[RPG] Is a player able to change alignment midway through an adventure

alignmentdnd-5e

My players are level 9 and one wants to change alignment from lawful to chaotic.

I have the DMG, but I can't find anything about changing alignment half way through a campaign.

Personally I feel that life experience during an adventure can change a character. I just wanted to know if there is anything that says he can't.

Are there any rules or guidelines for this?

Best Answer

Barring magical/other interference, alignment is a player choice.

Nothing in the rules forbids this. While it is not explicitly said that player can change alignment at will, Player's Handbook (page 122) describes alignment as a choice:

For many thinking creatures, alignment is a moral choice. Humans, dwarves, elves, and other humanoid races can choose whether to follow the paths of good or evil, law or chaos.

Effects of alignment and broader discussion

Alignment serves as guidance for players to roleplay their characters. As characters develop over the course of a campaign with new experiences their worldview might change, prompting the player to change alignment.

Since alignment is mostly roleplay based it is up to the DM to decide how much (if at all) is alignment is going to be foregrounded in the game.

I have changed the alignment of my paladin from Lawful to Chaotic when he started to distrust the authority of his order. It allowed me to support his character development and show it on the character sheet without changing how the character played mechanically and we didn't encounter any roadblocks.

I have been allowing alignment shifts in games I DM (after talking to the player about their reasoning) and it went smoothly so far.

Possible Pitfalls

There are magical items that require attunement by creatures of certain alignment (or give out bonuses according to it). I have not encountered this, but it is possible for players to initiate this change (or even try to switch alignment back and forth to be able to use these items).

Such items include:

  • Robe of the Archmagi
  • Candle of Invocation
  • Sword of Answering
  • Moonblade

and others. I consider it an abuse of a DM ruling and am wary of it.

Exceptions to consider

There are certain effects that make the DM change a PC's alignment (with the possibility of taking control of the PC by the GM). Most notably Lycanthropy. In this case, just letting the player change alignment back at will clearly goes against the intent of the mechanic.

Also see related: Are there official guidelines for a DM to change the alignment of a player's character? The linked question talks about the DM initiating the alignment change, not a player, but it is still relevant.

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