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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gizmo33" data-source="post: 3132026" data-attributes="member: 30001">Oh, alignment thread, I can't resist you...So the paladin destroyed a ghost?  "Killed" I guess, sent it off to the afterlife?  I think alignment issues really depend on what the culture considers good and evil.  That's what "theology" is all about.  For example: a paladin walks into a smoky tavern, orders "chicken" off the menu.  A neutral small-sized animal is slain, and it's carcass is brought to the paladin to be consumed.  Does he lose his paladin-hood?  What if two vegetarians attack him for eating a chicken and he kills them in self-defense?  Does he go to Hades?In the real world, these issues are settled by theology.  In fact, the sects of different religions that exist in the real-world are a consequence of differences in opinion over these kinds of issues.A well-educated, well-trained member of any faith would know the answer to common situations.  Who sends a paladin out into the world a doesn't tell them if killing non-evil undead is what is expected of them?  In your campaign, this situation with the paladin probably happened a thousand years ago, a council of clerics was convened (these are lawful people after all), the issue was debated and decided.  "Killing undead of any alignment is allowable, as is killing anyone who attacks you for doing so" - could be the verdict.  It would be written in the sacred scripture, and the case would be settled.  IMO it's a little unfair to expect players to guess the answers to these culturally relative questions.  The DnD rules largely define alignment in a circular fashion, AFAICT there's not enough information for me to decide whether eating a chicken is good or evil (or why eating a chicken might be good, but eating a horse might be evil).  So I think it ultimately is up to the DM.  Maybe reading a little about other cultures and religions would provide examples of the kinds of decisions you could make when designing the campaign's sub-cultures.  The one thing that seems fairly universal is that organized religions tell their followers what is expected of them.</blockquote>

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