ivehad this debate many times before and it seems like people dont want a fantasy setting.
They want some game of thrones larp setting where everyone is a human.
In that case, why even bother with fantasy.
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Human struggles are a good backdrop, but if they become the entierty of the story, then why the fuck am i playing a video game.
Why am i not at work, struggling, humanly.
I agree that fantasy allows the entire race to be good or evil (though far more interesting when it is MOST of X race is Y alignment and not ALL of them). If this were the case, Drizzt, Jarlaxle, and Zaknafain would not have been written. They are only interesting because they are deviated from their race's normal identity.
Saying that your character in a roleplaying game has to figure out their moral code while the world around them has a predetermined moral code is not the same as saying that "everyone is a human."
I also disagree that there needs to be a super strict guideline of alignment upheld for characters. I think that it is enough to answer the question "are the actions I choose to take accepted by the strict alignments of my party and the society I am in?"
Edit: Even this has some problems if implemented poorly. I think BG1/2 did this a lackluster service with Reputation. There were too many small things that could raise your Reputation with too few options to lower it a small amount.
