Wishlist, part 3

Continuing the series (and my train of thought)...

3. Get rid of Alignment.

At best it's a clumsy mechanic that serves no real purpose in game. At worst, it's a set of handcuffs we don't need.

Okay. It defines things for clerics. Gives the paladin class a prerequisite and something to detect. And adds all those nice Protection from Evil type spells or effects.

None of that is reason enough to carry on with the alignment system. Not when it could be so easily dropped or replaced.

Think about it. How often do you stop and wonder if your Neutral Good rogue would really be okay with stealing? Never? Yeah. Same here.

In fact the only time I ever pause to consider alignment is at character creation, and even then only if it's applicable to the class I want or a Prestige that's down the road. Once in a while I even try to match up with a god's alignment. Otherwise it's only use in game is to rationalize my selfishness and greed. "Sorry I left you guys to die to that dragon while I ran in, grabbed that badass sword, bag full of jewels, and fled. But my character is chaotic neutral."

Besides being a handy tool for rationalization, every other redeeming quality for alignment can easily be replaced.

That sword of good that gives a +2 to hit and extra damage vs evil? Um. Have you heard of Bane weapons?

The Protection from Evil spell? Change it to Protection from Outsiders. Or undead. Or giants. Etc...

The paladin and monk? Make 'em stick to a code or philosophy instead. Chivalry or Buddhism or whatever.

Detect Evil? That spell/ability is a thorn in the side of any DM. Think they'll miss it? Guess again. Better yet, use roleplaying to figure out if something or someone is evil. "So Mr. Ogre. Would you rather help build an orphanage or eat the orphans?"

Easy peasy. No more alignment. No major changes to the game. We can even keep the cosmology as it is with Lawful vs Chaotic being just a concept as opposed to a hard and fast set of rules. As an added bonus it also eliminates one of the hardest concepts for new players to grasp. And best of all, it makes a certain dual wielding ranger Drow almost believable.

My (ongoing) Wishlist

As you can probably guess, this is my wish list for what I'd like to see in 4e. Sort of a Dear Santa thing, if Santa worked at WotC.

Actually, now that I think of it, that's a pretty apt analogy. I'll have about as much chance of WotC delivering on my wish list as I have of Santa finally coughing up that Millenium Falcon I asked for (that's right you sonofabitch! I remember! I asked for just that one thing that year, and did you deliver? No! You gave me a Tie Fighter! I already had a Tie Fighter you bastard!)

Ahem. On to the list.

1. Make the Half-elf relevant.

I don't know about anyone else but I love the concept of the half-elf, hate the delivery. They get +1 to spot, listen, and search checks. A bonus to diplomacy (I think). And pointy ears. That's about it.

Boring. Boring. Boring.

Mom gets an extra feat, a bonus skill point every level, and can treat any class of her choosing as her favored. Dad gets +2 on his spot/listen/search, can detect secret doors just by walking around, and free proficiency with a couple of nice weapons. Sonny boy gets... pointy ears.

Talk about getting short changed in that genetic mingling.

I'm not saying that the half-elf should get the bonus feat. That would be stepping too much on the human's toes. But, how about giving them the extra skill rank every level? Or the longsword/longbow proficiency? Better yet, tie it to where the character was raised. More elven influence and he gets the latter. More human and the skill rank kicks in. Player decisions equals goodness.

While I'm at it, I'd be tempted to give the half-elf a +2 to Charisma. They're supposed to be naturally good at getting along with everyone, so give them some love in a stat that's a dump for any class other than sorceror, paladin, or cleric. If that's too much then at least make all the Charisma based skills "class skills" for the half-elf.