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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nyeshet" data-source="post: 3130883" data-attributes="member: 18363">Hmm, this thread raised an odd question in my mind. Suppose we have a LN cleric of a LE deity. A paladin, having detected evil upon him and perhaps recognizing his holy symbol, tries to smite the cleric. Does the smite work despite the cleric not being evil, or is it wasted due to the cleric - despite having an evil aura and worshipping an evil deity - being morally neutral? If it is wasted, I can see evil deities actually encouraging some of their clerics to take a more neutral moral path just so they are better protected against such effects as smite, PfE, Forbiddences, etc yet still able to carry out many of their patron's orders. This is in some ways akin to that question a while back about a creature with an evil subtype but a good alignment: they are affected by all detect alignment spells, negatively affected by all protection from alignment spells, holy words, blasphemies, etc, a paladin's smite evil and a blackguard's smite good, etc. Really, really discourages any form of redemption amongst the fiends, I imagine, knowing that they are likely to be harmed by nearly everything alignment based until they find some way to change their type after changing their alignment.</blockquote>