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Can't xp Nagol, but I think he nails it. Any contradiction arising between play and undisclosed PC background, the play wins. You want the background, it must be disclosed to (and approved by) the GM. Otherwise, what arises in play becomes the background, and the player needs to create or...

Emphasis added. Is it merciful/good that we let them starve? "Well, I didn't pull the trigger" makes it OK? I think one reason many alignment-type discussions get uncomfortable is that it shines a spotlight on areas where "in real life" compromises ideals and Good for pragmatism and...

The question came up solely, in my view, because you stated you were following the rules as written. That statement was challenged, in my view correctly. However, as I have said a few times before, and in hindsight wish I had assessed earlier, whether the rules as written were followed...

Glad to see it was unintended and will be removed. I've seen this on at least one other board, and there were no positive aspects I can recall. If someone really merits "negative rep", it becomes pretty clear pretty quick, and the mod's handle it smoothly and capably. I do miss the ability to...

I certainly did not intend to imply you were a liar. We clearly have different interpretations. I have read all the rules that were cited in the discussion. No one, to my knowledge, disagrees that you and your player were happy with the extent to which you were playing the familiar. To...

Seems to me I remember that footnote, now that you mention it. Thanks. There we go - I was thinking these were Gary's home game charts and perhaps a couple of creatures not in the MM got overlooked, but it seems the expectation is that every DM would have the D modules (or, more likely...

I think they were in one of the Drow modules. I wonder if they were intended for the MM, got cut and no one noticed they were still in the DMG.

This is a big part of the issue - not just how much support, but what kind of support. In the 1e days, it was pretty easy to restrict oneself to core rules. For any years, there were three core books. Not a hardcover every quarter with softcover splats in the months in between. Most support...

There are very different interpretations of "friendly", as past discussions have shown. The rules provide a handy chart: Which will probably unformat as soon as I hit reply. Yet we have very different interpretations of what these words mean from different GM's and players. When we have...

Perhaps. I wish I had time to read every gaming supplement I buy, and I'd love it if my memory was sharp enough to remember everything in the ones I do have. I look up the monsters pretty much every time. But unquestionably, the person with those references has likely looked at them to some...

Perhaps he thinks that you are breaking the agreement when you, say, activate his familiar without his consent, then have it take actions opposing him, then refuse to have it recover in the manner the rules say it recovers. I don't think either you or he would be insincere, but that...

How about for those that have no more issues with obtaining it online than they have with hauling all those physical books around? The online option means you don't have to have that book to use the content. You are not forced to pay for materials you don't have, or abandon the AP, or rewrite...

It does occur to me (and it has before) that the debate has largely become one of whether alignments detract from the gaming experience, rather than whether they improve it. I think they provide a framework which can be useful to newer players, or to players who might need this extra guidance...

The alignment rules are also rules incorporated in the mechanics of the game. Those that choose not to use mechanical alignment are removing a mechanic of the game. The stated basis for doing so, at least for some opponents of mechanical alignment, is that it detracts from the player’s ability...

This is, to me, a no win situation for game publishers. Gamers want the game to be supported with new releases, so there will be material outside the "core rules". If they use it in other releases, then they're "forcing me to buy this optional material". If they don't, then they "don't...

We're really back to the division of decisionmaking between player and GM. Why should we not let the player make other important decisions, any of which may lead to interesting play, like: - whether the torture succeeds or the subject resists? - whether the subject had useful info at all? -...

I don't know why we keep coming back to the Glabrezu, but I don't find the issue to be about alignment. It's about his mechanics - specifically, that either or The purpose of asking for a wish from the Glabrezu also seems to be adjusting, as you originally presented it as an example of the...

BTW, @pemerton, if your vision of the ideals of Paladinhood (and LG behind it) come from the tropes of literature and legend, how does that reconcile with 4e's radical shift to allow Paladins of Good, Neutral and Evil deities? I can be a Paladin of the God of Murder and Carnage under 4e rules...

I disagree. I think those examples clarify that the heavily armored mounted Knight is one example of a character who might, if he also hols true to specific ideals of LG, be a Paladin. The "Knight in Shining Armor" is one example of a Paladin in a certain culture. But not all Paladins are...

There is no question, in the scenario you paint, that torture is an evil act (or a non-good act, or a good act in this case, or refraining from torture is a non-good, or even evil, action in this case). The question is whether the character considers it right to commit an evil act in pursuit...