Killing through D&D dungeons

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My Dungeons & Dragons group is in a heated discussion about the ethics of killing sentient creatures (assuming here they have souls), specifically orcs and goblins. My dad advised me to put forth that they should offer surrender, but they have brought up the issue of "if we capture and tie them up (eg), what if they escape and follow us and stab us in the back, or wait for us to head out of the dungeon? I know it’s a game, but we’re roleplaying.
 
JRR Tolkien, a devout faithful Catholic, portrayed much killing of orcs, also known as goblins, in his Middle-Earth saga. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, ethically, by killing these evil races.
 
JRR Tolkien, a devout faithful Catholic, portrayed much killing of orcs, also known as goblins, in his Middle-Earth saga. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, ethically, by killing these evil races.
He even describes how Gimli lops off their heads 4 at a time during Helm’s Deep.
 
My Dungeons & Dragons group is in a heated discussion about the ethics of killing sentient creatures (assuming here they have souls), specifically orcs and goblins. My dad advised me to put forth that th
ey should offer surrender, but they have brought up the issue of "if we capture and tie them up (eg), what if they escape and follow us and stab us in the back, or wait for us to head out of the dungeon? I know it’s a game, but we’re roleplaying.
Even killing civilians in a computer game isn’t sin if it isn’t expression of real hate or violent thoughts. Those orcs don’t exist so nobody can get offended. When playing video games only thing that matters is what is in your head. Have fun! 🙂
 
Even killing civilians in a computer game isn’t sin if it isn’t expression of real hate or violent thoughts. Those orcs don’t exist so nobody can get offended. When playing video games only thing that matters is what is in your head. Have fun! 🙂
This.

If you were a Sierra gamer back in the day, remember Conquests of Camelot? The grail was stolen from Arthur, and you as Arthur had to choose to kill the thief or not.

If you killed him, fine. If you didn’t, he tried to stab you anyway!
 
For the Tolkien thing, that was in a war setting. It’s different. And I know it’s just a game, but in roleplaying I like to have a way to distinguish bad from good.
 
My Dungeons & Dragons group is in a heated discussion about the ethics of killing sentient creatures (assuming here they have souls), specifically orcs and goblins. My dad advised me to put forth that they should offer surrender, but they have brought up the issue of "if we capture and tie them up (eg), what if they escape and follow us and stab us in the back, or wait for us to head out of the dungeon? I know it’s a game, but we’re roleplaying.
If you’re the DM, it’s your call. Period. If goblins are nothing more than stupid, little humanoids with no brains and all mob, then there’s really no difference between killing them and killing a wild pack of animals.

Remember, the DM is the world builder. You are the world builder. You call the shots dood. 🤓
 
I will not argue or debate much regarding “games” (regardless of it "titles)…Wisdom shall/and will cometh to all that seek it, and have a seeking “soul”. Before I comment on D&D and other “games per say”…I would like for a “believer” to recall the Word of God and that He sent His Son to save all, and to that He “healed” the blind…🙂 It’s wriiten…Some live it…and some not…but they to will subcomb to it eventually, least they commit an unforgivable sin that “He” will not FORGIVE! The game itself is not evil is it? If it is, ask why it is. It is because one has eyes? IS it because one “worships” it? Is it because of to much consumption? If so, then the one is not blind, is he not? Better off seeking Him, then playing “most” of a “DAY” in consumption of “ANY” game. Think….Remember How created “good” things!

Peace
 
JRR Tolkien, a devout faithful Catholic, portrayed much killing of orcs, also known as goblins, in his Middle-Earth saga. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, ethically, by killing these evil races.
Though the Professor went back and forth on whether orcs were actually sapient beings or just uplifted/programmed beasts. In the former case, surrender must be accepted if the orcs are willing to surrender, but Morgoth and Sauron had propagandized them so well that as a practical matter, they never made the offer. In the latter case, of course, it would be an ‘outside their parameters’ issue.

