Advantages of good?

[amethal]

I generally play good aligned characters, as I find they fit better into the heroic fantasy adventures I like to have.

However, I'm starting to wonder whether I am being disadvantaged as a result.

In our last fight, all the opponents had Protection from Good cast on them. As a result, my character and the other good character suffered, but the three neutral characters were fine.

One guy in our group always plays true neutral characters, and I am wondering if this is the reason.

Anyway, I'm going to carry on playing good guys, so please help me out here. What are the advantages, in terms of mechanical benefits, to playing (say) NG rather than N?

 

[geneween77]

Good guys

We'll I guess from a tactical standpoint playing "good" is not always very helpful. It can be much more rewarding from a role-playing standpoint. If your play it correctly you should garner a reputation for being good which can have its advantages in other ways. This of course depends on your playing and your DM's handling of it.

In my game we have a reputation system and tend to have interaction with lords and such. If you playing strictly hack and slash, go back to town to sleep and dump treasure then I guess it's not the best situation for good alignments.

anyways good luck.

 

[Brother MacLaren]

If using the Book of Exalted Deeds, and you are good enough to qualify as Exalted, there are a lot of feats and so on. And if you run into celestials, it's possible they'll be very distrustful of the neutrals. And in a game where the DM makes PCs make choices to demonstrate that they really AREN'T good people, being non-good may lead to some consequences.

In a standard game, the alignment-based mechanics ARE far too biased in favor of the neutrals. Their clerics can cast any spell and summon anything, I think. They can use holy and unholy weapons with no problem, and their partial vulnerability to Holy Smite is offset by their only partial vulnerability to Unholy Blight.

Both good and neutral PCs are entirely vulnerable to Blasphemy, but the neutrals are also hurt by Holy Word. A TN character will be hurt by all four of the "word" spells. So that's one area where it's better to be good.

 

[VonRichthofen]

GATE.

Good guy: DM usually has no good reason not to send the solar you requested to bust the BBEG.

Neutral guy: DM: "sorry, the solars are lazy these days - try a marut". Player: $%//(%$!!

Alignment can overcome DR - if you've got something like "Hellbound Knight", this might sometimes be better than being neutral.

BTW, by the RAW, every chaotic neutral cleric of the God of Slaughter or Ultimate Nastiness or the Great Old Ones or whomever has access to ALL sanctified/cleric spells on the list. It's stupid, the flavor text contradicts this, I wouldn't allow it for a super-sized double-chili pizza - but it's RAW.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Holy Word.

 

[Voadam]

It is minor.

Protection from good, magic circle against evil, unholy blight, unholy weapons all work against you and not the neutral (or not as much), clerics are restricted from using aligned spells opposed to their own alignment, and vulnerable to overwhelming evil aura's when detecting evil so a detriment to being good.

Holy word, holy smite, do not harm you, so a benefit.

Forbiddance varies depending on caster, so a wash.

Net, a little more of a detriment than a benefit mechanically, but not that big a deal IMO.

 

[Felix]

What are the benefits of being Good?

What does your conscience tell you?

 

[seans23]

In a standard game, the alignment-based mechanics ARE far too biased in favor of the neutrals. Their clerics can cast any spell and summon anything, I think. They can use holy and unholy weapons with no problem, and their partial vulnerability to Holy Smite is offset by their only partial vulnerability to Unholy Blight.

Maybe it's just me, but I think neutral clerics should strive to create a balance in their summoning. So for every fiendish dire ape you summon, you should summon a celestial griffon, for example.


(edited spelling)

 

[frankthedm]

In a standard game, the alignment-based mechanics ARE far too biased in favor of the neutrals. Their clerics can cast any spell and summon anything, I think. They can use holy and unholy weapons with no problem, and their partial vulnerability to Holy Smite is offset by their only partial vulnerability to Unholy Blight.

Thats exactly why holy and unholy weapons IMO should only fully function for their own alignment.

 

[Seeten]

Protection from Balance. Introduce it. Voila, levelled playing field.