Alignment Overhaul
Mar 24, 2024 14:25:21 GMT -6
Post by Amalvi on Mar 24, 2024 14:25:21 GMT -6
Alignment in DtD is, flavor wise, one of the best elements of DtD. As the first Core book says "there is no place in the galaxy for those who believe in nothing" and thus, Exalts, as powerful beings with a modicum of ego, are expected to hold powerful convictions and beliefs that better define who they are. Its a wonderful and fluffy aspect for any character that adds so much to the personality and identity of the game
But the mechanical aspect of Aligments just f*cking sucks
The main problem is that nothing interesting is derived or happens mechanically related to alignment. The only things that happens is that, if your character does a naugthy, you have to roll a d10 twice and if you roll too low you get a boring and uninteresting degeneration that, in practice, boils down to "pay 250exp to get rid of your magical aids", with absolutely no incentive at all to reach a higher level of alignment than the starting amount, specially when it costs experience for no benefit. Its inconsequential, superfluous and does nothing for the players who want to take alignment seriously as an important part of their character.
Ergo, the way alignment work has been rewritten to better integrate the beliefs of the characters in the world and session, emphasizing good characterization and interpretation alongside maintaining the power and discretion of GM to administrate its effects and consequences, adding some tangible changes to playstyle but maintaining Alignment as a mostly flavorful element
But the mechanical aspect of Aligments just f*cking sucks
The main problem is that nothing interesting is derived or happens mechanically related to alignment. The only things that happens is that, if your character does a naugthy, you have to roll a d10 twice and if you roll too low you get a boring and uninteresting degeneration that, in practice, boils down to "pay 250exp to get rid of your magical aids", with absolutely no incentive at all to reach a higher level of alignment than the starting amount, specially when it costs experience for no benefit. Its inconsequential, superfluous and does nothing for the players who want to take alignment seriously as an important part of their character.
Ergo, the way alignment work has been rewritten to better integrate the beliefs of the characters in the world and session, emphasizing good characterization and interpretation alongside maintaining the power and discretion of GM to administrate its effects and consequences, adding some tangible changes to playstyle but maintaining Alignment as a mostly flavorful element
Alignment Overhaul
Trial of Faith: When a character has done an act that goes against the commandments of their alignment they must do this Alignment Test by rolling 1d10 (adding the bonuses of feats or assets). If they roll lower than their current Devotion then it is reduced by 1 at the end of the session. The character has gone against their religion or ideals and thus their conviction is waning, so their ego will suffer. Passing this test represents that the character has repented or internally justified their moment of weakness, or that their patron deity has forgiven their momentary transgression
Test of Faith: When a character does an act that reinforces their beliefs, specially when it was to their detriment, the GM can offer them to do this Alignment Test, rolling a 1d10 (adding the bonuses of feats and assets). In this case if they roll higher than their current Devotion then their Devotion is increased by 1 at the end of the session.
No matter how many Tests or Trials of Faith are done during a session, the Devotion of a character can only increase or decrease by 1 at a time, at the end of the session. If during a session a character rolled under in a Trial and rolled over in a Test of Faith then their Devotion is ultimately lowered, as being punished for sins takes precedence over the good deeds (No matter how many kittens you save, you won't escape being judged for having killed the doggie).
Feats and skills such as the Devotion restriction in the Devoted Spirit Sword school that ask to make an Alignment Check are understood to refer to a Trial of Faith.
*=new hindrances unique to the alignment status
Starting at 6 Devotion the character is seen as normal. He has no benefits or hindrances. A character between 5 and 7 devotion represents the average mortal in the Great Wheel, but the actions and decisions of exalts are examined more closely by the gods. When a character increases or decreases their Devotion the effects of their Status accumulate with the previous tiers, and these effects disappear if their Devotion is lowered when above 6 or raised when below it.
7=Devout: When the character becomes a devout follower then he naturally learns how to interact with other people who share his beliefs, gaining the Peer feat with the group of his alignment.
8=Pious: the character gains a background dot decided by the GM, related and based on the action that caused the Test of Faith, which must also be related to his alignment. For example, a character who saved the life of a person may have gotten the attention of a relevant priest willing to mentor them. Or a follower of Malal who backstabbed his ally may have his dagger become a chaos warped artifact.
