NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8261418" data-attributes="member: 2629">Monsters, even when limited to intelligent monsters, covers a lot of ground.  A lich, an angel, a bugbear, a wight and Blackrazor may all be considered intelligent monsters - and they're all different discussions.  And I don't think there is an easy answer.In my campaign world, when this issue first rose up a decade or so ago, I decided to specify that free will wasn't a given.  Some intelligent creatures had it, others did not.  Generally, humanoids tended to have it.  They had the freedom to choose, and it is because they have the freedom to choose that their prayers to their Gods mean so much.  Essentially Divine Power relies upon free will and people choosing to follow Gods.However, outside humanoids (and in some cases, within humanoids (Goblins and Gnolls in particular), free will is rare.  Creatures are born with base impulses, compulsions, dedications and oppositions.  This is something inflicted upon them by Gods, Elder Powers, ancestors, etc...  They suffer from the same problem as the Scorpion in th Scorpion and the Frog.  They do things because it is in their nature.  However, there are always exceptions born with free will and the ability to choose their own path free of instinctual influence.  Others are freed of the influence (remove curse ends it when cast a specific way).  There is a large storyline in my campaign that surrounds the belief that this is wrong and needs to end so that all creatures are free to choose.  I'm looking at this concept now and considering how it needs to evolve.  I don't have an easy answer.</blockquote>

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