Is it wrong for NPCs to block a 'detect evil' check by a PC?

[shilsen]

How do you keep the air of mystery around a NPC if the PCs can detect evil at first meeting?

By being a cynical bastard about human society. In my Eberron game, the paladin is free to detect evil all the time. But experience has taught him that about 20% or so of people in society are evil, so detecting evil doesn't help that much. Especially since being evil is not a crime and most of the evil people he meets are productive members of society. Sometimes there are evil people whose goals match the party's and they help the PCs, and there are good people whose goals oppose the party's and they oppose them. Detecting evil just tells you someone's alignment. It tells you next to nothing about how the person will act in the given context.

On top of that, there's the whole issue of how imprecise the detect evil ability is. Not only can it detect non-evil people as evil (a LN cleric of a LE god detects as evil, for example), but it also doesn't tell you exactly how evil someone is. An 11th lvl commoner who lies and cheats and steals and beats his wife detects as more evil than a genocidal 9th lvl fighter who has killed thousands of innocent people with his own hands, both of whom detect as less evil than the 5th lvl cleric of Vecna whose primary focus is on discovering lost knowledge in the library archives.

No, detect evil is really not much good at revealing anything relevant about people.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Just scrap alignement nearly every DM I know doesn't use it and I dont either alignments are both silly and broken your games would be better of without them.

They also scrap punctuation, I'm guessing.

 

[Taraxia]

My idea of "evil" isn't nearly so extreme. IMC the population is basically evenly distributed -- about 1/3 of all human beings everywhere will fall into the evil category. Anyone who goes through life as a selfish ass, a manipulative bastard, or someone who generally doesn't care about other people -- regardless of the scale on which they've been given the opportunity to act on it -- detects as faint or moderate evil. (There are quite a few moderate-evil people in the world, I'd say, who aren't actual murderers.)

It makes life harder for a paladin, since the paladin knows that you can't make the world a better place simply by killing the third or more of its entire population who are responsible for it not being a great place. Same issue that a real-life social reformer or crusader would have today.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript?SK=202

"It's a common practice among my people. Halfling's of my village carry lead sheets to prove their manhood."

Heh.

Probably not evil. Possibly illegal, depending on where the PCs are at the time, but no more evil than keeping your valuables locked up or not telling people what your bank account number is.

 

[lacedaemon]

They also scrap punctuation, I'm guessing.

Well I guess that they just scrap manners in your games.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Just scrap alignement nearly every DM I know doesn't use it and I dont either alignments are both silly and broken your games would be better of without them.

I've played D&D for over 26 years now, and I've never run across a DM that doesn't use alignment. It doesn't seem broken or silly to any of us, and enriches our games.

 

[Ragnar69]

In my campaign, using magic (including detect evil) on a non-willing person is a criminal offense. A paladin trying this stunt on a powerful noble could well rot in a dungeon for that.

 

[haakon1]

Nothing wrong with that. It's one of the things villains would logically do.

Nod. NPC's should only be stupid if they have a low Int . . .

My paladin routinely powered up with a mask-alignment spell. No reason to let the enemy know early, before you unleash the fury.

 

[Mark Chance]

Just scrap alignement nearly every DM I know doesn't use it and I dont either alignments are both silly and broken your games would be better of without them.

Yes Yes a spelling mistake doesn't take away from the point alignment is broken and silly!

Well, after those two carefully explained arguments against alignments....

No, it isn't wrong for NPCs to block a detect evil check by a PC. What a silly question! The common forms of detect evil all provoke attacks of opportunity. Have the NPCs take the opportunity. Have one of them with a readied action to nail any spellcasting or spell-like ability-ing. Then, after all is said and done, have the NPCs not be evil, but merely irritated by wankers that go around casting spells at complete strangers.

 

[Mark Chance]

Move along. Nothing to see.