Everytime a player chose to play a Paladin he ask me “who is evil here?” and they get upset when I remember them I can only answer “what here is evil?”.
I’m too hipster if I decide that “what” refers to behaviors (and maybe things) and not persons? If a demon always do evil he is more an amoral robot than an evil person. I’m too sophisticated?
Sounds good to me!
I’m playing a paladin in a game right now and I plan to keep pushing until my GM tells me I’m what is evil here…
That’s the exact intent. “What” is meant to be broader than “whom.”
Evil and good is as it does. Od&d had it right with simply Lawful Neutral and chaotic. Characters and monsters shift the needle in good or evil by their actions as they go.
I like to point toward who is evil while still answering the “what” question: Old Tom’s desire to have the gem at any cost is evil; the three assassins have just done evil, but they were forced to, it isn’t in their hearts; and you detect something evil in your own heart, what is that?
One thing that intrigues me is the extent to which what here is evil is framed in the context of the paladin’s alignment. One could argue, for example, that for a lawful paladin denying mercy to criminals and nonbelievers is the essence of their belief system. When a lawful paladin sees a guard let a thieving child off with a warning and asks what here is evil, does the GM say the guard is evil because he was merciful to the criminal or does he go with his/her own gut/intent and maybe say nothing here is evil and/or the oppression of the peasants is evil?