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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 4655951" data-attributes="member: 54846">I... don't understand where you got the impression I'm suggesting that discussing whether Orcs are born evil or evil because they choose to be is somehow a philosophical question to discern feelings about how someon efeels about evil in RL. I'm not proposing that at all. Questioning alignment, and its role in the game and in the story is a time-honored tradition of discussion about D&D. Quibbling over paladins codes is as old as paladin codes. Remember, alignment has, until 4e came along, been married to the system. So, discerning how alignment behaves in the gameworld is important because the rules were glued to alignment.If a Paladin killed a baby orc and the baby orc is not evil, then the paladin did an evil act, and his status as a paladin is in question. If the baby orc is in fact evil, the paladin's alignment is not in question. This discussion has been around for decades. In my games, orcs are not evil by birth. Therefore, if a paladin kills a baby orc, then I'm shooting his paladin-hood in the head. D&D has always had some races or monsters that have had: ALWAYS EVIL in their statblock. Others have "USUALLY EVIL". Others have NEUTRAL. If it has "SOMETIMES, or USUALLY", then that means that the monster decides that based on free will. If it has ALWAYS, then that means it is a Cosmic thing, something that is universal to that monster from birth.My point is pointing to those things and saying "Take that into consideration" and, "How does alignment in this manner play a role in your game?" Many people I have met are of the opinion that, despite the MM saying Red Dragons are always Chaotic Evil, in their games red dragons are not automatically evil; it depends on the dragon.</blockquote>

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