Ok folks, So you think i have been pushing my players in one direction or the other. So you think i have been pushing them in a way that i want them to go. So you think i don't listen to my players or hear what they have to say or am just bad, mean, or vile.
And for that I say "Nuts!"
Most of this wouldn't have happened if not the PLAYERS wanted this to happen. I could have merrily gone along with other story arcs that THEY have given me, but the PLAYER(S) wanted this. I involved my NPC's in their lives and will continue to do so, this is the end result.
If the players think I am putting them in a tough situation then, good i am doing my job. I want them to think. I want them to feel that they have some tough choices ahead of them. They are adventurers. They have come very very far, and have fought valiantly and tested both might and right, but now they have the questions of morality and 'goodness' to think about. Something these guys have asked for in every session. All have responded "we want more roleplaying!" so i give that to them. So here you have the quandires ahead. It's only going to get worse when the have to run a kingdom or supply an army. What do you do then? Roll over and let them do what they want or challenge them on issues of the day and issues back in the day.
Now this weekend the paladin has several choices he can make, several paths he can lead down, all will be done by the player. I am the storyteller telling a story the wanted to hear and participate in. From what they all tell me (i speak to them all at least once a week after the game to get a good feel for the session.) they are having fun and enjoying this. They like challenges and this one is new and different and a tad difficult.
If setting up PvP sessions is what happens between PC's then so be it. I alllow them the august freedom to anything they wish, I let their imagination be their boundries. If they want to slaughter each other then so be it. If they want to open a portal to heaven and slay the hosts therein, I will tell them it will be difficult and present other options, but they will do what they will do, who am i to truly stop them and tell them "No!"
They are all full grown adults from 20's to 30's they know consequences, they know right from wrong. They are asking the tough questions and getting the tough answers. I direct them HERE to enworld to get those answers from people who i think have good advice to offer and will give an unbiased outsider perspective.
Detect Evil question:
If the PC in question comes up as Evil, then I will of course tell him such and let him decide the course of action. I will not stop him from pulling the "Smite Evil!" on the other PC. Such is the choices one PC made and now he has to live with it. The end result is what will happen. Both players are very good at what they are about to do and undertake. Both know the consequences of their actions. Both are aware of what may or may not happen. Both are very anxious to do this and see the outcome is good or bad...
Post responding time:
Fiends are not always evil.
Yeah and drows are sometimes good rangers dualwielding two scimitars... (sigh).
exceptions to every rule....That's the beauty of D20. If i want to give my Red Dragon the water template: I can! If my troll now wants to be half-fiendish and be diminuitive: I can! Who says I have to follow anything in the books? Be creative, be imaginative, think outside the box...
To reaper, evilbob, sunfist:
I have to agree with Evilbob. I am a DM running a campaign right now and I personally can't stand the type of DMs who try to kill off the players. Yes, players can die, but that should never be the purpose of DMing. Killing players is not the DMs job in the same way that failing students is not a professor's job. Yes, students can fail, but that's not why the professor is there. It's the same with DMing. You are there to make sure that the players have a great time. That is the sole reason you are there.
I OUGHT to have put a

at the end of that sentence but i didn't. I tell my players that "I am going to kill one of you tonite!!!" and never do. They like that, the think it's a personal challenge and they laugh at me when i say that and they pull something unbelievable out of their hinies when it happens and i had NO idea how to fix it. They like (or at least haven't told me otherwise) the thought and planning i put into their enemies how the enemies WANT to kill or capture some of them. That's how the enemy is right now and NO i am not stacking the dice against them nor cheating to kill them. They can all attest to the complexity and the detail of the enemy. They are more than the horde that "Charge and die!" They lay traps, deadly traps, they lay ambush, they cast spells, I play them to their max and to the hilt and don't hold back any punches. I felt that if I did then I would be cheating them.
The professor deal:
Here's how i teach people. I show them the way to do it, then make them practice it, then do it. If they are wrong I come down harsh they need to understand the error. If they are right i continue onward normally. If they fail, i am strict and some may say cruel but they learn the mistakes and learn not to repeat them. Everyone has their ways to teach and some don't like to learn under me, but in the end the job does get done, the student learns, and the teacher has done his job and the student has done it all on their own merit, and the teacher respects them for that.
I compare it to the Mike Ditka/Bill Cowher line of coaching if anyone has ever seen him coach.
As far "God Complex" "Arrogant DMhood" "Evil B*strd Incarnate" Yes i have a bit of arrogance and pride in my baddies, i have to with these guys! The enemy is determined to win and they have the gumption to do it and the power to. If they weren't proud and stubborn then i wouldn't play them as such. If they were goblins seeing the paladin come at them with a holy flaming sword they would run and scatter. I play the monsters like they ought to be played. In the end i want these guys to have FUN, period. I have told them time and again if they ain't having fun then let's talk and work this out. I am both flexible and wanting to make sure everyone is enjoying it. If they aren't then it's time to quit and rethink and retool and get back to where everyone is having fun.
Anyone have any problems with this thinking or my DM style than email me privately about this, b_d at yahoo dot com. I tried profile checking but it didn't work. If you want it open then take it to
www.nutkinland.com and let's talk..