Quote Originally Posted by Segev View Post
Really isn't serving the same purpose as an alignment system. Evidence: you could have both present in the same game without them clashing or stepping on each others' toes.

An alignment system as D&D uses it - even restricted to "behavior reveals alignment" style "descriptive alignment" - ties your personal desires and methods to cosmic forces. This Zodiac concept would tie something more akin to character race to cosmic forces. (A player would choose the sign under which his PC was born the same way he chooses the race he was born as.)
IMO the background personality/bond/flaw/ideal in 5e does a better job of "personal desires", and class does a better job of "methods to cosmic forces". Alignment can be removed from the character sheet entirely and nothing of value would be lost. Next step is to replace alignment based cosmology with zodiac cosmology and bob's your uncle.

That's a ton of work though.

I'm not saying that a Zodiac cosmology is the way to go, I'm picking it as an example of how easy it is to come up with something better than the alignment system. Because a zodiac system is kinda lame, alignment is lamer. Worse. Actively destructive