Is My Paladin Evil?

[Sejs]

Of course, this argument also means that NOTHING AT ALL can EVER be deemed evil, since everything just comes down to culture. Therefore, Paladins are free to do anything that pops into their widdle minds with never the tiniest worry about doing evil. Some culture, SOMEWHERE, probably has no problem with it.

In... theory, I guess, though that wasn't the point I was trying to make. What I'm saying is that cannibalism in and of itself, isn't evil - meat is meat - it's just culturally icky, and as my wife pointed out, a very bad idea to use as a primary food source. I can't think of a single cultural-based excuse for things like say rape or torture that would hold together as a viable reason for doing those things.


Cannibalism is ultimatly an issue of how a culture handles its dead, more than anything.

 

[Torak Stoneweaver]

To sum up...


In my campaign *if* such a thing occured your character woudl loosoe any paladin abilities whilst insane... That being said, it would never happen in my campaign ... You DM seems to be a bit of a quack in this matter. Random insanity... thats just... well.. insane... pick one and let the gam take its course...

It would be like lyncathropy... a Paladin could be an inflicted werewold and be good while in human form, but when he is forced to change form he looses Paladin abilites and takes on the alignment of the creature..

I have to ask how old your DM is?

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

use your detect evil ability and look in a mirror...

Or just try to use your detect evil ability on anyone. If it works, you're still ok. If it doesn't, it's atonement time.

AR

 

[Apocalyptic Kitty]

Assuming you are 3rd level or higher (which I would hope if you are off adventuring in the Abyss), you have Divine Health, which makes you immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical.

He's using rules that were published in some 3rd party D20 supplement for insanity (I'm not sure which one). I should have clarified earlier, but everyone had to make the same initial insanity check and I was the only one who failed. It was actually a fairly easy roll, but the 2 I rolled didn't help matters. The explanation that we were given was that this wasn't brought on by fighting the glebrezu, but rather by the cumulative effect of being in such an inherently evil place, not unlike post-traumatic stress disorder. By that definition, my DM argues, it is not a disease by definition, so I am not immune to it.

I have to ask how old your DM is?

35.

 

[Sejs]

but rather by the cumulative effect of being in such an inherently evil place, not unlike post-traumatic stress disorder

Your paladin's immunity to fear should act as a form of check against that.

 

[Stockdale]

I don't know about evil, but I think the mental illness thing is great (so long as your having fun with it). Do you think you can get your DM to post the random mental illness chart?

 

[eryndel]

Just a couple of my thoughts,

Sure, from a completely culturaly relativistic point of view, cannibalism is no more evil that usury. However, most faiths which would sponser paladin orders would be based at least roughly on a Western Medieval Catholic morality. I find it unlikely that a paladin's code would include cannibalism as a form of acceptable behaviour.

Also, looking at it from the paladin's point of view, it's unlikely that he sees himself as mentally unstable according to any modern defination we might use. More likey he sees himself as possessed perhaps by some demonic spirit or taint making him do these unspeakable deeds. He doesn't have the choice to do these things, since this is a case of demonic possession. He does have the choice on whether to call off his current quest to find an appropriate church for atonement and healing. To not do so, and to continue to quest while his spirit is so compromised would be such a prideful act that is usually also unacceptable to a paladin's moral code.

As a DM, if this occured in my game I'd probably strip the paladin of his abilities until such time as he found a cure. As a player, and this was thrust upon me I'd immediately cancel the quest and find the appropriate healing. If my DM inflicted this upon me, he'd obviously expect my character to seek attonement. If he did this because he wanted to have fun with my character or railroad the plot, nothing would give me greater joy then disrupting the game because of the DM's own actions.

But I mean that way. I'm not saying yours is being capricious or malicious... Though if he is, he has this coming to him

 

[Dancer]

Your paladin's immunity to fear should act as a form of check against that.

well, it doesn't have to be that he is scared, it could just be that such concentrated evil actually warps thought patterns, thus it is neither a disease nor fear but a condition, like a physical law of the plane.

Also, there was a post made about cannabalism not being evil in itself unlike rape or torture which had no cultural base. Well, during the time of the salem witch trials torture was routinely seen as a good thing to do to a accused witch because it would save her soul. As for rape, one could easily devise a society that saw women as cattle and raping them was no different than eating (or amazon women taking men only to mate with them). In those cultures those things would not be considered evil.

Basically, you are asking the question "are there moral absolutes?" to which the only correct answer is "depends on your point of view".

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

but isn't ingesting the flesh of your own species EVIL?

Well, that depends...

What kind of seasoning did you use when you ate them?

 

[DonaldRumsfeldsTofu]

Consuming human flesh isn't at all evil. No one's being victimized by it happening. It is culturally taboo according to current paradigms and status quo, therefore in D&D terms it's unlawful. Depending on what paladin order your character belongs to, which is usually all up to the world and the DM, it's probably violating his paladin oral code as well. A Chaotic Good character would have no ethical problems with eating the corpse of someone who died in an unrelated matter, he'd probably think it was gross though.

I want to stand up for your Dungeon Master though, he was probably trying to add an interesting twist that would be entertaining to roleplay. But people automatically began their litany of cries of "railroading". If he was penalizing your character for this though, yes, that would be an ass thing to do.