Changing Your Alignment is Like Changing Your Diet

For folks who've been listening to the latest news, it seems that (at least at Paizo), alignment is going the way of the dodo. Whether this becomes the industry standard or not is something I talked about a little while ago on the Azukail Games YouTube channel (which you should subscribe to, if you haven't yet), but it seems there are a lot of folks who really want to keep the alignment system in their games going forward.

And it's for those folks that I thought I'd touch on something I've been noodling about for a while. Mainly that alignment shouldn't be something that just changes rapidly back and forth, or which is nothing more than ticks on a moral abacus.

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Also, since it keeps getting lost in the shuffle, check out my Vocal archive for more articles about RPGs, character conversions, character concepts, weird history, nerdy topics, and more!

Giving Up Evil, and Eating More Salads

Most of us, at some point in time, have gone on a diet for one reason or another. Maybe you wanted to finally lose some weight. Perhaps you were diagnosed with a condition that meant you couldn't have as much sugar, fat, or red meat as you used to have. You might even have decided that you wanted to change your diet because you wanted to live a more cruelty-free life. These changes, though, require you to stick with them for the long-term, and to make permanent changes to who you are, and the way you live your life. A crash diet may get you some short-term results, but if you don't really commit to living in a different way, soon you're going to wind up right back where you were.

If you're looking for a way to think about alignment and how it shifts, I find that this metaphor works pretty well.

I know I said no more beheadings... but maybe one or two more before I stop completely?

Thinking of alignment as your morality diet may be helpful because, for your alignment to change, you have to actively alter the way you live your life, and to commit to it. It's hard to not fall into old habits, or to crave the things that used to be your go-to solutions, and this can be reflected in a character's attitude and struggles.

Lastly, while it's technically possible to use magic to shift one's alignment (through casting spells with the Good descriptor, failing the save against cursed items like the helm of opposite alignment, etc.) you could think of this as using extreme supplements, chemical treatments, or surgical solutions. Because while these things will work, they may not be able to stop you from falling into old habits, and dragging yourself back to the same place you were at.

Making a serious commitment to altering yourself is difficult... but more importantly, it can take a long time. And even if someone manages to take a shortcut through something like a sudden magical effect, they still have to maintain that effect. It's going to be tough, and occasionally frustrating, but it can make for a particularly rewarding character arc that's worth committing to.

Lastly, it's important to keep in mind that your actions still have consequences. Even if someone manages to alter their alignment to redeem themselves from evil to become good, they will still have to answer for the crimes they committed. And even if someone only dips from good to become evil for a brief time before they're redeemed, they'll still be held to account for any atrocities they were responsible for. And even evil characters who are doing good acts specifically to get a reward will still be rewarded for the good things they did.

While alignment might be the general state of one's morality, never forget that the consequences of your actions (good or bad) may always be coming around the corner.

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That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday. To stay on top of all my content and releases, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of the page!

Again, for more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the Azukail Games YouTube channel, or my Daily Motion channel!. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my latest short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

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The Difference Between "Bad" Characters and "Evil" Characters

I've been dwelling on alignment a lot recently, but judging from the reactions my article The Punisher is Evil received, it's a topic that folks are interested in seeing more of. This week, though, I wanted to touch on the difficulty of shades of gray when it comes to our characters. When we want them to have a bit of an edge to them, but to stay out of darker realms.

What is the difference between a character who's bad, and one who is evil? I don't have an absolute answer to this question, but I have found some shadowy places that I think might be of interest to my fellow players out there.

The wearing, or not wearing, of skulls is not always an indicator.

While we're on the subject, though, are there any other characters you'd like to see me do a deep dive on their likely alignment? Or any particular alignments you'd like a 5 Tips post for, such as my 5 Tips For Playing Better Evil Characters? If so, toss a comment to let me know!

Where Do You Draw The Line?

Before we go too deep into this, first thing's first. Alignment by its very nature depends on absolutes in a setting. Moral relativism does not work with alignment because it's tied to games that have literal heavens and hells, angels and demons, etc. In these worlds there literally is a divine checklist and a neutral arbiter who decides whether your actions were good or evil.

How your character thinks about those issues, whether they feel justified, etc., is completely irrelevant. Whether they believe evil is good, or good is evil, doesn't matter. The divine laws of the cosmos have decided what is good and what is evil in many cases.

