D&D (2024) Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral touched species.

[Marandahir]

I never really liked the Daddy was demon idea. I prefer my planar beings infused with alignment and thats it.

I like the 4e idea that Tieflings were a group of human nobles from a dying empire that turned to pacts with devils to defeat the Dragonborn empire that had them on the brink of extinction. Now both empires are dead, and Tieflings are the descendants of these Warlock nobles that were transformed, carrying the stigma of their ancestors in their appearances but not necessarily in their personality. They're not directly descended from demons or devils.

So, my daddy was a Demon-Pact Warlock, not my daddy was a Demon-Blooded Sorcerer.

 

[Corinnguard]

I like the 4e idea that Tieflings were a group of human nobles from a dying empire that turned to pacts with devils to defeat the Dragonborn empire that had them on the brink of extinction. Now both empires are dead, and Tieflings are the descendants of these Warlock nobles that were transformed, carrying the stigma of their ancestors in their appearances but not necessarily in their personality. They're not directly descended from demons or devils.

So, my daddy was a Demon-Pact Warlock, not my daddy was a Demon-Blooded Sorcerer.

I liked the 4e take on the Tiefling as it streamlined their looks. Back then I found myself expecting a similar origin for the Aasimar. Instead 4e gave us the Devas. And all because someone at WoTC saw the word ass in Aasimar.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

There is a lot more talk about class, monster, and DMings right now due to the current playtest packets


But I want to swing back to races err.. specieses.. ugh.

Part of the rejection of Aardlings was that there was already a good aligned race, Aasimar.

But 5e doesn't have a chaos tinted species. Nor a lawful shaded species. Nor one in the middle. Law and Chaos is barely explored in the physical form.

Would you want one or more of these officially?
How should their racial work?
One race with subraces or 2-3 races?

I utterly, vociferously, despise the notion of people touched by an alignment being a race. I find the idea both egregiously silly in a world building sense, and uncomfortable in a sense of the implications. “Lawful Good touched mortals from the outer planes are this species, while Chaotic Good touched people are this other race” is…simply bad.

Tieflings aren’t tieflings because the plane of existence that touched them was an evil one, they’re teiflings because an ancestor smashed or made a deal with a fiend.

 

[Corinnguard]

Tieflings aren’t tieflings because the plane of existence that touched them was an evil one, they’re teiflings because an ancestor smashed or made a deal with a fiend.

And that fiend hailed from one of the Lower Planes, which embodies a particular kind of evil. Unlike a fiend, however, a Tiefling can embody a non-evil alignment if they wanted to.

 

[Yaarel]

For me, it is important to define the Alignments as ethical concepts.

"Lawful" means self-identifying with a group.

"Chaos" means self-identifying as individuals.

Law and Chaos as ethics, have little or nothing to do with mathematical predictability or randomness.

 

[Corinnguard]

For me, it is important to define the Alignments as ethical concepts.

"Lawful" means self-identifying with a group.

"Chaos" means self-identifying as individuals.

Law and Chaos as ethics, have little or nothing to do with mathematical predictability or randomness.

Another way to look at this is that Lawful means putting the needs of society before your own individual needs. Chaotic is putting the needs of the individual over the needs of society. Neutral otoh means you acknowledge the needs of society and the needs of the individual, but you aren't beholden to either one.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I liked the 4e take on the Tiefling as it streamlined their looks. Back then I found myself expecting a similar origin for the Aasimar. Instead 4e gave us the Devas. And all because someone at WoTC saw the word ass in Aasimar.

Devas were freaking amazing as a concept though.

 

[Corinnguard]

Devas were freaking amazing as a concept though.

Deva | Level Up Maybe that's why they were reincarnated for Level Up.

 

[Scribe]

Another way to look at this is that Lawful means putting the needs of society before your own individual needs. Chaotic is putting the needs of the individual over the needs of society. Neutral otoh means you acknowledge the needs of society and the needs of the individual, but you aren't beholden to either one.

I just drop Neutral in my take on it. Law/Chaos/Good/Evil, and the corner as well of course (LG,CG, etc) but yeah.

 

[Corinnguard]

I just drop Neutral in my take on it. Law/Chaos/Good/Evil, and the corner as well of course (LG,CG, etc) but yeah.

Neutral is the fulcrum alignment. It represents balance between moral and ethical points of view.