9=Favored: The character gains an additional background dot decided by the GM, which may be a different one or add onto the one gained from the previous tier. In addition, they gain the Good Reputation feat with the people of their alignment
10=Chosen: The character gains another background dot just like before plus a background dot in fame that applies to people of their alignment (which may be added to already gained dots). However they also receive the Wanted hindrance, as they are now being targetted by followers of the Mortal Enemy deity. As the name suggest, the exceedingly few mortal followers who reach this level of Devotion are usually good candidates to receive the blessing of their god and become exalted by divine grace, but of course this doesn't apply to those who are already exalts.
5=Heretic: The character has begun to have dangerous and wrong throughs about his belief and conviction, thus irritating the rest of followers of his Alignment. This Heretic hindrance works opposite of the Peer feat, taking -2k0 to rolls of charm, persuation and command rolls with members of his own alignment. As you may have guessed, they are now a Heretic for the purpose of feats such as Hatred (priests have hatred for anyone with heretical thoughs, regardless of their actual religion)
4=Sinner: The character has been marked as a wrondoer, manifesting some minor mutation that is not easy to conceal, such as teeth from another race, unusual colored pupils, albinism, or any similar trait that doesn't fundamentally change their anatomy, but makes them feared and distrusted. In addition, seeing or scanning their body, aura, soul, etc. through supernatural means or special technology reveal their cursed status and alignment with ease. Their imprint in the Umbra is specially unnerving and disliked by the spirits inhabiting it.
- Devotion: Devotion ranges from 1 to 10, and all characters begin with 6 Devotion. You do not buy Devotion with experience points, instead changes in devotion happen almost exclusively through Alignment Tests that now take two forms, Trials and Tests of Faith
Trial of Faith: When a character has done an act that goes against the commandments of their alignment they must do this Alignment Test by rolling 1d10 (adding the bonuses of feats or assets). If they roll lower than their current Devotion then it is reduced by 1 at the end of the session. The character has gone against their religion or ideals and thus their conviction is waning, so their ego will suffer. Passing this test represents that the character has repented or internally justified their moment of weakness, or that their patron deity has forgiven their momentary transgression
For the purposes of considering sinful acts for a trial of faith, the GM should take into consideration the intention and willingness of the character. A character being brainwashed with magic to do act against their alignment (such as a follower of Pelor being made to attack their ally) hardly qualifies as the character swaying in their beliefs.
Test of Faith: When a character does an act that reinforces their beliefs, specially when it was to their detriment, the GM can offer them to do this Alignment Test, rolling a 1d10 (adding the bonuses of feats and assets). In this case if they roll higher than their current Devotion then their Devotion is increased by 1 at the end of the session.
For the purposes of determinating what actions constitute a valid test of faith, the GM should consider things like rejecting a benefit or gain for their character to instead stay true to their beliefs, and also apreciate stunts of two or three dice that have the players involved and caring for a situation at hand in a way that involves the Alignment of their character.
No matter how many Tests or Trials of Faith are done during a session, the Devotion of a character can only increase or decrease by 1 at a time, at the end of the session. If during a session a character rolled under in a Trial and rolled over in a Test of Faith then their Devotion is ultimately lowered, as being punished for sins takes precedence over the good deeds (No matter how many kittens you save, you won't escape being judged for having killed the doggie).
Feats and skills such as the Devotion restriction in the Devoted Spirit Sword school that ask to make an Alignment Check are understood to refer to a Trial of Faith.
- Changing Alignment: A character may only change their alignment to an Allied alignment or one from the same pantheon (ruinuous powers, the blessed pantheon or the grey council) if their Devotion is at 6 or higher (unless they are mortal enemies). If they do so, they loose all the effects of their previous alignment and their Devotion is set to 5, considered a distrusted heretic until they've proven to be trustworthy. At the GM's discretion, this change in alignment may be done without changing the level of devotion if reasons during the campaign justify such a change of heart (such as a follower of Chaos undivided centering their attention to only Nurgle after having spent a lot of time learning deeply from a Nurgle apostle).
