tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post6114878434327409648..comments2024-03-18T20:22:06.331-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Blue Book, Cover to Cover (Part VIII)James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-84234116852565283282010-07-18T22:59:48.443-04:002010-07-18T22:59:48.443-04:00Cases like this help explain why Dr. Holmes, in Dr...Cases like this help explain why Dr. Holmes, in Dragon #52, wrote that he didn't care for the introduction of good and evil in alignment, why he approved of Moldvay switching alignment back to law, neutral, chaos as in OD&D.<br /><br />Alignment in OD&D, as literally picking sides in a great war, makes perfect wargaming sense and is coherent. Trying to switch it to describing human motivation and ethics moves into very tangled territory, above all because we don't really understand how to describe human motivation and ethics.<br /><br />In terms of motivation and ethics, we can still make some sense of law versus chaos - though in real life law more often fights against other ideas of law than against chaos - but good versus evil lacks all coherency, since just about everyone - even psychopaths, bigots, and warmongers all think they are good.<br /><br />Dr. Holmes was right. You can't introduce good versus evil unless you're willing to take a stand about what they mean, like Richard Garriott did when he invented his system of virtues for Ultima IV.<br /><br />Come to think of it, that would make an interesting alternative to alignment in D&D.Rick Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01707062453047354335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36546638520230294732010-07-18T20:12:35.461-04:002010-07-18T20:12:35.461-04:00No, no, I was only doing it so I could steal her p...No, no, I was only doing it so I could steal her pearls, honest! And tell her about all the mean things I do to cats!Brian (brian_cooper at hotmail d o t com)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02805168206752602148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9799841762614785842010-07-18T18:50:30.163-04:002010-07-18T18:50:30.163-04:00"If someone is about to help an old lady to c...<i>"If someone is about to help an old lady to cross the street, or to give her his place in the tube, the evil cleric will detect that thought."</i><br /><br />Evil priest: "I detect a Boy Scout in the room... there! Get him!!" :)Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01254215329246851683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19899148818781088022010-07-18T16:21:02.144-04:002010-07-18T16:21:02.144-04:00I guess 'detect good' will detect benevole...I guess 'detect good' will detect benevolent moods, sweet people and caring ideas. If someone is about to help an old lady to cross the street, or to give her his place in the tube, the evil cleric will detect that thought. This is the reverse of the 'detect evil', isn't it? <br /><br />and the confirmation word is 'harful'. Hopefully it isn't harmful...Nicolas Dessauxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03010015806129652185noreply@blogger.com