According to the Alpha the DMG will have an Paladin Oath Breaker Option in the DMG, I assumee that meant a Blackguard class, but it could be just simply a Paladin who loses his powers.
This gets back to what I was discussing upthread. If blackguards and death clerics are "too evil" to be assumed in the core game, but assassins and necromancers aren't, what's the fundamental difference?
...God do I wish I had the 5E PH (and DMG) right now.
This gets back to what I was discussing upthread. If blackguards and death clerics are "too evil" to be assumed in the core game, but assassins and necromancers aren't, what's the fundamental difference?
most death gods are unwholesome. (Kelemvor and Osiris nonwithstanding).
This is just straight-up false. Most Death Gods in D&D are neutral. UNdeath Gods are the problem ones. Osiris, Kelemvor, The Raven Queen, Hades, etc. are the norm. If anything, Evil *War* gods are more common.
Notice I didn't say evil, I said unwholesome. Dealing with the dead in most culture's isn't something most people want to associate with.
BUT...
Since you brought it up, I whipped out my On Hallowed Ground (the best 2e guide to deities, regardless of source) and looked up death (or "the dead") gods.
Anubis (Eygpt) LG
Arawan (Celtic) NE
Chronepsis (Dragon) N
Hades (Greek) LN
Hel (Norse) NE
Kali (Indian) CE
The Keeper (Eberron) NE
Kelemvor (Faerun) LN
Nephythys (Eygpt) CG
Nergal (Babylon) NE
Nerull (Oerth) NE
Osiris (Egypt) LG
The Raven Queen (Nerath) Unaligned, so N
Sehanine Moonbow (Elf) CG
Surma (Finnish) NE
Tuonetar (Finnish) CE
Tuoni (Finnish) CN(E)
Urogalan (Halfling) N
Wee Jas (Oerth) LN(E)
Yen-Wang-Yeh (LN)
Yama (Indian) LN
G: 4 N: 8 E: 9
I omitted the goblin and orcish gods since they were naturally going to be evil. Also, these aren't gods of UNdeath, just death/the dead.
So I maintain my stance: death priests have an unwholesome (if not outright evil) persona. Tack on the undead (which will inevitaby be given the death domain due to how broad-encompassing the 5e domains are compared to 3e) and evil has a definite edge on followers of death.
Wait, what? You have 12 that are good or neutral and 9 that are evil, yet that proves your point? You are massaging that information to fit your view of death not what you just posted. You can have that view if you want but it definitely doesn't match the numbers that you just posted.