An alternative to Detect Evil

[SangoProduction]

Whenever someone brings up a mention of writing a new alignment system, or simply abandoning it, people always point to Detect Evil as something that would break. Well. Here's a fix.

Turn it in to "Detect Hostility", or the immediate/recent intent to do harm. Add in a line to detect "Cosmic Evil" as well, such as Demons, or (in appropriate campaigns), Undead. Maybe Also include Aberrations.

"But now Smite Evil always works so long as they intend harm." ...And that's a problem because...? I mean, I would even be in favor of it being able to convert the attack nonlethal damage, so that it's possible to use it without being a "Oh, you punched me, let me rip off your head," sort of deal. But meh. That's getting in to some homebrew.

[Geddy2112]

In pathfinder, detect evil specifically keys off active evil intent. "Animals, traps, poisons, and other potential perils are not evil, and as such this spell does not detect them. Creatures with actively evil intents count as evil creatures for the purpose of this spell." Pathfinder also fixes it so that creatures of 4hd or lower will not ever detect as evil unless they are undead, outsiders, or any class with a divine aura like a cleric or paladin. That fixes about 80% of the issues right there.

The other fix reminds me of the 5th edition divine sense. 60ft to detect celestials, fiends, and undead. I like the idea it only detects the unnatural, but I think it should also still pick up clerics, paladins, etc. of evil deities.

[Ashtagon]

My take on it is that the various spells that key of alignment instead key off whatever the cleric's deity considers a friend or foe. Corellon's detect evil will always ping off dwarves and orcs, for example.

[SangoProduction]

In pathfinder, detect evil specifically keys off active evil intent. "Animals, traps, poisons, and other potential perils are not evil, and as such this spell does not detect them. Creatures with actively evil intents count as evil creatures for the purpose of this spell." Pathfinder also fixes it so that creatures of 4hd or lower will not ever detect as evil unless they are undead, outsiders, or any class with a divine aura like a cleric or paladin. That fixes about 80% of the issues right there.

The other fix reminds me of the 5th edition divine sense. 60ft to detect celestials, fiends, and undead. I like the idea it only detects the unnatural, but I think it should also still pick up clerics, paladins, etc. of evil deities.

Well, for animals, you can argue that they don't "intend to do harm", as they lack the capacity to think about it as "harming another". Likewise a mentally deranged person might not register, neccesarily, under such an exception. Or you could just give Paladins that. I wouldn't be miffed one way or the other.
The others don't have an intent to harm (though their users might).

As for the "worshippers of evil deities"...well, there's no "Evil". So, unless the worship entails an intent to cause harm, or bringing about unnatural beings, I don't see why it would detect them.
Now. I would definitely say if this worshipper of a previously evil deity religiously tortures/sacrifices in the name of his god, then he'd probably have an aura of hostility about him, or if he regularly (or recently) summoned/bound a demon/undead/aberration, then he might detect as a cosmic evil by way of..."exposure."

[Geddy2112]

Certainly, I think they call out animals and other things as that to limit what it can detect. I agree evil requires men’s rea as the part of [I]intent[/I being the keyword. the truly insane or creatures that are mindless/limited intelligence cannot be considered evil under most conditions(unless undead or from inherently evil extranaplanar worlds)

As for evil clerics and paladins, they get evil from their class feature which gives them a detectable aura of alignment. This comes from the fact that evil in these settings is granted by divine forces of objective capital E evil and capital G good.

[SangoProduction]

This comes from the fact that evil in these settings is granted by divine forces of objective capital E evil and capital G good.

Which are being removed in most alternative alignment systems, or where alignments are simply not played with at all.

[ShurikVch]

Turn it in to "Detect Hostility"Note: Detect Hostile Intent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/detectHostileIntent.htm) is already there

Also, Dragon #323 have "See No Evil" article, which contains spells:
Detect Attitude (Bard/Cleric/Paladin 1)
Detect Guilt (Cleric/Paladin 1)
Detect Herecy (Cleric 3, Paladin 2)
Detect Violence (Cleric/Paladin/Ranger 1)