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<blockquote data-quote="Edena_of_Neith" data-source="post: 4012552" data-attributes="member: 2020">Try this for size ...&nbsp; The old Death Spell, in 1st edition, was a 6th level spell.&nbsp; It Autokilled a lot of foes.&nbsp; It was a specifically life-destroying magic of some sort.&nbsp; In 2E, it got better.&nbsp; Now, those slain by Death Spell could not be Raised or Resurrected.&nbsp; Only a Wish spell could return them.&nbsp; Let's say that this spell is neither Good nor Evil, for the purpose of this post.&nbsp; Let's say it's just another magic (albeit a nasty one.)&nbsp;&nbsp; Now, let's say that another version of Death Spell exists.&nbsp; And this other version does all the nifty things that Death Spell does, but this alternate version is 3RD LEVEL.&nbsp; Yep.&nbsp; 3rd level.&nbsp; So, your 5th level wizard can cast a Death Spell.&nbsp; There is only one problem.&nbsp; The spell draws upon the Power of Evil to enforce it's effect.&nbsp; Without Pure Evil in the mix, the magic cannot function.&nbsp; Only Evil and Magic mixed can effect a Death Spell at 3rd level.&nbsp; Thus, this is a Vile Spell.&nbsp; Casting it is an evil act.&nbsp; Casting it is drawing upon the very stuff of Primordial Evil.&nbsp; Now your players have a real problem.&nbsp; The wizards serving Hextor, those who are Vile, will be running around with 3rd level Death Spells, but your good wizards can't do that (and neither can neutral wizards and even some evil wizards who are not wholly depraved.)&nbsp; Perhaps, they will win the War against the good guys, because they can use the destructive spells and the good guys cannot!&nbsp; Well, there's an answer to this, too.&nbsp; Spell Turning is normally a neutral spell, neither Good nor Evil.&nbsp; It was, however, reasonably good at turning spells (such as Death Spells) back on their casters.&nbsp; If the good guys concentrate on such defensive magics, perhaps in this case Spell Turning was originally invented by them, and for *them* it is a 4TH LEVEL spell, not the 7th level spell available to everyone else (their foes included.)&nbsp; Thus, the eager young evil wizard fires his 3rd level Death Spell at the older, wiser good wizard.&nbsp; The good wizard Spellturns it back, and it slays the evil wizard.&nbsp; Make it pay to be Good, Neutral, or Evil.&nbsp; Put some rules behind the alignments, alter the mechanics so that ethos pays, make it really important to stand behind certain actions of light or darkness.&nbsp; That way, when the wizard decides not to kill the orc children, she has a tangible reward to show for it (along with a headache when those orc children grow up into orcs, and cause more havoc and chaos.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Edena_of_Neith, post: 4012552, member: 2020"] Try this for size ... The old Death Spell, in 1st edition, was a 6th level spell. It Autokilled a lot of foes. It was a specifically life-destroying magic of some sort. In 2E, it got better. Now, those slain by Death Spell could not be Raised or Resurrected. Only a Wish spell could return them. Let's say that this spell is neither Good nor Evil, for the purpose of this post. Let's say it's just another magic (albeit a nasty one.) Now, let's say that another version of Death Spell exists. And this other version does all the nifty things that Death Spell does, but this alternate version is 3RD LEVEL. Yep. 3rd level. So, your 5th level wizard can cast a Death Spell. There is only one problem. The spell draws upon the Power of Evil to enforce it's effect. Without Pure Evil in the mix, the magic cannot function. Only Evil and Magic mixed can effect a Death Spell at 3rd level. Thus, this is a Vile Spell. Casting it is an evil act. Casting it is drawing upon the very stuff of Primordial Evil. Now your players have a real problem. The wizards serving Hextor, those who are Vile, will be running around with 3rd level Death Spells, but your good wizards can't do that (and neither can neutral wizards and even some evil wizards who are not wholly depraved.) Perhaps, they will win the War against the good guys, because they can use the destructive spells and the good guys cannot! Well, there's an answer to this, too. Spell Turning is normally a neutral spell, neither Good nor Evil. It was, however, reasonably good at turning spells (such as Death Spells) back on their casters. If the good guys concentrate on such defensive magics, perhaps in this case Spell Turning was originally invented by them, and for *them* it is a 4TH LEVEL spell, not the 7th level spell available to everyone else (their foes included.) Thus, the eager young evil wizard fires his 3rd level Death Spell at the older, wiser good wizard. The good wizard Spellturns it back, and it slays the evil wizard. Make it pay to be Good, Neutral, or Evil. Put some rules behind the alignments, alter the mechanics so that ethos pays, make it really important to stand behind certain actions of light or darkness. That way, when the wizard decides not to kill the orc children, she has a tangible reward to show for it (along with a headache when those orc children grow up into orcs, and cause more havoc and chaos.) [/QUOTE]

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