[DF] Dragonlance

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

The problem with 1e through 3e D&D (the editions I know) is that they had concepts like alignment languages, Protection Against Good, and alignment planes which suggest that alignment is built deeply into the world, but they did not have a coherent theory of what alignment is or fit it into the world. Part of this may be that in the early days they were scared of working in explicitly Christian elements and setting off another Satanic Panic, part of it may be the omnium gatherum inspirations they used which included both dualistic alignments and alignments as uncaring forces. This lead to issues like the eternal "is killing orc babies Good?" debate and the "lawful ******* / lawful stupid" paladin.

It didn't help that examples of "proper" handling of alignment were basic FUBAR the Player. "It's not easy being good" (Dragon #51) by Roger Moore even had an example of a Paladin getting messed up because of the alignment system. The article basicly delt with the female and child surivors of a take out the werewolves problem mission. With lycanthropy you have a major problem as you have somebody with MPD as seen in the wolfman pictures ie Talbot going ' Please lock me up or kill me before I turn into a rampaging monster again and kill somebody.'

The Paladin knowing that there was no way to cure the poor wretchs and come next full moon they would terrorize the countryside had them painlessly executed at which point he got hosed by the alignment system because since it was daylight he had killed 'innocent' women and children. And this was an actual example of how to use alignment!

To be fair many characters in comic books and cartoons of the 1960s through 1980s tended to be Lawful Stupid or Chaotic Crazy. Then you just had Icky Creepy.

Take the Silver Age Superman - a paragon of LG if there ever was one. Then you get into some of the stories...

"Have you ever wished you could see a grieving Man of Steel pushed to the limits of his sanity, having a make-out session with a robot, trolling beauty contests for Lois lookalikes and tricking a woman into marrying him under the pretense of being someone else? If so, then Superman #215 (Apr 1969) has the story you've been looking for." Nightwing in his Confessions of a Superman fan page

Let's not forget he "watches Brainiac and Luthor kill two people and because he really, really doesn't like the victims, turns a blind eye while they haul off the bodies (and even says, "Thanks")"

I should mention that Michael A. Stackpole lamblated the D&D alignment system in his Pulling Report