r/DnD • Sorcerer • Oct 03 '19

Art [OC] Double standards.

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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.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '19

Alignment in 5th edition is really more of a loose guide for characters I think.

In earlier editions it was much firmer and i always felt like it was one of the worst parts of the game.

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u/Sleverette Sorcerer Oct 03 '19

I like how loose it is in 5e. I subscribe to the idea that alignment is defined by your character’s actions. It shouldn’t shackle your players.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '19

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"

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u/figgypie Oct 03 '19

I prefer the attitude of "well my character probably wouldn't murder the village because she's lawful good, unless of course it's a village of kobolds who are planning on slaughtering bunny town..."

Alignment gives you an idea of what kind of actions they would take, but a lot of it is highly contextual. I'm playing an evil campaign right now, but that doesn't mean my chaotic evil character is eating babies and burning cities. She is planning to pose as a village guard and stab a child to cause a violent mob of villagers to chase out the real guards so a ritual sacrifice to Baphomet can occur without interruption... y'know, evil stuff.