Sagiro
Rodent of Uncertain Parentage
Re: Re: You go, Valendo!
I think there are different flavors of "good," and the one you describe -- the be-merciful-to-evildoers kind of good, isn't the kind that Velendo is.
He has a pretty straightforward view of the moral world. There are good people in the world who don't cause harm to others, and they are worthy of protection. Indeed, it's a holy duty to protect them. And there are people who have made the personal choice to be evil, who will cause harm to others to further their own causes, and they are not worthy of protection. Or any other benevolent considerations. You make your bed, you sleep in it.
Velendo doesn't try to redeem people. He's in the protect-the-innocent business, pure and simple, and is willing to pursue pretty much whatever means are necessary to do that. And he has no patience for Evil. He'll taunt them. He'll smite them. He'll lie to them. He'll lean on them, even to the point of causing physical discomfort, if it's necessary to protect large numbers of innocent people. He's not in the mercy business as far as Evil creatures are concerned -- there are LG clerics and religions for that sort of thing.
So, does that make him Evil himself? It seems Calphas doesn't think so. How he protects people isn't as important as the fact that he does. That's why he's neither lawful nor chaotic. And if an evil demoness is trying to wriggle and lie her way out of her fate, it will not occur to Velendo to show kindness. Harsh as it sounds, he's not in the kindness business, either.
-Sagiro
Atticus_of_Amber said:
Of course, with my view of alignment that evil=cruelty and good=benevolence, taunting a creature in torment, no matter how evil or deserving the creature, is a cruelk and thus vaguely evil act.
I've alwasy seen good as a very demanding alignment. You fight evil, but you mustn't revel in your enemies pain, becasue therin lies the path to corruption.
A creature like a marlith is irredeemably evil and thus must be destroyed. But it should be done quickly and mercifully.
In my campaign, Valendo would find a few extra detect evil spells in his roster tomorrow, as a subtle hint from his deity [sort of a "Yes, yes, my child that was very funny and even I found it quite amusing myself, but it was also CRUEL and WRONG and you should be careful, lest tiny evils lead to greater ones"...
As I said, I see good as a very demanding alignment.
Having said that, it was a truly brilliant line...
I think there are different flavors of "good," and the one you describe -- the be-merciful-to-evildoers kind of good, isn't the kind that Velendo is.
He has a pretty straightforward view of the moral world. There are good people in the world who don't cause harm to others, and they are worthy of protection. Indeed, it's a holy duty to protect them. And there are people who have made the personal choice to be evil, who will cause harm to others to further their own causes, and they are not worthy of protection. Or any other benevolent considerations. You make your bed, you sleep in it.
Velendo doesn't try to redeem people. He's in the protect-the-innocent business, pure and simple, and is willing to pursue pretty much whatever means are necessary to do that. And he has no patience for Evil. He'll taunt them. He'll smite them. He'll lie to them. He'll lean on them, even to the point of causing physical discomfort, if it's necessary to protect large numbers of innocent people. He's not in the mercy business as far as Evil creatures are concerned -- there are LG clerics and religions for that sort of thing.
So, does that make him Evil himself? It seems Calphas doesn't think so. How he protects people isn't as important as the fact that he does. That's why he's neither lawful nor chaotic. And if an evil demoness is trying to wriggle and lie her way out of her fate, it will not occur to Velendo to show kindness. Harsh as it sounds, he's not in the kindness business, either.
-Sagiro