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Thread: Alignments and Holy Men
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09-25-1998, 07:01 AM #1GalwylinGuest
Alignments and Holy Men
At 12:40 AM 9/25/98 -0700, Craig Dalrymple wrote:
>
>There seems to be the concept that Chaotic people are self centered.
I think any alignment can have self-centered people within it. Neutral
seems to lead itself to that more than lawful or chaotic though as its
constantly choosing between them.
>This is a land that does not have sweeping tangible identifiers; and that's
>one of the reasons I fell in love with it. It's REAL and gritty.
Very true. Birthright doesn't present a black and white world. Another
reason it simply has to return to print.
This has been a Galwylin® Production
galwylin@airnet.net
http://www.airnet.net/galwylin/
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09-25-1998, 07:40 AM #2Craig DalrympleGuest
Alignments and Holy Men
I've been wading through my inbox for a few days and have decided to put
forth my opinions on the whole discussion.
IMHO Aligment is flawed and cannot handle the full range of human desires,
duties, and debacles. It is however just a game mechanic so I ignore it as
the DM no matter what my players think they have selected for their
character.
There seems to be the concept that Chaotic people are self centered. I think
this is far from on target. Chaotic as an alignment (ignoring the G/N/E side
of it for the moment) means that the person in question is spontaneous and
random. It should be certain that some chaotic individuals will be self
centered; but an equal amount will not be so. I play my chaotic characters
as passionate individuals who can get caught up and swept away by events
that are not forseen. Living in the moment is everything, though the moment
does not always have to be lived for the self.
Chaos is the opposite of Law or Order. This does not imply that Chaos is
self serving. To be so in a consistent manner would not truely be Chaotic,
as there would be a determinable pattern. It's really inconsistent with the
meaning of the word to ascribe definite tangible adjetives to describe all
chaotic characters. Only adjetives that imply inconsistent or random and
without pattern can really modify the word properly, as such the same can be
said for characters of Chaotic alignments.
Lawful characters can be very self centered. Even LG. It's not the alignment
of saints, just good people who belive in the power of law. Even when the
law serves them quite well. This is why the nobility of any nation would
claim to be lawful (law abiding and supportive of the ruling body) in a
public arena, no matter what kinda dirtbag they are behind closed doors.
It's all relative, and not very useful for advanced roleplaying situations.
The Alignment system is great as a tool, especially in Hack and Wack games
where aligned swords prefer wielders of certain mannerisms because the
character sheets say so.
Tieing this all in with Birthright, I remember reading a passage either in
the main box, or in some early advertising/promo thing that said even
paladins have to get their hands dirty from time to time to uphold the
general good of society.
This would imply that in Cerilia, the alignment system should be even more
in question. Paladins approving of war on non evil nations over border
disputes; good and noble elves coming out of the woods and killing man,
woman, and child to "regain" their lost glory.
This is a land that does not have sweeping tangible identifiers; and that's
one of the reasons I fell in love with it. It's REAL and gritty.
just my two cents.
Grimwell
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