D&D alignment thread

[MAPK phosphatase]

This thread is for everyone's favorite pastime, arguing about D&D alignments.

Spoiler: Rundown on D&D allignments

Until that inevitably happens, just post images, people, stories etc. that reflect an alignment particularly well.

Spoiler: Like so.

Lawful Neutral

Chaotic Neutral

 

[Marco Fucko]

D&D is for virgins lol

 

[MAPK phosphatase]

D&D is for virgins lol

So you'll fit right in.

 

[Marco Fucko]

So you'll fit right in.

Don't talk to your father like that. As a matter of fact, you're grounded.

 

[Y2K Baby]

Lawful Chaotic.

 

[IV 445]

@The Ghost of ODB weren’t we just talking about this in chat?

Anyway I have given DND a fair shake, and I have concluded it has too many rules for me

Me: “I uh cast magic missile at the ogre.”

Dungeon master: “But did you assign points into cantrips to enable access to this school of magic and did you consider first how the passage of quickened objects or entities without the persistent agency of hyperagonal media is not possible, and even if possible, would result in instantaneous retromission of the....”

Me: *takes 5 slices of pizza and leaves*

 

[MAPK phosphatase]

Lawful Chaotic.

Wait. That's illegal.

 

[Y2K Baby]

Wait. That's illegal.

Not in my game run by Amazon.

 

[The Manglement]

The D&D alignment system is garbage. People have written huge amounts on this, but it can be summed up as such: certain early 20th century fantasy writers used 'law' and 'chaos' in order to write epic fantasy without specifically talking about religious concepts of good and evil. Gygax just decided to use both systems, creating an arbitrary and poorly understood for 'law' and 'chaos' and giving people the world over the opportunity to be a gigantic asshole because they have 'Chaotic' on their character sheet.

 

[Black Waltz]

Chaotic neutral

 

[Y2K Baby]

Chaotic neutral
View attachment 816777

Kiwi has a personal code though. It's Lawful Neutral. 4chin is Chaotic Neutral.

 

[Sprig of Parsley]

Chaotic Evil meets Chaotic Good and CG pulls a CN

 

[Crabbo]

The D&D alignment system is garbage. People have written huge amounts on this, but it can be summed up as such: certain early 20th century fantasy writers used 'law' and 'chaos' in order to write epic fantasy without specifically talking about religious concepts of good and evil. Gygax just decided to use both systems, creating an arbitrary and poorly understood for 'law' and 'chaos' and giving people the world over the opportunity to be a gigantic asshole because they have 'Chaotic' on their character sheet.

To an extent I definitely agree.
I have always seen alignments as a breakdown of what they are willing to do, and what they want.
If they want power, but will only do it within the bounds of law then it gives some soild ideas about the character.
The problem I always encounter is that people decide their alignment before making the character and thus let it predicate how they behave, instead of vice versa.

And I always feel a DM should be willing to punish the chaotic assholes for being solid assholes.
Sure I can punch someone on the street, but I should know that consequences may happen.

 

[Basil II]

anyone who says they're evil or chaotic is an edgelord.

 

[Sprig of Parsley]

If you're playing a chaotic as an edgelord you're fucking retarded and bad at roleplaying
If you think every chaotic is an edgelord you're fucking retarded and bad at roleplaying

Chaotic Evil gets difficult to do without going edgelord, but asshole is going to be a given with CE. If a DM gets shitty with you over playing CE as an asshole in an evil campaign (the only place you're likely to see a CE anyway, if you bring a CE to a neutral or good campaign you're just a dumb motherfucker) he's a shitty DM.

The trick with any alignment is to be a good roleplayer, to be able to step out of your head enough to play it believably without being a cookie-cutter one-dimensional dipshit. The faults of the D&D alignment system stem from people taking it WAY too fucking seriously. It should be a general guideline, and alignment drift is acceptable in roleplay. Only munchkins tard the fuck out over alignment drift. Even the alignment locked professions aren't doomed to being complete one-note characters, but you need a decent DM in order to explore things beyond Lawful Stupid sometimes.

 

[ghostmice]

Alignments are a meta-system to kind of warn you about how different characters/entities are going to act. No alternative alignment system has been able to properly address the issue of "what about inherently evil things like demons" and so I havent employed any of them. They;re all shit anyhow and written by people with queer in their twitter bio that think they know more about ttrpgs than anyone else because they got 3 sales on the DMs guild.

 

[PL 001]

Neutral good on the surface, but secretly lawful evil

 

[Crabbo]

Has anyone here had experience with the evil playthrough of the Nameless One in Planescape Torment?
THAT is some solid examples of being evil in a roleplay setting.
Everything you can do is so solidly uncomfortable that it paints the nameless one as unforgivable.

Too many people have the idea of playing evil as being a moustache twirling asshat who will push babbies to death for the lolz.

 

[Sprig of Parsley]

Neutral good on the surface, but secretly lawful evil

Neutral good, period. I will drag you into the light by hook or by crook.

Has anyone here had experience with the evil playthrough of the Nameless One in Planescape Torment?
THAT is some solid examples of being evil in a roleplay setting.
Everything you can do is so solidly uncomfortable that it paints the nameless one as unforgivable.

Too many people have the idea of playing evil as being a moustache twirling asshat who will push babbies to death for the lolz.

Yes, Planescape Torment was AMAZING in that regard for a CRPG. I have never had an evil playthrough that was honestly that well done. CRPGs in general tend to HEAVILY incentivize being a goody two shoes, to the point of being a good guy feeling like shameless opportunism in Fallout 2.

 

[TerribleIdeas™]

@The Ghost of ODB weren’t we just talking about this in chat?

Anyway I have given DND a fair shake, and I have concluded it has too many rules for me

Me: “I uh cast magic missile at the ogre.”

Dungeon master: “But did you assign points into cantrips to enable access to this school of magic and did you consider first how the passage of quickened objects or entities without the persistent agency of hyperagonal media is not possible, and even if possible, would result in instantaneous retromission of the....”

Me: *takes 5 slices of pizza and leaves*

You had a garbage DM.

OT - Is "Baltimore Coon" an option? I feel like rioting.