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I was looking for some information on Alignments, and found that wikipedia has a pretty good writeup on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_ ... Dragons%29

I did see a few things I disagree with, as I would picture Riddick as more CN than CE, and Indiana Jones as NG vs LG. Overall it seems like a decent amount of information though.

Alignments are basically a 2 d structure used in early rp games.

Trying to correlate into modern terms is doomed to failure.

Good and Evil are relative to the point of view of those making the they are good or they are evil arguments.

I have seen too many "evils" performed in the "Name" of alignments.

Play your character not your alignment.

SinbadSam wrote:Good and Evil are relative to the point of view of those making the they are good or they are evil arguments.

While that may be true ICly, OOCly the alignment is a construct created from a single fixed viewpoint which gives specific definitions/examples as to what constitutes good and evil, law and chaos. So while the chaotic evil mage may not view himself as evil or chaotic, his actions will dictate his alignment when viewed from that fixed viewpoint. While his every action won't be explicitely spelled out in the D&D source material, it provides enough of a framework that most people could view each action and place it reasonably on one side of the scale or the other (or somewhere along the continuum).

SinbadSam wrote:Alignments are basically a 2 d structure used in early rp games.

Trying to correlate into modern terms is doomed to failure.

Good and Evil are relative to the point of view of those making the they are good or they are evil arguments.

I have seen too many "evils" performed in the "Name" of alignments.

Play your character not your alignment.

I would have to disagree, unless you consider 3.5, which is the current release of D&D, an early RP game? As long as alignment is a game stat that affects game mechanics, it is important to be aware of how it influences your characters options and yes, your character behavior and RP.

I would counter that your argument is sophistry and moral relativism. Evil performed in the name of whatever is still evil. You can call an evil act "bacon and eggs" but it does not change the fact that it is still evil. Alignment, as a system, provides a moral framework upon with to build as you RP your character. A lawful good paladin is not going to just out of the blue start killing innocents, and keep that alignment. It would also be bad RP to start behaving in such a manner.

Certain spells have different effects based on alignment. So you "should" generally play your alignment on your character sheet. If your character is meant to be some other alignment than what is stated there then you should work towards changing your alignment by asking a DM.

OK

Is "evil" or an "evil act" something that endangers or harms innocents, innocents being defined as non combatant women and children?

Is "good" or an "good act" something that protects or shields innocents from danger or harm?

FYI the above two questions have a greater impact than the casual responder may think, along with some IG/IC examples.

Coyeterex, I am referring to DnD since the three books and forward. I will not digress to get into my views on the Latest and Greatest Iteration. I have 300+ Dragon Magazines, and 250 assorted misc magazines, that have pretty much presented all the various discussions/arguments regarding alignments and their intended and actual use. And yes I have been playing RPG's that long. I play to a different standard, than in my early days of RPGing.

If I *played* some of my characters alignments,,,lets say wood cutting, stone blasting, would have a whole new danger to them. But that is not the direction I *chose* to go with my iteration of RPing.

As for the other posters comments.

SinbadSam wrote:OK

Is "evil" or an "evil act" something that endangers or harms innocents, innocents being defined as non combatant women and children?

Is "good" or an "good act" something that protects or shields innocents from danger or harm?

FYI the above two questions have a greater impact than the casual responder may think, along with some IG/IC examples.

Coyeterex, I am referring to DnD since the three books and forward. I will not digress to get into my views on the Latest and Greatest Iteration. I have 300+ Dragon Magazines, and 250 assorted misc magazines, that have pretty much presented all the various discussions/arguments regarding alignments and their intended and actual use. And yes I have been playing RPG's that long. I play to a different standard, than in my early days of RPGing.

If I *played* some of my characters alignments,,,lets say wood cutting, stone blasting, would have a whole new danger to them. But that is not the direction I *chose* to go with my iteration of RPing.

As for the other posters comments.

I am not going to shake my geek credentials and try and see who is the biggest, as we are both playing NWN online. Alignment is one of those things that can be argued day and night, and nobody will agree 100% on the definition. This does not mean it has no meaning though.

As Terror stated above, if you are not following your selected alignment with your characters, then perhaps you should consider switching to a different one.

As for your examples, they are pretty vague, and what would really be called a strawman argument.

No I am not showing my geek creds. I merely showing how long the discussion of alignment has been discussed/argued.

Definition = Meaning.

But again no my two examples have/are IG/IC examples of "good" and "Evil" acts. Not an attempt at a Strawman. Step up and see what you get if you answer the two questions.

As for Terror's statement, I disagree. I play my characters in the method/manner they need to be played. Not by an item whose meaning or definition is not defined.

The funny thing is, the link I posted was a defination and guidelines, taken from the actual DnD cannon. Just because you disagree, does not invalidate the fact that it is taken from the horse's mouth, per se.

People can rule lawyer all they want, but it comes down to the World Creators/DM team makes the final decision on how alignment works, within the guidelines established by TSR/WoG. Their world, their rules.

And again, your questions are much too vague. I learned to avoid answering that kind of trick question in 9th grade debate.

Play nice guys

*finger floats over thread lock button*