Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Level Up Playtest Document #5: Inspiration & Destiny
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8118978" data-attributes="member: 6915329"><p>I accept your apology. Although in the future, <em>try </em>to not assume that other people haven't also suffered discrimination.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I strongly dislike absolute morality except for supernatural creatures. And even then, there should be wriggle room: fallen angels, risen demons, undead that were so strong-willed in life that they kept their previous minds despite their new form. I've done away with alignment for non-supernatural creatures in my games, just like I've done away with Always Evil Humanoids (with a very few possible exceptions, where the humanoid is also clearly supernatural, such as the skulk). While there is room in D&D for games where absolute morality is the rule, where there are completely un-ironic Evil Armies of the Empire of Evil that Our Heroes can slay with guiltless impunity, that's not a game I would enjoy playing in for very long. Nor do I want to play in a setting where poison and disease are Evil, but Good uses Ravages and Afflictions, which are <em>totally different so it's OK </em>(check out the 3x Book of Exalted Deeds if you don't recognize what I'm talking about). </p><p></p><p>And quite frankly, I don't even really need alignments for supernatural creatures, since I don't do random encounters and tend to come up with motivations for all of my monsters anyway.</p><p></p><p>There have been several occasions in these packets where the writers have used Chaos and Law as major descriptors, but we still haven't received the rules as to <em>why </em>yet. As a Planescape fan, I'm glad they're emphasizing Chaos and Law over Evil and Good, even if it does harken back to the old OD&D days.</p><p></p><p>So anyway, Destinies.</p><p></p><p>A major problem I'm having--which I failed to put this in my survey, more's the pity--is that they haven't truly explained what these Destinies are. Are they handed down from on high? Part of your very soul, and if you get reincarnated your new incarnation will have the same Destiny? Or are they deliberate choices each individual makes? The fact that PCs can switch Destiny suggests the latter, but is that truly the PC making a decision to change who they are, or is that simply so the player will continue having fun? </p><p></p><p>The Chaos and Dominion Destinies clearly run the gauntlet from Good to Evil. So to me, there shouldn't be Destinies that are 100% good or evil. Neither Wealth nor Revenge are 100% evil, and Wealth could be made a lot less evil if there was a Robin Hood motivation. So there shouldn't be a 100% Good Destiny either. And the fact is, Devotion <em>isn't </em>totally good. All of the motivations, except for Greater Good, can run the spectrum of alignments. The only thing that's entirely good about Devotion is how you get inspiration. And that can be changed, since this is only a playtest.</p><p></p><p>Motivations I considered to be (almost) completely good? </p><p></p><p>Chaos: Liberation (assuming that the people to be liberated are truly being oppressed). </p><p></p><p>Coming of Age: Young Love (assuming that you're not trying to force your affections on someone who doesn't want them).</p><p></p><p>Devotion: Greater Good (assuming that you're actually working towards the greater good). Dominion: Justice (assuming that the tyrant is truly tyrannical) or Reform (assuming that the regime truly is unredeemable). </p><p></p><p>Knowledge: A Cure (assuming you're trying to stop an actual disease or curse). </p><p></p><p>Revenge: Lost Loved One or Restoration (assuming you're not disproportional in your revenge).</p><p></p><p>Wealth: Change (assuming that the change you're bankrolling is a good one).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Faolyn, post: 8118978, member: 6915329"] I accept your apology. Although in the future, [I]try [/I]to not assume that other people haven't also suffered discrimination. I strongly dislike absolute morality except for supernatural creatures. And even then, there should be wriggle room: fallen angels, risen demons, undead that were so strong-willed in life that they kept their previous minds despite their new form. I've done away with alignment for non-supernatural creatures in my games, just like I've done away with Always Evil Humanoids (with a very few possible exceptions, where the humanoid is also clearly supernatural, such as the skulk). While there is room in D&D for games where absolute morality is the rule, where there are completely un-ironic Evil Armies of the Empire of Evil that Our Heroes can slay with guiltless impunity, that's not a game I would enjoy playing in for very long. Nor do I want to play in a setting where poison and disease are Evil, but Good uses Ravages and Afflictions, which are [I]totally different so it's OK [/I](check out the 3x Book of Exalted Deeds if you don't recognize what I'm talking about). And quite frankly, I don't even really need alignments for supernatural creatures, since I don't do random encounters and tend to come up with motivations for all of my monsters anyway. There have been several occasions in these packets where the writers have used Chaos and Law as major descriptors, but we still haven't received the rules as to [I]why [/I]yet. As a Planescape fan, I'm glad they're emphasizing Chaos and Law over Evil and Good, even if it does harken back to the old OD&D days. So anyway, Destinies. A major problem I'm having--which I failed to put this in my survey, more's the pity--is that they haven't truly explained what these Destinies are. Are they handed down from on high? Part of your very soul, and if you get reincarnated your new incarnation will have the same Destiny? Or are they deliberate choices each individual makes? The fact that PCs can switch Destiny suggests the latter, but is that truly the PC making a decision to change who they are, or is that simply so the player will continue having fun? The Chaos and Dominion Destinies clearly run the gauntlet from Good to Evil. So to me, there shouldn't be Destinies that are 100% good or evil. Neither Wealth nor Revenge are 100% evil, and Wealth could be made a lot less evil if there was a Robin Hood motivation. So there shouldn't be a 100% Good Destiny either. And the fact is, Devotion [I]isn't [/I]totally good. All of the motivations, except for Greater Good, can run the spectrum of alignments. The only thing that's entirely good about Devotion is how you get inspiration. And that can be changed, since this is only a playtest. Motivations I considered to be (almost) completely good? Chaos: Liberation (assuming that the people to be liberated are truly being oppressed). Coming of Age: Young Love (assuming that you're not trying to force your affections on someone who doesn't want them). Devotion: Greater Good (assuming that you're actually working towards the greater good). Dominion: Justice (assuming that the tyrant is truly tyrannical) or Reform (assuming that the regime truly is unredeemable). Knowledge: A Cure (assuming you're trying to stop an actual disease or curse). Revenge: Lost Loved One or Restoration (assuming you're not disproportional in your revenge). Wealth: Change (assuming that the change you're bankrolling is a good one). [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E)
Level Up Playtest Document #5: Inspiration & Destiny
Top