Book of Exalted Deeds

dwarves, and elves, where good alignment is the norm and asingle deity often claims the allegiance of an entire community.However, it is common for even human cities to be drawntogether in the worship of Pelor, who commands at least therespect of neutral citizens as well as good. Of course, in evil cultures,the worship of good deities can be both a crime and an actof rebellion.CASTING GOOD SPELLSGood spells alleviate suffering, inspire hope or joy, use thecaster’s energy or vitality to help or heal another, summon celestials,or channel holy power. Particularly in the last instance,good spells might be just as destructive—at least to evil creatures—asa fireball. Not all good spells involve only sweetnessand light.Good spells don’t have any redemptive influence on thosewho cast them, for better or worse. An evil wizard who dabblesin a few good spells, most likely to help him achieve selfishends, does not usually decide to abandon his evil ways becausehe’s been purified by the touch of the holy. On the other hand,there are certain spells whose sanctified nature demands a concrete,physical sacrifice from the caster (see Sanctified Magicin Chapter 6). No character can draw upon such holy magicwithout being changed for the betteras a result.MERCYFor good characters who devote their lives to hunting and exterminatingthe forces of evil, evil’s most seductive lure may be theabandonment of mercy. Mercy means giving quarter to enemieswho surrender and treating criminals and prisoners with compassionand even kindness. It is, in effect, the good doctrine ofrespect for life taken to its logical extreme—respecting andhonoring even the life of one’s enemy. In a world full of enemieswho show no respect for life whatsoever, it can be extremelytempting to treat foes as they have treated others, to exactrevenge for slain comrades and innocents, to offer no quarterand become merciless.A good character must not succumb to that trap. Good charactersmust offer mercy and accept surrender no matter howmany times villains might betray that kindness or escape fromcaptivity to continue their evil deeds. If a foe surrenders, a goodcharacter is bound to accept the surrender, bind the prisoner,and treat him as kindly as possible. (See Mercy, Prisoners, andRedemption in Chapter 2 for more about the proper treatmentof prisoners.)In general, it’s a good idea for the DM to make sure that theplayers aren’t punished unnecessarily for showing mercy toopponents. If every prisoner schemes to betray the party andlater escapes from prison, the players quickly come to realizethat showing mercy simply isn’t worth it. It’s fine for these frus-A paladin must choose between destroying evil andhonoring love.Illus. by M. CavottaCHAPTER 1:THE NATUREOF GOOD7