Changing alignment again, however, is restricted. A character may only change back to their initial alignment, which will inevitably upset their deity and have their devotion lowered to 4, this time gaining a permanent witch mark that won't be healed even if Devotion is increased. After that, the character may never change alignment ever again, as the gods do not take well to someone betraying their own again and again
- Allies and Enemies: most Alignments have some Alignments designated Allies and others as Mortal Enemies. Besides the predictable implications for the relationships between followers, characters of an alignment may change to an Ally alignment even if they are not in the same pantheon and, conversevely, may not change to the alignment of a mortal enemy even if they are part of the same pantheon.
- Alignment Status: The Devotion of a character has an impact in their relationship with the great wheel, both with its living (and unliving) inhabitants; and with the deities and creatures from beyond. The Alignment Status are effects that stem from the acts that a character has taken in the name of their deity or their cause. The Status is equal to their current Devotion, as shown in the following chart
| Devotion | Status | Effects: |
| 10 | Chosen | Background dot, Fame background, Wanted hindrance |
| 9 | Favored | Background dot, Good reputation(Alignment) |
| 8 | Pious | Background dot |
| 7 | Devout | Peer(alignment) |
| 6 | Follower | None |
| 5 | Heretic | Heretic(alignment)* |
| 4 | Renegade | Witch Mark |
| 3 | Sinner | Bad Reputation(alignment)*, Peer(Heretics) |
| 2 | Aspostate | Jinx*, Hatred(alignment) |
| 1 | Lost soul | Wanted hindrance, New worship |
*=new hindrances unique to the alignment status
Starting at 6 Devotion the character is seen as normal. He has no benefits or hindrances. A character between 5 and 7 devotion represents the average mortal in the Great Wheel, but the actions and decisions of exalts are examined more closely by the gods. When a character increases or decreases their Devotion the effects of their Status accumulate with the previous tiers, and these effects disappear if their Devotion is lowered when above 6 or raised when below it.
Rockie Boleslav is a Dwarf favored of Moradin (Devotion 9) who enjoys good reputation with his fellow dwarves followers Moradin, some of whom have decided to become his followers. As one day he decided to listen to his doctor and stop drinking alcohol against his better judgement and Alignment, Rockie failed the Trial of Faith and his Devotion was lowered, becoming just a pious dwarf of Moradin (Devotion 8). His fellow dwarves lost confidence in Rockie and they don't want to follow him anymore until he proves himself and earns back his Good Reputation
Balirna Silitan has become a renegade Dark Eldar of slaneesh (Devotion 4) who has been falling for failing to fix her flaws again and again. Her once beutiful hair has transformed into pale tentacles, an evident mark of a witch that will earn her the scorn of anyone who sees her. Not deterred by misery, Cranel decides to turn things around and be positive, organizing a huge banket and party to please and earn back the good graces of her fellow dark elves that now scorn her. Balirna passes the Test of Faith, her good efforts in having a delightful time seen favorably by Slaneesh. Balirna's devotion is raised by 1 and her tentacle hairs, her witch mark, turn back to how it used to be. She still considered a Heretic (Devotion 5) and disliked by the other followers of slaneesh, but this was a good beginning in mending her devotion to the dark prince
Balirna Silitan has become a renegade Dark Eldar of slaneesh (Devotion 4) who has been falling for failing to fix her flaws again and again. Her once beutiful hair has transformed into pale tentacles, an evident mark of a witch that will earn her the scorn of anyone who sees her. Not deterred by misery, Cranel decides to turn things around and be positive, organizing a huge banket and party to please and earn back the good graces of her fellow dark elves that now scorn her. Balirna passes the Test of Faith, her good efforts in having a delightful time seen favorably by Slaneesh. Balirna's devotion is raised by 1 and her tentacle hairs, her witch mark, turn back to how it used to be. She still considered a Heretic (Devotion 5) and disliked by the other followers of slaneesh, but this was a good beginning in mending her devotion to the dark prince
- Faithful
7=Devout: When the character becomes a devout follower then he naturally learns how to interact with other people who share his beliefs, gaining the Peer feat with the group of his alignment.
8=Pious: the character gains a background dot decided by the GM, related and based on the action that caused the Test of Faith, which must also be related to his alignment. For example, a character who saved the life of a person may have gotten the attention of a relevant priest willing to mentor them. Or a follower of Malal who backstabbed his ally may have his dagger become a chaos warped artifact.
