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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elf Witch" data-source="post: 3328850" data-attributes="member: 9037">I can see why so many paladin threads go so many pages and that is that no one can agree on what is an evil act. It may be fun to debate things like this on a board but I can tell you it is not fun in a game.DnD is a game and to put paladins in the postion where if they sneeze wrong they lose their paladin powers is just ridiculous.Games are supposed to be fun. Isn't that why we play?  Any other class could kill these scags with no penalty. And move on to the next adventure but not the paladin no he who has detect evil at will and smite evil X times a day must walk a tightrope to figure out how to please a DM or lose his class abilities.Because that what this comes down to pleasing the DM on the DMs opinion of what is evil. No other class goes through this.I think it is bad DMing to say a creature is evil if you are going to handicap the paladin and not allow him to use his class ability to smite. If you want to add moral dilemma into the game then don't have the babies detect as evil.I DM a paladin right now and while I would not allow him in most cities to just detect evil and then walk up and smite because of it. I allow him a lot more leeway when he is out in the wildnerness there he has the right to make a judgement on the level of threat and if he feels it is warranted he can be J/J/E.In the one Duchy which is a theoracy all paladins and clerics are considered to have the ability to be J/J/E of lawbreakers. Now in my game thieves, adulters, crooked merchants do not detect of evil unless they are also doing evil acts. What is an evil act in my game killing an innocent, causing great harm like a crooked merchant selling food that he knows is tainted. Choosing to serve an evil diety as a cleric.I use the Kingdom of Kalamar rules on clerics all clerics must be the same alignment as their diety.A noble who allows his surfs to starve because of his greed will detect of evil.I also do not use the RAW rules on detect evil. I use my DM opinion on how evil something is so I have degrees of faint, moderate, strong and overwhelming.The merchant who has only sold bad food once may detect as faint and evil cleric who has killed innocents in the service of his God  will detect as strong or depending on how many evil acts they have done as overwhelming.We also use the BoXD rules on redeeming an evil creature if that is what the paladin  wants to do.In my game any sentient creature can choose to be good or evil and my players know this.I have found that allowing my paaldins to have more freedom in what they can do has not made them turn into murdering thugs with a sword killing everything that pings as evil.  I have seen paladins show mercy to an evil creature and try to  redeem it as often as they have smited it.I don't have inter party conflicts because of having a paaldin in the group because the other players know that the paladins is not going to be putting them into unnecessary danger trying to live up to an impossible to follow code that says all evil doers has to do is surrender and then escape later to try and kill the party as they sleep.</blockquote>

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