Smite Evil, Ghosts, and Hosts

[Jack Simth]

A Ghost possesses a host with the Malevolence special ability; the ghost is Evil, the host is Good.

What's the effective alignment?

E.g., what happens if a Paladin comes along, Detects Evil and, not knowing the host is Good but possessed, tries a Smite Evil on the pairing?

Does he get the extra damage and Charisma to hit? Is everything still dealt to the host as normal?

What about a Blackguard's Smite Good?

Likewise, would a Holy weapon deal it's extra damage? Unholy?

It's likely to come up in my next session; RAW rulings if possible, but I'm also open to opinions.

 

[Scharlata]

[...]What's the effective alignment?[...]

Hi, Jack!

Don't have the book around, but maybe the Fiend Folio is what you want to read. The FIEND OF POSSESSION has some special possession and hiding-possession-from-detection special qualities. Those could be interesting reference points. IIRC, the f.o.p. can hide his possessing nature from being detected while in a host. Maybe the default setting is a non-hideable possession quality for all non-fs.o.p. You get my point?

Kind regards

 

[shilsen]

A Ghost possesses a host with the Malevolence special ability; the ghost is Evil, the host is Good.

What's the effective alignment?

Evil. The Malevolence ability works like the Magic Jar spell except that there is no need for a receptacle. The possessing creature retains its alignment when using Magic Jar and the possessed body's life force is displaced (and alignment is among things the body doesn't retain).

E.g., what happens if a Paladin comes along, Detects Evil and, not knowing the host is Good but possessed, tries a Smite Evil on the pairing?

Smite Evil works.

Does he get the extra damage and Charisma to hit? Is everything still dealt to the host as normal?

Yes. Yes.

What about a Blackguard's Smite Good?

Doesn't work.

Likewise, would a Holy weapon deal it's extra damage? Unholy?

Yes. No.

It's likely to come up in my next session; RAW rulings if possible, but I'm also open to opinions.

The above is how I think it should work by RAW, and how I'd have it work in my games.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Eberron Campaign Setting has good rules on possession.. unfortunatly I am not near my books to answer according the them

 

[Jack Simth]

About what I thought; thanks.

 

[Scharlata]

[...]Fiend Folio [...]

The Hide Presence feature of the Fiend of Possessions on page 205 of the FF grants the possessing creature a "mental" Hide check to hide its alignment. If successful the possessed victim takes damage according to his actual alignment.

Kind regards