If there were no absolute goods, traditional LG paladins wouldn't be a thing.

Now, with that out of the way, the first thing you need to look at are what actions are considered inherently evil in your setting. This will vary from game to game and group to group, but we're not talking about small potatoes here. We're talking capital "E" evil actions.

Some of the more common options here include:

- Murder for profit (as well as just murder in general)
- Propagation of slavery
- Deliberate casting of evil spells
- Torture

The list goes on, but you get the idea. Evil actions are inherently bad things. Whatever your reason, whatever the character motivation, whatever the end result, it's fruit from the poisoned tree.

So, the first important consideration here is what actions are evil. Not just bad, or selfish, or harmful, but things that are outright evil. Because while it is true that characters who have committed evil acts in the past can redeem themselves and attempt to change their alignment, it takes a lot more work to climb out of that hole.

And if you commit more evil actions, it just means you dug yourself back into the hole again.

What Do Bad Actions Look Like?

Our morality as players tends to vary pretty widely. I've yet to be at a table where everyone agreed completely on what is good, and what is evil. However, a useful question to ask when it comes to characters who are bad, rather than being truly evil, is to ask what damage their actions do overall? Who is hurt by the things they do?

I said git out of my forest!

As a solid example of a "bad" character, take the classic thief. Your pickpocket, your burglar, etc. These individuals steal for a living, no question. They are breaking the law (as if that ever stopped an adventurer), and they are committing an act that most of us would really rather not have happen to us.

But under normal circumstances, I'd argue that action falls into the category of "bad" rather than "evil."

Why is that? Well, at its core, theft is a property crime. You are stealing a thing (gold coins, jewels, magic items, etc.) from another person. And in the case of pickpockets and burglars, the theft is usually the extent of the act. You might break a window to get into a home, for example, but at the end of the day you took a thing. There are going to be certain circumstances where this act is made more or less problematic (you knowingly stole the last savings from someone who then starved on the side of "makes it worse," to snatching food from a cart because you were starving and broke on the side of "well, that's not so bad"), but generally speaking property crimes aren't in the "evil" category.

What else might make you bad, but not evil?

Well, we've agreed that murdering people is generally an evil act. Murder is the deliberate killing of another person with malice aforethought, meaning that you set out to kill someone else deliberately after making the decision beforehand. However, most of us would agree that defending yourself from someone or something trying to kill you is not murder. Defending someone else is also okay, and often seen as a good act. A more questionable, "bad" thing to do might be to deliberately put yourself in a situation where someone will try to kill you, thus forcing you to defend yourself.

It's not evil, because they were actually trying to kill you. They could have chosen to walk away, and not attack you. You did provoke that response, though, which is... shady, shall we say.

Tangible Harm Versus Cultural Norms

There are dozens of different actions that might be considered unscrupulous, duplicitous, selfish, blasphemous, or otherwise "bad" that never cross over into real evil. A character might tell lies to hide their own actions, or to gain rewards they don't deserve. Someone might use threats and intimidation to force cooperation from those who don't want to help them, or to force someone else to back down from a fight. Someone might rob graves, commit adultery, burn down empty buildings, gamble illicitly, break religious covenants, or commit all sorts of other immoral acts.

But at the end of the day, it's important to ask if their actions cause tangible harm. And if so, what was the purpose of that harm?

This is where that divine slide ruler comes into the picture.

Let's go back to the thief. Did they need to steal whatever they stole in order to provide for themselves? If not, was the person they stole from tangibly harmed by that theft?

If a thief was starving and took bread from a merchant, they certainly broke the law. But did the loss of that one loaf of bread do the merchant any real harm? Probably not. But what if the thief stole a noble's jeweled ring instead? Well, given that the ring serves no real purpose other than ornamentation, the result is that some of the noble's wealth is now in the thief's hands. The noble may lose some face, and have to wear a different ring, but there hasn't been any true, tangible harm done to them. And if the thief broke into a crypt and stole the jewelry from the dead? Barring setting rules that involve the dead rising in wrath, dead people don't need money. Taking it from them harms no one, as it was just sitting there in the ground, unused and mostly unaccounted for.

Again, that doesn't make these actions good. It does, however, put them into that gray area of bad.

