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| People celebrating the KC Royals championship |
Last week I wrote about alignmentbecause of a discussion I had. That article led to a further discussion about alignment. One that looked at alignment from a different perspective—alignment with world views. This is how we align our views to greater social movements. They can be political, religious, economic, racial, and a number of other areas of thought, or combinations of them.
One of the other definitions for alignment per dictionary.com is: state of agreement or cooperation among persons, groups, nations, etc., with a common cause or viewpoint. This definition applies well to this discussion. And, this is the type of alignment (except for car tires) that most people are used to, even if they don't know it by this name. However, this is a harder form of alignment for most people to bring into the playing of their characters.
Instead of delving into what this alignment is, this discussion is more to how this alignment could be used in a role-playing game (RPG). There are many great opportunities in RPGs to use alignments to a groups beliefs, but it takes more effort on the part of the player, and the game master (GM). Some of the work is done by some of the systems out there, and they provide a basis that can be drawn on for those that don't.
Many games require a level of alignment just to play the game. Star Wars Age of Rebellion by its title alone tells you where you lie in the conflict and where the characters are aligned in the war. Other, present easily recognized uniforms for the characters to wear, for instance laying a roman centurion or a star fleet officer. In these styles of games the alignment of the character is easily apparent for the players and for the GM.
Other games make it easy for some characters, and not for others. In many fantasy games you will see the holy people, at least the ones who are in good standing in the society, will wear their symbols of faith openly. Those who belong to the underground organizations might have a symbol that other members of their organization recognize, but they work to make sure the ruling authorities don't catch sight of it.
The reason for this alignment to an organization or a generally accepted thought is to gain favor from those who are like minded. By sharing the common belief, the common goal, the same desires for the future of their group the members are willing to help those who support them. Some games build on this support system strongly while others may not have much involvement.
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| U.S. military in uniform |
Games that have the characters working as some level of agent for an organization immediately come to mind. Military, spies, or even agents for the museum may be given the supplies they need from their patron organization. I am even running a paranormal campaign that uses this as a basis, the characters don't have to worry about supplies from adventure to adventure; they just have to decide on what equipment they are requisitioning for that assignment. For some players this is a great benefit to have a quarter master who takes care of those issues for them. The easy to recognize agents also become easier targets.
The captain of the ship from the empire is in her uniform and the rebels, underprivileged, and general malcontents all recognize her for what she represents. Adventures of this nature don't have to be tied to a specific character as the character represents something greater. I talked with a couple of GMs that use this hook on a regular basis for their campaigns, but they admitted the party has always been on the side of the rebels. Having the easy to recognize symbol works well. But there are those who are hiding their allegiances.
I have played in RPGs that use reputation as a way of giving character recognition. This is not quite the same as alignment to a group, but some of the ideas used can be easily applied. The idea they usually use for reputation is that the more you do the more people know about it, this can be done to become famous or infamous. The reaction of others is based on the characters reputation. This level of reputation builds on the general sense of the society. This general level can then be easily applied to another level.
Instead of applying a general level of reputation you can apply a level of reputation within the organization you are aligned with. Using a system you are familiar with, or a simple scale, you can create a level of general recognition for a character to those who are similarly aligned, and opposed.
Using a simple scale could be a range like -10 to +10. Whenever a character shows themselves to be aligned with a particular group you could have a chance of their recognition level adjusting. This recognition could then be played into the gaming session. My thoughts here are using a d20 base which can apply to a number of systems, or easily adapted.
With a d20 system you could easily add in a character's, or a non-player character's, level of familiarity with an organization. If your game has skills like local knowledge, they could provide a bonus. A check is made, and, if the difficulty of recognition is achieved, then an appropriate reaction to the character's association can be made. I am sure many of you are reading this and coming up with adjustments you can use in your own game.
This level of alignment can add an additional level to many games. The reputation of the adventuring group, mercantile house, organization of bounty hunters, along with the more traditional means presented can add small twists to your game, or create encounters or adventures for the characters.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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