Sometimes a player forgets (or ignores) the alignment of his character, and plays the character incorrectly. You should talk privately with the player about the problem, and encourage the proper play of alignment. ... If the problem continues after you have warned the player more than once, you may tell the player to change the alignment of the character to the different alignment actually being played. A penalty may be applied at this time, such as the loss of one level of experience, a valued item, etc. (p. 14)
That's interesting to me. When selecting a character's alignment, how committed to roleplaying that alignment are you as a player? The same question could be asked about other aspects of a character such as the personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws of D&D 5E. Many players treat those aspects as fluff or roleplaying aids, but they offer another opportunity to exhibit resolve. What kind of rewards and penalties could come into play for successful commitment to those aspects of a character? Should they involve any kind of mechanical boon or bane? Perhaps rewarding inspiration is enough.
It's not quite the same thing, but various game systems kind of address this through mechanics such as Shadow Points (The One Ring), sanity rolls (Call of Cthulhu), and fear checks. Even though some people don't like fear checks, such tests of resolve seem to be another way to apply Morale checks to characters, who might not always be smart enough to get out of a situation while the getting's good.
And finally, let's consider the role of the stories we tell in roleplaying games. In many games, a campaign or session is built on the acceptance of an assignment, a quest, or some other form of adventure hook. Ideally, and perhaps in most cases, players, characters, and parties see such responsibilities through to completion. What if you can't, won't, or don't? If a party isn't resolute enough to see an assignment through to its end (say, the rescue of a tailor's daughter, as in the Swords & Wizardry game in which I'm currently active), what happens? Is there a cost or impact to failure or abandonment? (Other than death, that is.)
That might depend on whether the characters own up to their failure or abandonment—do they return to their patron to inform them, or do they just avoid that town for a period of time, hoping that people will forget?—but other mechanics could also come into play to reward the application of resolve—narratively. Consider reputation, fame, and honor mechanics such as those in GURPS Social Engineering, HackMaster, and HERO. This Mindstorm article offers additional examples—and its own approach.
There seem to be multiple ways that the games we play already support and reward resolve exhibited by our characters. There also seem to be additional ways that players could consider applying resolve—in terms of roleplaying and character development—and that DMs and GMs could bring to bear while guiding their parties through a game's world and the stories it propels. Similar to how I'm newly committed to Morale checks when appropriate, I hereby resolve to continue to explore the steadfast application of alignment, personality traits, and reputation.
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