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Author Topic: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment  (Read 561 times)

Scoops Novel

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A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« on: March 13, 2023, 04:51:45 pm »

Imagine Alignment as what you align yourself with, rather then your individual alignment.
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MrRoboto75

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #1 on: March 13, 2023, 04:54:21 pm »

So the Planescape setting
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anewaname

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2023, 07:27:44 pm »

Does this mean that when that smite-vs-my-alignment jerk comes for my character, I can start spouting differing dogma to negate the bonus?
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There is something to be said about, if the stakes are as high, maybe reconsider your certitudes. One has to be aggressively allistic to feel entitled to be able to trust. But it won't happen to me, my bit doesn't count etc etc... Just saying, after my recent experiences I couldn't trust the public if I wanted to. People got their risk assessment neurons rotten and replaced with game theory. Folks walk around like fat turkeys taunting the world to slaughter them.

King Zultan

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2023, 01:38:27 am »

Imagine Alignment as what you align yourself with, rather then your individual alignment.
Do you mean something like calling yourself a good guy while in fact you are evil because you kick babies off bridges and set fire to homeless people?
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Great Order

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2023, 08:20:11 am »

So real life?

Except in real life almost everyone aligns themselves with some form of "good". Most people aren't self-aware enough to be evil and think they're evil, and those that do usually try to correct their course because, weirdly enough, most people don't like being evil.

In fact, I suspect there's more people who are good but think they're evil than evil people who think they're evil.

And of course it's all subject to the usual clause: My good and evil, and your good and evil, aren't the same.
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Egan_BW

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2023, 10:02:44 am »

Mortals shouldn't be aligned at all by default. I'd remove the whole good-evil axis thing and replace it with the aspects of each god (or other important Forces such as fiends and fae). If you're a paladin following the god of magic your alignment is [Magic]. :p
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Mobbstar

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2023, 10:22:50 am »

Fifth Edition pushes "Ideals, Flaws, Bonds" instead of Alignment, the latter of which is only relevant for a few spells anymore, and even there usually directed at supernatural creatures rather than player characters.

I consider alignment to not be a defining trait, but rather a derived one.  For example, "Lawful Evil Tiefling Warlock" doesn't say anything about the characters ambitions or (ironically) their allegiances, while "Traditional, Overly Vengeful Dwarf Paladin of the Gauntlet Order" is very clearly Lawful and likely Good or Neutral.  (In fact, the dwarf might be struggling to err towards Good, which is character development.)

Scoops Novel

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2023, 05:58:16 pm »

So where they align down, as it were.
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King Zultan

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2023, 03:15:26 am »

Its alignments all the way down!
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The Lawyer opens a briefcase. It's full of lemons, the justice fruit only lawyers may touch.
Make sure not to step on any errant blood stains before we find our LIFE EXTINGUSHER.
but anyway, if you'll excuse me, I need to commit sebbaku.
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anewaname

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #9 on: March 15, 2023, 03:40:09 am »

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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Quote from: dragdeler
There is something to be said about, if the stakes are as high, maybe reconsider your certitudes. One has to be aggressively allistic to feel entitled to be able to trust. But it won't happen to me, my bit doesn't count etc etc... Just saying, after my recent experiences I couldn't trust the public if I wanted to. People got their risk assessment neurons rotten and replaced with game theory. Folks walk around like fat turkeys taunting the world to slaughter them.

Loud Whispers

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Re: A thought exercise for anyone who knows D&D Alignment
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2023, 07:01:15 am »

This really misaligns my QPUs