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<blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 1560427" data-attributes="member: 3146">It tells me that my paladin is not dealing with a good man who wants to get rid of the slavers because they're a corruption on the moral health of the town. That knowledge alerts my paladin to be on the lookout for an ulterior motivation and for treachery. (Evil may not mean that he's being dishonest about what he wants but it does make it more likely--and it also means that he's probably lying about the reason). If it is at odds with his public reputation (as it often is, after all, even Plato's Thrassymachus would admit that a reputation for virtue is desirable), it tells me that he's hiding something and who knows what my paladin might find if I look. That's information I wouldn't have and wouldn't know to look for without Detect Evil. That, in turn, can lead to more information.Depending upon the strength of his aura, it might yield other information too. The 14th level evil fighter warlord whose armies were defeated by the paladin and who has disguised himself as a common soldier in order to avoid justice would be given away by his aura of moderate rather than faint evil.True. And I wouldn't advocate smiting him just because he's a priest of Hextor. However, if my Nyrondian paladin spots the Hextorite priest leading the troops of the North Kingdom, he doesn't need detect evil to know that there's a good target for his smite. Similarly, if my paladin is driving the slavers out of some silver mines and discovers a white dragon disciple leading a force of Druergar, he's not going to detect evil before he smites her. My point was that, in most of the cases where smiting is justified, one can know that it will probably work (and that it is justified) without any magic at all.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Elder-Basilisk, post: 1560427, member: 3146"] It tells me that my paladin is not dealing with a good man who wants to get rid of the slavers because they're a corruption on the moral health of the town. That knowledge alerts my paladin to be on the lookout for an ulterior motivation and for treachery. (Evil may not mean that he's being dishonest about what he wants but it does make it more likely--and it also means that he's probably lying about the reason). If it is at odds with his public reputation (as it often is, after all, even Plato's Thrassymachus would admit that a reputation for virtue is desirable), it tells me that he's hiding something and who knows what my paladin might find if I look. That's information I wouldn't have and wouldn't know to look for without Detect Evil. That, in turn, can lead to more information. Depending upon the strength of his aura, it might yield other information too. The 14th level evil fighter warlord whose armies were defeated by the paladin and who has disguised himself as a common soldier in order to avoid justice would be given away by his aura of moderate rather than faint evil. True. And I wouldn't advocate smiting him [i]just[/i] because he's a priest of Hextor. However, if my Nyrondian paladin spots the Hextorite priest leading the troops of the North Kingdom, he doesn't need detect evil to know that there's a good target for his smite. Similarly, if my paladin is driving the slavers out of some silver mines and discovers a white dragon disciple leading a force of Druergar, he's not going to detect evil before he smites her. My point was that, in most of the cases where smiting is justified, one can know that it will probably work (and that it is justified) without any magic at all. [/QUOTE]

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