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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 1634767" data-attributes="member: 5143">There is a good section in the BOVD about evil deeds and what they mean.  As well another one in the BOED, but a lot of the BOED tends to contradict the BOVD.The BOVD says that intention doesn't matter.  If a Paladin poisons a town because he believes all the residents to be fiends, it is still evil.  Even if a demon showed up, with an illusion pretending to be his god, and using an illusion to show him the "truth" that all of them were demons.  If the Paladin runs off to poison the town, even if he thinks it is in the greater good, he is evil.  Because he didn't legitimately TRY to make sure he wasn't doing an evil act.  He didn't TRY to figure out if they were really ALL demons, even killing one innocent is still evil.The BOED tends to go the other way mostly, saying that it is your intent WHILE performing an action that makes you good or evil.The information in the PHB leads me to believe that if one doesn't act on his evil thoughts, he isn't evil.  I like D&D to be a game of black and whites.  Evil people perform sacrifices to their gods, carelessly slaughter anyone they can get away with killing, and do things with NO thought about how it might affect others.  Good people throw themselves into danger without worrying about their own life and go out of their way to assist those in need.The hypothetical person probably had many chances to do evil things.  They could have snuck into someone's house at night and killed them in their sleep.  They could have followed someone into an alley and killed them and robbed them.  They could have done any number of evils.  There is no such thing realy as being "unable" to do evil things.  Just because he is not willing to go far enough to do evil, doesn't mean he is unable.  That makes him neutral.  IMHO, thoughts do not evil make without a real INABILITY to perform the acts.Just as the BOVD says, any act can be defined by how much effort you actually put into it.  If you do something just because it is easy to do and won't harm you in any way, you are neutral.  If you manage to get rid of your worst enemy at an opportune time, and after that, don't do anything evil, you are still neutral.  Same thing as if you save someone's life because you were right there.As was said before, being good or being evil requires effort.Majoru Oakheart</blockquote>

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