Alignment vs Actions
This is another rant about alignments. Sorry.
I feel that some people view the alignment of their characters as a justification for unreasonable behavior and party in-fighting. It always brings the game to a screeching halt when someone says “my character is ____ so i do ____” or “it makes sense for my character to do that because he is ___”.
Your character should be a person, who decides upon his or her actions with a rational thought process. I suppose you might like the idea of playing an irrational character, “why did I stab that guy? because of puppys!” or “I flipped a coin, looks like i jump into the lava pit”, but you won’t make a good party member and the others should probably abandon you as fast as possible. Some say neutral characters can do whatever they want or might be totally nuts. but this is a non-reason. your character can not do anything because he is neutral. he doesn’t accept the idea that what he does is good or evil but he does it because he felt it was right/best/necessary at the time.
rational people sometimes do what they want and sometimes do what is necessary. They generally have a better, or at least more interesting, excuse then “I am one of 9 ethical/societal archetypes”. Your character has friends and family that were killed by goblins, so yes you kill that goblin child. Your character can even feel conflicted about it later. Your an evil scum bag and the wizard is holding all of the magical loot. you could slit his throat in the night and run off with everything but your character joined this group to stop a greater evil, or it would be suicide to run off alone, or the others might catch and kill you. either way its probably best to negotiate with the party. you’re an honorable knight of the white goddess of happy flowers, and the nasty self serving thief just got himself turned to stone. you could abandon him and probably no one would mind since he is such a jerk, but he is helping you on your quest and it seems kind of cruel to just leave him. Alignments or your characters ethical/societal beliefs affect how they view their actions and the actions of others. They do not physically stop or enforce your characters actions.
I think part of the problem may be the limited nature of selecting one of a small subset of choices. Some people might feel that they are obligated to follow that choice. I think it would be better to ignore the alignments entirely or invite players to write their own mottos or drives. Rather than “Good” a character “will always help those in need”. Instead of “Evil” a character “Always looks out for himself first”. Also the party needs to be held together by a common goal or even by friendship. A character might not like what another is doing but they are on a mission or he tolerates it because the other guy has saved his life several times. If your character simply cannot accept the actions of the others you should say “It seems like my character would abandon this party” and create a new one or do something else. equally if you notice a character in your party is having trouble accepting what you and the others are doing, maybe your characters should show some concern and dial it back. They know this guy and don’t want to chase him off.
Just try to play your character as a person and be prepared to justify your actions rationally in the context of the story. Don’t just say that you are ___.
Alignment is an incredibly stupid concept, and one of several tragic holdovers from the bad old days of roleplaying games (kind of like initiative).
Alignment is an incredibly stupid concept, and one of several tragic holdovers from the bad old days of roleplaying games (kind of like initiative).
I think alignment in DW should be a bond you write to yourself (character). And you should rewrite it when it is no longer apropriate or interesting.
I think alignment in DW should be a bond you write to yourself (character). And you should rewrite it when it is no longer apropriate or interesting.
Daniel Fowler That’s a pretty cool idea.
If we’re being honest, alignment in DW doesn’t really mean much as-written. It’s basically just a drive. You complete it once per session to get your XP, but can otherwise ignore it. I find the only people who take it seriously are the players who came from a more trad background. Players new to RPGs tend to play their characters in a way that is more honest within the established fiction and more or less ignore the alignment.
Daniel Fowler That’s a pretty cool idea.
If we’re being honest, alignment in DW doesn’t really mean much as-written. It’s basically just a drive. You complete it once per session to get your XP, but can otherwise ignore it. I find the only people who take it seriously are the players who came from a more trad background. Players new to RPGs tend to play their characters in a way that is more honest within the established fiction and more or less ignore the alignment.
Good vs. evil? Sure. A little simplistically black and white, but not terribly surprising. Law vs. chaos: OK. Thankfully, all games of D&D (etc) take place in the world of Elric, because otherwise that would be pretty stupid.
Lord am I happy that I have no desire to play D&D or its many offshoots and imitators. That way, I don’t have to pretend alignment is anything but dumb. And if I play with anyone that doesn’t agree, it’s fine. It doesn’t come up because there’s no alignment in whichever game we’re playing.
Good vs. evil? Sure. A little simplistically black and white, but not terribly surprising. Law vs. chaos: OK. Thankfully, all games of D&D (etc) take place in the world of Elric, because otherwise that would be pretty stupid.
Lord am I happy that I have no desire to play D&D or its many offshoots and imitators. That way, I don’t have to pretend alignment is anything but dumb. And if I play with anyone that doesn’t agree, it’s fine. It doesn’t come up because there’s no alignment in whichever game we’re playing.
Alignment has always seemed to be to be stage direction. characters of Alignment X tend to act in Y way.
It’s been taken to the extremes we have seen abused because of two reasons:
1) failure to nurture and mature a sense of Self (referring to the Self of the character) in the players
2) Usefulness as a tool to allow Out-Of-Character actions In-Character Justification
The first leads us down the dark path of “roll-playing”, which leads us to Munchkin. A Min-Max wasteland where you have things such as “dump stats” and a character piece-mealed from 30 different splat-books. And everyone is a blender who couldn’t perform a bluff or diplomacy unless it’s resolved by the mighty D20.
The second is the worst of the sins, the cat-piss player who poisons a game by their very existence. We have all met this person before, someone who will do things to fuck over the party in the name of “that’s what my character would do!”, Mr. “I’m Chaotic-Neutral!”, and why everyone who has games has a horror story about gaming.
I like the alignment in DW, as it gives a focal point for a character. but like all other things, it is a suggestion, and the creation, growth, and flowering of the role should be encouraged and taught to all people at the table. We are here for a story, not for a spreadsheet!
Alignment has always seemed to be to be stage direction. characters of Alignment X tend to act in Y way.
It’s been taken to the extremes we have seen abused because of two reasons:
1) failure to nurture and mature a sense of Self (referring to the Self of the character) in the players
2) Usefulness as a tool to allow Out-Of-Character actions In-Character Justification
The first leads us down the dark path of “roll-playing”, which leads us to Munchkin. A Min-Max wasteland where you have things such as “dump stats” and a character piece-mealed from 30 different splat-books. And everyone is a blender who couldn’t perform a bluff or diplomacy unless it’s resolved by the mighty D20.
The second is the worst of the sins, the cat-piss player who poisons a game by their very existence. We have all met this person before, someone who will do things to fuck over the party in the name of “that’s what my character would do!”, Mr. “I’m Chaotic-Neutral!”, and why everyone who has games has a horror story about gaming.
I like the alignment in DW, as it gives a focal point for a character. but like all other things, it is a suggestion, and the creation, growth, and flowering of the role should be encouraged and taught to all people at the table. We are here for a story, not for a spreadsheet!
My character gathers his share of the loot and runs off in the night because he is Rational-Human
My character gathers his share of the loot and runs off in the night because he is Rational-Human