Dungeoneer Adventures: Designer Diary #4: Beyond ChaoticGood
Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:33 pm
Beyond Chaotic Good.
In Dungeoneer Adventures, there is no such thing as alignment.
Heroes are good, monsters are evil.
The glory/peril system reflects these distinctions and provides tangible rewards for heroism in the following manner:
Heroes gain glory for fighting monsters.
Heroes gain peril if they slay supporting characters.
Heroes become monsters if they initiate conflict with other heroes.
It's that simple.
(See design diary #1 "The Perilous Life" for more on this topic.)
Having removed the axis of good vs. evil from the game and replaced it with the glory\peril system, do we leave the players hanging without interesting moral choices?
No way.
We don't need alignment, because we have something better.
I love the concept of alignment. Sometimes I reflect on what I have learned from so many hours of trying my best to always play my alignment, whatever character I chose. Some days I wonder how much of my own rebellious nature is a result of the deep seated belief (which I know I share with many of you) that chaotic good is the best alignment to play. Sure lawful neutral can be interesting for all sorts of role playing reasons, but heck, everyone knows chaotic good is the way to go.
In DGA (Dungeoneer Adventures), there are several important decisions at character creation; template, calling, race and culture.
When you pick your template, you decide how you will confront evil, with melee, magic or a blend of both. Your choice of template helps define your roll in the party and determines just how you are going to start kicking monster ass.
When you pick your calling, you choose why it is your hero has chosen to adventure, for honor, justice, curiosity, reknown, belief or revenge. This choice, your heroes calling to adventure, defines why you are a hero. Calling gives you a sense of moral priorities. Some callings are simple (reknown), while others are complex (belief).
Each of the callings gives your here the necessary justification for busting down doors and taking on the horde of slavering glory fountains, excuse me, I meant monsters, ... that populate the grim fantasy world of dungeoneer.
In addition to acting as a guide for role-playing, calling has a direct and tangible effect on game play. Heroes get bonuses when they act in ways which reflect their calling. Following your calling will help you draw cards, gain glory, shed peril and provide bonuses to certain types of tests and challenges. To help get you in the mood for some roleplaying, calling provides specific bonuses during the role-play phase. Yes, I said it, role-play phase. Tune in next month for more details!
Some of the major difference between alignment and calling are as follows:
You get consistent meaningful bonuses if you play your hero according to your calling.
Heroes with different callings work well together.
Callings are less abstract than alignments (what does chaotic really mean?).
Thats it, in a nutshell.
To give you a taste of one of my favorite callings, here is the hero briefing for those who calling is curiosity.
Curiosity: Your hero is driven by insatiable curiosity. You love to learn esoteric facts, solve strange puzzles and resolve mysteries. You are infatuated by new spells, odd maneuvers, indecipherable sigils and ancient riddles.
Roleplaying: Playing a curious character is always fun. You help keep the party moving forward because you must know what is underneath that last unexplored map tile, or what is needed to fulfill the next quest. With a curious character, you do not need to be afraid to make mistakes, as you can always consider them a good learning experience. Curious heroes can also add humor to the game. Sometimes they are just plain goofy, wizards who are more concerned with getting a bottle of fiend brains than they are interested in looking out for traps, for example, in other cases they are obsessed with the numerous odd and strange elements of the world of Tarniss.
New to the Game?: Newcomers do well with curious characters. Play as if you are never afraid to ask a question, no matter how stupid it might sound!
Getting Along: Curious heroes can get along well with any other calling. Make sure you spend some time in the role-play phase asking the other heroes "Why?". This will let you express your curiosity and help them clearly enunciate their position on issues letting the whole party know who has what type of agenda.
Curiosity on Honor: The most fascinating of objects and the most treasured information is often the best defended. Working with an honor-bound hero is as simple and straightforward as your honorable ally is predictable and reliable. Help him defeat the monsters and he will help you reveal the mysteries.
To satisfy some of yours, here is the blurb for honor on curiosity.
Honor on Curiosity: You may have to bail these guys out of hot water now and then but try not to be dismissive when they have another strange idea. Sometimes those hunches of theirs end up leading you to hideous monsters or putting powerful treasures into your hands. Keep an eye on them and let them know that when they need a hand, you are there for them. In return, you can trust that they will share what they learn with you and lead you to many great heroic opportunities.
Back in 1998 when I had a chance to speak with Gary Gygax, I asked him what he felt was the most important lesson he had imparted to the world through the medium of the role playing game.
"If advanced dungeons and dragons players take away a useful lesson from the play of the game it is that law is not always good. The axis of freedom and chaos vs. law and order is as important as that of good and evil."
Thanks Gary, for bringing us untold worlds of adventure, but most importantly, for making clear that *why* we fight is as important as *how*.
