In recent years, I've rethought my longstanding concept of alignment as simply belief systems. If it represents a belief system, it becomes difficult to justify such things as alignment languages and detecting alignment which for me are important artifacts of gameplay that make D&D "D&D" as opposed to some other fantasy RPG.
In keeping with my drift from fantasy realism to the more magical approach of Philotomy's Mythic Underworld, I've also reevaluated alignment. Taking inspiration from Moorcock's Law vs Chaos conflict in the Elric and Corum series, as well as Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Broken Sword novels, I look at alignment as a metaphysical force. Alignment is not just your chosen belief system, it is your alignment (in the astrological sense of the stars being aligned) with one or the other forces of the universe - Law or Chaos.
Law is the fundamental force that organizes and creates stability; chaos seeks to dissolve, change and mutate. When the two forces are in balance, you have neutrality (neutrality is not a thing of itself, simply a balance of both forces - usually temporary in nature). Neither Law nor Chaos is good for most living things taken to its extreme - Law run amok would basically freeze everything now in existence into its present state, eternal and unchanging; Chaos run amok would dissolve the entirety of the universe into a constantly changing soup where nothing remained stable from one second to the next. For a non-fantasy example, the conflict between the Shadows (Chaos) and Vorlons (Law) and the ultimate disastrous effects of their conflict on the "younger races" is a good take on how the two sides fight one another not just directly but through proxies.
In the game world, the very dominance of one faction or the other has visible, tangible effects. Areas where Chaos is ascendant will be shifting wilderness, where tracks may change from one trip to the next and strange creatures appear from mists and caves; buildings decay rapidly, diseases spread unexpectedly and weirdness is the order of the day. Conversely, areas where Law is ascendant will be orderly and predictable from the lay of the land to weather patterns to how settlements are laid out. When the balance in an area changes - in either direction - the effects on the existing people, animals, plants and landscape and be dramatic and destructive. When characters establish a stronghold in a wilderness area and clear out the monsters in a radius around it, they are not just killing dangerous critters and putting up a stone fort; they are metaphysically changing the balance of those lands, increasing Law and reducing Chaos.
Andy C Great thoughts! I, too, have done away with alignment languages. I treat Detect Alignment by describing the target creature as being degrees of Opposed to the PC or in Harmony, the spell itself giving the caster a "sense" of it, something like The Force in Star Wars. I had not thought of visible effects of alignment, but that may become a thread I weave in.
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ReplyDeleteIn recent years, I've rethought my longstanding concept of alignment as simply belief systems. If it represents a belief system, it becomes difficult to justify such things as alignment languages and detecting alignment which for me are important artifacts of gameplay that make D&D "D&D" as opposed to some other fantasy RPG.
ReplyDeleteIn keeping with my drift from fantasy realism to the more magical approach of Philotomy's Mythic Underworld, I've also reevaluated alignment. Taking inspiration from Moorcock's Law vs Chaos conflict in the Elric and Corum series, as well as Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions and The Broken Sword novels, I look at alignment as a metaphysical force. Alignment is not just your chosen belief system, it is your alignment (in the astrological sense of the stars being aligned) with one or the other forces of the universe - Law or Chaos.
Law is the fundamental force that organizes and creates stability; chaos seeks to dissolve, change and mutate. When the two forces are in balance, you have neutrality (neutrality is not a thing of itself, simply a balance of both forces - usually temporary in nature). Neither Law nor Chaos is good for most living things taken to its extreme - Law run amok would basically freeze everything now in existence into its present state, eternal and unchanging; Chaos run amok would dissolve the entirety of the universe into a constantly changing soup where nothing remained stable from one second to the next. For a non-fantasy example, the conflict between the Shadows (Chaos) and Vorlons (Law) and the ultimate disastrous effects of their conflict on the "younger races" is a good take on how the two sides fight one another not just directly but through proxies.
In the game world, the very dominance of one faction or the other has visible, tangible effects. Areas where Chaos is ascendant will be shifting wilderness, where tracks may change from one trip to the next and strange creatures appear from mists and caves; buildings decay rapidly, diseases spread unexpectedly and weirdness is the order of the day. Conversely, areas where Law is ascendant will be orderly and predictable from the lay of the land to weather patterns to how settlements are laid out. When the balance in an area changes - in either direction - the effects on the existing people, animals, plants and landscape and be dramatic and destructive. When characters establish a stronghold in a wilderness area and clear out the monsters in a radius around it, they are not just killing dangerous critters and putting up a stone fort; they are metaphysically changing the balance of those lands, increasing Law and reducing Chaos.
Andy C
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts! I, too, have done away with alignment languages. I treat Detect Alignment by describing the target creature as being degrees of Opposed to the PC or in Harmony, the spell itself giving the caster a "sense" of it, something like The Force in Star Wars. I had not thought of visible effects of alignment, but that may become a thread I weave in.