9=Favored: The character gains an additional background dot decided by the GM, which may be a different one or add onto the one gained from the previous tier. In addition, they gain the Good Reputation feat with the people of their alignment
10=Chosen: The character gains another background dot just like before plus a background dot in fame that applies to people of their alignment (which may be added to already gained dots). However they also receive the Wanted hindrance, as they are now being targetted by followers of the Mortal Enemy deity. As the name suggest, the exceedingly few mortal followers who reach this level of Devotion are usually good candidates to receive the blessing of their god and become exalted by divine grace, but of course this doesn't apply to those who are already exalts.
- Heresy
5=Heretic: The character has begun to have dangerous and wrong throughs about his belief and conviction, thus irritating the rest of followers of his Alignment. This Heretic hindrance works opposite of the Peer feat, taking -2k0 to rolls of charm, persuation and command rolls with members of his own alignment. As you may have guessed, they are now a Heretic for the purpose of feats such as Hatred (priests have hatred for anyone with heretical thoughs, regardless of their actual religion)
4=Sinner: The character has been marked as a wrondoer, manifesting some minor mutation that is not easy to conceal, such as teeth from another race, unusual colored pupils, albinism, or any similar trait that doesn't fundamentally change their anatomy, but makes them feared and distrusted. In addition, seeing or scanning their body, aura, soul, etc. through supernatural means or special technology reveal their cursed status and alignment with ease. Their imprint in the Umbra is specially unnerving and disliked by the spirits inhabiting it.
Optional: The witch mark is meant to be mostly cosmetic, with gameplay implications being just with interactions with other characters and NPCs. However if the GM wishes to make the witch mark something more severe, they may instead have the character roll on the mutation table, but this isn't recommend unless the game is being played with the optional corruption rules
3=Renegade: The character is deeply disatisfied with the dogma of his Alignment. From his point of view he has done nothing wrong, its the creed's fault for being confusing and hard to follow. He now has bad reputation with the people of his alignment, which works opposite to the feat "good reputation", taking a penalty of -0k1 to charm, persuation and command rolls with non-heretics of his alignment. However, the deviant ideas and beliefs of the character makes him resonate well with fellow heretics, gaining the Peer(heretics) feat. (In case of doubt, if this renegade talks to a heretic of his own alignment, Peer and Heretic cancel each other out)
2=Apostate: The character is now jinxed, giving them the effect opposite of carrying a charm, that is, whenever the unfolding plot calls for something bad to happen to a random character it will inevitably happen to this jinxed apostate. Carrying charms have no effect, and in fact it may even make things worse as the deity gets pissed at the nerve. The ostracism this character receives from their deity has turned them choleric against the other followers, gaining Hatred against members of his own alignment, as they are convinced to be on the right and superior in their beliefs, disgusted at those who get it wrong.
1= Lost Soul: The character's conviction is on the verge of collapse, not sure of what's wrong and what is right anymore. They are now Wanted by the followers of his own Alignment, with repercusions of being caught varying depending on the deity. Most gods will find it suitable to just smite the lost soul and end their misery, but some merciful alignments like Pelor or Nurgle will try to capture the lost soul and help them find the right path again, albeit through gruesome means if necessary.
At this point, the character may change his alignment to a deity of a different pantheon and even to an alignment from a mortal enemy (with the approval of the GM, if narrative circunstances justify such a radical change). If he decides to do so then they will keep all the hindrances and the Wanted status gained from his heretical fall and set their new devotion at 4 (gaining the corresponding witch mark and being a considered a Heretic by his new god. He'll have to work hard to earn the trust of his new comrades)
- Core alignments: Nothing about their definition has actually changed, but there's now a couple of additions:
- Aligments have now have an ally (usually from a different pantheon) and one or more mortal enemies (usually within the same pantheon).
- Alignment restriction: Just like how characters aligned with Khorne are forbidden from using magic now all alignments have a comparable restriction that's marked as their most grave sin. If a follower comits this sin their Devotion is inmediately lowered by 3 (to a minimun of 1). A character with the feat Common sense passes its test automatically when its about doing something that would break a restriction