Anytime there's a question of whether an act should be labeled as bad or evil, it's important to ask what harm comes of it, and if the action is being taken to defend oneself against harm. And if you want a character who is bad, but not evil, don't try to justify them regularly committing evil acts. Try on someone who is irreverent, non-conformist, spiteful, or who is a little crass, vulgar, or illicit.

You'll have a lot fewer arguments, and you'll have to do way fewer mental gymnastics.

Also, as a pro tip, remember what I said back in The Risen Antipaladin. You get a lot more mileage out of someone who committed evil acts in the past, and who is trying to be a better person now. So when we meet them, they've managed to plateau at "bad" instead of being actively evil. That reputation might still be following the character around, but they don't create the friction of actively committing atrocities in team-based environment when some of your companions may feel morally obliged to stop what you're doing. Even if it might solve current problems.

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That's all for this week's Fluff post! If you've used this in your games, share a story down in the comments!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!

5 Ways to Multiclass Barbarian and Monk in Pathfinder

If I had to pick one thing I've fielded more complaints about than any other aspect of the game regarding Pathfinder, it's how certain classes have alignment restrictions placed on them. While I'm in favor of them existing (as your alignment is sort of pointless if it doesn't have teeth, but that's another post for another day), I also know that if you flip through enough of the books that you'll always find a way to get around supposedly ironclad rules.

That's one thing I love about Pathfinder... it's practically guaranteed there's a way to make the character you want happen, if you dig a bit; and that is true for all the barbarian/monk lovers out there.

A crushing ab routine, killer mantras, and a fury that could sunder mountains...

Whether you just want to mix these two classes together for a low-level one shot, or you're building your ultimate epic-level PC for a years-long campaign, there are several ways to accomplish this goal. I've laid out the most common ones below, but there may be one or two that I missed, so leave them in the comments if you know of one I didn't cover!

Also, if this subject is close to your heart, then you might want to check out the following previous posts.

- 5 Tips For Playing Better Barbarians
- 5 Tips For Playing Better Monks
- 5 Barbarian Multiclass Concepts Your Table Won't See Coming

#1: Enlightened Warrior Aasimar Trait

I walk a different path.

 This trait, found in the Blood of Angels Player Companion, is the one a majority of people will use to make barbarian and monk play nice together. This trait, at its most basic, allows you to take monk levels while maintaining a neutral or neutral good alignment. Ideal if you can get the okay for an aasimar PC, and it gives you the freedom to get as weird or wild as you want with your archetype options on both sides of the fence.

Also, if you're worried about falling into stereotypes with this one, browse through 5 Tips For Playing Better Tieflings and Aasimar to see if inspiration strikes you!

#2: Elemental Monk Archetype

Earth, fire, wind, water...

 

One of the more common methods of subverting the monk's required lawful alignment is to go for the elemental monk archetype, found in Disciple's Doctrine. This archetype shifts the monk's requirements into true neutral, and gives you access to feats and abilities that make your attacks elemental. The handy thing about your features is that, unlike characters who normally take these fighting style and elemental strike feats, an elemental monk can cycle between the different elements like some kind of prize-fighting Avatar. Handy when you've been focusing on fire, but you really need acid to deal major hurt to the current enemy.

#3: Karmic Monk Archetype

Oh you ought not to have done that...

 The karmic monk archetype, found in Occult Adventures, allows you to be truly neutral. An instrument of karma, you are cause and effect personified, and a lot of your abilities fit this theme. Your unarmed strikes can overcome pretty much any alignment-based DR, and you get bonuses when you attack those who attacked you first. Fun little package, and a nice twist on the traditional monk.

#4: Martial Artist Monk Archetype

There is no shame in tapping out, my son.

A completely different kind of monk archetype, the martial artist is found in Ultimate Combat. This one strips out most of the wuxia-style powers we're used to monks having, giving them the ability to analyze a target from a combat perspective, and to gain bonuses to hit, hurt, and dodge them accordingly. They also gain immunity to fatigue at level 5, which can pair nicely with a Rage-cycling build. And, best of all, martial artists can be of any alignment.

#5: Geminate Invoker Barbarian Archetype

This spirits call to me, brother.

