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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 5403186" data-attributes="member: 4937">That might work in some campaign world, but by long standing and virtually world wide tradition, magically obtained evidence is not admissable in court on campaign world.  This is certainly true of the 'Free Cities' where something resembling a modern belief in civil and natural rights exists.  The reasons are quite similar to the reasons the results of lie detector tests aren't admissable in court:1) Basically, you only have the word of the spellcaster that the evidence he presents is true.  Except in a few theocracies dominated by a single sect and similar situations, this isn't considered sufficient.2) The results are too easy to fake.  A charlatan could easily use illusions or simply a bit of performance to appear to be performing 'divinations'.3) The tests may be quite accurate, but they are most innaccurate precisely in the case when the most accuracy is needed.  The powerful and the skillful can find the means to evade most divination tests, and it is precisely from these that society most needs to defend itself. The particular magistrate in the city was virtually incorruptible, and the party lacked the resources to make a creditable bribe.   Believe me, this wasn't an easy decision.  If I'd thought a believable way out of the troubles existed that didn't involve the equivalent of divine intervention by the DM and wouldn't have conveyed to the party the idea that whatever they did, they were safe, because the almighty DM would take care of them, I wouldn't have taken the step I did.   Likewise, if I'd thought for a second that the player understood what he was doing and that the group was experienced enough to handle that sort of game wrecking, I would have let it happen.  It was a very extraordinary step for me to make.  Normally I let the dice fall where they may.After the session, I told the player what I had done and why, which was AFAIC an apology - because I don't take that step very often and I probably wouldn't take it at all with a more experienced group.  But I've been playing the game longer than all six of my current players combined.I absolutely agree.  My point wasn't that illusionism was less bad than railroading, but rather to start to demonstrate equivalence between illusionism and railroading.</blockquote>

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