Alignments

[RogueMind]

At the moment the Alignments system isn't very truthful. I believe that this is because it is far to vague and the system too simplistic. I suggest one of two methods be used to rectify this:

1) Throw Out Alignments

2) Use the DnD System where We Have Lawful Good, True Good, Chaotic Good, Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Evil, True Evil, and Chaotic Evil. This system will make people think more about what exactly their town is and we will at least see more variation among towns in the Neutral axis at minimum(although i hope a fraction will change to good or evil after thinking on the subject).

To be honest it doesn't matter as much as all the other stuff your working on atm, but I'm a huge fan of the social features and would love to see some changes in them.

Thanks In advance for whatever your choice is(even if its to ignore me)

 

[Oxea]

+ 1

I agree with the DnD System usage.

 

[Doreagarde]

The 4e rules dropped a bunch of those alignments, you know. Now they just have Lawful Good, Good, Evil, Chaotic Evil, and Unaligned. I kind of like the system better, for the sake of giving a player helpful guidelines in how to make decisions while role-playing. From the WotC site:

A character’s alignment (or lack thereof) describes his or her moral stance:

• Good: Freedom and kindness.
• Lawful Good: Civilization and order.
• Evil: Tyranny and hatred.
• Chaotic Evil: Entropy and destruction.
• Unaligned: Having no alignment; not taking a stand.

I agree that the town alignment system as it is today is a bit vague, and that it could use a change. If I were to change it, I'd use the 4e system. It all comes down to a player's willingness to stay in that role, though, eh? Anyway, yeah, not a top priority, but we're always looking for suggestions exactly like these. Thanks for contributing!

 

[Shenorai]

Throw out alignments altogether.

It was a bad idea in the first place. It doesn't help matters now. All this system is really doing is showing who the liars are on the server.

"Hey, we're a neutral town! Our people shanking everyone doesn't make us evil! No sireejimbob!"

<.<

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

All alignments do is set up unnecessary walls and slap on target signs between players and towns. Prevents people from befriending those outside of their town just because of conflicting alignments.

If someone wants to kill, they'll kill. If someone wants to build, they'll build. Hell, the only reason Newerth wasn't a Good town in the last map (thanks to this system) is because we had a few people who go out on a whim to steal and kill.

tl:dr, +1 Throw Out Alignments.

 

[Draskuul]

I'm with Shenorai on this one. Just toss the whole idea out. It is currently pointless, and I can't imagine what could be done to make it meaningful that wouldn't be damaging to the community. People get in arguments of "well I don't want to be part of a {good|evil} town", even when you remind them that the title means absolutely nothing.

 

[RogueMind]

As much as I like the idea of Alignments, the more I think about it the more logical it is to throw out alignments for all the reasons Shenori said.

 

[Doreagarde]

Perhaps we can simply make alignments non-compulsory. Yeah, there are lots of people who are lying or doing it wrong. If a town called themselves "good", others could say "yeah whatever", but the town leaders could could say to its citizens "we want you to be good, here are the details." There's a few folks on the server who want to role-play (to a degree) and have role-playing towns, and they could all make up their own alignment rules and exile citizens that dont play along. Im not a citizen and never will be, so i honestly dont care if the system gets thrown out. I wouldnt want to ruin it for the people who want to have fun with it, though.

 

[Shenorai]

The main problem with such a system is that Good/Neutral/Evil is all relative. The alignment all depends on who you talk to.

It's like the "cool" system in primary school. If you have to label yourself as "cool", then really, you're just posing for attention by wanting to be on the good side of the "cool" kids. Whether or not you are "cool" depends on what your peers think of you, not what you call yourself.

Which is exactly what goes on in Herocraft with the whole system.

In truth, there is no such thing as Good, Evil, or even Neutral. It's merely a matter of equipment, the people you are grouped with, and the method of how such equipment is used. The rest of the Herocraft community can decide how to label your town based on which end of the sword/lance/whatever they find themselves at.

If you still want to role-play, then the alignment system really doesn't matter there, either. As a role-player myself for nearly nine years now, logically speaking, a character would only be able to judge a person upon meeting him/her if his/her reputation precedes them. Otherwise, you're not going to know one's behavior when you first meet. It could even be something as situational as,

Dusk was settling over the mountain town of Shin Kyoto. As the first few stars of the night peeked through the darkness, splashing noises could be heard near the town's inn.

Once again, Shenorai was wringing the well water out of her coat. It's a surprise she hasn't caught pneumonia by now, thanks to constantly diving into and pulling herself out of the chilling waters of the well. A small price for a hidden house.

Shouts were heard further up the mountain. Shen strained her water-logged ears to listen to the dire message.

"Doogler is here! To arms! To arms!"

Doogler. The name alone made her groan. One of many names that had come to this town and mugged each and every citizen in sight. Quite a migraine, really.

Shen glanced at her pack. The reason she had so much trouble getting out of her house this time was thanks to the two dozen iron ingots sitting in her backpack.

"No need to lose these today," she muttered to herself, turning around and throwing open the hatch beneath the waters. "Might as well keep low until he's gone."

Behavior and "rumors" via death messages are all you really need to RP with.

 

[TornadoWatch]

If I could throw in some input...

I think towns should not choose their own alignment, they should make their own alignment.

Towns should be judged based on the actions of the mayor, and members. If a town goes around killing everyone, then it'll be judged as a bad town and not many will like it. If a town is friendly, it'll be a good town.

Have to agree with posts in this thread.