Favors for Favors [Archive] - Wizards Community

Favors for Favors [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Endarire
11-10-04, 12:26 AM Let's say a group of neutral and evil characters save a good characters life and demand a quasi-moral at best favor in return. How compelled is the goody to comply?

-EE
nihility
11-10-04, 08:44 AM Let's say a group of neutral and evil characters save a good characters life and demand a quasi-moral at best favor in return. How compelled is the goody to comply?

-EE
It would depend heavily on the good character's place on the law-chaos axis and the local standards of honor and duty. For example, suppose that the local custom is that, when you save a life, the person you save must serve you loyally for a year and a day. In that situation, a LG character demanded to do a morally questionable act would be in a real quandry, and might decide to perform the act depending on the particulars. A NG or CG character would probably be less likely to go along with it, but the particular situation matters here, as well.

Without any strong local custom, I would expect any good character to reject an evil course of action, though neutral ones are fair game. The dilemma hinges on duty and obligation versus good; without a strong source of duty and obligation, you don't really have a dilemma.
Core
11-10-04, 11:29 AM I think it would depend on what you meant by quasi-moral - is it more a law/chaos action, or a good/evil action.

The other factors that come into play are how good the character really is - if he or she is headed along an exalted path, then there's no question at all - they would refuse, if they're merely doing the best they can in a bad world then their own moral compass would have to guide them - just because you're a "good" character doesn't mean you are necessarily a paragon of virtue.

Good/Evil in D&D is pretty black and white - evil means never justify the ends, you may not choose to sacrifice your own soul (as in perform evil acts) for the greater good, you are always required to act in a "good" way, even (and especially) when confonted with the utmost evil.

If I were the good character then I would:
1. refuse to help an evil character in anything but a good deed
2. request that they ask a different favour
3. remind them that it was their choice to save me (which I presume was the case - and if not what caused them to save the character)
4. suggest that the best aid I could give them would be to move them away from a path of damnation and they should consider the act of saving a good character the first step on that route, and that maybe they should help me stop the demons terrorising the next town.

Core
Illusion
11-12-04, 09:22 PM This could be a great roleplaying opportunity.
The good character has several possible choices here. One possibility is that he could compleat the favor for the evil characters, but then dedicate the rest of his life (or some other appropriate amount of time) to correcting similar wrongs. If, for example, he was asked to evict a community of peasants from their homes, he could sponser several other peasant communities so as to "pay off his dept."

Of cource the specifics of this would really depend on the the favor being asked, and the character's personality. Is the character being asked to kill someone, or just steal from a rich noble? Is he putting his, or someone else's, life on the line? Is he being asked to help rebuild the homes of the evil characters? Was he the one who just destroyed those homes?

Have fun roleplaying this, it could be a way to better the character's personality.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Endarire 11-10-04, 12:26 AM	Let's say a group of neutral and evil characters save a good characters life and demand a quasi-moral at best favor in return. How compelled is the goody to comply? -EE
nihility 11-10-04, 08:44 AM	Let's say a group of neutral and evil characters save a good characters life and demand a quasi-moral at best favor in return. How compelled is the goody to comply? -EE It would depend heavily on the good character's place on the law-chaos axis and the local standards of honor and duty. For example, suppose that the local custom is that, when you save a life, the person you save must serve you loyally for a year and a day. In that situation, a LG character demanded to do a morally questionable act would be in a real quandry, and might decide to perform the act depending on the particulars. A NG or CG character would probably be less likely to go along with it, but the particular situation matters here, as well. Without any strong local custom, I would expect any good character to reject an evil course of action, though neutral ones are fair game. The dilemma hinges on duty and obligation versus good; without a strong source of duty and obligation, you don't really have a dilemma.
Core 11-10-04, 11:29 AM	I think it would depend on what you meant by quasi-moral - is it more a law/chaos action, or a good/evil action. The other factors that come into play are how good the character really is - if he or she is headed along an exalted path, then there's no question at all - they would refuse, if they're merely doing the best they can in a bad world then their own moral compass would have to guide them - just because you're a "good" character doesn't mean you are necessarily a paragon of virtue. Good/Evil in D&D is pretty black and white - evil means never justify the ends, you may not choose to sacrifice your own soul (as in perform evil acts) for the greater good, you are always required to act in a "good" way, even (and especially) when confonted with the utmost evil. If I were the good character then I would: 1. refuse to help an evil character in anything but a good deed 2. request that they ask a different favour 3. remind them that it was their choice to save me (which I presume was the case - and if not what caused them to save the character) 4. suggest that the best aid I could give them would be to move them away from a path of damnation and they should consider the act of saving a good character the first step on that route, and that maybe they should help me stop the demons terrorising the next town. Core
Illusion 11-12-04, 09:22 PM	This could be a great roleplaying opportunity. The good character has several possible choices here. One possibility is that he could compleat the favor for the evil characters, but then dedicate the rest of his life (or some other appropriate amount of time) to correcting similar wrongs. If, for example, he was asked to evict a community of peasants from their homes, he could sponser several other peasant communities so as to "pay off his dept." Of cource the specifics of this would really depend on the the favor being asked, and the character's personality. Is the character being asked to kill someone, or just steal from a rich noble? Is he putting his, or someone else's, life on the line? Is he being asked to help rebuild the homes of the evil characters? Was he the one who just destroyed those homes? Have fun roleplaying this, it could be a way to better the character's personality.