So we're in a new campaign. I'm playing a Half-Orc Paladin and really enjoying it. Here's an excerpt from Sunday's session:
The party, consisting of my Paladin, a Gith Month/Warlock, and a Half-Elven Rogue, are engaged in a daring rooftop chase, in the dark and falling snow, pursuing a notorious burglar. The Rogue previously fell, but is ok and following us at street level. The other three of us are slipping, sliding, Dashing, and failing Athletics rolls (in my defence, I'm at -2 penalty to everything after being killed last session) all over the place.
Our quarry leaps to the next roof, fails his roll, but not badly enough to end up on the ground. These roofs have 5' walkways around the edge with a low parapet, and he manages to tumble over the parapet and fall on his face.
Next goes the Monk. He jumps after him... and fails his roll. He doesn't get over the parapet, but manages to grab it, and is dangling there until his next turn.
Next goes the Rogue, who was around a corner and didn't see either of them land. He comes into view, bow drawn, looking for the burglar - who is about 5' 10", slightly built, and heavily shrouded in black clothing that conceals all other features. He can't see him, but he sees the Monk, dangling by his arms. The monk is about 5' 10", slightly built, and always goes about heavily shrouded in dark clothing...
The player knows it's the Monk, but the DM rightfully insists on a Perception check. He rolls a 1.
Time slows down.
The player knows it's the Monk, but the character thinks it's our enemy. We can all see the pain in his face as he searches for a way out. He's a Rogue, he's Chaotic, he's been trying to take this guy out since combat started, and I already offered him a chance to surrender and he Misty Stepped right the heck out of there and started this whole rooftop business. We all know what the Rogue would do. I point out that he might miss, urging him to get it over with.
He demands the burglar surrender.
We're not buying it. The DM objects, and so do the other two players - even the Monk's player knows it's inevitable.
The Rogue's player pulls out his Player's Handbook. He finds a page. He reads out an alignment description:
Chaotic good creatures act as their conscience dictates, with little regard for what others expect.
We fall about laughing. He has us all bang to rights: if a Chaotic Good character wants to spare someone's life on a whim, we can hardly object on the grounds that we wouldn't
expect it of his character. At least, not on this occasion. That is without a doubt the finest use I've ever seen of the largely-pointless Alignment 'rules'.
The DM allows it. How can he not? The Monk makes his Athletics roll next turn to pull himself up, and in the next few rounds a couple of well-placed arrows from the Rogue put an end to the encounter.