Ex-Paladins
A paladin who ceases to be lawful good (...) regains her abilities and advancement potential if she atones for her violationsEx-Druids
A druid who ceases to revere nature, changes to a prohibited alignment (...) cannot thereafter gain levels as a druid until she atonesthe Atonement spell:
Restore Class: A paladin, or other class, who has lost her class features due to violating the alignment restrictions of her class may have her class features restored by this spell.
Do the above quotes imply that a character switching alignment can get his abilities back without necessarily restoring his previous alignment?
Example: a paladin willingly switching to Neutral Good can't use his powers until he atones. When he does, can he keep being NG?
EDIT: In fact, in the Atonement spell description, the "Reverse Magical Alignment Change" is the only place where the "atonement returns its alignment to its original status". Nothing about changes made willingly.
Attonement can be used, but only as appropriate. So if the ability loss was due to an act outside the character's alignment or code, and the character is truly repentant, the spell would be sufficient.
If the ability loss was due to the character changing his or her alignment to a prohibited one, attonement alone would not restore a character's abilities. An alignment change of this type is the result of conscious decisions on the player's part, either intentionally or as ruled by the GM. Such a character would likely not be repentant, as such a change should represent a shift in a character's entire world view and behavior over time. Before their abilities could be restored, the character would have to return to an allowed alignment for that class.
Aw... too bad.
And I had that nice character concept in mind, too... a paladin-like nature lover, laying hands on animals and the like.
Well... thanks anyways.
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Atonement implies that the recipient shows regret for their actions, and is asking to be allowed back into their faith. That implies that they now agree with the official doctrines, or never stopped agreeing in the first place.*
This spell removes the burden of misdeeds from the subject. The creature seeking atonement must be truly repentant and desirous of setting right its misdeeds. If the atoning creature committed the evil act unwittingly or under some form of compulsion, atonement operates normally at no cost to you. However, in the case of a creature atoning for deliberate misdeeds, you must intercede with your deity (requiring you to expend 2,500 gp in rare incense and offerings). Atonement may be cast for one of several purposes, depending on the version selected.
You can't cast the spell on an unwilling creature, so no hitting a blackguard with it to swap him back to LG and swap sides. He has to be convinced he wants to return.
In the case of clerics, who don't have to be one specific alignment, you could have a supplicant who moved two alignment steps, lost their powers, and has now returned to within one step of their deity, thus being eligible for atonement.
In either case, the desire to change is the minimum requirement, and will often be accompanied by actions to put right what was done. These atonement acts (paying compensation, community service, bringing the responsible villain to justice, etc) will often cause the recipient's alignment to shift back to its previous state, prior to them petitioning the priest for the casting of the Atonement spell.
The spell does not make the person change their ways. The person voluntarily changes their ways, then the spell officially seals the deal.
*It is possible to lose divine powers for a violation of dogma, while not actually changing alignment (ie the other good deeds you do balance out the heresy, so you stay Good, but the heresy itself is a specific grounds for being excommunicated anyway). The case of those who acted under domination fall under this heading, but it's not limited to them.
Aw... too bad.
And I had that nice character concept in mind, too... a paladin-like nature lover, laying hands on animals and the like.
Well... thanks anyways.
Paladin/Cleric with an Animal Domain? Erastil is a LG god that loves nature.