[RPG] pathfinder: how to handle evil actions

alignmentgm-techniquespathfinder-1e

I have a player in my current campaign, who is slaughtering captured goblins. He has encourage other players in the group to join him in considering them to be vermin. And has talked about exterminating them whenever convenient. Granted, the goblins are evil, but in the cases where he's advocated their slaughter, the goblins have also been subdued, solitary, defenseless and at the mercy of the group. He spoken to other players about the need to keep them from breeding. How would you handle this character's slip toward evil (assuming genocidal motivations are still considered evil)?

To clarify, I run goblins as malicious in the extreme, but VERY cowardly. They spend as much time running from players as fighting them.

Best Answer

Barring in mind that in Pathfinder, and D&D as a whole, Good and Evil are not just concepts, but measurable, detectable, fundamentally defined forces of the Universe; such acts will draw attention from extra-planar beings.

Setting aside what the player/character has said to other players/characters, ask the player what his character is truly thinking he is doing. Is it simply because they are evil, and that is how the world works? Is it because he just wants to kill, and evil creatures are justifiable targets in the grand scheme? Or does he actually feel that allowing them to exist will only cause destruction and mayhem, and any blood they spill will be on his hands, metaphysically speaking.

If the first, either explain to him that is not how it works and continuing to do so will have consequences, possibly both through alignment shift and in-game NPC interaction. One example would be shopkeepers and merchants refusing to do business with a cold-blooded killer or anyone they associate with, thus impacting the entire group. Maybe the local constabulary has a "reward" for the character that has to be claimed in person, that is actually a pair of manacles and a jail cell.

If the second, have a devil, or other Lawful Evil outsider, contact him when he is alone; either on watch or in dreams, est. Have them make promises of power and reward for not only continuing his actions, but convincing others to copy him. This provides the opportunity for role-playing an individual with real issues. If you are not comfortable with actually giving him anything, have it be hallucinations to further drive home the point that what he is doing is crazy.

If the third, have a Good aligned NPC or outsider make contact and explain that while they appreciate the intentions, and applaud the effort he is putting in, he may want to dial back the zealotry a tad, maybe include a story or proverb about a historical figure that underwent a similar campaign. Or, instead of requesting him change his intensity, have them ask to change his directed target. Gobins are bad, but nothing compared to the demon-summoning, undead creating, walking personification of Evil that is tyrannically ruling the kingdom to the [pick direction] and is gearing up for invasion of the party's current location.

In summation, talk to the player, and act accordingly to his response.