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<blockquote data-quote="arwink" data-source="post: 1097972" data-attributes="member: 2292">I'm assuming that the problem here is that the PC's are using the spell as a short cut when in social adventures, short-cutting investigations or discovering that certain allies aren't all that they're cut up to be?1)&nbsp; Society frowns on it - this is the easiest method.&nbsp; In a DnD society, people understand that things like evil intent can be detected via magic, but that doesn't mean that they're happy about it.&nbsp; If you've been a loyal member of the town guard/dukes council/local bakery for decades, then having some upstart adventurer detect you for evil is an affront to decency.&nbsp; Have NPC's be outraged and offended by people who casually detect without good reason, with society in general slowly starting to shun the PC's.&nbsp; 2)&nbsp; So what?&nbsp; The NPC is evil, but evil isn't created equal.&nbsp; People with a strong streak of selfishness and self-preservation will detect as evil, but you can't imprison them, attack them, or even be rude to them based on that information.&nbsp; Evil isn't evidence, and the nobility and the law should generally take a dim view of people who use that as the be all and end all of an arguement.&nbsp; Magic detection can be fooled, so knowing that the suspect is evil won't hold up in a court of law - you're still looking for evidence, you just have a bit more information to work from.3) Possession.&nbsp; Ghosts and demons can both take over a good person, and leave them temporarily evil without changing their original alignment.&nbsp; Players can get confused beyond all belief when someone who reeked of evil yesterday is suddenly all rainbows and bunnies.4)&nbsp; So what no. 2?&nbsp; He may be evil, but you still need to team up with him to complete your adventure.&nbsp; Evil people may just be to important for their alignment to be an issue (although the Players will hate you for it).5)&nbsp; Essentially, this is a good tactic for PC's to use.&nbsp; It's smart play, and good use of divination to accomplish goals.&nbsp; You can't let all NPC's be mind shielded, but you can let them know that the party favors the use of the spell.&nbsp; Subtle manipulation and the use of neutral middle-men suddenly becomes key when dealing with the party in any way, shape or form.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="arwink, post: 1097972, member: 2292"] I'm assuming that the problem here is that the PC's are using the spell as a short cut when in social adventures, short-cutting investigations or discovering that certain allies aren't all that they're cut up to be? 1) Society frowns on it - this is the easiest method. In a DnD society, people understand that things like evil intent can be detected via magic, but that doesn't mean that they're happy about it. If you've been a loyal member of the town guard/dukes council/local bakery for decades, then having some upstart adventurer detect you for evil is an affront to decency. Have NPC's be outraged and offended by people who casually detect without good reason, with society in general slowly starting to shun the PC's. 2) So what? The NPC is evil, but evil isn't created equal. People with a strong streak of selfishness and self-preservation will detect as evil, but you can't imprison them, attack them, or even be rude to them based on that information. Evil isn't evidence, and the nobility and the law should generally take a dim view of people who use that as the be all and end all of an arguement. Magic detection can be fooled, so knowing that the suspect is evil won't hold up in a court of law - you're still looking for evidence, you just have a bit more information to work from. 3) Possession. Ghosts and demons can both take over a good person, and leave them temporarily evil without changing their original alignment. Players can get confused beyond all belief when someone who reeked of evil yesterday is suddenly all rainbows and bunnies. 4) So what no. 2? He may be evil, but you still need to team up with him to complete your adventure. Evil people may just be to important for their alignment to be an issue (although the Players will hate you for it). 5) Essentially, this is a good tactic for PC's to use. It's smart play, and good use of divination to accomplish goals. You can't let all NPC's be mind shielded, but you can let them know that the party favors the use of the spell. Subtle manipulation and the use of neutral middle-men suddenly becomes key when dealing with the party in any way, shape or form. [/QUOTE]

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