TandemChelipeds
2014-07-29, 06:13 PM
As a would-be DM, I've been faced with a number of problems regarding alignment and worldbuilding. While I like the idea of cosmic forces tied to characters' beliefs and attitudes, I find that Good and Evil are a bit too straightforward for my tastes. Paradoxically, both are rather ill-defined; nobody can really agree on what Good means, and Evil seems to flip-flop between ordinary selfishness and pure irrational malice. It also seems a little disingenuous to treat Good/Evil and Law/Chaos as two altogether different axes. If Good is a matter of having limits, doesn't that make Good/Evil just another form of Law and Chaos?
Additionally, I like a little grimdark in my fantasy. Not everyone does, and that's fine, but if my heroes are summoning angels, I want those angels to have a sinister agenda of their own, even as they remain opposed to the forces of darkness and destruction. I could just cut things down to Law and Chaos, but that creates problems, since it pits paladins against rogues in the game's only axis, severely damaging party cohesion. My solution to this? Simple. Make the alignment system a matter of Law vs. Chaos, but spread it across two axes. Give them two different kinds of Law, and two different kinds of Chaos. I borrowed heavily from Christianity for my terminology, but hopefully that'll only give it something of a Gothic flavour.
This system of alignment probably works best with a setting that has a dominant religion, intolerant of dissent, that follows a genuinely powerful deity/pantheon in the context of the setting's metaphysics.
Orthodoxy vs. Heresy:
This indicates the metaphysical beliefs espoused by a character. Superficially, it appears similar to the Law/Chaos axis, and outsiders are aligned with it as if Orthodoxy were Law and Heresy were Chaos, but it isn't necessarily the same; most Lawful characters would actually probably be Virtuous in this system, and most Chaotic characters would probably be Sinful. In a nutshell, this is "high alignment": The alignment that scholars and cosmic entities concern themselves with. Most characters are either neutral or Orthodox on this scale, though foreign civilizations are probably mainly Heretical.
Orthodoxy indicates agreement with the dominant doctrine of a setting, and heresy indicates disagreement.
Virtue vs. Sin
This indicates the actual behavior of a character. Superficially it appears similar to the Good/Evil axis, and outsiders are aligned with it as if Virtue were Good and Sin were Evil, but it isn't necessarily the same; Sinful characters can simply have poor impulse control, while Virtuous characters can be antivillains like the Operative from Serenity. In a nutshell, this is "low alignment": The alignment that actually concerns people in their daily business. Most characters are either neutral or Sinful on this scale, though members of religious orders are likely to be Virtuous.
Virtue indicates restraint and discipline, primarily in the form of charity, chastity, diligence, humility, kindness, patience, and temperance.
Sin indicates passion and recklessness, primarily in the form of envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.
For the purposes of most game mechanics(mainly spells and spell-like abilities), Virtue/Sin is Good/Evil, and Orthodoxy/Heresy is Law/Chaos. However, sometimes Law/Chaos mechanics can also be translated to Virtue/Sin, and Good/Evil mechanics can be translated to Orthodoxy/Heresy. These exceptions are generally class abilities.
Some of the alignment-restricted classes, of course, would need to be adjusted to fit the new system. The alignment restrictions I think are sensible are laid out in the alignment grid below. For the purposes of class features, I'd say you should let players choose whether they function along the Heresy or Sin axis; a paladin, for example, could have Detect Sin or Detect Heresy, and either one of those abilities would be helpful to them in fulfilling their duties. All of any given paladin's abilities should function along the same axis, so paladin with Detect Sin would have Smite Sin, and a paladin with Detect Heresy would have Aura of Orthodoxy. A monk's 10th-level ki strikes, however, would always be Virtuous, since monks are restricted to Virtue rather than Orthodoxy.
Orthodox Virtuous:
Paladins, Monks
Archons, Angels
(Agents of heaven, devoted to purifying the world of its sin)
Neutral Virtuous:
Monks, Druids
Agathions, Angels
(Spirits born of Virtue, embodying the way of self-denial)
Heretical Virtuous:
Monks
Azata, Eladrin, Angels
(Fallen agents, seeking annihilation of the trappings of flesh and matter)
Orthodox Neutral:
Bards, Druids
Inevitables, Modrons
(Agents of the Plan, ensuring that the universe maintains its current structure)
Neutral:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Ordinary people
Heretical Neutral:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Proteans, Slaadi
(Fallen agents, dissenting against the established structure of reality)
Orthodox Sinful:
Bards
Devils, Rakshasa, Oni
(Agents of hell, devoted to punishing the sinful in accordance with the cosmic plan)
Neutral Sinful:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Daemons, Yugoloths
(Spirits born of Sin, embodying the way of self-indulgence)
Heretical Sinful:
Antipaladins, Barbarians, Bards
Demons, Qlippoth
(Fallen agents, seeking the total unfettering of the impulsive primal will)
Clearly, this system won't work for every setting, and it probably needs a fair amount of tweaking. Still, I like it for my purposes, and I think my fellow purveyors of grimdark might appreciate it. Even outside the context of grimdark, I think this could still basically be functional with a more optimistic GM. At the very least, I think it provides the benefit of a context in which the players can't get away with the same Protection From (Alignment) spell every day; just about any stance is justifiable one way or another, and there are plenty of enemies for everyone. What do you think? Is there anything I'm overlooking? I'm looking for constructive criticism.