I have personally grown to favor the latter approach for orcs, gnolls, and the more purely Chaotic Evil types of D&D humanoid; goblins, hobgoblins and their ilk, on the other hand, seem to work better as evil fey folk or as creatures that can be reasoned with. However, actual play experience is thin on the ground; most of my gaming the past few years has been Star Wars.
 
My Dungeons & Dragons group is in a heated discussion about the ethics of killing sentient creatures (assuming here they have souls), specifically orcs and goblins. My dad advised me to put forth that they should offer surrender, but they have brought up the issue of "if we capture and tie them up (eg), what if they escape and follow us and stab us in the back, or wait for us to head out of the dungeon? I know it’s a game, but we’re roleplaying.
It’s worth noting that the Catholic position is that if an enemy soldier surrenders they must be treated with mercy. There’s an entire thing on Just War, that really covers a large chunk of that. Basically it is possible that your enemies might act in ways that you find reprehensible, but allowing yourself to act the same way is horrific. As Tolkien said, “In the Great War, we were all Orcs,” so don’t allow yourself to become an Orc.

That’s at least my viewpoint, and when playing Good Characters I always hold to that.
 
The answer to this question is pretty much the same as the answer to your previous posts about D&D. Roleplay it. Roleplay the morals and motivations and alignments of the characters, not those of the players.

Follow AMFV’s advice and follow the Catholic position if you wish. Then you’ll either be role-playing a Catholic (which may or may not be appropriate to your D&D world) or, more likely, you won’t be role-playing at all.

If you and the other players haven’t devised the system(s) of morals and motivations in your D&D world, then that’s a bit different. In that case, devise whatever moral systems you want. Whatever you and the others feel comfortable with and whatever makes the game fun to play.

You’ve stated that the orcs and goblins have souls. How do the characters know this? What sort of souls do orcs and goblins have? Of equivalent ‘worth’ to the souls of humans, elves, dwarves and halflings (assuming that they also have souls in your D&D world)? If the orc or goblin is killed does its soul go to an afterlife?

None of the D&D worlds that I played in had the concept of souls for sentient humanoid monsters. Orcs and goblins are chaotic by nature (although lawful evil in AD&D) and are creatures of the dark.

I don’t know why you would choose to include the concept of souls for orcs and goblins. It seems quite at odds with their nature and it doesn’t sound to me like it will add to the fun. But if you’re determined to incorporate this belief into your game then you’ll need to work out the ethical system amongst yourselves.
 
The answer to this question is pretty much the same as the answer to your previous posts about D&D. Roleplay it. Roleplay the morals and motivations and alignments of the characters, not those of the players.

Follow AMFV’s advice and follow the Catholic position if you wish. Then you’ll either be role-playing a Catholic (which may or may not be appropriate to your D&D world) or, more likely, you won’t be role-playing at all.

If you and the other players haven’t devised the system(s) of morals and motivations in your D&D world, then that’s a bit different. In that case, devise whatever moral systems you want. Whatever you and the others feel comfortable with and whatever makes the game fun to play.

You’ve stated that the orcs and goblins have souls. How do the characters know this? What sort of souls do orcs and goblins have? Of equivalent ‘worth’ to the souls of humans, elves, dwarves and halflings (assuming that they also have souls in your D&D world)? If the orc or goblin is killed does its soul go to an afterlife?

None of the D&D worlds that I played in had the concept of souls for sentient humanoid monsters. Orcs and goblins are chaotic by nature (although lawful evil in AD&D) and are creatures of the dark.

I don’t know why you would choose to include the concept of souls for orcs and goblins. It seems quite at odds with their nature and it doesn’t sound to me like it will add to the fun. But if you’re determined to incorporate this belief into your game then you’ll need to work out the ethical system amongst yourselves.
Actually I don’t mean to call you out, but you are entirely mistaken. Orcs and Goblins have soul as per the DMG, and in 3.5 various other sources that define their afterlife, in fact Gruumsh resides in the Abyss as well. Also Chaotic != Unintelligent. Orcs have an average intelligence of 8 or 9, which is almost as intelligent as the average human (give or take 5%). In fact Orcs in earlier editions were sentient.

