One of the things held against basic D&D was that it's alignment system was too simple (and of course that race-as-class wasn't as cool as race + class).
But now I appreciate the elegance of original D&D and the general line of "basic" D&D. I think one of the best things it had going for it was that the management at TSR didn't seem to scrutinize it as much as some of the other lines, so Frank Mentzer and co. had more freedom to go their own creative way. And I really like how it pays homage to the original set. Still I like to ponder how to improve the alignment system, as unrealistic as it may be.
One approach I am mildly fond of is Palladium where different alignments are given specific names. It adds flavor: Principled, Anarchist, Diabolic, etc. With that in mind, and in the spirit of Gygaxian systematization here is another way to look at alignment.
What if we added another layer to the axis of Law/Chaos, Good/Evil and added Zealotry/Indifference. So someone could be mildly Lawful Good, or ZEALOUSLY Lawful Good! This chart would look something like this with concentric circles radiating out from Neutrality, the innermost circle representing Indifference and the outer circle representing Zealotry.
I think its an interesting idea, and a usual concept for player's to keep in mind (M.A.R. Barker talks a lot about the difference zealotry makes in ToTPT). but I don't no that I'd codify in the alignment descriptor.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently playing Empire of the Petal Throne - it's a great reminder of how good and evil from the original D&D differed from the deep culture defined in EPT.
ReplyDeleteAlignment issues have been a real pain in my AD&D lately. Looking forward to doing some games without the concept.
ReplyDeleteI guess this would make alignment look like this:
ReplyDeleteLawful Good Zealous (the character would have an incredibly high sense of moral and ethics and expect everyone he associates with to have the same high sense)
Lawful Good Neutral (the character would have an incredibly high sense of moral and ethics and generally only associate with similarly minded folks)
Lawful Good Indifferent (the character would have an incredibly high sense of moral and ethics personally, but would generally mind his own business.)
The intuitive (rather than indifferent) to ideological (rather than zealous) axis I have been proposing for a few years and which I mentioned in dragonsfoot catching your attention is not a circle, its more of a cube, if 2 axes extended the 3 part line to a 9 part square, the third axis makes it grow into a a 27 part cube, something less bidimensional and much more meaty.
ReplyDelete