More alignment shifts!

[MaimedGod]

Small alignment shifts are always really cool things, at least to me. I got a lawful point for helping to apprehend someone and then defending him in trial, which was really cool to see and honestly made me feel awesome - without even bringing XP into the equation! More of these would be really cool, I think, for relevant character actions. Just a suggestion... and if this is already happening, feel free to ignore it. Just thought I'd offer some feedback.

[Random_White_Guy]

The big problem with alignment shifts is some PCs love them and embrace them and others blow a gasket and threaten to email anthrax to the DM staff because they don't feel an action deserved an alignment shift.

I imagine if you ask a DM for an alignment shift for certain actions they'll oblige but on the whole it often just seems like more headache than merit.

[Lira]

Ask five D&D players about an alignment-related issue and you'll get six answers. It's easily one of the most problematic issues with the game. There's a good reason only a handful of other RPGs have tried an alignment system, and those did it only because they were explicitly in dialogue with some version of D&D.

Even with extensive public guidelines, you're still not going to have people seeing eye-to-eye on alignment. Honestly, as little as I like D&D4E, one of the things they did right was to de-emphasize alignment for everyone and everything that doesn't rely on it for some mechanical function.

[AllMYBudgies]

While EFU tries to promote a more fluid attitude to alignment shifts, and we really do agree that they should be something that can and should be altered over time, they are a terrible headache and a painful minefield for the most part.

[MaimedGod]

The big problem with alignment shifts is some PCs love them and embrace them and others blow a gasket and threaten to email anthrax to the DM staff because they don't feel an action deserved an alignment shift.

I imagine if you ask a DM for an alignment shift for certain actions they'll oblige but on the whole it often just seems like more headache than merit.

That's too bad. For the record, I don't mind at all and actually appreciate it.

[Inquisitor]

Lial gave me 2 evil points for questing with evil PCs and I threatened to go Zodiac Killer on him.

[LiAlH4]

A bit of a window into the world of a DM who has routinely given out alignment shifts for what I see as good roleplay: it can be a trial. Oftentimes people take being issued alignment shifts as a suggestion that they are somehow roleplaying badly, or against their alignment, or have somehow angered the DMs. At times I people have gotten extremely angry with me even for small shifts.

"Painful minefield", as AMB described it, is but the half of it. That said, I have a few criteria I try to stick to, as alignment is part of a PC's development.

When I hand out alignment shifts, I usually employ one of two rationales. The first is that your PC has done something very recently that would cause the shift; murdering that guy, defending that criminal, or standing in front of alchemist's fire barrels to defend a child. Those get you points for a specific action you undertook which was (to my mind) good, evil, lawful, or chaotic. They can range from anything from one or two points to ten to twenty, depending on the gravity of the action and the degree to which it differed from your current alignment! A PC with Good/Evil (95) is going to have a much harder time shifting their alignment toward Good/Evil (100), even with righteous acts, than a PC with Good/Evil (25).

The other time I make alignment changes is when I see continual actions over time that suggest a trend. For example, managing a lawful group of dwarfs if you were a CN dwarfen barbarian would get you moved toward the lawful spectrum of things slowly but surely, if indeed you were adhering to those beliefs and aims.

I find it annoying at times to hand out these shifts because it often results in a long-winded discussion with people who are legitimately angry about what I have done! Questions asking for explanation are fine, arguing about the shift is not. Almost nothing makes me less interested in following the course of a PC's personal development than this. So, as a general service message:

If your alignment has been shifted, consider it a compliment to your roleplay and as an indication that a DM has been keeping an eye on your PC, even if it is not the change that you wanted or thought was appropriate!

[Moonlighter]

... Personally I would view a DM shifting my alignment as their own insight into my character's actions and persona and would fully welcome it.

[Halfbrood]

Alignment, the most mechanically worthless part of a PC, is the most zealously guarded... I don't understand EFU's player base sometimes.

[HalflingPower]

Alignment is mostly guarded for two reasons.

#1: Some classes can lose powers by losing their alignment, prime example paladin.


#2: People tend to want to do evil things for the possibility of loot despite not wanting to play an evil character (I did the opposite for the first time the other day and got 5 good points! Wow!)


Several times in the career's of my characters I have done something, heinous and have received -50- evil points for one momentary action.

If were having a suggestion topic about alignment, I think there should be some kind of cap the dms can shift yours at any one time barring having a piece of your brain cut out.

20 point shift max

Other than that, I find all DM made alignment shifts to be fair and unbiased

[LiAlH4]

I will gladly hand out alignment shifts that are greater than 20 points for actions worthy of the change and there will never be such a cap, fortunately.

[Blessed Ecclesiarch]

I may inquire why if the reason wasn't fully obvious (like I once got 5 chaos points on my paladin for loitering when told to piss off), but other than that, all is good.

[fireflies]

(I did the opposite for the first time the other day and got 5 good points! Wow!)

One of my evil PCs of the past was handed a bunch of Good Points when trying to look as someone she wasn't.

I bet she was turning good, the malicious wretch.

And yes! I was surprised, but really enjoyed the little shift.

[Anthee]

I also wish there would be more alignment shifts and am stunned to hear that such extreme reactions as described above are not uncommon.

[Ladocicea]

As already covered, alignment shifts are overlooked mostly because players get in a huff if you give them alignment points, and we don't want that headache.

But this is only a problem because everyone has a misunderstanding over what an alignment is. People think you have to "play your alignment", so by doing something that incurs a shift away from your starting alignment, players are under the impression they're being told they've done something wrong.

That is all a misconception of what alignment is. You don't play your alignment, you play your character. Your alignment just tracks where your character is at that point in their lifetime for mechanical purposes and to give us a sense of the balance of your character's actions up until that point. In virtually every case your alignment is a reflection of your character, your character is not a reflection of their alignment.