rkhs@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Joseph Bernstein) (05/18/85)
> A few years back, a friend and I want through a similar exercise and came up > with two different dimensions for alignments which relate to your > "MACHIAVELLIAN VS ANTI-MACHIAVELLIAN" and "AMORAL VS ALIGNED" but are perhaps > more orthogonal to the standard Good-Evil/Law-Chaos conflicts. They are: > Subtle vs. Direct: Do you prefer to be straightforward about your intentions > and actions, or do you prefer to work by subtle, indirect means?. > Active vs. Passive: Do you take an active role in ordering your environment to > conform to your vision of "the way things should be" or do you lets things run > their own course? If you include the character's own person in the above > statement (do you try to get yourself to live up to your own beliefs?) then > you get something similar to your "AMORAL VS ALIGNED" axis. > Steven J Szymanski > harvard!gcc-bill!szy Alignments have at least two roles. First, they should (inherently) describe a philosophy; second, they're supposed to have a lot to do with character personalities. It appears you & I each took one rather further than the system was intended to go. (By the way that would be the immoral/moral axis, not the amoral/aligned one, which has to do w/ whether a character even HAS beliefs to live up to.) I'd join with the consensus that alignment *is* a useful tool to begin with but that it's one to be abandoned when it starts constricting role-playing rather than encouraging it. The threat letter telling us what horrible play we'll encounter if we do abandon it obviously comes from someone whose players have yet to (or never will) reach that point. On a (mostly) unrelated topic, I'd like to announce now an event I'm going to *try* to run at GenCon. I'm presuming on your patience to do so because I don't believe it'll be officially sponsored, but I'd like to run it anyway and it'll certainly need advertising. I sent it in for inclusion in the pre-registration booklet and was told there were "scheduling difficulties". I've re-submitted it, trying to change potential scheduling problems, but suspect it'll still be rejected; here's why: WIR'GEN: BEAR KING'S LAIR/CITY OF STOCKTON. In one scenario, characters must fight for a forest tribe's help getting home. In the other, they make their way through an unfriendly city. Players should be interested in role-playing their dealings with complex cultures. Referee's rules, typed. GER 3. ~7 hours (2 parts). Not TSR's usual style! Since it COULD still be included I can't ethically say more, but if anybody in netland is interested in such a thing please be alert. (It's to gauge such interest that I want to run it; this could have a lot to do with my career plans.) Either it'll be in the booklet at the door (amidst thousands of AD&D (tm!) events) or it won't, in which case I'd certainly like to arrange it privately. I live in Milwaukee, so in order to do so, please just call me at 414/962-2013 (preferably before the con or if necessary late at night) (oh, I guess the booklets won't be out before...well, we'll see: I may not have net access when I hear again from TSR.) Or try to reach me through the Univ. of Wis., Milwaukee gaming community if that's easier. I know this isn't really appropriate net stuff; I need the advertising so send flames (by mail, please) if you like. If possible I will post (more briefly) any further word I get. Thanks much! Joe Bernstein rkhs@sphinx!gargoyle!ihnp4... Univ. of Chicago Milwaukee: 3239 N. Hackett ... 53211 962-2013 or c/o UWM gamers & friends