The geminate invoker archetype, found in Adventurer's Guide, is an extremely unique kind of barbarian. They must have a neutral aspect to their alignment, but can be lawful, and they have the ability to put themselves into a kind of trance. This calls powerful spirits into their bodies, allowing them to cycle through the totem Rage Powers without committing to any one of them. A deadly combination, if you know which spirits to call on in which fight.

Be Careful When Mixing These Elements

As I said in The Barbarian Samurai, it's important to remember that a lot of a barbarian's potency is determined by the number of barbarian levels they have. The same is definitely true for monks. And combining these two elements together might allow you to do some truly silly things (such as an Aasimar combining monk with the Savage Barbarian archetype to see just how silly their armor class can get), it's important to keep your end goal firmly in mind, and to be realistic about what your character will and won't be able to accomplish.

Like any potent concoction, make sure you know what you're dipping into, and what you're going to put a majority of your levels in. Because a bonus to AC and some sweet unarmed damage is great if your barbarian's got a LOT of really good stats. The ability to fly into a frenzy and boost up your attacks and damage (even your dodge if you combine monk with Savage Technologist, which ups your Dexterity and Strength with no AC penalty when you Rage) is also a nice addition to have on a monk. But there's also a lot of potential that you won't get as much out of this combo as you would either class taken straight, so multiclass responsibly.

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That's all for this week's Crunch topic! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio! Or if you'd like to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well! And if you'd like to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little bit of help can go a long way, trust me on that one.

Judge Dredd is Lawful Evil

I've talked a lot about alignment over the years on this blog, with previous posts like Alignment is Performative as well as the installment that started this occasional feature Absolute Good, Absolute Evil, and Alignment in RPGs. However, since a discussion on this particular topic keeps cropping up in my feed over and over again, I figured I'd leave my two cents on it this week.

Because it disturbs me that so many of my fellow gamers are rooting for the fascist power fantasy, while missing the satirical soul of Judge Dredd.

Because if this doesn't look like a poster from Franco's Spain, I don't know what does.

 So this week I thought I'd dedicate some time to this, and get us thinking a little deeper.

Also, for those who haven't seen it, this ended up becoming the first in my series of Alignment Deep Dives, so if you like this format and subject matter stop in and check those out!

Who is Judge Dredd?

For those of you who somehow aren't familiar with this character, let me catch you up on the basics. Dredd lives in the post-apocalyptic future of world of 2000 AD. The character is a Judge, empowered by the legal system of Mega City One to dispense justice according to the laws. The unbroken concrete hellscape is not a forgiving place, though, which means that the offenders who cross Dredd's path can expect to spend decades in total isolation at best, or summary execution at worst.

The character and his world are a satirical take on the power fantasy we see in a lot of action movies, which is one reason Dredd seems like an amalgamation of famous musclebound stars. Stallone's chin, Arnold's chest and biceps, Lundgren's sheer towering height, etc. He also tends to fall into the same category as Rorschach from Watchmen... which is to say that the British audience he was made for understood that he was a totalitarian nut job who believed he was doing what it took to keep order, while the American audience mistankenly thought the character was a hero.

The reason we never see Dredd remove his helmet is that he is not a human being. Dredd is an idea; he's the police state if it was a person. He is the militarization of law enforcement to the point that it exists for its own sake; an arbitrary force of nature that rains down hellfire on those who break the law.

Why Dredd is Not Good, Nor Neutral

Don't misunderstand me, here. The character of Judge Dredd is a ball, and the world he exists in is full of batshit bonkers stuff. State-sponsored cannibalism, raves of mutagenic drug addicts, ghoulish parodies of justice from other dimensions, and so on. If you don't have the film Dredd on your DVD shelf, and you haven't taken a look at Judge Dredd and The Worlds of 2000 AD Core Rulebook, then you should totally go do that.

You will thank me for it later. Now, let's get started.

To address the folks in the, "lawful good doesn't mean lawful nice camp," I agree with you on principle. Just because you have an LG in your box, that doesn't mean you visit orphans on the weekends, and plant daisies in your front garden. But it does mean that you attempt to do what is right. This is an important distinction, because you'll notice that Dredd often talks about bringing judgment, but never justice.

Because Dredd is not concerned with what is right; he is concerned with the law, and only the law. Sometimes enforcing the law means he saves people from vicious gangs. Sometimes it means he ends up splashing people's brains all over the wall for nonviolent offenses. His obsession with the penal code, and the fact that everything is filtered through it (along with the fact that mercy is not a quality he possesses, though he is well within his rights to exercise discretion should he so choose), is further evidence that doing what is good does not cross his mind.

