Do baby kobolds detect as evil?

[Vaxalon]

AFAIK, if you are using the 'detect evil' spell (or paladin ability), only creatures that are inherently evil show up. For example, devils have (Evil, Lawful) as part of their type, so these would be detected as evil, but a human or kobold with an evil alignment would not detect as evil.

That is a common houserule, but that's not how the rules are written.

 

[Cedric]

Came across a similar situation in a campaign...I was the fighter/thief, true neutral.

Recognizing where the situation was heading, I just snuck out and killed them all while people argued.

Came back out wiping blood off my swords and said, "Ok, no more problem..let's get moving."

Cleric of Lathander said, "Hey, we possibly could have saved them and made a better life for them. They might have grown up good."

I just said, "Too bad I never gave them that chance," and kept on walking.

Cedric

 

[Holy Bovine]

I'd let them do that... then inform them of a party level alignment change towards evil.

Woe is the Paladin.

So you would put them into a completely unworkable situation then. As described here the party would be alone in hostile, monster infested territory without a means to care for or transport however many squealing baby kobolds.

Of course they could to the humane thing and just leave the baby kobolds behind so they can grow up (maybe) and treaten the surrounding area.

Woe indeed.

 

[Holy Bovine]

Oh dear god... Not again.

Hey if you can stand the retread don't get on the superhighway

 

[Psyckosama]

So you would put them into a completely unworkable situation then. As described here the party would be alone in hostile, monster infested territory without a means to care for or transport however many squealing baby kobolds.

Of course they could to the humane thing and just leave the baby kobolds behind so they can grow up (maybe) and treaten the surrounding area.

Woe indeed.

Excuses, excuses. Killing defenceless children is an evil act. Where is the diffrence between a Paladin killing a bunch of Kobold babies and a Orc crshing in the skull of an elven child?

Both are defenceless children, and both are considered "bad" by the killer. Still doesn't make it right, and as concepts of what's "right" are pretty key to the good alignment, that kind of slaughter is OOC for a truely good character.

Doing your duty without careing about in the debth moral ramifications (or even glazing over them with excuses) is lawful neutral with delusions of righteousness.

 

[fusangite]

I'm truly puzzled by this question. It seems reasonable that creatures who are ALWAYS a particular alignment have that alignment from birth. However, just because Kobolds are usually evil doesn't necessarily mean that evil is always an acquired trait for kobolds. Aren't even some humans born evil? Can there be no evil children? If there cannot be evil children, does it not follow that there cannot be good children either?

I'd love to hear a response from someone putting the nature/nurture case.

 

[Mort]

Excuses, excuses. Killing defenceless children is an evil act. Where is the diffrence between a Paladin killing a bunch of Kobold babies and a Orc crshing in the skull of an elven child?

Both are defenceless children, and both are considered "bad" by the killer. Still doesn't make it right, and as concepts of what's "right" are pretty key to the good alignment, that kind of slaughter is OOC for a truely good character.

Doing your duty without careing about in the debth moral ramifications (or even glazing over them with excuses) is lawful neutral with delusions of righteousness.

What about the fact that depending on the paradigm gods may actually exist and good and evil may very well be absolutes.

For the first point, when a paladin of Tyr (for example) learns that all kobolds are irredeemably evil – this is not necessarily some political church doctrine it is the TRUTH. How do the paladins and clerics know this? Because they kill ALL kobolds and still retain the powers granted by their LG god – if what they were doing was wrong the powers would be gone.

For the second point – there is nothing wrong with saying that nature not nurture dictates for your particular campaign. Just because the real world has an incredibly grey line does not mean it has to be grey in fantasy. In fantasy kobolds can be EVIL period – no question.

Does this suit everyone’s tastes? Of course not, but it’s still perfectly valid.

Edited to (hopefully) lighten the original tone

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Well, in my campaigns killing babies (or creatures just because they are evil) would be an evil act, unless they are infused with special "evilness", or I decided to make a real black/white Campaign (which might be fun, if I found a good suiting background...)

In standard D&D, there is probably no real "rule"answer - babies don`t exist in the core rules. (No statististics for them).
(You could create your own statistics, perhaps via template, and you can force a "alignment change" to neutral if you don`t want baby kills because of aligment issues)
Otherwise, it seems as if killing people because they are evil is not automatically a good act, even for a paladin - the people must have done evil things, threaten your life or that of others.
It still doesn`t answer if it would be an evil act to kill someone just because he is evil.

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[Numion]

Excuses, excuses. Killing defenceless children is an evil act. Where is the diffrence between a Paladin killing a bunch of Kobold babies and a Orc crshing in the skull of an elven child?

It's no more evil than killing an animal. Like killing baby apes. Or baby chickens. Or chicken fetuses, which you've probably eaten dozens in your lifetime (in eggs).

Those people who consider kobold babies worth saving probably have big-ass kobold foster homes for all the kobolds whose parents were killed by adventurers, and were left alive

 

[Gez]

A long time ago, in a thread like that, I replied that all babies are evil and killing them is always a good act. Fact is, babies stink, prevent you from resting by crying every two hours, require huge amount of care that prevent you from doing other things (like working to get friggin' money 'cause life ain't cheap), are extremely expensive while we're at it, and they grow up to become ungrateful bastards, who'll end up throwing you into an institution for old-timers, hoping to inherit soon.Oh, and look at this.