Onward to glory!
In Dungeoneer Adventures, there is no such thing as alignment.
Heroes are good, monsters are evil.
The glory/peril system reflects these distinctions and provides tangible rewards for heroism in the following manner:
Heroes gain glory for fighting monsters.
Heroes gain peril if they slay supporting characters.
Heroes become monsters if they initiate conflict with other heroes.
It's that simple.
(See design diary #1 "The Perilous Life" for more on this topic.)
Having removed the axis of good vs. evil from the game and replaced it with the glory\peril system, do we leave the players hanging without interesting moral choices?
No way.
We don't need alignment, because we have something better.
I love the concept of alignment. Sometimes I reflect on what I have learned from so many hours of trying my best to always play my alignment, whatever character I chose. Some days I wonder how much of my own rebellious nature is a result of the deep seated belief (which I know I share with many of you) that chaotic good is the best alignment to play. Sure lawful neutral can be interesting for all sorts of role playing reasons, but heck, everyone knows chaotic good is the way to go.
In DGA (Dungeoneer Adventures), there are several important decisions at character creation; template, calling, race and culture.
When you pick your template, you decide how you will confront evil, with melee, magic or a blend of both. Your choice of template helps define your roll in the party and determines just how you are going to start kicking monster ass.
When you pick your calling, you choose why it is your hero has chosen to adventure, for honor, justice, curiosity, reknown, belief or revenge. This choice, your heroes calling to adventure, defines why you are a hero. Calling gives you a sense of moral priorities. Some callings are simple (reknown), while others are complex (belief).
Each of the callings gives your here the necessary justification for busting down doors and taking on the horde of slavering glory fountains, excuse me, I meant monsters, ... that populate the grim fantasy world of dungeoneer.
In addition to acting as a guide for role-playing, calling has a direct and tangible effect on game play. Heroes get bonuses when they act in ways which reflect their calling. Following your calling will help you draw cards, gain glory, shed peril and provide bonuses to certain types of tests and challenges. To help get you in the mood for some roleplaying, calling provides specific bonuses during the role-play phase. Yes, I said it, role-play phase. Tune in next month for more details!
Some of the major difference between alignment and calling are as follows:
You get consistent meaningful bonuses if you play your hero according to your calling.
Heroes with different callings work well together.
Callings are less abstract than alignments (what does chaotic really mean?).
Thats it, in a nutshell.
To give you a taste of one of my favorite callings, here is the hero briefing for those who calling is curiosity.
Curiosity: Your hero is driven by insatiable curiosity. You love to learn esoteric facts, solve strange puzzles and resolve mysteries. You are infatuated by new spells, odd maneuvers, indecipherable sigils and ancient riddles.
Roleplaying: Playing a curious character is always fun. You help keep the party moving forward because you must know what is underneath that last unexplored map tile, or what is needed to fulfill the next quest. With a curious character, you do not need to be afraid to make mistakes, as you can always consider them a good learning experience. Curious heroes can also add humor to the game. Sometimes they are just plain goofy, wizards who are more concerned with getting a bottle of fiend brains than they are interested in looking out for traps, for example, in other cases they are obsessed with the numerous odd and strange elements of the world of Tarniss.
New to the Game?: Newcomers do well with curious characters. Play as if you are never afraid to ask a question, no matter how stupid it might sound!
Getting Along: Curious heroes can get along well with any other calling. Make sure you spend some time in the role-play phase asking the other heroes "Why?". This will let you express your curiosity and help them clearly enunciate their position on issues letting the whole party know who has what type of agenda.
Curiosity on Honor: The most fascinating of objects and the most treasured information is often the best defended. Working with an honor-bound hero is as simple and straightforward as your honorable ally is predictable and reliable. Help him defeat the monsters and he will help you reveal the mysteries.
To satisfy some of yours, here is the blurb for honor on curiosity.
Honor on Curiosity: You may have to bail these guys out of hot water now and then but try not to be dismissive when they have another strange idea. Sometimes those hunches of theirs end up leading you to hideous monsters or putting powerful treasures into your hands. Keep an eye on them and let them know that when they need a hand, you are there for them. In return, you can trust that they will share what they learn with you and lead you to many great heroic opportunities.
Back in 1998 when I had a chance to speak with Gary Gygax, I asked him what he felt was the most important lesson he had imparted to the world through the medium of the role playing game.
"If advanced dungeons and dragons players take away a useful lesson from the play of the game it is that law is not always good. The axis of freedom and chaos vs. law and order is as important as that of good and evil."
Thanks Gary, for bringing us untold worlds of adventure, but most importantly, for making clear that *why* we fight is as important as *how*.
Onward to glory!