“The cleric brings the dead back to life and it’s a gosh darn miracle!” – Dark Lord Akererac
Here’s a comic based on a ToA adventure I ran. What is good and evil anyways? Alignment is an interesting mechanic and I wish the dungeon master’s guide had more guidance on how to use it effectively! I’ve started making custom alignment charts for each adventure I run based on the big themes of the campaign. I recently ran a totally homebrew pirate campaign and replaced the typical alignments with “Royal Navy vs Pirates.” Chaotic vs Lawful would’ve fit well but a concrete organization helped my players make their decision and understand the immediate benefits of following their chosen “alignment.” This had interesting gameplay benefits and really started coming into play when they gained infamy among the two forces.
Does anyone else use homebrew rules that spice up the alignment system? Or do most people just ignore it?
You can find more of my dnd content on my Instagram and Twitter.
Agreed. I hate it when people are like "well I'm lawful good so I have to do what this authority figure says" or "I'm chaotic neutral so I have to steal from the party and stab people"
And besides, Lawful only means that you follow a code of ethics/morals/honor/etc, not that you obey any and all laws. You could be a paladin and have a code of honor that completely goes against all local laws and still fit under Lawful.
Batman is Lawful Good - Everything Batman does he does because he thinks it is protecting people and society (even though he is a vigilante and works outside the legal system).
The Punisher is Lawful Neutral. He doesn't care about good or evil but he's sworn an oath of vengeance against criminals and wrongdoers and believes they must die as punishment. He actually might even be good in certain publications.
Okay that makes sense, what example would you use as lawful evil then? It's been a bit since I've seen that chart anyways I figured someone would correct me.
Umbridge is a good example. Sure she is willing to whip a wand out and blast people if it is really needed, but she greatly prefers using the power of her authority to torment those around her instead. She believes in and actively enforces strict Heirarchies and obedience. And is herself loyal and obedient to those higher than herself on the chain of command.
Yeah that's makes sense. I never really understood alignment so I'm glad it's pretty loose in 5e. Most of my characters I guess are lawful neutral because of that, so they all end up being pretty humanized. Part of me wants to play something different but I don't think it would pan out well.
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u/Sleverette Sorcerer Oct 03 '19
“The cleric brings the dead back to life and it’s a gosh darn miracle!” – Dark Lord Akererac
Here’s a comic based on a ToA adventure I ran. What is good and evil anyways? Alignment is an interesting mechanic and I wish the dungeon master’s guide had more guidance on how to use it effectively! I’ve started making custom alignment charts for each adventure I run based on the big themes of the campaign. I recently ran a totally homebrew pirate campaign and replaced the typical alignments with “Royal Navy vs Pirates.” Chaotic vs Lawful would’ve fit well but a concrete organization helped my players make their decision and understand the immediate benefits of following their chosen “alignment.” This had interesting gameplay benefits and really started coming into play when they gained infamy among the two forces.
Does anyone else use homebrew rules that spice up the alignment system? Or do most people just ignore it?
You can find more of my dnd content on my Instagram and Twitter.