I last posted about alignment, and how much I disliked the concept. It is, in my mind, similar to the way certain Computer RPGs have a "Good/Evil" thing going on. Games like KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic), Neverwinter Nights and Fable come to mind. It's kind of interesting, in those games, because they do give you a choice of how to act, some decision-making control over social interactions and tasks, &c, but ultimately, it all boils down to a very basic black-and-white view of: "If you choose to be an ass you're an ass, and if you choose to act like Mother Theresa you're not". And that's good and evil, right there. Ridiculously simplistic.
But, after I wrote that post, I've been asking myself, what would you replace it with? There are really two options, in mind. You could replace it with nothing. That is, let players act how they act, and the DM determines repercussions. If you decide to steal from that poor shopkeeper and get caught, are you evil? He was poor. You have adamantium weapons. You got caught. Are you evil? What about if you then, because you got caught, decide to kill him to cover up the crime? Are you evil then? What if, before he gets killed, he shouts really loud and the night watch comes to investigate and sees you with the proverbial bloody knife in your hand? Are you then evil because you got caught? And what if, then, because you're by now level 10 and everybody knows that basic humans are supposed to be 0-level, you decide "I really don't want to go to jail because then the game would be over and I kind of like this character so fuck it, engarde Night Watchman!" and you proceed to hackandslash your way through the entire constabulary of this medieval fantasy town and you don't even breathe hard until you have to face Lord Whatsthenameofthistownanyway, who is considerably higher than level 0. Are you evil then? Because now you just sacked a town. When, in reality, all you wanted was to just keep playing the character that you'd grown kind of fond of? I mean, come on, I have an Adamantium Sword and was just trying to get the potion of whatsit for the guy over there. It's my quest, man!
See the problems? Anyway, I sidetracked a bit. So you could replace it with nothing at all. No alignment. Only consequences. Which, to be fair, is truly where the RPG experience is anyway. Nowadays, it goes something like this:
DM - "You just sacked a town. The king's going to be pissed when he hears about this. Oh, and Mikey, you're not a paladin anymore. That was kind of the very definition of not Lawful Good."
Mikey - "But I didn't even do anything until the guard showed up, and Joe the barbarian started getting his ass kicked and begged me for help. I helped my friend. THAT's the definition of Lawful Good."
DM - "Nope. You sacked a town and now you guys are going to have huge bounties on your heads and you will have to spend the rest of your days in Sherwood Forest."
Conrad the Half-Elven Ranger - "Sweet. I've always wanted to be Robin Hood. No worries, guys, I have Wilderness training. We'll be fine."
Mikey the ex-Paladin - Sure. We'll eat rats all day and I'll be a warrior. Great. Whatever.
As opposed to the not f'ing worrying about the good vs evil thing, and just letting them play. Because, let's face it, he did help his friends. And that is a pretty good thing to do, isn't it? I'd wager that it's kind of in the eye of the beholder.
OR, you could really come up with a convoluted cultural/religious separate worldviews system, wherein every God/Culture defines good and evil separately. In other words, if you're a worshipper of the Raven Queen, then what she considers to be acceptable and "good" is completely different than what Bahamut or Fizban or whoever considers to be acceptable and good and proper. Fizban/Zifban/nabzif/It's-been-way-too-long-since-I-read-those-books the avatar of the platinum dragon might frown on you randomly slaughtering passersby, but be perfectly fine with you killing everything that moves in the Goblin village over there. Gork and Mork might have a problem with you single-handedly thwarting the latest Waagh!, while the Raven Queen just loves it all. You see what I'm saying? In each case, you could have a "Good" character, or somebody who follows the cultural/religious tenets of his worldview, and yet in each case the decisions you make would be different.
And it's this point that I've been thinking about lately. A lot.
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