The conversation has taken interesting turns. I really like the "key pillars of DnD" phrasing, wish I'd thought of it. Hey Larian, listen to _Vic_ And, yeah, like @qhristoff I prefer Irenicus to Sarevok. In DOS2 I liked Ryker and the doctor. Polite, refined and eeevool.
I debated with myself whether or not to reply to this statement because I wouldn't want to bury @_Vic_ point. This isn't about real world morality but the moral system of a game. It would be nice if we could just throw a holy hand grenade and be done with evil but, well, that only happens in video games.
But I do think people find this topic so interesting because it invites us to think about real world morality. I found the alignment grid in 5th grade and it probably influenced my ethical thinking. So on this point
Personally I do not like the Tolkien way.
Saying that orcs are evil and killing them is good makes as much sense as saying nazis are evil so its OK if I kill . . .
I think there is some real world value in understanding how different video game morality is from the muddle of real life. So you're right to say that we shouldn't apply this sort of thinking to real people. The mistake comes when someone starts talking about a group of people as if they are orcs. Orcs are evil. Orcs should be stabbed. With knives. Again and again. But our world doesn't have orcs and it's wrong to make anyone into an orc.
