So what does happens when a Lawful-Good Dwarven Paladin of Torag is partying with a Human Lawful-Good Paladin of Iomedae and a Half-Elf Lawful-Good Cleric of Erastil when they find a +2 vicious kukri that bears the unholy symbol of Lamashtu etched on its blade?
So what does happens when a Lawful-Good Dwarven Paladin of Torag is partying with a Human Lawful-Good Paladin of Iomedae and a Half-Elf Lawful-Good Cleric of Erastil when they find a +2 vicious kukri that bears the unholy symbol of Lamashtu etched on its blade?
Assuming this isn't an intro to a joke, they probably argue over who gets the honor of sundering the weapon with a smite evil.
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The dagger isn't technically evil, which they can all verify magically. They could simply use an erase spell to remove the etching of the unholy symbol of Lamshtu and use it or sell it if they want. Unless the weapon is unholy, or intelligent and evil, or has some other reason to have an evil aura, they have no reason not to do with it what they will.
The dagger isn't technically evil, which they can all verify magically. They could simply use an erase spell to remove the etching of the unholy symbol of Lamshtu and use it or sell it if they want. Unless the weapon is unholy, or intelligent and evil, or has some other reason to have an evil aura, they have no reason not to do with it what they will.
In my experience, smashing things with the symbol of an evil god is usually best. Or at least, that's the way most Paladin's think. It's hard to argue with them. Yes, you could remove it, but, it's got the gods symbol and was obviously consecrated to them. Better to sunder and be safe.
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And weapons with the 'Vicious' enchantment are not actually "PC-friendly" anyway, as they can easily deplete your own HPs to the point when you can be one-shotted to negative HPs (esp. if you roll badly).
I would use such weapons only if absolutely necessary (i.e. no other magic weapons and fighting against a foe with DR/Magic).
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Well, what would a real-world, devout Christian priest do if they found a solid gold idol dedicated to Satan? They'd probably melt it down, make it into something else, then reconsecrate it in the name of God. In the case of the paladins, I suspect much the same (sans the melting down).
That sounds most sensible. Sell it off to a holy martyr of your own faith who'se a bit of a flagellant, and be done with it.
So what does happens when a Lawful-Good Dwarven Paladin of Torag is partying with a Human Lawful-Good Paladin of Iomedae and a Half-Elf Lawful-Good Cleric of Erastil when they find a +2 vicious kukri that bears the unholy symbol of Lamashtu etched on its blade?
Minor error on my part..
That should have been a +2 unholy vicious kukri.
So what does happens when a Lawful-Good Dwarven Paladin of Torag is partying with a Human Lawful-Good Paladin of Iomedae and a Half-Elf Lawful-Good Cleric of Erastil when they find a +2 vicious kukri that bears the unholy symbol of Lamashtu etched on its blade?Minor error on my part..
That should have been a +2 unholy vicious kukri.
That is mighty vicious of you! Yuck, Yuck! ~grins~ If I were that party, I would probably destroy it. OTOH, it is fun using evil to fight evil.
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That should have been a +2 unholy vicious kukri.
Either destroy it personally, or, if the local temple of Iomedae / Erastil / etc. likes to destroy such items as part of ritual practices (which I've seen in various games as a house rule for dealing with evil items since 1st edition), donate it to the temple for half it's value in services from that temple.
Who knows, perhaps the good Clerics can use their Craft Magic Arms & Armor feat to transmute the unholy property to a holy property or something (or just melt it down during the next big holiday to glorify their god(dess)).
A dwarven paladin of Torag seems very likely to attempt to redeem (metaphorically reforge) the weapon. This would probably involve smiting a few big nasties with it (while suffering the negative level), perhaps an Atonement spell, and obviously removing Lamashtu's symbol (probably replacing it with Torag's).
Convert it to +2 Holy Merciful upon full redemption. Same enhancement value and a proper thematic inversion.
The whole redeeming/sullying routine probably amuses the hell out of neutral loremasters who read off the history of any given blade and routine toggling of its enchantments.
Book of Exalted Deeds gives rules for this business, though eventually it just gets annoying when you have to scrub and launder every evilly consecrated thingamabob you find. At least with Pathfinder it no longer takes XP.
What's more of a moral dilemma is if you let them find some valuable art object of a rival faith. For example, an altar cloth beautifully embroidered with the unholy symbols of Lamashtu. And rather than have it be loot, have it be something a completely neutral merchant has for sale.
What's more of a moral dilemma is if you let them find some valuable art object of a rival faith. For example, an altar cloth beautifully embroidered with the unholy symbols of Lamashtu. And rather than have it be loot, have it be something a completely neutral merchant has for sale.
