Is it normal for characters to change their alignment?

[Madscientist]

I have never played a PnP game myself, but I have played lots of computer RPGs.

In this forum there is a discussion that compares Baldurs gate 2 with deadfire, and I also added the witcher as an argument that we should get rid of alignment systems.

 

BG2 was my first contact with DnD rules and I did not know what DnD or PnP is at that point. I saw only the very complicated rules of a computer game. Regarding alignment I considered it an arbitrary restriction that makes no sense. I did not understand why a bard has to be chaotic ( not sure if I confuse DnD2 and DnD3 here) and I thought the system encourages you to be "lawful stupid" or "evil stupid", even though I did not know these terms back then.

 

So finally here are my questions to people who have actually played PnP games:

 

- How much does your alignment limit what you can do?

Something like: No, you cannot try to steal an item because you are lawful. It does not matter that you need this item to save a town and the owner would rather kill you than giving it to you.

 

- Is it normal that characters change their alignment?

If you go out on an adventure you will experiance many things, both heroic and traumatic. I think that some of these events can change a person a lot.

[MrMoe]

- How much does your alignment limit what you can do?

 

It doesn't. Its up to your game master on what happens if your not acting according to your alignment. Depending on what your playing, you  might lose your class (like the fallen paladin in BG, whos pretty much a bad fighter)

Also, your alignment is not something your companions know about you, and your character wouldnt just say "Hello, I'm neutral!"

 

Is it normal that characters change their alignment?

 

Sure, but maybe not too drastically. Just like in real life, people just don't have a change of mind and change from being a good person and become really evil.

[Azdeus]

Quite so, MrMoe. As a gm I generally speaking do not care about alignment unless we are talking about deities and divine casters. In those cases i use it ad a rule of thumb for how their god given powers might "react" to their actions. Ie a lawful god might not grant you his powers if you ate burglaring someone instead of going by the law to do something. Might force penance in extreme cases and a change in alignment and forcing penance to regain their powers.

 

Night be more useful if you go more with a dungeon bashing style.

 

Any soelling mistakes i will wholely attribute to this ****ty phone...