Subject: Re: The DM's thoughts on Detect Evil

Do I think I can get close enough to cast it without being noticed by the people in the tower? I know you're warning me that I might not get anything, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Actually, as I understood Ty's point, he was telling you that you probably WOULD get something -- but that you'd probably get quite a few "evil" hits just walking through your average town. In other words, using "detect evil" to determine whether or not you're justified in killing someone is pretty morally reprehensible, since D&D's definition of "evil" would include almost all shopkeepers, moneylenders, and the like.

Tom

Subject: Re: The DM's thoughts on Detect Evil

Let me put it this way. I once took a class in inventory loss prevention. One of the statistics that was discussed was who steals, and who doesn't. the numbers broke down this way:

Some will never steal, no matter what.
Some will steal if they think they are justified, and will never get caught.
Some will always try to steal.

I can't remember the exact percentages for each category, but that is sort of my philosophical basis for how alignments fall in my game world. I do a 25%, 50%, 25% split of those three types listed above. In my world, if you are a lender who always tries to screw your client over, you are evil. Maybe not baby murdering evil, but selfish and dishonest evil. If you only screw someone over now and then, when you 'think they have it coming' you are probably neutral. I believe in a wide range within each alignment type.

So, that is how I justify my alignment spreads among NPC's. I know a lot of people are more black and white than I am, IE evil = baby murderer, but I think that takes away from the realism.

Subject: Re: The DM's thoughts on Detect Evil

OOC -- Actually, what I was looking for was a degree of "tingle" as it were. Considering how close we think we are to the black tower I think it's entirely possible that there's some uber-evil in the tower. If there isn't, I'll feel better about it. Obviously my character knows that the presence of some minor evil means I should keep my purse in my boot when I next talk to them and doesn't necessarily mean they need to be smote.