How is this a moral dilemma? They are paladins, they would have to follow the social law and buy the thing at a reasonable price before destroying it. The moral dilemma is on the DM who thinks the party needs to part with the cash for it. I guess its better than destroying items so they have to rebuy/rebuild them. :D
How is this a moral dilemma? They are paladins, they would have to follow the social law and buy the thing at a reasonable price before destroying it. The moral dilemma is on the DM who thinks the party needs to part with the cash for it. I guess its better than destroying items so they have to rebuy/rebuild them. :D
What's more of a moral dilemma is if you let them find some valuable art object of a rival faith. For example, an altar cloth beautifully embroidered with the unholy symbols of Lamashtu. And rather than have it be loot, have it be something a completely neutral merchant has for sale.
The moral dilemma might be that, since the altar cloths of Lamashtu seem to be selling so well, the merchant has another one for sale next week. Maybe one looted from the same unholy temple by the same adventurers, maybe one whipped up in the back room by some seamstresses then artfully "antiqued" by distressing the fabric a little and sprinkling it with some pig's blood.
At what point are the goody-good characters going to decide that money would be better donated to an orphanage than to purchasing Lamashtu relics of dubious provenance so they can then destroy them?
Seems to me an check for authenticity might be in there somewhere regarding the faux altar cloth with the Lamashtu embroidery and pig's blood. Just going from memory but I think that would be an appraise check.
Detect Evil shows it isn't actually evil, so it's just a matter of determining whether it's worth buying every imitation unholy altar cloth that pops up.
If it can be identified as an imitation, the PCs should be able to talk the price down significantly. They should also make some checks to see if they can find out where it came from.
If they also destroy it before leaving the shop (after having legally procured the rights to do so), then the seamstress is less likely to replicate it because it 1.) Sold for a lot less than expected, having been identified as a forgery. 2.) Was destroyed, and no artisan likes to see their hard work destroyed, even if that's what they made it for.
There's probably a better market for legitimately created altar cloths to respectable gods than false ones designed to rip-off zealous clergy. Even more popular? Vestments that can be worn with full-plate. What pious cleric or paladin doesn't want a spare pair of fancy gold-trimmed vestments to where when they come back to town rather than the bloody day-to-day vestments they wear with the armor while adventuring? Of course I suppose you could say they probably don't need more than once change of vestments, but they could have three, I suppose. Adventuring vestments, day-to-day vestments for use with armor, and ceremonial vestments for use with armor.
I just think there's a better market there than for Lamashtu alter cloths of dubious origin.
Isn't the worship of Lamashtu generally illegal anyways?
I certainly wouldn't want a lot of Lamashtu worship going on in my kingdom...
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Isn't the worship of Lamashtu generally illegal anyways? I certainly wouldn't want a lot of Lamashtu worship going on in my kingdom...
I think it's mostly the evil societies that outlaw the worship of rival dieties.
Then again, Cheliax is clearly said to legally allow the worship of Iomedae, Erastil, etc. merely to *discourage* non-Asmodean worship (excepting Shelyn, whom they tolerate more than the others). It would be a sweet kind of irony for the evil gods to be more tolerant of good temples in their dominant areas than the reverse...
Even Nidal, run by the clergy of Zon-Kuthon, has both adherents of Diabolism and Desna running around.
The only countries in the campaign setting that are listed as having a single dominant exclusive faith are Mediogalti (Red Mantis Cult) and Razmiran (Razmir), which suggests that stamping out the temples of other faiths is pretty exclusive to evil-dominated lands. (Although Rahadoum, which forbids all faith, and Mendev, which is dominated by the faith of Iomedae (and, formerly, Aroden), are close on their heels. As soon as the last Aroden-worshippers die off, the Iomedans of Mendev will have caught up with the mantis-god of assassins and false god Razmir with their intolerance!)
I would destroy it, or reforge it and have it blessed. It is an object of evil and is no telling what could be linked to it. Best for everyone if it is destroyed
I had a mostly CG group in STAP with no paladins destroy such a weapon. The good players thought it was best that an object of evil was destroyed not resold to do evil
Paladin SMASH!!
I would destroy it, or reforge it and have it blessed. It is an object of evil and is no telling what could be linked to it. Best for everyone if it is destroyed
but without the PC's knowing it has become an intelligent artefact that has still a small portion of evil in it... and it grows...
Personally, i would put it through a series of meta-physicial 'yoink' rituals, reforge the blade so that the symble has been removed and replaced. I.E. i use it.
Or i entrust it to the local temple, who secure it in their vaults. As i leave, we am gifted with a reliquey with bones from a saint killed in battle with a fiend. I.E. i sell it and buy my self or the party a bunch of other Magic items.
but without the PC's knowing it has become an intelligent artefact that has still a small portion of evil in it... and it grows...I would destroy it, or reforge it and have it blessed. It is an object of evil and is no telling what could be linked to it. Best for everyone if it is destroyed
See thats how they saw it , the CG fighter was like "Only way to be sure" Really I would look hard at any "Good" character that was aginest destroying such items. Sure you can sell it but is that the act of a good person?