Canis said:
But that doesn't mean the druids' spells would detect him as evil. They might not like him. They might think his methods were inferior to theirs, but if his alignment is NG, he would detect as good. That's the whole POINT of the alignment system. If you want moral relativity, you have to throw out the system, including all the "know alignment" and "detect alignment" spells. They're based on a system that is inherently non-relative.
But that doesn't remove the question of what's right to do. Remember, that there's no detect neutrality spell. Good people will sometimes commit evil acts. Sometimes they commit questionable acts. And that doesn't always shift them to evil. So, let's flesh out the example in question:
1. The wizard. He is the leader of a newly powerful city state that has come into conflict with the Theocracy of Hextor. The theocracy has siezed several key towns that were his allies, pillaged them, and forced them to pay tribute. For some reason in this war, the wizard needs a navy (to bypass their defenses, or to prevent them from bypassing his defenses by sea for instance).
A small portion of the woods lie in his traditional domain but longstanding tradition has kept the villagers from cutting down any trees. Another portion of the woods is in another kingdom according to ancient maps and treaties but those treaties placed the border at a river which has changed course since the treaties were signed and now 70% of the woods is on his side of the river.
And one last thing: the wizard, while a good man and a wise ruler who rules for the benefits of his subjects is an ardent believer in Progress. He doesn't value nature except as a source of raw materials to make lives better for his subjects. Nor does he put any faith in ancient superstions.
2. The rangers and druids. They are NG characters as well. They care for the woods which are sacred to their goddess. They also know that the woods are magical--the oaks of the forest bind a terrible evil and keep it from harming the world.
In the past, they have largely been left alone by the rulers of the kingdoms they're technically a part of--local superstitions (based on the evil the woods imprison) protect the woods from lumber operations and they are not interested in influencing the outside world.
The wizard probably doesn't think twice about ordering a large scale lumber operation to begin in the woods. After all, they're a part of his kingdom and he needs ships in order to free his countrymen from oppression and terror.
When his workers show up to start the lumber operations, they're a standard mix of alignments--goods, neutrals, and evils--just doing their jobs. The druids and rangers know this and so they don't kill them out of hand--they go to the leader of the lumber operation and plead with him to stop.
The head lumberjack sends word back to the wizard who has more important war plans on his mind than dealing with a bunch of backwards, rebellious tree huggers. So, he brushes it off: "the woods are the property of the city and we'll do as I command. Tell the druids not to resist the will of their lawful soveriegn."
That situation could easily erupt into a violent conflict. Neither side would initially detect as evil, but they might change to evil the various wars progressed. When there's a lot of risk, there's a lot of pressure to compromise one's beliefs and values. Even if both sides maintained their good alignments, their differing priorities, goals, and beliefs would still maintain the conflict.
For a different perspective, imagine that the wizard had more time on his hands and placed a higher priority on the druids' good will. He met with them and heard their story about the evil imprisoned in the woods. He detected for magic and found only faint traces in the individual trees (it is a powerful magic but diffuse). He detected for evil and found none (the wards that imprison it also shield it from detection). He concludes that the tale of the evil imprisoned in the woods is an unfounded legend. And even if it were true, he doesn't need to log the whole forest--he only needs enough trees for a dozen ships. Fires destroy that number of trees all the time, surely it poses no risk of disrupting the alleged enchantment. And even if it did, it would be a small risk next to the guaranteed evil and destruction that the theocracy of Hextor would bring should they prove victorious.
However, the druids are unwilling to consider allowing any of the trees to be cut down. Even the slightest risk of disrupting the magical wards was unnacceptable. They didn't really think that the evil of the theocracy would be that bad either--sure, taxes would be higher, and some people would be sacrificed, but the theocracy wouldn't last for long. Sooner or later, the neighboring kingdoms would destroy it or it would collapse from within. On the other hand, the evil imprisoned in the wood would ravage all of the surrounding nations before it was stopped as it did in times past. The druids promised to meet any attempt to log their woods with force and to call upon the neighboring kingdom to defend them (after all, before the river changed course, they were a part of that kingdom and the fact that the river changed course shouldn't change that).
This version of the conflict could encompass two neutral good power groups and another nation of indeterminate alignment. And who is in the right would be an open question.
Even if the druids' spells revealed the wizard to be good, that wouldn't make them accept his pragmatic (and perhaps foolish) judgement of the risks. And if his spells revealed them to be good, that wouldn't make him accept their superstitions. Nor would they necessarily trust their spells. As spellcasters, they would certainly be familiar with the wide variety of spells that protect against such divinations and could possibly misdirect them. So, like my characters, they would probably think: "OK, not evil, but then again, there are several weak abjuration auras on him. One is probably Mage Armor--powerful wizards wear it like underwear--but another could be undetectable alignment or non-detection (odd that I'd see that though. . . .) I don't imagine he'd need an endure elements spell--the weather is quite nice today, and Energy Buffer would give off a more powerful aura. He could also be using a misdirection spell and I'd never even detect it. I'd better hold my decision and judge him by his actions. . . ."
So, even in a world with real, magically detectable alignments, there is room for moral uncertainty.
