Does Detect Evil detect evil?

[0-hr]

Does the Detect Evil spell detect a person (like a gnome bard, if you consider them people) who is Chaotic Evil, or does it just detect "Evil" subtype things?

Reading the spell, it looks like just subtypes. But since that is contrary to every Paladin I've ever seen played, I'd like confirmation before I start waving it in their holier-than-thou, plate-mailed faces.

It also makes "Protection from Evil" rather less useful :\

Detect Evil
Divination

Level: Clr 1

Components: V, S, DF

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: 60 ft.

Area: Cone-shaped emanation

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 min./ level (D)

Saving Throw: None

Spell Resistance: No
You can sense the presence of evil. The amount of information revealed depends on how long you study a particular area or subject.

1st Round: Presence or absence of evil.

2nd Round: Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) in the area and the power of the most potent evil aura present.

If you are of good alignment, and the strongest evil aura’s power is overwhelming (see below), and the HD or level of the aura’s source is at least twice your character level, you are stunned for 1 round and the spell ends.

3rd Round: The power and location of each aura. If an aura is outside your line of sight, then you discern its direction but not its exact location.

Aura Power: An evil aura’s power depends on the type of evil creature or object that you’re detecting and its HD, caster level, or (in the case of a cleric) class level; see the accompanying table. If an aura falls into more than one strength category, the spell indicates the stronger of the two.
...

 

[0-hr]

And if Detect Evil only detects things with the Evil descriptor, does Dictum only affect things that lack the Lawful descriptor?

Dictum
Evocation [Lawful, Sonic]

Level: Clr 7, Law 7

Components: V

Casting Time: 1 standard action

Range: 40 ft.

Area: Nonlawful creatures in a 40-ft.-radius spread centered on you

Duration: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None or Will negates; see text

Spell Resistance: Yes
Any nonlawful creature within the area of a dictum spell suffers the following ill effects.
...

 

[Hypersmurf]

What makes you think the spell looks like only subtypes?

It detects evil creatures; judging by every other use of evil creature (or, as you note, non-evil creature) in the rules, this refers to a creature of evil alignment.

-Hyp.

 

[0-hr]

Someone on these boards pointed out that the spell does not mention evil alignment anywhere so I checked and saw they were right. Then I saw that some things (like Holy weapons) said "evil aligned creatures" while other things (like Protection from Evil) just said "evil creatures". Looking for a definition of what exactly was an 'evil creature', all I found was the Evil subtype, and there-in lies my confusion. It is further confounded by the spell description speaking of "evil spells" in exactly the same manner as evil creatures (and spells generally have subtypes rather than alignments).

I've been playing it as "evil aligned", but it wouldn't be the first time I've been playing something incorrectly (or at least in a way not officially sanctioned by WotC).

 

[GwydapLlew]

There is a lovely little chart that goes with the spell. It delineates exactly what the spell does and does not detect.

[url="http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm]Link[/url].

Evil creatures (other than outsiders and undead) are detected based on their HD; 10 or less is 'faint,' 11-25 is 'moderate,' 26-50 is 'strong,' and 51+ is 'overwhelming.'

Nothing in the spell indicates it acts on the [evil] descriptor. It merely states 'evil.'

 

[TarionzCousin]

GwydapLlew's link didn't work for me. Here's the link again. Hopefully it will work this time.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm

 

[Hypersmurf]

Then I saw that some things (like Holy weapons) said "evil aligned creatures" while other things (like Protection from Evil) just said "evil creatures".

As you pointed out with your Dictum question: most clerics would Deafen themselves by casting it - or Deafen and Slow if they had the Law domain - since in the majority of cases, they don't have the [Lawful] subtype.

Let's look at the Horn of Goodness/Evil:
This trumpet adapts itself to its owner, so it produces either a good or an evil effect depending on the owner’s alignment. If the owner is neither good nor evil, the horn has no power whatsoever.

If we take "the owner is good" to mean "the owner has the [Good] subtype", then the good or evil effect isn't dependent on the owner's alignment after all.

But I'd particularly draw your attention to the Holy Smite (etc) spells:
You draw down holy power to smite your enemies. Only evil and neutral creatures are harmed by the spell; good creatures are unaffected.

If evil creatures are creatures with the [Evil] subtype, and good creatures are creatures with the [Good] subtype, doesn't that mean that neutral creatures must therefore be creatures with the [Neutral] subtype?

-Hyp.

 

[0-hr]

Nothing in the spell indicates it acts on the [evil] descriptor. It merely states 'evil.'

Nothing in the spell indicates it acts based on alignment. It merely states 'evil'.

The Holy Smite text is a more convincing, but there are counter examples as well. Detect evil says "Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells) ", so if they mean alignments, then spells have alignment now? The same spell description also says "If you are of good alignment" rather than just "if you are good". Why use the word alignment there and not when talking of evil anywhere else in the same description?

Checking the SRD, alignment is defined as [quote
A creature’s general moral and personal attitudes are represented by its alignment: lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good, lawful neutral, neutral, chaotic neutral, lawful evil, neutral evil, or chaotic evil.
[/quote]

Notice that just "evil" is not even an option for an alignment, but it is a legal option for a subtype.
So how can we assume that 'an evil creature' is one with a (non-legal) alignment rather than one with a legal subtype? As an aside, I just noticed that (according to the SRD) player characters are not allowed to have any evil alignments - very interesting.

Anyway, is there a codified convention as to when a word is a defined term and when it is just an word? Like "Evil" vs "evil" or some such? When we have evil alignments and evil subtypes, there needs to be a default definition defined or it has to be explicitly stated - otherwise we have unsolvable ambiguity and the game crashes to the blue screen of death.

Now, please keep in mind that I WANT these spells to be talking about alignment. But I also want to be able to Sunder as an AoO. Does it take a house rule to make it so?

 

[hong]

Now, please keep in mind that I WANT these spells to be talking about alignment. But I also want to be able to Sunder as an AoO.

Then make it so, for eff's sake, and who cares if it's a house rule.

 

[Patlin]

Evil creatures (other than outsiders and undead) are detected based on their HD; 10 or less is 'faint,' 11-25 is 'moderate,' 26-50 is 'strong,' and 51+ is 'overwhelming.'

Wait! Where on the table is 'a slight taint, possibly indicating selfishness?'

(Just teasing!)