excuse for Chaos).
Step one: Talk to him, and ask him why he is trying to control your character. Try to be reasonable, use I statments, etc.
Step two, if one does not work: LEAVE IMMEDIATELY
He's controlling your actions. I'm starting to think that he's trying to play your character for you. You also think not that much of him, and think he's toying with you. That needs to be proven and cleared with a talk.
He also doesn't understand alignments. Wizards, the class that require the most training can be chaotic. Clerics can be chaotic. Fighters can be chaotic. Monks are really the only class that can't, and yet the Swordsage, the monk v. 2.0 can be. Either play by the rules or don't, but have him decide before you make your character and the game begins.
Trying to mess with him back won't work. He has the power, and getting into a battle over the character will not help. It needs to be settled, or just find a new group.
Has he pulled this sort of stuff with other players? Sounds like he's just trying to screw with you. Especially considering that I would think that guerrila fighters would be highly chaotic (Honor? Nah, just hit and run away!) and is a pretty good idea of what the scout can be. If you are using a bow, that helps with hit and run away tactics. Was he really in the military, or is a military nut wannabe? Sounds like he is trying to screw with you, changing rules AFTER you got nice items, or he's an order freak.
Oh I know exactly why he changed my alignment. The percentage die roll (I rolled 0o 7) was divided like this: low = LG, high = NG. He tried to rationalize it by stating that in order to receive training to become a scout, it would mean I was learning from the orderly elf armed forces scouts, or from the elfy back-to-nature wilderness scouts.
That still doesn't explain it. Why was there even a roll? The Player picks his PC's alignment, the DM may then change it based upon the way the Player plays his PC (barring Helms of Opposite Alignment and such).
Again, ask him here.
TS
Two wrongs may not make a right, but they make more of a right than one wrong!
Two wrongs never make a right.
They just make it even. :D
Second Recommedation:You can bring it up that you don't want him to arbitrarily change your alignment every time you level up, as it is extremely unrealistic, and unfair. Send him to this thread, so that we can further emphasize your points. He wins (in the long run from his new & improved DMing skills [hopefully]), you win, your d12 wins (we don't know how).
The situation has been resolved.
The campaign in question has ended.
I do not plan to play with this DM in the future.
Also, I screwed him over in the 2nd to last session when he gave us a Monty Haul and said to me "pick two weapons from the DMG and one from the Magic Item Compendium"
2 Luckblades and a greater rod of tentacles later.......
I killed his final session, then I bent it over the table and made it a man. He attempted a TPK, and wound up with some very very very specific wishes. (http://www.homeonthestrange.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4)
Also, invite him here, I double-dog-dare-ya. :P Let us see how he defends this, and how he reacts to our advice.
He will probably start a thread stating "I've decided to base my players' alignments on dice rolls. I don't want all your opinions on why this is stupid, I just want to know how to break it to them."
Also, I screwed him over in the 2nd to last session when he gave us a Monty Haul and said to me "pick two weapons from the DMG and one from the Magic Item Compendium"
2 Luckblades and a greater rod of tentacles later.......
I killed his final session, then I bent it over the table and made it a man. He attempted a TPK, and wound up with some very very very specific wishes. (http://www.homeonthestrange.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4)
Details, man, details! I love a good comeuppance story.
My DM is a sadistic 60ish ex-military guy, and he seems to enjoy messing with me. If I didn't know for a fact that he hasn't read most of the novels, I would swear he is trying to change me into Drizzt (I neglected to mention that when I showed up yesterday he had me randomly roll to see if I was feeling moody about being absent from the presence of my elven fiance (long story, wasn't my choice)..... which I will try to exploit as an excuse for Chaos).
Stop. Stop *right here*.
Your DM is:
a: Being DM just so he can dick with you.
b: Making you roll dice for things that should be roleplayed out, not rolled.
c: Insisting you take random rolls for things that alter the character (which is *supposed* to be the part that you, as the player bring to the game) without having warned you fully beforehand.
You do not live with this. You do *not* live with this. Not if you want to have any kind of a healthy DM/player relationship. You go to him up-front as soon as he pulls some of this crap and you tell him, 'this is not DMing, this is being a dick', and then you leave.
After all, you can't DM a game with no players, and maybe he'll catch on to what was wrong with what he was doing. I find it hard to believe you even are considering just dealing with it rather than at the very least telling your DM that what he's doing/done is making the game less fun for you- which defeats the entire purpose of the game to begin with, so you might as well not play in the first place.
My gods. Just.... gah.
Redemption or Temptation
You may cast this spell upon a creature of an opposing alignment in order to offer it a chance to change its alignment to match yours. The prospective subject must be present for the entire casting process. Upon completion of the spell, the subject freely chooses whether it retains its original alignment or acquiesces to your offer and changes to your alignment. No duress, compulsion, or magical influence can force the subject to take advantage of the opportunity offered if it is unwilling to abandon its old alignment. This use of the spell does not work on outsiders or any creature incapable of changing its alignment naturally.
Though the spell description refers to evil acts, atonement can also be used on any creature that has performed acts against its alignment, whether those acts are evil, good, chaotic, or lawful.
Note: Normally, changing alignment is up to the player. This use of atonement simply offers a believable way for a character to change his or her alignment drastically, suddenly, and definitively.
He left the game already.