Undead Astronauts

in a story sure to get the attention of the rpg crowd, a harvard study has shown that a person who believes he is good or evil actually enhances their physical strength.

“People perceive those who do good and evil to have more efficacy, more willpower, and less sensitivity to discomfort,” Gray said. “By perceiving themselves as good or evil, people embody these perceptions, actually becoming more capable of physical endurance.”

apparently alignment affects real life. role players will now likely avoid a true neutral warrior alignment for fear of appearing especially weak. house being a cripple who constantly whines about pain probably doesn’t help that image much.

this report might have consequences in the sports arena. stars, knowing their physical attributes will increase if they’re evil, might commit hard fouls to start a game. perhaps teams with devil (or other evil connotative mascots such as raider or pirate) in their name might perform better than they would otherwise.

one possible test of this is to look at transfers to and from these “evil” teams. if a free agent goes to the raiders or pirates, do his physical stats go up? what about when he leaves? i do seem to recall the raiders having a particularly bad reputation regarding unsportsmanlike conduct, but i don’t know if they have a reputation for being physically stronger than other teams.