DM: "Make me a CON saving throw."
Bam: "18."
DM: "The dust tickles your nose, but you remain silent."
Bam: "Did you just make me roll to see if I sneezed??"
O_o
Not sure if I ran this past you before or not, but I was thinking about Alignment and how it's not prioritized much in newer editions.
I *May* have a patch for that.
Since I know you have a much bigger voice in the industry than I do, maybe you can kick the can down the road a bit and see what people think? 🤔
My thinking is that the biggest issue with Alignment is that one entire axis (Good/Evil) is Subjective at best.
1/?
Humans clear-cutting a forest for house building materials see it as Good. Providing houses for those without. As such, Good adventurers will protect the foresters.
The tribe of goblins that lives on that land, see it as Evil, scattering the animals they rely on for food, and killing a TON of healing herbs, etc.
So how can both groups' Paladins be Lawful Good simultaneously? Why should the goblin be evil? That said, my solution is simple. Take Morality out of the equation.
2/?
#DnD
Relabel that Axis with Altruism vs Selfishness (or some synonym).
Now, the measure of a character is whether they are generally motivated to be self-serving, or devoted to the ideal of Service of others...NOT whether they are Good or Evil (since even irl we can't all agree on what is good morality, let alone cross-race.
This also eliminates the auto-alignment based on Race (which is problematic in itself), leaving it up to each individual's personality.
3/?
#DnD
@lfrum
Each Race COULD still have a tendency towards a specific direction on the chart, but individuals need not necessarily adhere to that guideline.
Please, I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on this and whether you think it would make a good shift in direction to make Alignment more appealing to players as a mechanic, as well as suggestions on how it could be improved if you have them.
4/4
#DnD
@lfrum
@Heucuva8 I guess I've never thought of alignment as a mechanic. I've always believed it was flavor for characters, both PC and NPC. the idea of good and evil are a matter of perspective, as you pointed out. it all depends on what you story the DM wants to tell. who is right? who is wrong? the nuances are determined during play. I'm interested to hear how your scheme works in your game.