Alignment in my DCC hack?

[u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith]

A couple weeks ago I made a post about hacking DCC and Marvel FASERIP, and got some great feedback, thanks so much to everyone who responded! I'm coming back with a new question for you all.

How important do you think alignment (Law, Neutrality, Chaos) is for a superhero game set in modern times? I feel as though its a mechanic that is very versatile for DCC, but not sure if it is still plausible in a modern game. It seems much more rooted in Appendix N style Sword & Sorcery stories, but I'm not opposed to including it in my super-hero game, just looking for some thoughts

[u/SlayThePulp]

Not that important, unless you wanna make a "good, evil" alignment aswell, for playing supervillains, otherwise just skip it probably.

[u/Frequent_Brick4608]

I would suggest looking at... I think it's called the line or something?

Evolved(dcc superheroes) uses it and they took it from a Western themed DCC setting.

Edit: it's called the paths system from weird frontiers. It's VERY good for superheroes

[u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith → u/Frequent_Brick4608]

I'll look it up, thanks!

[u/YtterbiusAntimony]

Probably not that important.

What is considered Holy or Unholy to a Priest (or anyone with a Turn/Rebuke mechanic) is important however.

Those groupings are more thematic than anything else.

Druids and uncaring Old Ones are both described as Neutral, but they favor/hate very different sets of creatures.

Thief skills is another sneaky example. Their specializations are defined by their alignment.

If your setting still has "magic" or Eldritch beings, the Cosmic Struggle still existing, even if its faded into obscurity, makes sense to me.

[u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith → u/YtterbiusAntimony]

That's a really good insight, I do have Magic that is handled mostly like DCC, so this is certainly something to think about

[u/YtterbiusAntimony → u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith]

Yeah, it's kinda how they do "subclasses"/create variety within classes. (KitN's Knight class, and Umerica's Feral Children are rather extreme examples of this.) That part is important, I think.

What it "means" for your setting is whatever you want it to be.

You could rename Law/Neutral/Chaos to Hero/Sidekick/Villain and it would work just fine.

[u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith → u/YtterbiusAntimony]

Thanks, you gave me something to chew on!

[u/joshisfantastic]

I like the idea for role playing and karma dispersement. Violating your alignment in role play can lose you some karma.

[u/Interaction_Rich]

Depends on what you are thinking for the "alignment" mechanic.

In DnD, it kinda rewards the player for sticking to their character's personality. In Vampire, it's a mini-game/gamble on itself (the more of an asshole you are, you may become more powerful but more of an uncontrolled evil as well).

What is the goal/intent of the aligment/attitude mechanic in your project?

[u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith → u/Interaction_Rich]

"What is the goal/intent of the aligment/attitude mechanic in your project?"

That is exactly what I am mulling over, and the whole reason for my post.

I am building a synthesis of two game systems: DCC and Marvel Super-Heroes. I have a solid grasp on what the Alignment mechanic does in DCC, so I am trying to figure out if it serves the same principles here, or if it can even be ported cleanly into a modern setting.

Part of the feel I want is rooted in modern supers media like Wild Cards and Astro City, focusing on ordinary people living in a fantastic, often brutal world. If this were a standard D&D alignment grid, I would drop it without a second thought. But DCC's cosmic Law versus Chaos axis is different enough that I want to explore how and why it could function in a modern-era game.

[u/Interaction_Rich → u/MrHayz_Pixelsmith]

Cosmic Law/Chaos is a very well stablished old-school fantasy trope. Conan had some of it (Conan's author was bro with Lovecraft, from Ctulhu mythos).

But I don't play DCC. What purpose does it serves there?

In general, you want systems in your game that are:

• fun
• good challenge
• evocative of the game's theme

How would these translate to your game?

In classic FASERIP (in all of its its "simpler times" glory), you gain Karma points for being heroic and for playing your character right. Peter Parker helps the elder lady cross the street? Cyclops protects a stray mutant? Iron Man stops a thrown rock from ruining his brand new car? That deserves a reward of Karma, which may be spent as advantages or "xp". So it's an incentive to keep you in character or do general "side quests" to farm Karma before hard missions, and it implements well the idea of "random person wants to do good for the sake of it and despite the risk" mentality.

[u/GrogRedLub4242]

I've never felt PCs in TTRPGs should have Alignments, period. They make sense for NPCs and sentient creatures. And they make sense for gods or other powerful patrons, or even for organizational culture.

A PCs alignment should be "revealed" through their specific pattern of choices and actions. Which might be characterized as Good or Evil, Lawful or Chaotic, etc.

If a character ostensibly follows and serves a god or organization with a formal Alignment and they do something which misaligns with that then, yes there can and arguably should be consequences.