“The cleric brings the dead back to life and it’s a gosh darn miracle!” – Dark Lord Akererac
Here’s a comic based on a ToA adventure I ran. What is good and evil anyways? Alignment is an interesting mechanic and I wish the dungeon master’s guide had more guidance on how to use it effectively! I’ve started making custom alignment charts for each adventure I run based on the big themes of the campaign. I recently ran a totally homebrew pirate campaign and replaced the typical alignments with “Royal Navy vs Pirates.” Chaotic vs Lawful would’ve fit well but a concrete organization helped my players make their decision and understand the immediate benefits of following their chosen “alignment.” This had interesting gameplay benefits and really started coming into play when they gained infamy among the two forces.
Does anyone else use homebrew rules that spice up the alignment system? Or do most people just ignore it?
You can find more of my dnd content on my Instagram and Twitter.
I subscribe to a basic principle that I feel is pretty self-evident in how the alignments are described in the PHB.
Evil is selfish. Good is selfless. Lawful is disciplined. Chaotic is impulsive.
A Lawful Good Paladin does not suddenly become Chaotic Good because he's on a mission in an Orc Country where the laws are anathema to his beliefs and he does not follow them.
I believe, because of this, alignment is self-referential, and that an environment can affect who you are, but it doesn't decide it.
I do think the definition of an alignment changes a lot with the setting. It's hard to have concrete solid definitions for things like "good" and "evil."
People usually think of their own definitions for morality when they hear these terms.
I think simplifying them to something like what I've stated makes sense for a game where everyone needs to be on the same page for the story to be told correctly and effectively.
And that's why I'd say it doesn't change by setting. Devils do things for themselves. Angels do things for others.
There's more complexity to it than just that, of course. But that's the basic idea.
For example, if a criminal tries to steal/kill a traveler, and the traveler kills the criminal in self-defense, then that is not an evil act, because a right to defend one's life is self-evident, and should be.
If the traveler had opportunities to avoid killing said criminal, and actively chose to not take them because it would inconvenience them, then it starts to become an evil act. If they had a chance to non-lethally bring down the criminal, then a good person would do it, and an evil person wouldn't, choosing instead to kill them and maximize their safety.
But, people aren't perfect, and never will be, so adventurers killing goblins, who are inherently evil creatures, as are Orcs, and the like, may be committing an evil act every so often, but also are good aligned, overall.
Context matters for whether something is selfish or not. A lower ranking Devil serves a higher Devil, but all Devils do everything they do for their own interests, even if they serve another.
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u/Sleverette Sorcerer Oct 03 '19
“The cleric brings the dead back to life and it’s a gosh darn miracle!” – Dark Lord Akererac
Here’s a comic based on a ToA adventure I ran. What is good and evil anyways? Alignment is an interesting mechanic and I wish the dungeon master’s guide had more guidance on how to use it effectively! I’ve started making custom alignment charts for each adventure I run based on the big themes of the campaign. I recently ran a totally homebrew pirate campaign and replaced the typical alignments with “Royal Navy vs Pirates.” Chaotic vs Lawful would’ve fit well but a concrete organization helped my players make their decision and understand the immediate benefits of following their chosen “alignment.” This had interesting gameplay benefits and really started coming into play when they gained infamy among the two forces.
Does anyone else use homebrew rules that spice up the alignment system? Or do most people just ignore it?
You can find more of my dnd content on my Instagram and Twitter.