lawful good and prisoners

[Raven Crowking]

this issue has come up several times both as a player and as a DM...the party defeats in battle a group of evil NPCs say...goblins one or more surrender and the group needs information from them...what can a LG cleric permit or do along the lines of questioning, intimidation etc.

Depends upon what information you need, and why you need it, in my book. I would say, "As a condition of your surrender, you must tell us....No?....Then prepare yourself, for we your surrender is one we cannot accept!"

Whether or not a lawful character has the right to mete justice is a campaign world thing, not an alignment thing. In a not-so-distant session, the PCs had a bit of a killing-amongst-party while traveling downriver on a ship. The Ship's Captain demanded surrender, tried the killer, found him guilty, and hung him off a tree. When they reached civilization, he turned himself in to the authorities, who then determined whether or not he had followed the right course (there was no contest). This was an NPC, btw, stringing up a PC.

does the characters choice of patron deity matter?

A follower of Mardan (Bringer of Civilization, God of Law) would probably try and convict the evildoer, or demand some recompense for wrongs done. A follower of Mellador (Goddess of Mercy) would not kill the miscreant, and might have a harder time dealing with a rag-tag group of captured goblins.

IMO, it isn't necessarily evil to slay a creature who surrenders. Ie, the Ship's Captain said "Surrender to the King's Justice," which is certainly no promise that the PC would be pardoned for his crime. "You will not escape, so why needlessly waste the lives of your followers?" is certainly fair.

Imagine, though, that the villain throws down his sword and begs for mercy. If you have no intent to offer it, "Pick up your sword, for I shall show you none," is probably the right thing to do.

Of course, as a DM, I am pretty likely to allow characters to gain information from captives. Only the vilest creatures don't recognize the benefits of being granted mercy, and those probably won't surrender anyway. Another way of looking at it is this: the goblin who surrenders is a low-level grunt who doesn't know a whole lot, and is probably not so enthused about his evil overlord that he's willing to die for him. So, why not talk?

By designating what creatures are likely to do, you are giving your PCs ideas about what is reasonable for them to do. If hobgoblins are willing to surrender a position, and parley terms under a flag of truce, it becomes feasable for the PCs to do the same when there's just too darn many hobgoblins.

Wandering away from camp so that your friends can torture/kill the prisoners is not only an evil deed, in my book it is also an un-lawful one.


Hope something in there is useful,

Daniel

 

[Whimsical]

Why doesn't the person with the highest Diplomacy check make the goblin his little friend? The kindness and respect granted received from someone who is so much more powerful than the goblin can throw him for a loop if he has never experienced that in his life. If you are playing a paladin or an exalted, there is something to be said about bring a bringer of hope. A hope of a life that's not about being forced to serve the insane whims of your cruel masters.

Plus, you get to say "Say 'hello' to my little friend" just like Al Pacino.

 

[S'mon]

My LG Fighter in Midnight uses her high Intimidate skill to get necessary info out of prisoners; she avoids actual torture if at all possible. She once killed a prisoner (after interrogation) when we were about to attack the BBEG camp and leaving him alive would have been dangerous. She CDG'd him without warning by surprise, so he suffered as little as possible. In principle, she will kill prisoners if necessary (ie, for the greater good as she sees it) unless she has given her word that she won't. In the camp attack she offered quarter to the BBEG, fearing that he would kill more of her companions (he'd already killed one) unless persuaded to surrender. Since she had given him her word, she didn't kill him - and wouldn't let the NG jungle-elf wildlander kill him, either. She escorted him back to her surperiors (at considerable difficulty) and handed him over.
IMO as a LG character she does what's necessary for the greatest long-term good, while maintaining her personal code of honour. This includes not inflicting unnecessary pain & suffering, not killing for pleasure, not using torture if possible - but she would do it if necessary - maintaining her personal code of honour (and keeping her word, if given), and if she does kill, causing the least pain possible.

 

[Calico_Jack73]

this issue has come up several times both as a player and as a DM...the party defeats in battle a group of evil NPCs say...goblins one or more surrender and the group needs information from them...what can a LG cleric permit or do along the lines of questioning, intimidation etc. Secondly, someone who is captured without surrendering and is being unco-operative...we dont have the resources to guard them perpetually, we are a long way from a recognized source of authority, if we release them we will just have to fight them again and they may bring back allies if they get away...can a LG character allow them to be slain out of hand as a convenience?? Does being an exalted character make a difference to the choices and decisions? does the characters choice of patron deity matter? Can the character in question wander off to investigate another area while the thief questions/disposes of the prisoner? I'm not looking for a diffinitive answer here just some thoughts on guideline and how others would interpret LG and exalted alignment, a little help please?

I asked Col Pladoh (Gary Gygax) a similar question regarding a Paladin. He said that there would be no reason that the Paladin wouldn't kill the goblins after they had promised to give up their evil ways. In that way their souls would be redeemed. Kinda heavy handed but there it is.

 

[Turanil]

He said that there would be no reason that the Paladin wouldn't kill the goblins after they had promised to give up their evil ways. In that way their souls would be redeemed.

LOL !

For me it depends on the circumstances:

- Red dragon, Demon, etc.: too dangerous to let living, so slay them to prevent further evil.

- Undead: slaying them is in fact a merciful act that release their tortured souls (BTW: anyone remember a magazine of old called "Tortured Souls"? I personnaly miss this one...)

- Evil goblin, brigand, etc.: You leave them alive after having lectured them about their evil ways, so they get a chance to redeem themselves.

- Odious Necromancer, blackguard, etc.: The cleric, paladin, or other character with some spiritual or legal authority puts the evil NPC to trial, then execute him. This is not slaying a hindering foe, but making justice. Now, don't forget this is mediaval justice, not justice of 20th century US! In medieval times, a noble had authority to pass judgment on his people...