Namely, I don't.
My previous exposure to alignment was the 3.X+ two-axis chart that has since seeped out into popular culture. I recently spoke with a non-roleplaying friend of mine who had no idea the chart was originally from D&D. Yet, I've never used it. My very first game was played with Open Legend, and after I discovered the GLOG and the OSR I moved on to that. As a result, I've never played with any kind of alignment in my game.
And it works fine. I think most OSR people play with little to no alignment, and it doesn't result in any less or lower quality roleplaying. On the contrary, my players have developed their own character's morality as the game goes (and it's pretty much exclusively 'evil'). But JB's post struck a chord with me, and reminded me there's another way to use alignment.
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| There are no good images for this and I find the charts to be extremely boring So here's the two-axis chart being abused. |
Alignment as Religion
I've heard from a knowledgeable source (though I can't for the life of me remember who) that alignment in OD&D wasn't about your character's personal morality, but much more like their religion. It's a worldview, it's how you structure your life, the kind of narrative you think the world runs on.
Mind you, we're also talking about a single-axis system: Law, Neutrality, Chaos, and Unaligned. There are good and evil people in each category. Lawful people aren't those who always follow the law above other values because it's their personal belief. Lawful people are those who organize their world around authority and rules. Leadership and order is necessary for a functioning society. They won't necessarily follow a law they think is unjust, but they will concern themselves with it, because laws are important.
A Chaotic person, on the other hand, isn't one who just breaks laws for the hell of it, but one who organizes their world around their personal freedom and ability to act as they will. The current authority and current laws matter only as much as they impact the Chaotic person's ability to determine themselves.
Neutrality might be understood as no alignment, but I'm separating that into Unaligned. And I think a passive, lack-of-this alignment is really boring. Alignment should be active. I think of Neutrality as a conscious attempt at a 'middle road,' at balancing authority and freedom. It works on more of a case-by-case basis, and dislikes either side getting too much power. A Neutral power may support a new authority when society is too Chaotic, and then oppose the same when society tips and becomes too Lawful for comfort.
Then there's Unaligned, which is for creatures with no moral/social worldview, no organizing principle. This, of course, works for animals and other unintelligent creatures, but also for certain PCs. Druids are the prime example, particularly Arnold's druids. Unaligned characters deliberately exist outside of a social order. They don't organize their worldview around authority or freedom; they have no worldview outside of the moment. If a stronger creature asserts itself, it has authority. If Nothing prevents you, you have freedom to do as you will.
Alignment Languages
Which brings me to the subject of Alignment Languages. This always seemed odd to me. Why would you know an extra language because of your morality? How could you lose it by changing alignment? Well, understanding alignment as a worldview/religion gives us another way to look at the languages.
Instead of being separate tongues, I think of alignment languages as a combination of vocabulary and body language; if you share a (non-alignment)language with somebody, you can communicate, but you won't necessarily have the same assumptions. If you've traveled within the United States (or within the Anglosphere, or Latin America, or any other area that shares a language but has many different cultures), you know that sharing a language with somebody doesn't guarantee straightforward understanding. Beyond local accent and slang, you may come from cultures with radically different assumptions, and that's as big a barrier as language itself.
So alignment language reflects a set of common assumptions, which when shared allow for easy communication, and makes other people more likely to trust you. It's part vocabulary, part body language, part a shared understanding of where this conversation is going, what goals are appropriate, and so on. When two lawful people come together, they will often greet each other by blessing the local authority figure; if a Lawful person were to do this with a Chaotic person, they would be considered very odd at best.
Likewise, if a Chaotic person invited another to break some venial law, a Chaotic person would likely accept. A Lawful person would be taken aback, even if they considered the law to be unjust. A Neutral person may or may not, based on circumstance.
So how do I (and potentially you) use this?
Alignment Rules
First, off, there are four alignments. Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic, and Unaligned. They are separate from morality, good or evil. They also don't change, except under extreme circumstances. This is the fundamental worldview your behavior is based on; they can change through strong mind-altering magic, exposure to Cosmic Horrors, spending extended periods of time under the tutelage of someone of another alignment, etc.
Second, they are metaphysical properties of a soul. There is no clear distinction between the natural and supernatural, and your alignment is visible to people who know how to look for it. This isn't a Detect Evil spell that dings when you encounter something evil. It's a sudden and intimate understanding of how someone else organizes their world. You can gain that same understanding by spending time with them and getting to know them, but people with the right magic, or supernatural beings, or just gifted people, can sense it on sight.
Rules for Alignment Languages
Alignment languages is where it gets interesting. Depending on how important you want alignment to be in your game, you can tweak this, but I want it to be fairly important. As a result, PCs only add their Charisma modifier to Reaction rolls with with people or creatures of the same alignment, and only add their modifier to Morale rolls with followers of the same alignment. If you're meeting something in a dark dungeon, sharing body language and common assumptions is the difference between going your separate ways or getting stabbed in the back. If you're a Lawful hireling to some Neutral PC, not knowing how they'll make their decisions won't comfort you.
Now, you've probably noticed a little flaw in this rule. What about negative modifiers? Would you only add it with people of your same alignment? Wouldn't that mean you do worse with people you share values with?
I can see it going either way. People you share a culture with will notice immediately how uncharismatic you are; people who don't understand you will be more likely to chalk that up to being different from them. An uncharismatic person would be encouraged to deal with people outside their alignment, resulting in all the more drama.
On the other hand, that common ground may be what you need to make up for your lack of charisma, while people of other alignments see it plainly. Either way works.
One might then ask, is it possible to learn someone else's alignment language without changing yours? Absolutely. I's difficult, and it takes time, but with effort and instruction, you can imitate people of other alignments. Points of reference for this would be spies or criminals learning to blend in with their marks, or diplomats learning the intricacies of the culture they serve as a bridge to. These can be learned like other skills, using downtime.
Alignment Restrictions and Power Loss
And now we come to the most controversial part of alignment. Do you lose anything if it changes, especially if your class is linked to an alignment?
Now, this is something of a moot point at the moment, since none of the classes I use are at all connected to alignment. But if I were to adjudicate this, I'd keep these principles in mind: Alignment changes only rarely, and almost never accidentally. Alignment is separate from being good/evil. If you want to have a class where the player has to consider their actions in the context of certain restrictions, it's preferable to write out those restrictions.
In Summary
There are four alignments, Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic, and Unaligned.
Alignment is worldview, religion or cultural context, not personal morality.
Alignment Languages Option 1: Apply CHA modifier to Reaction and Morale rolls only with creatures/hirelings of your same alignment.
Alignment Languages Option 2: Apply a positive CHA modifier to Reaction and Morale rolls only with creatures/hirelings of your same alignment, and a negative modifier only to creatures and hirelings of different Alignments.
Besides your own language, you can learn another alignment language as a skill, taking up a skill slot.
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