TTRPG Basics
Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are entertaining games that allow players to create a wide variety of characters each with their own personality! Common TTRPGs include Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), Pathfinder, Call of Cthulu, or Shadowrun. As a player creates their character(s), the question of alignment always comes up. What is it? How does it impact my character?
According to D&D 5e on page 122, alignment defines the morality (good, neutral, evil) and the attitude towards order and society (lawful, neutral, chaotic). A summary of the 9 alignments are in the image above. For many players, an easier way to look at alignment is not in the grid layout with broad definitions, but instead viewing it as something that is more fluid like the graph below. Viewing alignment in this manner gives a better idea of how each alignment transitions into the others. This graph also allows players to see how each alignment can have tendencies towards the bordering alignments while remaining true to how they were originally defined. Of course there are also those individuals who prefer to do away with alignment. These decisions vary between games.
The way alignment comes into play, regardless of their visual representations, includes impacting spell selection for certain classes, interactions with non-player characters (NPCs), or even role-playing scenarios in the game in general. For many, the descriptions above are too vague and this leads to alignments not being played correctly. Chaotic neutral is commonly played incorrectly because many players believe chaotic neutral means they can do anything, whether it’s helping someone or murdering an NPC for no reason. This is in fact the evil alignments. Chaotic neutral characters act on their whims, but never to the extent of murder. Of course, as with any game, a Dungeon Master has the final word on interpreting rules!
One of our favorite ways alignment is handled is in The Adventures of Middle Earth. The setting for the campaign books is in between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The rules for these books are predominently D&D 5e with little twists here and there. One of these twists is there is no alignment, there is Shadow, Corruption, and Shadow Sickness. If a player performs an act that is deemed evil, like stealing food from a starving person or killing someone, they receive some amount Shadow. This amount varies depend on race, class, and background. If you get too much Shadow (at least your Wisdom score), you gain Corruption. Your Corruption continues to go up if you maintain too much Shadow and eventually become evil following whatever is defined by your Shadow Sickness (defined by class). Fortunately there are ways to remove Shadow, but this method for handling alignment has a bigger impact on gameplay than the normal way alignment is handled. Sadly, these books are no longer being published, but some physical copies can still be found as well as digital versions of these fantastic books.
