Just double-checking here. So far, my reading of 5e books has turned up precisely zero mechanical impact for alignment in any fashion. Even the Protection From Evil and Good spell just specifies creature types. Are there any cases I'm missing?
To clarify, this is how I think it *should* be. I'm needing to see if there are any rules about it so I can house rule them out.
While there is the meager collection of items, the impact of Alignment has been reduce to a bare minimum. There is no longer a requirement for a Cleric, Druid, or Paladin to adhere to an alignment scope, nor any other mechanical benefit/punishment.
As far as I know, the impact of alignment is mostly up to the DM. It also serves as a bit of a guideline for the players to make role playing choices.
There are a fairly limited number of cases where alignment has a mechanical impact, however, alignment is a key element of the lore and setting, particularly in the context of dieties and their worshippers along with a wide range of intelligent monsters with very specific alignments and inclinations as a result.
Here are some examples where it might have an effect:
It does affect the gods and likely clerics who worship them since they might be expected to behave consistently with their alignments.
There are certain magic items in the DMG whose use and/or effect depend on class and/or alignment.
- Candle of invocation
- Obsidian Steed
- Robe of the Arch Magi (different ones depending on alignment)
- Sword of Answering
- Talisman of Pure Good
- Talisman of Ultimate Evil
- Moonblade
- Sentient Items
When being brought back from the dead a soul knows the name, alignment and patron diety (if any) of the character casting the spell so that the soul can decide whether to be resurrected or not.
Many of the planes are structured based on alignment ... celestials/demons/devils have specific alignments and come from a home plane.
Various spells also have alignment dependencies - a variety of summon spells have the constraint that whatever you ask them to do can not violate their alignment. Glyph of Warding can be set to trigger based on alignment.
A few thing here and there, but nothing too intrusive like 3e where it was in bloody everything ... nothing insurmountable.
Banning a handful of magic items is easy.
Dead is dead in my games, so the resurrection clause means nothing. There are no gods, so that's a non-issue as well (all clerics are 'clerics of a philosophy', most of them just anthropomorphize their belief).
Easy enough to nix the ability of Glyph to trigger on alignment and the clause on summons.
It does affect the gods and likely clerics who worship them since they might be expected to behave consistently with their alignments.
A Cleric/Paladin doesn't need to follow any diety, they can simply follow a belief, or a code. Alignment doesn't affect whether a Paladin can become Fallen like in older editions. Alignment doesn't place a Cleric into a Negative energy vs Holy energy situation based on Evil/Good alignment, they simply have their abilities. It is entirely possible to be a Cleric of Cyric and spend your entire adventuring career living in poverty, healing the sick, giving every last copper to the poor, and performing acts of kindness the entire time. The idea that a god might expect something from a Cleric is a DM decision, not something prescribed in the books.
Aren't there some spells that change their damage type and/or appearance based on whether their caster is Good, Neutral, or Evil? I'm thinking of Cleric spells. Spirit Guardians, for instance, looks different depending on the caster's alignment. There is at least one spell that changes the damage type to necrotic if the caster is Evil. I forget which one, though.
Aren't there some spells that change their damage type and/or appearance based on whether their caster is Good, Neutral, or Evil? I'm thinking of Cleric spells. Spirit Guardians, for instance, looks different depending on the caster's alignment. There is at least one spell that changes the damage type to necrotic if the caster is Evil. I forget which one, though.
Thank you, something else I need to fix, at least that last part. A player's spell looks like whatever he wants it to, so the appearance bit is a moot point.
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Just double-checking here. So far, my reading of 5e books has turned up precisely zero mechanical impact for alignment in any fashion. Even the Protection From Evil and Good spell just specifies creature types. Are there any cases I'm missing?
To clarify, this is how I think it *should* be. I'm needing to see if there are any rules about it so I can house rule them out.
There are several magical items that requires the user to be good/evil. Some Magical items change the character's alignment.
While there is the meager collection of items, the impact of Alignment has been reduce to a bare minimum. There is no longer a requirement for a Cleric, Druid, or Paladin to adhere to an alignment scope, nor any other mechanical benefit/punishment.
As far as I know, the impact of alignment is mostly up to the DM. It also serves as a bit of a guideline for the players to make role playing choices.
There are a fairly limited number of cases where alignment has a mechanical impact, however, alignment is a key element of the lore and setting, particularly in the context of dieties and their worshippers along with a wide range of intelligent monsters with very specific alignments and inclinations as a result.
Here are some examples where it might have an effect:
It does affect the gods and likely clerics who worship them since they might be expected to behave consistently with their alignments.
There are certain magic items in the DMG whose use and/or effect depend on class and/or alignment.
- Candle of invocation
- Obsidian Steed
- Robe of the Arch Magi (different ones depending on alignment)
- Sword of Answering
- Talisman of Pure Good
- Talisman of Ultimate Evil
- Moonblade
- Sentient Items
When being brought back from the dead a soul knows the name, alignment and patron diety (if any) of the character casting the spell so that the soul can decide whether to be resurrected or not.
Many of the planes are structured based on alignment ... celestials/demons/devils have specific alignments and come from a home plane.
Various spells also have alignment dependencies - a variety of summon spells have the constraint that whatever you ask them to do can not violate their alignment. Glyph of Warding can be set to trigger based on alignment.
A few thing here and there, but nothing too intrusive like 3e where it was in bloody everything ... nothing insurmountable.
Banning a handful of magic items is easy.
Dead is dead in my games, so the resurrection clause means nothing. There are no gods, so that's a non-issue as well (all clerics are 'clerics of a philosophy', most of them just anthropomorphize their belief).
Easy enough to nix the ability of Glyph to trigger on alignment and the clause on summons.
A Cleric/Paladin doesn't need to follow any diety, they can simply follow a belief, or a code. Alignment doesn't affect whether a Paladin can become Fallen like in older editions. Alignment doesn't place a Cleric into a Negative energy vs Holy energy situation based on Evil/Good alignment, they simply have their abilities. It is entirely possible to be a Cleric of Cyric and spend your entire adventuring career living in poverty, healing the sick, giving every last copper to the poor, and performing acts of kindness the entire time. The idea that a god might expect something from a Cleric is a DM decision, not something prescribed in the books.
Aren't there some spells that change their damage type and/or appearance based on whether their caster is Good, Neutral, or Evil? I'm thinking of Cleric spells. Spirit Guardians, for instance, looks different depending on the caster's alignment. There is at least one spell that changes the damage type to necrotic if the caster is Evil. I forget which one, though.
Thank you, something else I need to fix, at least that last part. A player's spell looks like whatever he wants it to, so the appearance bit is a moot point.