Preamble
So, I was writing on a different topic, but I realized that it was going to take longer than I had, so I’ve switched topics for today, to another topic I have been wanting to write about, that I can do with less time. I intend to finish and put up my other post in the near future.
That said, today’s topic is Alignment.
Premise
So, I’ve never been a fan of D&D’s alignment system. An alignment system CAN be a very handy tool to give the player ideas and quickly communicate your character's personality to the DM. The D&D alignment system, however, is far too vague to be any good for that. Particularly with the 9 alignments as distinct things. So, in the past, I have done the individual axes separately. I came up with separate definitions for Good, Evil, Lawful, and Chaotic. And that was at least consistent. But today, I’m going with an alternate “Alignment” system entirely. This replaces D&D’s conventional alignment system, act as fleshed out personality traits and flaws, and work with bonds and ideals.
Alignment System
So, I wanted an alignment system that not only helps the player iron out how they intend to play their character, but also, give the DM a good indication of how the character will play.
Choose two to four Core Character Traits that apply to your character. The only restriction, is you cannot choose opposing keywords.
Choose between four and eight Secondary Character Traits that best describe your character. If you have something in mind that is not on the list, talk to your DM, he should keep an open mind.
Core Character Traits
- A) Selfless - Willing to risk harm to yourself and your interests for the benefit of others.
- B) Selfish - Willing to see harm come to others for your own interests.
- A) Deliberate - Prefers to plan out their actions in advance.
- B) Spontaneous - Prefers to improvise their actions on the fly.
- A) Honorable - Has a code of ethics they stick to, believes in upholding responsibility.
- B) Dishonorable - Has no code of ethics and does what they feel like, and has no regard for responsibilities.
- A) Law-Abiding - Respects the authorities and their mandates.
- B) Criminal - Lacks respect for authorities and their mandates.
Secondary Character Traits
Absent-Minded, Accepting, Accomodating, Aggressive, Alert, Aloof, Ambitious, Anxious, Assertive, Arrogant, Attention-Whore, Awkward, Bigoted, Blabbermouthed, Bloodthirsty, Blunt, Boastful, Boorish, Brave, Callous, Candid, Cautious, Charitable, Compassionate, Compliment-prone, Condescending, Confident, Conformist, Confrontational, Considerate, Contrary, Contentious, Convoluted, Cowardly, Creative, Crude, Cruel, Curious, Dedicated, Defensive, Delegating, Deliberate, Dependent, Diplomatic, Direct, Disciplined, Distractible, Distrustful, Dogmatic, Doubtful, Down-to-Earth, Dutiful, Egotistical, Emotional, Empathetic, Emulous, Energetic, Excited, Fair, Fame-seeking, Fanatical, Fashionable, Fickle, Fidgety, Flexible, Forgetful, Foul-Mouthed, Generous, Gluttonous, Gossip, Greedy, Gruff, Haughty, Hawkish, Hostile, Hot-headed, Humorless, Hyperbolic, Idealistic, Immature, Impatient, Impulsive, Imperious, Indecisive, Independent, Indifferent, Indirect, Inflexible, Inquisitive, Insecure, Insensitive, Insightful, Jealous, Judgmental, Lazy, Level-Headed, Logical, Loose-Tongued, Merciless, Miserly, Naive, Narcissistic, Nervous, Noncommittal, Nosey, Nurturing, Obsessive, Obstinate, Open-Minded, Opinionated, Optimistic, Outspoken, Overconfident, Overprotective, Pacifistic, Paranoid, Peremptory, Perfectionistic, Pessimistic, Petty, Philosophical, Polite, Possessive, Practical, Pragmatic, Prideful, Protective, Proud, Rational, Reasonable, Reckless, Reliable, Romantic, Sadistic, Sarcastic, Secretive, Self-Centered, Self-Deprecating, Self-Righteous, Sesquipedalian, Sheltered, Sincere, Spineless, Spiteful, Spontaneous, Sticky-Fingered, Striving, Stubborn, Superstitious, Supportive, Suspecting, Suspicious, Tactless, Tactful, Talkative, Temperamental, Tenacious, Theatrical, Tight-Lipped, Timid, Traditional, Trusting, Trustworthy, Uncompromising, Unfeeling, Unforgiving, Unreliable, Unsatisfied, Untrustworthy, Vain, Vengeful, Verbose, Wise, Withdrawn
Conclusion
Well, I've been wanting to iron out this alignment system I've been mulling around for a few months, and I think this ended up as a great first-draft. I expect to make use of this little subsystem in my next campaign, instead of the standard D&D alignment.
Leave me some comments if you have any additional keywords that would better flesh out the list of secondary personality keywords!
— Hawkwinter
fake and gay btw erp me in ptu
ReplyDeleteSelfless/Selfish and Deliberate/Spontaneous I dig, interesting axis to work with there.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much room for grey in the second half. Honourable or Dishonourable, for example - what about people that try to keep their word but if it doesn't pan out then they feel bad but it isn't something that will keep them up at night? I couldn't place that entirely human issue on one or the other. Similarly Law-abiding and Criminal, especially the respect/lacks respect descriptions there. Someone who respects cops/politicians/etc but speeds, fudges taxes, and cheats customers as a salesman versus someone who hates authority figures but follows the law because it is the common boundary that maintains civilization? Those lines would have been Neutral on the traditional alignment chart.
That said, the fact that we could choose just two from the Primary list allows one to pick the most important traits for the character and leave the less significant keywords off the sheet, so it isn't required to be locked in with Criminal, Honourable, etc.
(Side note about using the word Criminal: lacking respect for authorities and their mandates doesn't make one a criminal, disrespecting the law doesn't mean one will go out breaking it. Rebel/rebellious perhaps?)
-Reeditty
Damn website ate my reply.
DeleteRight:
The room for grey on all the axes comes from leaving up to two of the four blank. This doesn't allow for a "neutral neutral neutral neutral" character who has no strong opinions about the world, one way, or the other. That was by design, because as a DM you want to know how to motivate your party and design for them. You want at least two meaningful core personality traits to work with.
Regarding Law-Abiding and Criminal, I feel like we're having a miscommunication. It's not about whether or not the character likes the law, it's about whether you're willing to respect the law. A Law-Abiding character respects the authorities even when they feel the authorities are deeply wrong. A Criminal will choose not to respect the law, whenever it's inconvenient for them, so long as they think they can get away with it (or they may not care about the consequences). Anyone who falls in between those extremes, would have it blank.
Your example character who fudges taxes and cheats customers is a criminal. Your disgruntled citizen is law-abiding. Those aren't neutral, they clear-cut fit into the categories.
If you have any suggestions on how to phrase it to clear up the confusion, I'm open to suggestions.
Each axis is a spectrum measuring a single thing about your character's moral fiber and worldview, from one extreme to the other.
DeleteHow Selfless you are.
How Deliberate you are.
How Honorable you are.
And how Law-Abiding you are.
It's not about how you feel about any particular group of authorities or a particular law. It's about how you feel about the value of "Authorities and Laws" as a broad concept.
It could be called Lawful vs Lawless, if that's more clear.
4 Key measurements of your character's moral outlook, designed to be useful to you for roleplaying cues, and useful to the DM by giving him more of an indication of how you're likely to react, in a format that he can review at a glance, because it's one word.