Allow Alignment-Based Decisions to Matter

[TheMeanDM]

Agreed.

Alignment *should* mean at least a little bit of something....more than what weapon or armor or item you can (or can't) use.

Give XP for destroying the book.

Change the Good/Neutral/Evil alignment of the character "down" one step if they don't destroy the book.

Give an evil-aligned weapon/etc for giving it to her.

All sorts of "easy button" options to incorporate that won't tax the programmer's brains too much

[SardaSlayer]

/signed

I really appreciate a little variety in quest driven games.

Being able to answer NPCs in character encourages me to read the dialog and participate more in it. If I can only sound like a religious zealot when speaking to an NPC then I stop reading and just click default answers to get through the speech.

Also, different consequences for a choice of action actually makes it a choice (programatically, if both paths after a decision are the same then the decision is redundant). I agree with being rewarded to follow alignment of the character but since Eberron has such a murky take on alignment that would be difficult. I prefer instead to expand the story that is provided in game with my own alignment justification.

For example with Delera's, you could envision that the quest giver is an enemy of your enemy and currently the under dog. So by giving him the book I balance the power and there by cause greater loses for both sides. Win for me when I go in and mop up the remainders of both sides.

[cdemeritt]

While I agree I'd like to see more alignment based choices that are meaningful, I also agree at this point it will be difficult to shoehorn into the game.

The Church and the Cult is often one of the more talked about Quests when this discussion comes up, because of some of the more obvious moral issues it raises... But it goes even deeper than that... A Lawful Good Cleric, Paladin, or FvS of the Sovereign Host, you should not even be able to run this quest, after all they are of "your" faith, and you have sworn to protect... Yet if you are a follower of the Silver Flame, you should have little problems with this quest, as and heretics must be put down... Yet if you are simply a lawful good Fighter, Arcane, or other, you wouldn't have the religous zealotizim required to Murder unarmed commoners in their church... and I'd see issues here, we call people who do this evil... Now for solo play, there could be changes made to allow a Sovereign Host Paladin to get the commoners out or some other such mechanic, but, how would it work when you put a party together? It would be a mess. In P&P The live DM could make changes and decisions on how to make this work based on party makeup, however, here it isn't so easy.

However, make alignment based decisions may be very difficult to encode... but making more choices available in quests would be nice... Shavarath sort of starts this... Sins Of Attrition, you can pick the end boss to fight, and before the end fight there are 2 people and a choice... rescue them or let them die... one gives you an extra chest, the other a shrine... This quest is still pretty basic even with these choices, but it is a step. I think back to the "choose your own Story" books I had growing up, and would like to see more of this in the dungeons vs the current basically straight forward dungeons we have now. This could let the RP'ers RP, not really interfere with Hack& slashers, and give a feel of playing alignment without it having to be encoded...

[Angrygreek]

/signed

People are making this seem far more convuluted than it is. It really isn't anymore complicated than tracking favour with the various houses and organizations around Stormreach. Instead of tracking favour, the game could simply be tracking alignment. This gets issuous though. Paladins MUST be Lawful Good. If they deviate, they stop being paladins until they atone properly. This would be messy to implement into game dynamics (although, I must say, quite fun). Ditto for a monk's need to be Lawful. Let's be honest, running through dungeons haphazardly smashing crates and barrels to bits for sh*ts and giggles isn't most people's idea of a 'Lawful Good' act. Therein lies the rub, as much as I love PNP D&D (over 30 years under my belt), you cannot directly translate it into an MMO, it won't work. Best to capture the flavour (which Turbine has done very successfully) and move from there.

Still, I'd like to see some implementation for alignment based decisions and the rewards / penalties based on them.

[Antheal]

Let's be honest, running through dungeons haphazardly smashing crates and barrels to bits for sh*ts and giggles isn't most people's idea of a 'Lawful Good' act.

Well that could just be a part of the required party dynamic.

You need a rogue for traps and the associated exp bonus, a rogue or wizard for locked doors & chests, and a chaotic or neutral character for smashing things for the associated exp bonus...