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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 4135975" data-attributes="member: 13966">However, Heironeous sees it differently from the player.  Heironeous wins that argument by default, since the deity's dogma is what the PC cleric has to adhere to or else suffer the consequences.  Which means Heironeous strips him of his cleric class features.To Heironeous, acting counter to his code IS a sin.  And anyway, murder without just cause is sinful by any definition of Good.  It certainly does not show any respect for life, which is a key principle of Good alignment.  Nor is it the least bit honorable or obedient to the authority of Heironeous.  Also, from the PHB's definition of evil:The PC would not sacrifice gold or the like to resurrect the innocent he killed.  He was unwilling to sacrifice a bit of time or effort to avoid fighting the person (or at least avoid killing them, as opposed to just subduing them), because he wanted to complete his personal mission first and cared not for anyone who crossed his path along the way.  It was convenient for him to destroy the interloper, because it allowed him to continue his own mission without interruption or danger to himself.  He would willingly repeat it later for the sake of convenience as well.  This is Evil with a capital E.What the PC did was in violation of Heironeous' code.  The big H is Lawful Good, which means that his code is not just something he'd kinda sorta appreciate his clerics adhering to.  He expects his clerics to behave in a Just, Righteous, Honorable, and Chivalrous manner.  His dogma says that might does not make right and the ends do not justify the means.If the PC cleric is so willing to murder random people that might be a threat, just because it might potentially serve the greater good if his guess about those random people was right, then he is not behaving in accordance with Lawful Good alignment or Heironeous' dogma.  He is completely ignoring the chief tenets of Heironeous' faith, which are Justice and Righteousness.  There is no justice in killing people who might get in the way, and nothing righteous about it.  Heironeous is not the one who forgives evil deeds, that's Pelor who's all full of compassion, and even Pelor preaches the destruction of unrepentant evildoers.Heironeous is all about punishing evil and protecting the innocent; the PC committed an evil act against someone who was quite possibly innocent and not all that likely to have been evil.  After all, the PCs were taking part in the competition and they're supposed to be good guys, right?  Couldn't other good guys be competing as well for noble purposes?  There's no way he could just assume anyone he came across to be an evil foe, and presumptions are not what Justice is made of.Heironeous gave the PC cleric the powers necessary to determine if slaying that random person would be Just or not (Detect Good, Zone of Truth, Detect Lies, etc.  Even Speak With Dead for post-mortem questioning, though 'kill it first and ask the corpse questions later' is most definitely not a Good policy).  Heironeous gave him access to spells like Sanctuary and Word of Recall so he would not have to fight pointless battles.Heironeous gave him destructive spells with the understanding that they would be used to destroy evil, just as Heironeous strives to do, not to kill random people just because they get in the way of his clerics' missions.  Heironeous is not the deity of infinite mercy and forgiveness, he is the deity of righteous battle, courage, justice, and strictly honorable behavior.</blockquote>

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