Whistler
What alignments mean
by , March 1st, 2010 at 08:44 AM (792 Views)
Addendum--further notes on EthosOriginally Posted by Whistler
Forgive me, but I really need to rant about this, and this is related Oliver, so please bear with me.
I've been playing RPG's since their first inception in the mid 70s. Since then, I have played essentially every single tabletop RPG, and far more of the electronic versions than most people. Virtually all of those games that use alignment systems have used a variant of the original Tactical Studies Rules written by
Gary Gygax.
The alignment system is designed to help define the character in terms of belief systems.
Alignment:
Nobody thinks of themselves as the bad guy, so Gygax came up with idea of good vs. evil as a function of whom the character is out to benefit. Those who were out for the general good of all (i.e. the masses) fit into the idea of "Good," and those who were selfish and out for themselves alone were "Evil." Between these two extremes lie those of neutral alignment. A neutral aligned character sometimes looks to their own benefit and sometimes looks to the benefit of others. A neutral aligned character looks to their Ethos for their motivation.
Ethos
The idea of Ethos works similarly. A Lawful person always follows the rules of engagement, and believes that the rules are there to be followed. A chaotic person is the ultimate rebel-- they believe the rules are there to be broken. a person of neutral ethos sometimes follows the rules and sometimes doesn't. Those of neutral Ethos look to their alignment for their moral compass.
The combination of the two, Alignment and Ethos, results in 9 distinct ethical alignments, each characterized by distinguishing features:
LG-believes that an ordered society benefits the general good, so they always play by the rules.
NG-may or may not follow the rules, what's important is that the people benefit.
CG-believes the rules are not good for the people, and breaks them to benefit others. (think Robin Hood)
LE-Believes in using the rules to their own benefit-(think politicians and big business, rules lawyers and demons)
NE-chooses for themselves which rules to follow, all that matters is that the self ends up ahead. (think mafia)
CE-fights against the rules (or breaks them) to benefit self exclusively. (think cult leader)
CN-Believes that rules are bad. It does not matter who benefits, as long as the rules are broken.
LN-Believes that order is all important, far more important than personal or freedom or justice.
NN-true balance: a little bit of everything. This is the most difficult of any alignment to play.
Good characters don't Kill anybody if they can avoid it.
Evil Characters look for people to kill-they look to their ethos to justify it.
Chaotic characters always break a deal.
Lawful characters always play by the rules.
So you may be wondering what sparks this rant.
Well, yesterday I was attacked not once, but 3 times by someone who said he was just following his alignment--Chaotic good. He claimed that everyone in his following had been instructed to kill anyone that isn't chaotic. This is NOT appropriate to the CG ethical alignment. Robin Hood only killed in self defense-he didn't kill the rich, he robbed from them.
It's gotten me to thinking that not just his following, but many of the followings don't conform to these well established standards of ethical alignment. Largely, the ethical alignment of followings seem to have devolved to the point of being no more than gang colors. But then again, perhaps TFC uses a different system than every other game that uses ethical alignment-but if this is the case, don't call it that.
I would challenge each of the FLI's to strongly consider their followings, and either insist that their followers start conforming to the established standards for their supposed alignment, or change the followings alignment.
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Because lawful characters follow the rules, they are predictable. If you have been attacked once by a lawful character, one should be wholly expectant that they will do so again.
Those of neutral Ethos DO follow rules, but they are their own rules, and are used exclusively in the pursuit of their alignment (GNE). These characters can be predictable once you figure out what rules they follow. It would be appropriate for a character of the Neutral ethos to repeatedly attack annother character EXCLUSIVELY in the pursuit of their alignment (GNE).
Chaotic characters do not follow any rules other than chaos. This makes them highly unpredictable. If you are attacked once by a chaotic character and escape, it is HIGHLY unlikely that they will pursue you for a second attack. Being true to their chaotic nature, they will pursue a different target instead. Chaotic characters will NEVER repeatedly attack the same character, because such behaviour is predictable and therefore diametrically opposed to their ethos.
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