Ethical Dilemmas in Dungeons & Dragons: Why use them?
"True character is revealed in the choices a human being makes under pressure - the greater the pressure, the deeper the revelation, the truer the choice to the character's essential nature."
Because I want to talk about doing only one thing and do it well: injecting ethics and moral philosophy into our games!
Sounds fun?
No???
Well... Everyone Hates Moral Philosophy Dungeon Masters.
The most fun I have when playing Dungeons & Dragons is when the players care so much about their next move that they spend an hour debating the merits of their next choice. They know how important the decision is, they have sat with the consequences, and they have accepted them.
In my mind, Dungeons & Dragons (and most Roleplaying Games in general) is an exercise in collaborative storytelling. Together, a Dungeon Master (or Gamemaster) puts Player Characters in situations where they MAKE CHOICES which drive the story forward. And when they make choices, "true character is revealed." Being a Dungeon Master is a lot like being a screenwriter; you lay out a story and design the plot, you create obstacles, you think of what you want to happen and you create the beginning middle and end. And then, you take this story and hand it over to the Players who enter the story, respond to your hooks, face your obstacles, and save the day! That, or the Players do whatever they want and ruin your carefully crafted story arc, never failing to do the one thing you DIDN'T account for, or just murderhobo-ing their way through your meticulously designed plotlines. Anyone who has homebrewed their own adventure probably knows it is almost always the latter.
So really, being a Dungeon Master is nothing like being a screenwriter.
But that's actually the best part. When you write a screenplay, novel, or play, you demonstrate who the characters are through their choices. But you already know who they are; you made them up! When you play D&D, you put your PCs into situations but you don't actually know how they will react. When they make the choice, you find out for the first time too! It's just so thrilling to play this game because not only are the Players waiting to find out what happens, so is the Dungeon Master. We should be sitting on the edge of our seats waiting to see what happens. And the way we make it thrilling is by including more choices with pressure, free will, and consequences.
Not only does including important choices make the game exciting, it increases Players' investment in the game, helps define the world better, makes events more memorable, and gets people roleplaying organically. Incidentally, it also resolves a whole host of other problems and questions people ask.
- Alignment: When people are confused about alignment, we can point to the choices PCs make. If the Paladin is good, they will usually choose the option that helps others. If the Warlock is evil, they will usually pick the option that most helps themselves. Lawful folks tend to follow authority and codes, whereas chaotic characters think about the consequences and make their own decisions. The Dungeon Inn has the quintessential video on moral philosophy and the alignment system.
- Roleplaying: When DMs can't get our Players to roleplay, we can use choices to encourage them to think about what their characters will do. Even simple choices like whether to accept the goblins' surrender or kill them all help Players define their characters. And as choices become more important, Players will invest more deeply in their characters and the world because they see their decisions have consequences. Roleplaying isn't just about
- Worldbuilding: When PCs make choices, those choices have consequences impact the world. You can build entire adventures off of a party's decisions and the ripple effects they send out. In addition, choices can help define NPCs better; in response to PCs actions, we can think to ourselves "What would Boris Bloodshackle do?", and then do it. Suddenly the world is living and breathing, responding organically to the actions of the PCs and other NPCs. And with each successive decision, our NPCs become even more defined.
- Engagement: When things get boring, repetitive, or even just too easy, providing opportunities to make impactful choices can increase engagement because something more is going on besides just rolling dice. After five encounters with orcs, it can get old. But if each encounter has a separate choice, suddenly each one is more interesting. The first ones surrender, but do we accept the surrender or kill them? The second encounter takes place in the nursery. Do we kill the orc babies too? Let them live? Adopt them? For the third encounter, . Orcs might be easy, boring, or repetitive, but these ethical dilemmas let us make each encounter unique, consequential, and meaningful for the Players.*
So how do we include choices in our games? Specifically, how do we include ETHICAL DILEMMAS? What is an ethical dilemma anyway?
This blog will explore the ways we include ethical choices in our game, and future posts will dive into the first two questions in more detail. But why don't we start with a definition:
An ethical dilemma is a choice between two roughly equivalent options that ONE PERSON must make.**
This dilemma can be between two principles or ideals, two authority figures, a principle and an authority figure, or between two interpretations of one moral principle. These criteria are the keys to making a difficult ethical dilemma without an easy answer. What does that look like in real life (or, at least in Batman movies)?
- In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne chooses between killing a man under Ra's al Ghul's instructions or letting him live in accordance with his own moral compass. This is a choice between following an authority figure and a moral principle (the sanctity of life).
- In The Dark Knight, Batman chooses between stopping the Joker and preserving people's privacy when he makes the sonar using people's phones. It's a choice between two interpretations of safety; stopping the Joker will save people, but developing this technology will also put people at risk.
- In The Dark Knight (again, I know, but it's the best one), Batman chooses between saving Harvey Dent and Rachel. This makes him choose between saving Gotham and saving the love of his life, the needs of the one versus the needs of the many. Justice versus Love.
In all of these cases, there are pressure, free will, and consequences. Pressure comes from the time; the Dark Knight has to make a decision quickly of great importance. There is pressure from his own moral compass, his allies, his teachers, etc. each pulling in different directions. Free Will allows Batman to make this choice for himself. No one can force his decision, and he will have to accept responsibility. And Consequences make this choice real. Without consequences, there is no choice.
And when Batman makes each choice we get to learn more about him. Now we know he won't kill (until he gets rebooted), he only trusts himself with the power to spy on everyone in Gotham, and he chose love over justice, hoping the police would save Harvey so he could save Rachel.***
The only thing more exciting than watching Batman wrestle with ethical dilemmas is to watch my players do it. I know what Batman will choose because I've seen these movies multiple times (they should be required viewing for DMs IMHO). I have no idea what my players will do when faced with a dilemma. It is thrilling for me to watch them anguish over their options and finally, with grim resolve, make their choice and deal with the consequences. Watching them care, engage with the story, and become their characters. It's what puts the magic in the game.
DISCLAIMERS:
Check with your players first! Not everyone actually enjoys playing like this, and I am 100% aware of that. This is a game we play with people and the golden rule of any shared experience is to make sure people are all on the same page about the game. Some people work in high-stress environments and need a break from thinking too hard about things. Some people face oppression in their daily lives and may find it exhausting to face no-win situations in the game world too. Some people just like the mechanical aspects of the game and like min/maxing. On the flip side, any of those same people might enjoy applying their reasoning to the game, or getting the chance to have an impact when the real world stifles their voice, or they will get a rush out of still feeling like failure is possible even if they have the best stats possible. The only way to find out is to ask.
I am no expert! This is a journey I want to take too into exploring the ways ethical dilemmas enhance our games and the ways we can implement them. I've studied psychology, religion, theology, classics, languages, and theater. I've worked in outdoor education, human rights, interfaith organizing, and now as a professional Dungeon Master. I don't know a whole lot about ethical philosophy, but I'm excited to delve in and learn more!
*I know the example I used was to have 5 encounters with orcs in a row. I would actually NEVER recommend anyone else do something like that without mixing up tactics, environments, special abilities, etc. to keep it interesting. But the point is that ethical dilemmas are another dimension we can add to the gaming experience to increase variety.
**This definition is, as far as I'm familiar, from my ethics professor Olga Vásquez at the Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas. She's one of my favorite professors I've ever had.
***There's actually a lot of debate over why Bruce tries to save Rachel instead of Harvey, but that's not what this blog is about and it was getting kind of long so don't @ me. Also here's an article about that specific choice if you like reading things.
Comments
Post a Comment