Plot Killer: Detect evil

[DMScott]

What I do is establish that there are people who are normal, functioning members of society who also happen to be evil. There are completely legal pursuits in which someone unencumbered with moral qualms can do quite well for themselves.

So if the PCs are looking for the polymorphed assassin who's here to kill the Queen, and they Detect Evil during the grand ball, they come up with a few "false positives". Do they really want to kill Duke Dastardly, who's just come back from ruthlessly suppressing that peasant revolt in West Nowhere, in front of his cousin the queen on suspicion that an evil assassin is impersonating the normally evil man? They can certainly justify killing him on an alignment basis, but the social repercussions are another matter, and if he's not the assassin the ensuing chaos may allow the assassin to strike.

Simililarly, there are also Neutral and Good members of society who do things that may make them "bad guys". That Neutral Good spy from Greater Nowhere who's plotting to liberate West Nowhere from the tyrannical Duke Dastardly may well be an enemy of the realm the PCs are asked to deal with. Detect Evil certainly won't help you find the spy.

 

[d4]

i'm with Atridis and vox -- detect alignment spells in my games only detect supernatural alignments.

so if the description in the Monster Manual says "Always" whatever, then it will detect. otherwise, no.

 

[I'm A Banana]

The spell description states that it only detects powerful evils.

So unless the enemy is an evil cleric (the only type of humanoid normally revealed by this), it's not a problem.

 

[Henry]

The spell description states that it only detects powerful evils.

So unless the enemy is an evil cleric (the only type of humanoid normally revealed by this), it's not a problem.

Even if it's defined in your game as detecting anyone who has an evil alignment, it still means nothing, as most societies will want proof of evil actions, I would think. Furthermore, anyone of noble blood or persuasion can conceivably buy themselves out of trouble, assuming they don't pull anything overtly against the civil code (killing another noble, assassinating the king, betraying the kingdom, etc.)

In other words, just because the bartender detects evil off the innkeeper, the innkeeper might just like cooking puppies in the evening stew, not murdering people in their sleep. If the paladin slays or apprehends the innkeeper for his puppy-killing, he's in for a rude awakening.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

The spell description states that it only detects powerful evils.

So unless the enemy is an evil cleric (the only type of humanoid normally revealed by this), it's not a problem.

No, that's not true. Any creature (which includes humanoids) with an evil alignment has a faint aura.

I agree with most of the points above. Lots of people would have faint auras. When it becomes a concern and necessary to think about masking it is when you cross the border into a moderate aura.

 

[Psychotic Jim]

Here's a few ideas.

1. Have multiple evil suspects who are around when they cast detect evil. It's up to the players to figure out the real culprit.

2. Use Neutral or even good villains. An evilly-aligned red herring could go with this as well. Or use good or neutral patsies, mooks, goons, and minions for a hidden evil creature.

3. Make the mystery not which bad guy did the crime, but how he commited it. A person is missing, but the corpse is never found. The PCS know who did it, but he won't talk and has had a bard cast Modify Memory on him to erase his memories of even doing the crime. The missing person could be Imprisoned, banished to another plane, victimized by the Nevermore poison from GR's Assassin's Handbook, etc.

4. The initial plot they set out to solve is not your real adventure plot. By detecting evil and finding out the baddie for your pseudo-adventure, they come upon the real adventure by accident.

5. Put in instances where Detect Evil shows a person to be evil when really he is not. Perhaps you might allow Bestow Curse to make a good person detect as evil. Or a risen demon that has turned good but still has the Evil subtype might still detect as Evil. Conversely, a fallen angel might still detect as good because of the Good subtype its kind naturally has.

 

[Dakkareth]

1. Casting the spell in the first place should have consequences. So that guy stares at at me, mumbles and gestitures? Call the guards, he's trying to magick me!

2. Saying 'But he's evil' is no argument before a court, unless it is a church court and even then it's arguable.

 

[Hammerhead]

Uh...standard D&D assumption is that magic isn't that uncommon, so casting a spell probably isn't any real offence. Detect Evil doesn't have to involve staring, so unless you call the guards every time someone casts a spell anywhere near you, that isn't going to work.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Detect Magic has Verbal and Somatic components. It's obvious when you cast it. People are going to get worried if the cleric starts wandering around casting spells that no one can see the effect of, and then pronouncing people as evil.

Cleric casts spell, starts concentrating
Villager: What are you doing?
Cleric: I sense Evil auras! (round 1 of the spell)
Villager: Where? *starts running away*
Cleric: Damn.

It takes 3 rounds to locate the exact position of an evil aura. that's 18 seconds in which the evil person (who can spot the spell being cast with a spellcraft check) can either flee, attack or put up defenses against it. Honestly, it shouldn't be that much of a problem, so long as you don't let the players use it like a Star Trek tricorder.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Uh...standard D&D assumption is that magic isn't that uncommon, so casting a spell probably isn't any real offence. Detect Evil doesn't have to involve staring, so unless you call the guards every time someone casts a spell anywhere near you, that isn't going to work.

Your second assumption doesn't follow from the first. And as mentioned, three rounds is staring.

Just because magic is common doesn't mean it is universally acceptable. Casting spells on neutral or friendly parties without permission is going to be bad. AFAIC, casting divination spells is the equivelent of searching someone's stuff. Lockpicks, hands and eyes are all very common, but that doesn't mean that using them to invade another's privacy is "no real offense".

In living enworld, my non evil fighter still threw a fit when some punk palidan took it upon himself to probe her soul. Its just plain rude any way you slice it.

I combine the "way rude" problem with the "supernatural vs mundane evil" distinction others make when I am running, and almost left that campaign when the DM was willing to use the spell as some sort of personality test.

Kahuna Burger