Is casting a spell with the Evil descriptor an Evil act?

[Xanterith]

Misdirection
Illusion (Glamer)

That aura is as real as an illusionary tree. It is a glamer of an aura. If the paladin picked up the Unholy sword and used it, he may well no longer be a paladin, even if the aura on the sword was misdirected as good.

Honestly I don't understand where the paladin arguement is coming from at all.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I'm reading "Number of evil auras (creatures, objects, or spells)"; it's referring to creatures, objects, and spells that have evil auras, not stating that creatures with evil auras are evil.

Perhaps I just don't understand your definition of evil aura. It doesn't seem to jive with mine, which I got from the detect evil spell, the only place I know where it's given/used.

A Lawful Neutral cleric of a Lawful Evil deity is not an evil creature, yet he is detected by Detect Evil. A Neutral Good spectre is not an evil creature, yet he is detected by Detect Evil. Despite having an evil aura that can be detected, neither creature is evil.

Sure, they are. Both are evil.

A Paladin who is the subject of a Misdirection spell fixed on an Unholy sword will be detected by Detect Evil. He is not an evil creature.

Sure he is, as far as the spell caster of detect evil knows. It's an illusion though, so it's not actually true. This example is more of a straw man though because you're using an illusion. You could make the same argument that a major image of a demon doesn't detect as evil, thus demons are not evil. The example simply doesn't work.

The presence of an evil aura does not always indicate the presence of evil.

Yes, it does.

Impasse, then?

 

[KarinsDad]

And they do, as laid out in the Cleric and Druid class descriptions.

So, Evil Descriptor spells are Evil for Clerics, but not for Wizards?

Or are they non-Evil even for Good Clerics, just prohibited?

 

[Hypersmurf]

So, Evil Descriptor spells are Evil for Clerics, but not for Wizards?

Or are they non-Evil even for Good Clerics, just prohibited?

By my reading, absent BoVD, casting a spell with the [Evil] descriptor is not an evil act (in and of itself) for a wizard. Neither would it be an evil act for a good cleric, but it is something he can't do, since it is prohibited.

Sure, they are. Both are evil.

So if you consider the Neutral Good wizard to be an evil creature, does he suffer a negative level from wielding a Holy dagger?

You could make the same argument that a major image of a demon doesn't detect as evil, thus demons are not evil.

Hmm? I'd argue that a major image of a demon doesn't detect as evil, therefore that particular major image of a demon is not evil.

I'd argue that if a particular demon detects as evil, he has an evil aura... but we don't know if that's due to an evil alignment, an evil subtype, his hypothetical status as a cleric of an evil deity, an undead nature, or a Misdirection spell. Only one of those makes him an evil creature, and one of them causes him to be affected by spells and effects as if he were evil despite not being evil, and the other three could give him an evil aura even if he is not evil.

-Hyp.

 

[Simm]

Misdirection
Illusion (Glamer)

That aura is as real as an illusionary tree. It is a glamer of an aura. If the paladin picked up the Unholy sword and used it, he may well no longer be a paladin, even if the aura on the sword was misdirected as good.

Honestly I don't understand where the paladin arguement is coming from at all.

The paladin would not risk losing anything, at no time did he willfuly use the evil item, so no breach of paladin code is possible.

Besides I do not beleive that using an evil or [Evil] item is and evil act; it is simply more likely to be evil than good due to the nature of action it allows.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I suppose that depends if you think Holy special ability is referencing evil alignment or the [Evil] descriptor.

In Summon Monster I, how do you know that they mean evilly aligned creature and not [Evil] subtype creature?

I think that the Holy ability says an evil creature gets a negative level, and Summon Monster says that if you summon an evil creature, it's a spell of that type.

So if the creature you summon gets a negative level from the Holy battleaxe, it's an evil creature, which means that Summon Monster was a spell of that type.

If the paladin picked up the Unholy sword and used it, he may well no longer be a paladin, even if the aura on the sword was misdirected as good.

Using an Unholy sword is not inherently an evil act, any more than using a non-magical sword is. The paladin incurs a negative level, but he won't lose his status over it.

If he uses that sword to murder that unfortunate innocent baker who's having such a hard time in this thread, that's an evil act... but no more so than it would have been with a non-magical sword.

-Hyp.

 

[Artoomis]

...Using an Unholy sword is not inherently an evil act, any more than using a non-magical sword is. The paladin incurs a negative level, but he won't lose his status over it....-Hyp.

That's very game-specific. It certainly could be considered an evil act to use any of the tools of evil, for whatever end.

This is all very DM-specific stuff here.

 

[GeorgeFields]

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[Crothian]

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[GeorgeFields]

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