[3.5] Protection From Evil

[had3l]

There is something I'm slightly confused about.

Protection from Evil is a barrier that wards you against evil creatures (granting you +2 deflection AC)

I assume that if someone that isn't evil tries to hit you, the barrier won't activate, and therefore you know that they probably aren't evil. However, if someone evil tries to strike you, the barrier would indeed activate, making it harder for that enemy to hit you. In some ways it works as a "detect evil if struck"...

Does that make sense? Or would I be unable to tell whether the person is evil if they tried to hit me while protection from evil is up? I mean, I assume I am getting +2 AC for something (an effect, or a barrier) which I would be able to perceive if they tried to strike me, right?

[jguy]

It depends on whether or not your DM tells you that they took the +2 deflection bonus into account when s/he attacked you.

[Foryn Gilnith]

DM's call, really. The books only say they veer off, without mentioning a severity.
May I ask why you need a Detect Evil proc'd on hit, or is this just a hypothetical scenario?

[WinWin]

Perhaps. It used to prevent some creatures from making contact with natural attacks. That would be obvious.

Even more so for some uses of Magic Circle.

An ad hoc ruling would be to use Spellcraft, to notice a visible effect. That would also apply to the attacking creature.

[Dark_Nohn]

An ad hoc ruling would be to use Spellcraft, to notice a visible effect. That would also apply to the attacking creature.
Spot to notice the visual effect, Spellcraft to understand that the weapon veering off course means that the deflection took place, and completely irrelevant if you have a ring of protection as the deflection wouldn't stack, and you wouldn't be able to tell if the deflection was from the spell or the ring.
To answer the original question. With +2 AC, it won't be conclusive unless you're willing to test the averages by taking multiple attacks with both Protection from Evil up and down. Thanks to a handy 2nd level spell, Detect Evil isn't a guaranteed bet either. Sense motive is always a handy way to get around magical anti-detection though!

[had3l]

DM's call, really. The books only say they veer off, without mentioning a severity.
May I ask why you need a Detect Evil proc'd on hit, or is this just a hypothetical scenario?

My party took a murderer as prisoner, however we are in the middle of nowhere, and it would take a while to get to the closest town and deliver him to the militia (And even if we did, we have no physical evidence that he killed the person). We know that he killed an innocent person, but one of the other members of the group refuses to take any action without conclusive proof that he is evil. He says that without proof, he would sooner let him go. My character doesn't want to let a murderer go and risk the lives of innocent farmers who live close by. (The murderer would probably easily kill and pillage if set free).

So we find ourselves with a moral dilemma. The only spell I have is Protection From Evil, and I could probably taunt him into trying to hit me. If I prove that the prisoner is evil at least the other group member would be open to more options other than simply letting him go.

And anyway, even if we find that he is evil, I have no idea of what to do with him...

[herrhauptmann]

So you know for a fact that he's murdered someone, does it really matter if he's Evil or Good, Lawful or Chaotic?
Not every person in jail is 'evil,' though a murderer probably is. Ex: The party barbarian hits a man in a barfight with a table, and gets a crit, and ends up killing the 1HD commoner. The barbarian of course isn't lawful, but that doesn't mean he's a bad person. He is however, now a killer and would go to jail as such.


Did your prisoner do something similar? Or perhaps killed people while robbing them, or broke into a cottage just to kill them?
I suggest you look at how the killing happened, and decide from there. D&D claims to mimic a vaguely medieval setting, where jail/prison wasn't intended for rehabilitation of the people inside. It was just a holding cell until they could be brought to the judge, to the hangman, or freed (because of innocence or someone paid the judge).
So if you did turn him into the militia, that's all that would happen. Perhaps even freed because nobody with an official standing in teh town saw the act. Plus, while he's your prisoner, he could get freed cuz of plot, even if you took 20 on your userope check, which would just add to your number of enemies.
Mercy is a fine thing, but in the context of the usual game, your best bet is just to kill him. In fact, your best form of mercy would be a nice sharp axe, make it painless.
If it bothers you that much, kill him, then cast speak with dead. If he really was innocent (not good or evil, just innocent), have him raised.