Author: Idiot/Savant (---.net.nz)
Date: 08-07-2002 19:40
Really?
No, not the hopelessly manichean system traditionally associated with D&D etc, but the whole idea of a "morality" stat. Why have one?
If you're doing classic high fantasy, in which the Forces Of Darkness are defeated by the Vastly Outnumbered Army Of Light in a Titanic Last Battle (as so handily parodied in _Grunts_ and _The Tough Guide To Fantasyland_), then it makes a certain sort of sense: morality is a real force in such settings, so it makes sense to represent it in the game, though you could just as well use different coloured hats. The same goes for Moorcockian fantasy (with Law and Chaos) or Star Wars (the Light and Dark sides of the Force).
But what about other games? If you're playing in a setting which isn't obviously manichean, then alignment systems don't look so good. There's no point in classifying characters as "good" or "evil" in Call of Cthulhu, because it adds nothing to the game - either morality is irrelevant in the Cthulhuverse, or everyone is less evil than Cthulhu; either way the point is moot. Ditto cyberpunk - the genre is amoral or nihilistic, and while there are characters who have strong moral codes and whatnot, nothing will change for them because they're good or evil. In such settings, morality is an internal driver of behaviour, nothing more, and it's better to just get your players to work out their character's moral codes for themselves rather than having mechanics for it.
Idiot/Savant
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