Alignment and a Prisoner...

[Wraithdrit]

The party is currently destroying the inhabitants of a temple of Kiaransalee, the drow goddess of the undead. While doing so they find a priestess of Lolth chained to a wall.

What do they do with her? What is within their alignment?

The party includes a paladin (LG of course), wizard (LN), monk (LN), rogue (CG), ranger (CN), and cleric (CG).

They are argueing that they know she is evil and if the tables were turned she would just kill one of them. The plan has been floated that they heal her up and allow her to duel for her freedom with one of the party's 'warriors'. I've not made any judgement calls on it, but I did say that if she wins she is liable to KILL whomever she is fighting. Their response is that if she loses she dies, but if she wins she has to spare whomever she is fighting (yeah, right).

Alternately they can leave her in chains.

My thought is that they should release her, not aid her in any way and turn her over to the drow master of the outpost (an Archmage with no love of priestesses). But this thought has not really occured to them.

Thoughts?

- Wraith

 

[billd91]

The party is currently destroying the inhabitants of a temple of Kiaransalee, the drow goddess of the undead. While doing so they find a priestess of Lolth chained to a wall.

What do they do with her? What is within their alignment?

The party includes a paladin (LG of course), wizard (LN), monk (LN), rogue (CG), ranger (CN), and cleric (CG).

<snip>
Alternately they can leave her in chains.

My thought is that they should release her, not aid her in any way and turn her over to the drow master of the outpost (an Archmage with no love of priestesses). But this thought has not really occured to them.

Thoughts?

- Wraith

Based on their own alignments, I think their best bet is to leave her where she is. Killing a bound prisoner is something a paladin would have to atone for. Healing her and then dueling her is a pointless waste of resources and risky. Turning her over to the master of the outpost, presumably the most appropriate authority(?), might be an option but why would they want to help him if he's also a drow and, most likely cruel and evil as the society that bred him?

Justifying killing her because, if the tables were turned she'd do the same, can't be sufficient justification for a good character. Good doesn't work that way. Good does things the RIGHT way and does not merely follow the lowest common denominator.

 

[Wraithdrit]

The party has a 'truce' with the archmage. They get to clear out the evil temple responsible for raids on the surface and the archmage gets the outpost when they are done. In exchange the archmage did not blast them into tiny bits (he wanted to use them to get rid of the temple, yet keep his own hands clean). So turning her over to him is an option.

Killing her in place is obviously NOT going to happen.

The duel is the idea of some of the more neutral party members... the paladin has not commented yet.

 

[Mercule]

Based on their own alignments, I think their best bet is to leave her where she is. Killing a bound prisoner is something a paladin would have to atone for.

Not necessarily. In RtToEE, my LG Rogue (who was dubbed the "pseudopaladin" for a variety of reasons) executed a prisoner we took. Cut his head clean off while he was bound. No alignment issues there.

Granted, we were hundreds of miles from any legitimate authority and we'd given him the ultimatum of renouncing his allegience to the Temple or being executed. His buddy, who chose to renounce, was escorted to the front door and let go.

Of course, this was the same character who offered the beaten-down, but securely entrenched door guards 100 gp if they would renounce their allegience and leave. They gutted their own commander for us.

 

[astralpwka]

I am also not so sure that it wouldn't be "okay" for the paladin to go through with the execution. My favorite paladin example is from the book "Grunts", where the elven paladin gives an orc a chance to "repent", and then kills him so he won't slip back into his evil ways.

 

[Valiantheart]

The CG would probably release her and let her flea. The LG would probably execute her. The neutrals would probably leave her.

This is why alignment sucks. Just ignore whatever repercussions you have in mind for the Pal and the game will run much smoother.

 

[Arnwyn]

I'll put a "ditto" with billd91. (P.S. No alignment issues in your campaign, Mercule.)

When alignment discussions come up, it's something that each particular group must handle on their own, based on their understanding and discussions with each other on how alignment works. A messageboard cannot even hope to answer this question for you (though we can tell you what we do in our own games). But to be honest, this is something that should have been clear in your group for a while (assuming the group isn't entirely new, of course).

 

[Umbran]

Just ignore whatever repercussions you have in mind for the Pal and the game will run much smoother.

Yes, it will also be less interesting

The "have her fight for her life" is a bit odd. As I understand it, "trial by combat" in the real world was based on the idea that a god or gods would be presiding over the match, and that the person who won would be the one in the right. Unless your game world has a similar concept, there is no "justice" to such a combat.

Game worl;ds are frequently like the archtypal "Old West" - official justice is rare, and frequently one must get by one what one has on hand. You don't know her crimes, and the local officials are as suspect as anyone else. It it pretty much anybody's guess what should be done with her.

 

[tonym]

The duel is the idea of some of the more neutral party members... the paladin has not commented yet.

I think the paladin should kill the evil cleric immediately. IMHO, an evil cleric is like a demon or devil, and killing one under any circumstance is the duty of a paladin. An evil cleric gives POWER to an evil god. They are not evil in the same way anybody else might be evil. In a sense, they are the Will of an evil god walking around on the planet.

Naturally, I also think paladins should not be penalized by a DM when he or she executes an evil cleric.

PS: I also think evil clerics are never helpless--even when chained to a wall--as their evil god might send assistance at any moment, then everybody dies...splat!

PPS: If it is an Atone-worthy offense for a paladin to execute a bound demon in your campaign, then the above suggestions wouldn't apply, I think.



Tony

 

[diaglo]

here's how i see it:

Lawful members of the party: why are you imprisoned? was it just? if not, we shall hold a trial to determine your guilt. let one of the LN PCs act as judge. the other as the prosecution. one of the chaotic goodies would be the defense.

the paladin would ask if it was okay to detect for evil.

Chaotic cleric could cast zone of truth.

all agree to abide by the outcome of the trial.