Casting spells with subtypes.

[Xeoble]

I was looking around at spells in the PHB and i remember something about casting a spell with an <insert alignment here> subtype being an <insert alignment here> act but can't remember if that was in the text somewhere, can someone clarify for me?

Thanks.

 

[mikebr99]

Well... Good clerics, can't cast Evil spells... is that what you are looking for?

Chaotic, Evil, Good, and Lawful Spells: A cleric can’t cast spells of an alignment opposed to his own or his deity’s (if he has one). Spells associated with particular alignments are indicated by the chaos, evil, good, and law descriptors in their spell descriptions.

Mike

 

[Xeoble]

I was looking more for sorc/wiz spells, like a good sorcerer casting "create undead" would be committing an evil act.

 

[smootrk]

Casting spells with Alignment descriptors is an act of the appropriate alignment, although a Wiz/Sor need not worry about alignment changes aside from roleplay elements or other tertiary effects (like magic items that function only for certain alignments, or other multiclass (paladin) issues, etc).

So yes - a good aligned wiz/sor could cast create undead, but doing so would lead towards an alignment change (at some point). A goodly caster would probably refrain from such spell choices unless faced with an extroidinary circumstance that would warrant the use - although the caster is not barred from use like clerics of certain alignments.

 

[JimAde]

And the various summoning spells point out:

When you use a summoning spell to summon an air, chaotic, earth, evil, fire, good, lawful, or water creature, it is a spell of that type.

Is that what you meant?

 

[Cabral]

The Book of Vile Darkness and the Book of Exalted Deeds have descriptions of Evil and Good acts (respectively). The Book of Vile Darkness is the only place I can think of that explicitly states creating undead is an evil act. (Aside from Create Undead having the [Evil] descriptor)

 

[Xeoble]

I was looking for some text that explicitly stated that "casting a spell with subtype <alignment> is an <alignment> act"

Such as, casting Summon Monster <#> to summon an evil creature is an evil act.

 

[Cabral]

Look in Book of Vile Darkness. That is where that is stated. I believe that is the only place it is stated.

 

[Mistwell]

It would seem to be yet another artificial restraint on role playing to insist that a non-cleric casting a spell with an alignment subtype must by definition be commiting a good/evil act based solely on the fact that the spell has that alignment subtype.

[rant]Man, alignment itself bugs me a lot. It's a juvenile, artificial role playing shortcut and restraint in my opinion (no offense to those who like it). Good and evil can exist without making it a specific character stat (much like Monte Cook did with Arcana Unearthed/Evolved. [/rant]

But accepting the fact that D&D is a game with alignment, it just bugs me that you cannot, for example, play a "good" necromancer. That even if you have the role playing chops for it, and even if it makes sense in your campaign, that by the books it's still not possible and you need to houserule it.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

But accepting the fact that D&D is a game with alignment, it just bugs me that you cannot, for example, play a "good" necromancer.

Yes, you can.

There's no rule that says that after X number of Evil acts, your alignment shifts to Evil.

Feel free to play a Good necromancer.

Hell, feel free to play a Good necromancer who even uses all those [Evil] necromancy spells.