Alignment, clerics, and support

[Quasqueton]

I once had a dwarf cleric of Moradin (with the Law and Good domains) in a party with two Chaotic (one Good, one Neutral) PCs. I thought of this at the time, but since the DM never brought it up I ignored the concept:

Would such a cleric (Lawful, of a Lawful god, with the Law domain) be hesitant, resistant, or even fully against supporting or healing folks of the diametrically opposed alignment?

What if the target for supposrt or healing was another cleric (Chaotic, of a Chaotic god, with the Chaos domain)?

What if the alignments in question were Good/Evil or Evil/Good?

Does "alignment" actually mean the character is metaphysically *aligned* with that universal power? And supporting or healing someone of that alignment is indirectly supporting that alignment?

This could be why dwarves and elves are usually considered non-friends. They are both Good aligned, but one is Lawful and the other Chaotic.

Quasqueton

 

[Voadam]

I once had a dwarf cleric of Moradin (with the Law and Good domains) in a party with two Chaotic (one Good, one Neutral) PCs. I thought of this at the time, but since the DM never brought it up I ignored the concept:

Would such a cleric (Lawful, of a Lawful god, with the Law domain) be hesitant, resistant, or even fully against supporting or healing folks of the diametrically opposed alignment?

What if the target for supposrt or healing was another cleric (Chaotic, of a Chaotic god, with the Chaos domain)?

What if the alignments in question were Good/Evil or Evil/Good?

Does "alignment" actually mean the character is metaphysically *aligned* with that universal power? And supporting or healing someone of that alignment is indirectly supporting that alignment?

This could be why dwarves and elves are usually considered non-friends. They are both Good aligned, but one is Lawful and the other Chaotic.

Quasqueton

Nothing says a cleric must consider alignment when deciding to heal unless the DM or player decides they do because of campaign or specific character reasons.

The metaphysical alignment only comes into effect in game mechanics such as turning options for good evil axis or what spells are available or not from the cleric list.

Law and Chaos are not really cosmic sides the way good and evil are in most D&D games.

 

[Arnwyn]

Would such a cleric (Lawful, of a Lawful god, with the Law domain) be hesitant, resistant, or even fully against supporting or healing folks of the diametrically opposed alignment? What if the target for supposrt or healing was another cleric (Chaotic, of a Chaotic god, with the Chaos domain)?What if the alignments in question were Good/Evil or Evil/Good?

Just because of alignment? Not IMC. I have it set up that each deity/church has both "allies" and "foes". That's what determines who's willing to heal whom.

Does "alignment" actually mean the character is metaphysically *aligned* with that universal power? And supporting or healing someone of that alignment is indirectly supporting that alignment?

Again, not IMC.

This could be why dwarves and elves are usually considered non-friends. They are both Good aligned, but one is Lawful and the other Chaotic.

You seem to be looking for/talking about some form of weird "universal D&D truth", which you won't likely find here...

 

[ElvishBard]

I would have your dwarf heal them if they are useful for him to achieve his goals. As long as they are helping you do your deity's will without doing it in a way that offends said deity, you should be fine. I have had paladins party with evil people and help them because they were both fighting for the same thing, though YMMV.

And I think that dwarves and elves are not friends because of how different they are, what with one under the mountains and one living in nature, they can't grasp how the other race could enjoy it.

 

[gizmo33]

IMO the rules don't say how alignment plays a role in the way that people interact with each other (other than to define behaviors - but I'm talking about awareness of alignment). Ex: Why wouldn't a cleric of a Lawful Good kingdom walk down the road one day, detecting alignment, and just arrest everyone that registers as evil? Certainly there are plenty of real-world examples of being treated differently under the law (and even arrested, banished) when you are a member of a certain tribe, religion etc., because of the *perceived* ramifications when it comes to alignment. So what would happen if there were a way of measuring a person's "evilness" that was fairly scientific?

Many DMs IMO dance around the issue by imposing rather arbitrary cultural rules and exceptions. They do this in order to preserve campaign culture based on real world models, while ignoring the "elephant in the room" of alignment. However, as a player I would follow the DMs lead in how to handle alignment differences, because I think few DMs have really taken time with this subject and most of them have probably adopted the RAW rather than deal with all the issues that arise from changing them. Best to let the DM fudge around the issue in this case.

 

[the Jester]

Law and Chaos are not really cosmic sides the way good and evil are in most D&D games.

Frankly, this is a shame. Groups that use alignment but neglect the ethical (law-chaos) axis are really missing out on some good potential, imho.

 

[yennico]

Frankly, this is a shame. Groups that use alignment but neglect the ethical (law-chaos) axis are really missing out on some good potential, imho.

I totally agree.

 

[Quasqueton]

Law and Chaos are not really cosmic sides the way good and evil are in most D&D games.

Explain this to the demons and devils on the front lines of the Blood War.

There are just as many [Chaotic] and [Lawful] spells as there are [Good] and [Evil] spells.

Quasqueton

 

[RandomPrecision]

Law and Chaos are not really cosmic sides the way good and evil are in most D&D games.

Yeah, really...what a shame...the one true game (tips hat to diaglo) doesn't even have good and evil, there's only law and chaos.

 

[Voadam]

Explain this to the demons and devils on the front lines of the Blood War.

There are just as many [Chaotic] and [Lawful] spells as there are [Good] and [Evil] spells.

Quasqueton

Actually I'm talking about the perspective of the PCs. Going to Hell or the Abyss is usually dominated by the evil of the inhabitants, not the lawful or chaotic aspects of the individual fiends.

Spells, Fine.

Class features however you have cleric turning, paladin detection, paladin smiting.

Law/Chaos has bard, barbarian, monk and paladin advancement restrictions, and the paladin ones are significantly outweighed by the evil and good considerations that impact class abilities. There is the monk ki power eventually as well I guess.

Even in the outer planes the terminology is the upper planes and the lower planes, not the left or right ones.