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Organized Play Member. 42 posts. No reviews. 1 list. No wishlists. 2 Organized Play characters.


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Racism and Alignment
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I think these sort of Alignment issues, especially for Divine spellcasters, need to be thought of in the context of the Deity that the character is a follower of.

Some gods are all about redemption and forgiveness. Shelyn, for example, dictates that her followers not take a life unless absolutely necessary to prevent further loss of life. Sarenrae preaches redemption for those willing to accept it. If the Cleric followed a deity of redemption, his/her actions may not be viewed very favorably by their deity.

Other gods take the more stern view of Judgement, Justice, and Vengeance. Iomedae comes to mind as a god which would probably not mind when a cleric in her service slays a known evil-doer, and may even applaud such a follower for exacting punishment/vengeance/justice.

Other deities just have their own agendas which may come into play. Desna has a long-standing grudge against Lamashtu, "the Mother of Monsters". It seems reasonable that a Cleric of Desna would have little moral trouble with the idea of ridding the world of another misshapen fiend, whether it was helpless or not.

And still other deities might just not care at all, one way or another. Gorum, the god of War, for instance, would likely not mind, and if the killing was for the greater good, I'd imagine that the character could reconcile it to him/her self.

So was it an Evil act? Maybe, but maybe not. I think the better question is, "Was the act within the realm of what a deity might find acceptable for their clergy?"
Dealing with an obstinate player
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In my group we have two very seasoned D&D and Pathfinder veterans, along with the rest of us who all started playing about a year ago. I'd say approximately once per game session, gameplay will grind to a halt as the veterans argue over rules. We've devised the following system to keep gameplay going in spite of rule disputes by putting them on the "back burner" while play continues, and instituting a risk vs reward mechanic if the players feel that play needs to be interrupted while the rule is looked up:

Text of the Rules Dispute system:
In the event of a rule dispute, the matter will be settled in one of two ways: 1) GM Ruling or, 2) Player Dispute.

1) GM Ruling: Without disrupting the flow of the game, the GM adjudicates on the disputed rule; Players may look up the rule in question while not acting (as in a Combat round, or during Roleplay). If the GM ruling is shown to be incorrect, all gameplay and outcomes related to the rule already played will stand, however gameplay going forward will use the correct rules. The player who finds the correct rule will be awarded a re-roll on any single die roll (be it for an attack roll, skill check, damage roll, or saving throw) to use during the game session.

2) Player Dispute: Gameplay temporarily ceases while the correct rules are found; this can take the form of a) Player vs GM dispute, and b) Player vs Player dispute. Once the dispute has been resolved, play will continue, using the correct rule.

  • a) Player vs GM dispute: If a Player disputes a rule with the GM, and the Player is determined to be correct, he/she will gain a +1 bonus to a Stat of their choosing for the duration of the gaming session. If the Player is determined to be incorrect, they will suffer a -2 penalty to a Stat of the GM's choosing for the duration of the gaming session.
  • b) Player vs Player dispute: If a Player disputes a rule with another Player, whichever Player is determined to be correct will gain a +1 bonus to a Stat of their choosing for the duration of the gaming session, and whichever player is incorrect will suffer a -2 penalty to a Stat of the correct Player's choosing for the duration of the gaming session. In the event that both players are determined to be incorrect, both players shall each suffer a -2 penalty to a Stat of the GM's choosing for the duration of the gaming session.

Our system encourages disputes to be settled without disrupting the game with a minor but useful boon, while discouraging disruptive disputes by instituting a high risk/reward ratio.