Is Coup de Grace an evil act?

[LokiDR]

Now we must bring law and chaos into play: Bringing it before the local authorities would be a lawful act, taking it into our own hands a chaotic one.

Which is exactly what I said. CdG is far more a choatic act than evil.

 

[andargor]

Wouldn't a Paladin that CdG'ed a demon/devil have performed a good act?

Andargor

 

[LokiDR]

Is it mercy killing or just basically killing?

It sounds subjective. A coup de grace by the act alone is evil. You're taking out one's life, even if he's your sworn enemy. But the reason for doing the act of coup de grace may or may not slightly alleviate the burden of this evil act. For example, both combatants agreed beforehand, that the duel is to the death. We tend to think that if two combatants meet face-to-face on a level playing field and agreed to fight to the death it is considered fair, whereas an assassin prefers to take the opportunity to kill a person without the person knowing he is the unfortunate participant is unfair.

Killing is not, has not, nor ever will be evil. If someone is trying to kill you and you kill them in self defense, is that evil? Is killing an animal for food evil? Is the state executing a prisoner it can not hold evil? Just becuause you are killing them does not make the act evil. If you kill them because they are criminals, attacking you unproked, then you executing them.

Another thing to look at, does coup de grace serve a greater purpose? I mean we go back to the age-old argument of a paladin who killed the adult werewolves and found in the lair about a mile outside a farming village a litter of 25 baby werewolves already dining on a human flesh, so they pretty much know the taste. Are you willing to remove them farther from the village and into a remote wilderness to violate the ecosystem protected by a grand circle of druids?

Good and evil are a question of the greater good. If you know the creatures will kill again (werewolves, wererats) and you do not have the power to change this, then killing them may server the greater good. Whether you have the right is a matter of law or chaos.

 

[LokiDR]

A(a)ssassin: one who kills other for money.

This is evil. If you are just killing because you are paid, then you are an assassin and commiting evil. If you only kill evil people, but only do it because you are paid, it is still at least somewhat evil.

However, if you kill evil-doers because you believe they need to be punished, and the money is a nice side benifit, you are not commiting evil. Your intentions are good. You had just better make sure the person you are killing really is evil. After all, dark roads are paved in good intentions.

All of this, however, ignores all concepts of due process, legal athorites, and the word of society at large through some form of government. So it is very chaotic.

 

[Ranger REG]

Killing is not, has not, nor ever will be evil. If someone is trying to kill you and you kill them in self defense, is that evil? Is killing an animal for food evil? Is the state executing a prisoner it can not hold evil? Just becuause you are killing them does not make the act evil. If you kill them because they are criminals, attacking you unproked, then you executing them.

As I said, it is subjective.

Killing is always evil to me. But if I kill someone in self-defense, then I accept this evil as justifiable. Just as I accept government killing McVeigh for his crime as justifiable.

Good and evil are a question of the greater good. If you know the creatures will kill again (werewolves, wererats) and you do not have the power to change this, then killing them may server the greater good. Whether you have the right is a matter of law or chaos.

Again, it is justification, unless you can find a better solution.

Personally, I can live with the necessary evils of money and killing if they are justifiable. Does that makes me inhuman?

 

[frankthedm]

No more evil than attacking for lethal damage. When you attack with your sword you are trying to KILL the target. The D&D hit point system makes this slightly rare but that is a concern of the system mechanics. CDG means you are now more likely to kill your target . Choosing to lethaly attack is where the good / evil / chaos/law decision lies.

 

[niteshade6]

"A(a)ssassin: one who kills other for money.

This is evil. If you are just killing because you are paid, then you are an assassin and commiting evil. If you only kill evil people, but only do it because you are paid, it is still at least somewhat evil."

Bear in mind that this then applies to most adventurers as well. If the king offered 1,000 gold to the adventurers who dealt with the orcs who are raiding the area, then by this logic those adventurers would be evil asssassins. In fact, from the orcs point of view that would probably be exactly what they were.

 

[Nareau]

What were you thinking?

Why did you even bother to specify that you were looking for "rules-based" answers? You've been around long enough that you should realize that almost no one heeds these kinds of requests.

But I'll try: Say it with me folks,
"From the SRD:"

Evil characters and creatures debase or destroy innocent life, whether for fun or profit.

Assuming you're not CdG'ing any innocent ogres for pay, it's not evil.

"Evil" implies hurting, oppressing, and killing others. Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient. Others actively pursue evil, killing for sport or out of duty to some evil deity or master.

Well, CdG does pretty much fall under the heading of "hurting, oppressing, and killing others." But that's the implication, not the definition. So not an evil act here.

Coup de grace [Full][AoO: Yes]
Description: A character can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless foe. A character can also use a bow or crossbow, provided the character is adjacent to the target. The attacker automatically hits and scores a critical hit. If the target survives the damage, the target must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.
Its overkill, but a rogue also gets her extra sneak attack damage against a helpless foe when delivering a coup de grace.
A character can't deliver a coup de grace against an opponent that is immune to critical hits, such as a golem.

No mention of it being evil here either. The absence of evidence doesn't prove anything. However, the fact that several acts are defined as [Evil] (certain spells, rebuking undead, and the like), we can infer by omission that this act is not [Evil].

There aren't any more relevant passages in the DMG.

So I'm convinced that the answer to your question is NO. There is no rules-based evidence that Coup de Grace is an inherently evil act. However, according to the alignment rules, it is possible to perform an evil CdG.

Spider

 

[Ranger REG]

But if you CDG for fun or profit, would THAT be considered evil?

 

[Norfleet]

I CDG for fun *AND* profit. I'm definitely evil. Now you see, that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.

But really, CDG has nothing to do with good or evil. CDG is about killing people. Whether the actual act of killing people happens to be good or evil depends on the individual being killed. Since motivations for killing people are already covered in alignment, CDG is irrelevant to the issue.

There's also a certain difference between a CDG performed on somebody who is sleeping, and one performed on an opponent which has been rendered unconcious or disabled in battle. As a name, CDG comes from the practice of putting down enemy knights who have fallen, and can't get up. Whether or not they could get up before being CDGed is subject to interpretation. The RULE was extended to apply to killing anybody who was otherwise incapacitated, but the actual term that the rule is named after does not apply to this. This, however, is irrelevant.

In the end, however....
Good, bad, I'm the one with CDG.