Ecthellien
First Post
By any means necessary ...This being one of the oaths for a Vengeance Paladin, I'm wondering if the usual prohibition against poison use applies to the subclass. Am currently building a Paladin/Assassin and, reading up on poisons in the DMG, found a short description stating that poison was used by drow, various unsavory types, and other evil creatures. So would use of poison by a Vengeance Paladin be considered evil?
I always found the labeling of poison as evil a little odd considering that various animals use poison innately, the benevolent couatal has traditionally used poison, poison spells are pretty common (stinking cloud, cloudkill etc) and the fact that poison is just another way to kill something (dying by burning in a fireball would probably be at least as painful and horrific if not moreso than dying by certain poisons).
Poison is typically associated with underhanded activity like poisoning a person's food or deceitfully applying poison to a sword during an honorable duel. But what about poison use in direct, open warfare against evil foes, or poison used to incapacitate a criminal you're trying to apprehend or, better yet, poison used to knock out a combatant you don't wish to kill?
This last question brings me to drow poison. If drow poison is used, as it is by drow, to incapacitate foes that are later to be killed or sold into slavery, then the act is certainly malicious. However, if drow poison, or something like it, is used to incapacitate a foe whom you feel you accidentally provoked, or someone you otherwise do not wish to kill, want to negotiate with, or perhaps even wish to befriend in the future, wouldn't use of sleep poison be more benevolent than simply hacking the person/thing to pieces with swords and axes?
In any case, the potential non lethal use of sleep poison aside, against terrible foes and evil villians, would a Vengeance Paladin consider it an evil act to use poison? Admittedly, this is outside the typical flavor of a paladin. But my sense is that the new vengeance variety is the gritty, vigilante type. One who'll tend to use whatever it takes to bring down the bad guys, even if it causes others to call the paladin's methods into question.
I always found the labeling of poison as evil a little odd considering that various animals use poison innately, the benevolent couatal has traditionally used poison, poison spells are pretty common (stinking cloud, cloudkill etc) and the fact that poison is just another way to kill something (dying by burning in a fireball would probably be at least as painful and horrific if not moreso than dying by certain poisons).
Poison is typically associated with underhanded activity like poisoning a person's food or deceitfully applying poison to a sword during an honorable duel. But what about poison use in direct, open warfare against evil foes, or poison used to incapacitate a criminal you're trying to apprehend or, better yet, poison used to knock out a combatant you don't wish to kill?
This last question brings me to drow poison. If drow poison is used, as it is by drow, to incapacitate foes that are later to be killed or sold into slavery, then the act is certainly malicious. However, if drow poison, or something like it, is used to incapacitate a foe whom you feel you accidentally provoked, or someone you otherwise do not wish to kill, want to negotiate with, or perhaps even wish to befriend in the future, wouldn't use of sleep poison be more benevolent than simply hacking the person/thing to pieces with swords and axes?
In any case, the potential non lethal use of sleep poison aside, against terrible foes and evil villians, would a Vengeance Paladin consider it an evil act to use poison? Admittedly, this is outside the typical flavor of a paladin. But my sense is that the new vengeance variety is the gritty, vigilante type. One who'll tend to use whatever it takes to bring down the bad guys, even if it causes others to call the paladin's methods into question.
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