Quote from: aia on August 28, 2022, 09:14:48 AM
I am in the same position: i didn't know 5E banned aligment (and if it won't, the effect is likely the same)... I am writing a game where aligment is an essential feature of the characters and the is a heavy game mechanics which pivots on aligment.
I hope to be able to launch this new FRPG before the end of the year, at least in a playtest version and i am eager to hear any comment/critic on what i built.

I applaud initiatives like this one. Good luck on your journey Aia!

i long ago changed alignment from behavior based to planar origin based. tried a simplified system based on pendragon that works the same as its virtues and vices but with one stat that must total 5D, works just fine, no real advantage over the planar origin approach though.

To explain, things from upper planes are good things from lower planes are evil things from prime are neutral as far as alignment calculations go. Sure you can do good or evil but you ARE neutral you prime material scummy meatbag pos you. if you ever grab a celestial template then you will be good. Your paladin is devoted to good and must do good and seeks to undo evil...but until death he can go either way and is neutral as far as the magic sword is concerned. I suppose i've taken it to mean essence rather than action but i find none but brian the fedora guy complains and most prefer it that way.

I have to admit that I found the removal of alignment a novel idea with Arcana Unearthed and Iron Heroes, but there were still themes of conflict which embroiled the characters and the settings. Even in the game I am playing now By This Axe I Hack alignment is virtually unheard of. However the game does provide rules for campaigns in which the conflict of Order and Chaos is a major part of the world, and I think it would be cool to have a campaign like that (on occasion).

At the same time, however, it would be nice to see systems that aren't reliant on alignment but on other motivations (rule defined or player defined), and where Player Actions identify their "alignment" instead of a filled in slot on a character sheet.

Quote from: thornad on June 23, 2022, 09:39:23 PM
Thulsa Doom wasn't evil?

The point is that Thulsa Doom wasn't motivated to do things to further Chaos or Evil and Conan (or Kull in the books) didn't fight against him hoping to defend Law and goodness. We can apply these labels after the fact but the Howard stories are very different than the Moorcock stories when it comes to this sort of thing.

Moorcock inverted nearly every S&S trope. He named the genre and then made it difficult to define by example.

Thulsa Doom was based and virtuous priest of Our Lord Set fighting against wicked practically atheistic (formally weak deist) Cimmerians.
As such he represent just struggle of traditional Eurasian societies against wicked American freemasons.

Removing alignment in 5e eh?
Another good reason why WoTC sucks balls and the OSR is where it's at.

In 5e it's less problematic as way less mechanics are tied to it.