Detect Evil on an Embryo

[Presto2112]

The sitch...

The group I DM slew a chimera last night. When they searched its lair they discovered a leathery-shelled egg, and the small movements within indicated that it was in later stages of development. In a move I didn't see coming, the new party paladin (only joined the previous session) used his detect evil ability on the egg.

Now, the alignment listing on a chimera is "usually chaotic evil", which I typically consider "evil by nurture", so the egg did not radiate any evil. If it were a dragon egg, I don't think I would have had a problem with an evil aura, but this wasn't a whole dragon, just a beast with a dragon head.

What's the concensus, here? Would you have had the egg radiate evil, even faintly?

 

[Shin Okada]

That's each DM's call indeed.

IMHO, you are light. That dragon is neighter a fiend from lower planes nor undead. So, until they start to "think in the evil way", they are not evil yet.

Other DMs may say differently. But anyway you were right about this. This is a kind of "Yes the DM is right" kind of thing.

 

[nick012000]

I'm pretty sure the Draconomicon states that true dragons are intelligent, even before they hatch. If it's old enough to move about inside the egg (which, by the way, tends to mean that it's about to hatch), it'd be old enough to think and reason, and therefore possess an alignment.

I'll also point out that dragon eggs have some fairly unusual requirements for successful incubation.

 

[0-hr]

I would say that the egg itself is not evil. The creature inside may be, but the Paladin does not have line of effect to the creature.

(And actually, I would say the creature inside is neutral until it actually has a chance to take evil actions - assuming it doesn't have some sort of strong spiritual tie to plane or diety of darkness.)

Never liked that paladin ability much...

 

[shilsen]

I would say that the egg itself is not evil. The creature inside may be, but the Paladin does not have line of effect to the creature.

You know that Detect Evil can penetrate barriers, right? You need a foot of stone or an inch of common metal (other than lead), or 3 feet of wood or dirt to block it.

(And actually, I would say the creature inside is neutral until it actually has a chance to take evil actions - assuming it doesn't have some sort of strong spiritual tie to plane or diety of darkness.)

I'd say it depends purely on what alignment means in the given campaign and how early it manifests.

Never liked that paladin ability much...

Personally, I like detect evil precisely because it's so imprecise (check the description). So having a tool but one you can't fully rely on leads to a lot more ambiguity and tough decisions than not having one at all. When a paladin detects evil and discovers that a quarter of the people in the tavern or the marketplace or the palace are evil, most of them just going about thier lives and functioning as useful members of society, that makes life a lot more complicated. And I like complicated.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I would have tended for the egg not to radiate evil.

However, the sheer fact that the Paladin did detect evil on the egg is enough to make me want to give him a "Evil" child or similar to detect, just to see what the Paladin would do.

After all, a little philosophical challenge never did anyone any harm.

 

[Will]

I think, given the info about how dragons mature, if it's an evil race I would have had the egg have an evil aura.

But here's the thing... the hatchling to be? Is innocent. Evil, but innocent... it has done no wrong. And a paladin's Good nature is to protect the innocent.

If it was my campaign and the paladin went ahead and smashed the egg, I'd make a note to the effect that he had 'dinged' his paladinhood. Some act of atonement or sufficiently sterling action later would buff that right out.

Ideally, the paladin would take the egg so the dragon could be 'raised right' and possibly change its inclination to evil. But a paladin likely has higher priorities on his plate.

 

[Presto2112]

Ideally, the paladin would take the egg so the dragon could be 'raised right' and possibly change its inclination to evil. But a paladin likely has higher priorities on his plate.

The paladin actually did take the egg. He wrapped it in his cloak and gently placed it in his saddlebag.

Now, here's an evil question that just popped into my mind.

What would be the repercussions of when the paladin sends his warhorse back to whatever celestial realm he resides in, the egg hatches in that celestial realm while Mr. Paladin has forgotten to remove it from the saddlebag? Would a baby chimera (not dragon, chimera) cause a bit of a panic in said celestial realm? Would the next calling of the warhorse result in an eviscerated mound of horseflesh appearing? What would you do?

 

[Snapdragyn]

Would the next calling of the warhorse result in an eviscerated mound of horseflesh appearing?

Well this, obviously - I mean, what's not to love in that image? In fact, I'd put the baby chimera in the middle of the corpse, innocently chewing away (not its faulty they hatch hungry)... & have it look up at the paladin & say 'Ma-ma?'

 

[Will]

Well, by that reasoning, Snap, wouldn't the chimera have imprinted on the warhorse?

Hmm. Interestingly, chimera have an Int of 4. Juuuust intelligent enough to have morality, but... going to be rough trying to rear it right.