D&D General The Ethics of 'Awakening' an animal

[TwoSix]

“Glasses for Algernon”

 

[jasper]

But But teacher Fu ate my homework! He said I would only get a D!

 

[jaelis]

I'd say that in the contest of dnd, you are way overthinking this. You aren't hurting the dog, normal characters are always happy to increase their intelligence, and it is reversible. Giving the glasses to the dog is a good act, in the dnd alignment scheme.

As a real life ethical question, I feel confident that most people would give their dog the glasses if they had the option. Only professional ethicists would think hard about it.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

I'd say that in the contest of dnd, you are way overthinking this.

That's what my DM said.

I agree with you, but it was a fellow player who brought up the question of ethics. I'm just curious to hear other perspectives.

 

[MarkB]

Of course, you never know how the Awakened creature's personality is actually going to turn out. That was the backstory for an NPC I made in a seafaring game, the Dread Parrot Polyfex - he'd been Awakened by his master, a piratical druid who despised arcane magic, but then the parrot went on to study necromancy in secret, overthrew the druid in a mutiny, and raised him and his loyal allies as zombies. Now he captains the ship himself, still riding on his former master's undead shoulder.