And if performing any of the atrocities we see him commit on the regular bothers him, we never see that either.

Judgment Intensifies

As far as the, "He enforces the law, and that makes him neutral," crowd, I also acknowledge that you have a point. Someone who applies the law equally and fairly would normally fall into the LN category on a character sheet. They're impartial, trusting in the law to bring justice.

However, the system that Dredd supports is blatantly and satirically broken. The answer to every problem in the 2000 AD world is the most cartoonishly evil one you could possibly have that still solves the problem. People are hungry because most of the nation is an irradiated wasteland? What if we made it an open secret that we were recycling all the dead bodies into meat products to keep people fed? And increased the penalty for a lot of crimes to summary execution to make sure the supply stayed fed? Unemployment is skyrocketing! Well, let's crack down on more crimes to store unwanteds in a colossal prison complex to keep the population under control. There are too many crimes to deal with processing offenders and accused offenders? Eh, just do away with the whole court system, and put all of our trust in a single person to carry out the sentence.

Dredd is just doing his job. The same way certain jackbooted personnel during Hitler's Germany or Franco's Spain were just doing their jobs. Perhaps the best statement on the whole matter is from one of the corrupt judges in the Karl Urban film. "You know what Mega City One is? It's a fucking meat grinder. We just turn the handle."

These policies are not huge secrets in Dredd's universe. He's witnessed plenty of them firsthand. He sees people being executed in droves, he sees the riots and the fear, and he knows that what he is doing is perpetuating the system. He does not question it. He turns the handle, because that is his job. And by willfully participating in this kind of structured evil, he has become a willing party to all of its acts. He is, in many ways, the best representation of the State he serves; the glitz and polish of militarized force, barely concealing savage violence, the gold accents of his uniform spattered with blood.

Why We Want Dredd (And Characters Like Him) As Heroes

If we take a step back, and look at Dredd objectively, we realize that he is exactly the sort of character we typically use as a lieutenant villain in RPGs. Someone who summarily executes people without gathering evidence or presenting it to a court is exactly the kind of sign DMs give to players to let them know they're in an evil kingdom. The only way to make it more blatant is to have him beat a confession out of someone.

We saw it with Rorschach in Watchmen, and we see it in a lot of takes with Batman. We see it in every iteration of Superman when he decides to rule the world. We see it in the Deathwish films, and to an extent we see it in the Punisher. Part of it is that they play into the myth of victory by force. The vigilante, the hero cop, the old soldier, and other archetypes that all poke the American psyche in its happy places. They allow us to justify might-makes-right without putting ourselves into the category of the cruel ogre, the slave driver, or the wicked knight because their goals have been painted as noble, or necessary in some way.

It lets us have our cake and eat it, too.

The other part of the appeal is that these characters are often presented with the right beats that we don't think about the implications of what's beneath the skin. Something Paul Verhoeven did with Starship Troopers, for example.

For more on this topic of casting the folks we should see as villains as heroes, and the tricks we often fall for, check out the following video by Wisecrack!

Final Thoughts

Does liking characters like the protagonists mentioned above make you a bad person? No, of course it doesn't. Hell, I've actively enjoyed reading/watching most of what I've mentioned in this article. And sometimes you just want a game where you can mow down waves of unthinking, particularly evil enemies without worrying about your conscience, or what effect it could have on your alignment.

I get that.

However, discussions about alignment often reveal more about us than we think. And if you find yourself arguing that the billionaire who puts himself above judges while ignoring the law of the land, or the masked lunatic who tortures people for information deserve to have a G or an N in their alignment boxes, stop and ask why. Because no one ever claimed that Jack Bauer, Dredd, or even Charles Bronson's leads weren't effective at achieving their goals. But getting the job done doesn't make you a good person.

Just some food for thought!

That's all for this week's Moon Pope Monday! For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, as well as Dungeon Keeper Radio. And if you'd like to read some of my books, like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

If you want to stay on top of all my latest releases, then follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter! Lastly, to help support me you can Buy Me A Ko-Fi, or go to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a patron today! Every little bit helps, trust me on that one.