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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doug McCrae" data-source="post: 8028039" data-attributes="member: 21169">He says something similar in a column, From the Sorcerer's Scroll, in Dragon Magazine #38 (1980):Remember that good can be related to reality ofttimes, but not always. It might also relate to good as perceived in the past, actual or mythical. In the latter case, a Paladin could well force conversion at swordpoint, and, once acceptance of the true way was expressed, dispatch the new convert on the spot. This assures that the prodigal will not return to the former evil ways, sends the now-saved spirit on to a better place, and incidentally rids the world of a potential troublemaker. Such actions are good, in these ways: 1. Evil is abridged (by at least one creature). 2. Good has gained a convert. 3. The convert now has hope for rewards (rather than torment) in the afterlife. 4. The good populace is safer (by a factor of at least 1). It is therefore possible for a Paladin to, in fact, actually perform a mercy killing such as the inquiring player asked about, provided the tenets of his or her theology permitted it. While unlikely, it is possible.Several humanoids in the 1e AD&D Monster Manual seem to be very evil:"They [goblins] hate gnomes and dwarves and will attack them in preference to any other creature. All goblins are slave takers and fond of torture.""Kobolds hate most other life, delighting in killing and torture. They particularly hate such creatures as brownies, pixies, sprites and gnomes. They war continually with the latter, and will attack them on sight.""Orcs are cruel and hate living things in general, but they particularly hate elves and will always attack them in preference to other creatures. They take slaves for work, food, and entertainment (torture, etc.) but not elves whom they kill immediately."If this evil is inherent in their nature, as is suggested by the passage about half-orcs in the 1e DMG - a half-orc that is not "rude, crude, crass, and generally obnoxious" favours "their human parent more than their orcish one" - then one can see the basis for killing surrendered and non-combatant humanoids within the world of D&D. (I'm not saying that this is how the D&D world ought to be.)</blockquote>

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