Additionally, I like a little grimdark in my fantasy. Not everyone does, and that's fine, but if my heroes are summoning angels, I want those angels to have a sinister agenda of their own, even as they remain opposed to the forces of darkness and destruction. I could just cut things down to Law and Chaos, but that creates problems, since it pits paladins against rogues in the game's only axis, severely damaging party cohesion. My solution to this? Simple. Make the alignment system a matter of Law vs. Chaos, but spread it across two axes. Give them two different kinds of Law, and two different kinds of Chaos. I borrowed heavily from Christianity for my terminology, but hopefully that'll only give it something of a Gothic flavour.
This system of alignment probably works best with a setting that has a dominant religion, intolerant of dissent, that follows a genuinely powerful deity/pantheon in the context of the setting's metaphysics.
Orthodoxy vs. Heresy:
This indicates the metaphysical beliefs espoused by a character. Superficially, it appears similar to the Law/Chaos axis, and outsiders are aligned with it as if Orthodoxy were Law and Heresy were Chaos, but it isn't necessarily the same; most Lawful characters would actually probably be Virtuous in this system, and most Chaotic characters would probably be Sinful. In a nutshell, this is "high alignment": The alignment that scholars and cosmic entities concern themselves with. Most characters are either neutral or Orthodox on this scale, though foreign civilizations are probably mainly Heretical.
Orthodoxy indicates agreement with the dominant doctrine of a setting, and heresy indicates disagreement.
Virtue vs. Sin
This indicates the actual behavior of a character. Superficially it appears similar to the Good/Evil axis, and outsiders are aligned with it as if Virtue were Good and Sin were Evil, but it isn't necessarily the same; Sinful characters can simply have poor impulse control, while Virtuous characters can be antivillains like the Operative from Serenity. In a nutshell, this is "low alignment": The alignment that actually concerns people in their daily business. Most characters are either neutral or Sinful on this scale, though members of religious orders are likely to be Virtuous.
Virtue indicates restraint and discipline, primarily in the form of charity, chastity, diligence, humility, kindness, patience, and temperance.
Sin indicates passion and recklessness, primarily in the form of envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath.
For the purposes of most game mechanics(mainly spells and spell-like abilities), Virtue/Sin is Good/Evil, and Orthodoxy/Heresy is Law/Chaos. However, sometimes Law/Chaos mechanics can also be translated to Virtue/Sin, and Good/Evil mechanics can be translated to Orthodoxy/Heresy. These exceptions are generally class abilities.
Some of the alignment-restricted classes, of course, would need to be adjusted to fit the new system. The alignment restrictions I think are sensible are laid out in the alignment grid below. For the purposes of class features, I'd say you should let players choose whether they function along the Heresy or Sin axis; a paladin, for example, could have Detect Sin or Detect Heresy, and either one of those abilities would be helpful to them in fulfilling their duties. All of any given paladin's abilities should function along the same axis, so paladin with Detect Sin would have Smite Sin, and a paladin with Detect Heresy would have Aura of Orthodoxy. A monk's 10th-level ki strikes, however, would always be Virtuous, since monks are restricted to Virtue rather than Orthodoxy.
Orthodox Virtuous:
Paladins, Monks
Archons, Angels
(Agents of heaven, devoted to purifying the world of its sin)
Neutral Virtuous:
Monks, Druids
Agathions, Angels
(Spirits born of Virtue, embodying the way of self-denial)
Heretical Virtuous:
Monks
Azata, Eladrin, Angels
(Fallen agents, seeking annihilation of the trappings of flesh and matter)
Orthodox Neutral:
Bards, Druids
Inevitables, Modrons
(Agents of the Plan, ensuring that the universe maintains its current structure)
Neutral:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Ordinary people
Heretical Neutral:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Proteans, Slaadi
(Fallen agents, dissenting against the established structure of reality)
Orthodox Sinful:
Bards
Devils, Rakshasa, Oni
(Agents of hell, devoted to punishing the sinful in accordance with the cosmic plan)
Neutral Sinful:
Barbarians, Bards, Druids
Daemons, Yugoloths
(Spirits born of Sin, embodying the way of self-indulgence)
Heretical Sinful:
Antipaladins, Barbarians, Bards
Demons, Qlippoth
(Fallen agents, seeking the total unfettering of the impulsive primal will)
Clearly, this system won't work for every setting, and it probably needs a fair amount of tweaking. Still, I like it for my purposes, and I think my fellow purveyors of grimdark might appreciate it. Even outside the context of grimdark, I think this could still basically be functional with a more optimistic GM. At the very least, I think it provides the benefit of a context in which the players can't get away with the same Protection From (Alignment) spell every day; just about any stance is justifiable one way or another, and there are plenty of enemies for everyone. What do you think? Is there anything I'm overlooking? I'm looking for constructive criticism.