Summon Monster Alignment

[tennyson]

Here's a simple question that I'm not able to find any opposing info in the rules, but I'd figure I'd ask just to be sure:

Can a magic user using a Summon Monster spell call up a monster that is of an opposing alignment - are there any restrictions?

Thanks!

 

[udalrich]

It is fine unless the class has restrictions on the types of spells that you can cast.

If your LG sorcerer wants to summon a CE dretch, that works. It is a CE act and doing it too often will eventually change his alignment.

However, a LG cleric would not be able to summon a CE dretch (or even a LE lemur or CG unicorn) since clerics cannot cast spells of opposed alignments.

 

[Dandu]

If an evil character summoned Celestial creatures too often, would he turn good?

 

[Starbuck_II]

Yes, since it is an aligned spell.

 

[Voadam]

If an evil character summoned Celestial creatures too often, would he turn good?

Depends on the DM and the actual actions. Summoning up angels your evil character can then send them to slaughter babies in an orphanage. And the angels will do so. Laughing at the crying angels you summoned as they hack into innocents will probably far outweigh the alignment effects of tapping into [GOOD]. Otherwise crafty evil summoners don't need a ring of mind shielding to worm their way into the paladin stronghold as they turn themselves good fairly trivially.

On the flip side summoning demons to rescue the babies in the orphanage from the angels who are resistant to damage from non-EVIL things similarly taints one with the evil act of summoning [EVIL].

Too much of this takes character/monster alignment away from actual morality and into the realm of simply reflecting what forces they mess around with and sets up the villain who loaded himself with [GOOD] spells to detect as good.

 

[AbyssKnight]

See, I don't like the rules (from the BoVD and BoED) that say casting a [Good] spell is a Good act (and [Evil] spell = Evil act). I haven't sent that as a rule anywhere in Core and it just doesn't make sense to me.

But the restriction on Clerics casting opposite [Alignment] spells is right in the Cleric class entry.

 

[Runestar]

This makes me wonder - what if I modified a good spell with the corrupt spell feat, which adds the evil descriptor?

So now the spell has the good and evil tags. Does this make it morally ambiguous?