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<blockquote data-quote="Ridley's Cohort" data-source="post: 1269849" data-attributes="member: 545">It is a simple matter of justice.&nbsp; The fact someone is Evil is not proof they have actually performed any Evil acts that justify martial retribution.&nbsp; Taking pleasure in verbally abusing an invalid grandmother is Evil.&nbsp; But does it warrant chopping someone's head off?&nbsp; No.It is simply more likely that an Evil person has performed more Evil acts than a Neutral person or a Good person.&nbsp; Neutral people (and rarely Good people) do sometimes perform acts that are horrifically Evil.&nbsp; Is your Paladin going to execute 10%-30% of the population on a guess?The alignment system in D&amp;D does not mechanistically force Evil people to perform Evil acts, nor does it prevent Neutral/Good people from performing Evil acts.&nbsp; The alignment is descriptive of a person's tendencies or desires, nothing more and nothing less.&nbsp; As stated in the PHB: &quot;Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient.&quot;Keep in mind, that a Paladin would usually hold that a properly functioning Lawful society would make most Evil acts unprofitable thereby discouraging Evil individuals from ever expressing their baser tendencies.&nbsp; Is the Paladin going to punish people for what they would do if they thought they could get away with it?&nbsp; I wouldn't know what to call that, but it certainly is neither just nor Good.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ridley's Cohort, post: 1269849, member: 545"] It is a simple matter of justice. The fact someone is Evil is not proof they have actually performed any Evil acts that justify martial retribution. Taking pleasure in verbally abusing an invalid grandmother is Evil. But does it warrant chopping someone's head off? No. It is simply [i]more likely[/i] that an Evil person has performed more Evil acts than a Neutral person or a Good person. Neutral people (and rarely Good people) do sometimes perform acts that are horrifically Evil. Is your Paladin going to execute 10%-30% of the population on a guess? The alignment system in D&D does not mechanistically force Evil people to perform Evil acts, nor does it prevent Neutral/Good people from performing Evil acts. The alignment is descriptive of a person's tendencies or desires, nothing more and nothing less. As stated in the PHB: "Some evil creatures simply have no compassion for others and kill without qualms if doing so is convenient." Keep in mind, that a Paladin would usually hold that a properly functioning Lawful society would make most Evil acts unprofitable thereby discouraging Evil individuals from ever expressing their baser tendencies. Is the Paladin going to punish people for what they would do if they thought they could get away with it? I wouldn't know what to call that, but it certainly is neither just nor Good. [/QUOTE]

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