Should the alignments of companion NPCs be hidden from the player?
Arising from another discussion:
The alignments of companion NPCs in Sword Coast Legends are hidden from the player. Is this a good thing?
Discuss:
The alignments of companion NPCs in Sword Coast Legends are hidden from the player. Is this a good thing?
Discuss:
1
Comments
Plus with how easy it is to dig into the game information and pull it out then post it on the net, might as well just have it on their character sheet.
Not that it would really matter. If a player really felt they had to know the alignment they might find it out, but not knowing might add a degree of depth and realism.
An example where knowing a character's alignment is problematic is Bishop in NWN2. He is evil, he betrays you. No surprise there.
One big pro of knowing npcs alignments is that you can avoid the situation where a party member suddenly quits due to reputation issues - forcing you to rethink your strategies.
Or:
One big pro of not knowing npcs alignments is that you can end up in the situation where a party member suddenly quits due to reputation issues - forcing you to rethink your strategies.
Personally I would prefer the latter (with the codicil that you get some hints beforehand that a party member will leave unless you can convince them to stay).
Why they couldn't have two Chaotic Neutral characters, I don't know, but still...
Would we have been more sympathetic to Qara if it hadn't said CN on her character sheet, and we had suspected she might be CG, and therefore genuinely misunderstood and persecuted?
But even if her sheet said CG she'd still be a bitch.
Is not a RP reason, but at least for me is essential to know the alignment of the NPCs I have in the party, as both my parties and the enemies use those spells.
In a game where alignment does not have impact on the spell system or other things, like weapons that have alignment related DMG or Thac0 bonus, what I told does not apply.
In games where alignment has impact on game mechanics it apply.
Also 5e and its implementation in a CRPG are not the same, I don't know about Sword Coast Legends, but the CRPG implementation of Planar Ally can be alignment dependent, as summon Planetar or Deva are in BG2 or not.
It was I who cited NWN2 in particular, as an example of a situation where knowing character alignments seams (in my perception) to have made the NPCs shallower and more one-dimensional than they might otherwise have been.
As for summoning a planer ally, I would say that if dialogue hasn't implied that a character is evil before they summon up an imp, then they are either very badly written, or they are taking steps to conceal their alignment. In which case there is even more reason not to put it on their character sheet (and they wouldn't give themselves away by casting an incriminating spell).
I don't want to get into spoilers, but there is such a character in SCL.
An idea that has just occurred to me: Information on an NPCs character sheet could be covered over like the bestiary entries in PoE. It could then be unlocked as your relationship with that NPC improves. This would give players an incentive to develop relationships with NPCs.
Give me a smiling, friendly teammate who seems like a good enough sort, right up until he suggests using the burning orpahage as cover for looting, rather than saving children.
I wouldn't enjoy removing the alignment system.
Chaos-Law-Neutral-Good-Evil do seem integral to the setting after all.