Hi everyone, I’m currently playing a level 0 commoner who has just learned the cantrip Toll the Dead. My character is a lawful good individual, deeply caring for others, and works as a healer in the community.
At the moment, there’s some debate in our group about whether the spell’s necrotic damage would be considered inherently evil. My character feels conflicted because of this association, wondering if casting Toll the Dead is morally wrong.
From a roleplaying perspective, does the use of necrotic damage in Toll the Dead automatically make it evil? Or is there another way to interpret this cantrip, particularly for a character with a strong moral code like mine? What is the common view of it in Athas/Darksun?
Well, i can’t speak strongly for 5e mechanics themselves (though looking at the spell and others, 5e seems to have done away with Evil and Good-alinged spells as far as i can tell), but using negative energy to damage someone isn’t any more or less evil then healing an ally, IMO.
Negative energy is a natural force, just like positive energy or fire. Surely evil villains can bind or heal each other’s wounds in combat without threatening to become “good” and “heroic”, yes?
What matters is HOW you use it, not that you do. If you use it to purposefully and knowingly inflict unnecessary pain and suffering, its an “evil” act just like any other kind of torture. If you use it to protect the defenseless and stand up for what’s right, its a “good” act, just like anything else a paladin on another world might do.
Also, keep in mind the usual blah, blah, blah … Dark Sun …blah, blah, blah… survival… blah, blah, blah shades of gray & moral quandaries, etc.
I think it’s fun that your character is having this moral quandary in role play though - super cool.
Largely with Adam, here… Necrotic damage is not inherently evil, and so a spell that does Necrotic damage isn’t inherently evil.
For interpretation? Any spell that’s designed to kill people is always going to be an aggressive act. They are taking this spell in hand and choosing to bring death (literally, in this case) to their enemy, just as if they’re pulling a sword or throwing a stone. The difference will come in where and how it is applied.
Our Game Master argues that “Necrotic Damage” is the primary force behind the rot and destruction of Athas, and therefore, any spell that uses necrotic damage contributes to the ongoing decay of the world - regardless of whether the spell is cast with defiling intent. While this interpretation is based on his own explanations, it doesn’t seem to be strictly supported by the official setting based on your answers. However, as the Game Master, he has the authority to tailor the rules to fit his own interpretation, I guess.
Well, he’s right - its the driving force behind entropy, but rot is also what recycles resources back into systems.
A world where decay didn’t exist would be static - corpses piled all around, no mountains weathering, etc. Defiling is NOT a natural process, its the complete sidestepping of nature. It smashes environmental systems.
A random DM fiat is definitely the worst, a wacky interpretation on their end that somehow forces your character into a corner for roleplay “reasons”…
I suppose you could force the DM to show you a reference to support their claim/position if you want to try and buck the system. Which should be easy to do, seeing as how ALL DnD settings have negative/necrotic energy spells, but only Athas is defiled… But, if they have an “interesting” idea like that that they’re pitching, they may not respond well to a “probe it, or let me so my thing” challenge…
On the other hand, figuring out how to play your character in whatever world the DM is running IS a player’s job to a certain extent, so some amount of you just digging in and figuring out how to live with the situation will need to occur.
On the plus side, its a great hook for roleplay no matter what!
Yeah, with that kind of ruling in place, I’d ask if I could change the cantrip to something else. It’s not enough to make me walk, but “I have decided on an evil side effect for a common damage type” is a pretty big push.