One can be chaotic and still be sentient per the rules. Per the standard setting Orcs have souls. One can change that, but basically at that point you’re removing all moral questions from the game, and that might be right for some people but it’s not right for me.

Edit; Furthermore, one can have the same morality on Just War, without being Catholic. It’s very similar to the Law of Land Warfare, which is entirely secular. And notably it comes to the same conclusion as the Catholics regarding surrendered prisoners.
 
AMFV, I’m not familiar with D&D v3.5. That came out in 2003, which was a loooong time after I stopped buying rule-books. But I agree that orcs and goblins have gods, may have souls and may have an afterlife.

I don’t understand why you mention sentience and intelligence. I didn’t mention it in my previous post. I agree that orcs and goblins are sentient and have some intelligence.

But neither of these points matter. It does not matter whether or not they have souls or an afterlife. What matters is not what you and I and the OP knows about orcs and goblins. What matters is what the characters (PCs and NPCs) in the game know, or believe, about orcs and goblins. Only what the characters think should influence their behaviour.

In the D&D campaign worlds in which I played and DM’ed, the fact that orcs and goblins were creatures of the dark was enough for the PCs to avoid any mental anguish about destroying them. The PCs knew nothing about any gods that the orcs and goblins worshipped, so it didn’t affect their decision-making.

Even if the PCs had known about orc and goblin gods, and even if they suspected that orcs and goblins might have ‘souls’ (or something equivalent), I don’t think that would have altered their behaviour. In the D&D campaign world that me and my friends created the head of the human pantheon was a god of light and the sun. Any creature of the dark was condemned. Because orcs and goblins were seen as evil by nature, and because they continually posed a very real threat to the human and demi-human inhabitants, it was the duty of the PCs to kill them whenever they were able to.

I’m not suggesting that the OP adopt the same approach. I’m suggesting that the OP needs to define the ethical system for his own campaign world. Posters to this thread can offer the OP all sorts of suggestions, but it’s got virtually nothing to do with Catholic morality.
 
AMFV, I’m not familiar with D&D v3.5. That came out in 2003, which was a loooong time after I stopped buying rule-books. But I agree that orcs and goblins have gods, may have souls and may have an afterlife.

I don’t understand why you mention sentience and intelligence. I didn’t mention it in my previous post. I agree that orcs and goblins are sentient and have some intelligence.

But neither of these points matter. It does not matter whether or not they have souls or an afterlife. What matters is not what you and I and the OP knows about orcs and goblins. What matters is what the characters (PCs and NPCs) in the game know, or believe, about orcs and goblins. Only what the characters think should influence their behaviour.

In the D&D campaign worlds in which I played and DM’ed, the fact that orcs and goblins were creatures of the dark was enough for the PCs to avoid any mental anguish about destroying them. The PCs knew nothing about any gods that the orcs and goblins worshipped, so it didn’t affect their decision-making.

Even if the PCs had known about orc and goblin gods, and even if they suspected that orcs and goblins might have ‘souls’ (or something equivalent), I don’t think that would have altered their behaviour. In the D&D campaign world that me and my friends created the head of the human pantheon was a god of light and the sun. Any creature of the dark was condemned. Because orcs and goblins were seen as evil by nature, and because they continually posed a very real threat to the human and demi-human inhabitants, it was the duty of the PCs to kill them whenever they were able to.

I’m not suggesting that the OP adopt the same approach. I’m suggesting that the OP needs to define the ethical system for his own campaign world. Posters to this thread can offer the OP all sorts of suggestions, but it’s got virtually nothing to do with Catholic morality.
Why would it necessarily not have to do with Catholic Morality? I mean why could one not have a world where there was a similar morality to Catholic Morality? You seem to be making a statement: “It depends on the World Building!” Which is absolutely true, except then adding an unnecessary addendum, “but don’t base the rules of that world on this particular set of real world philosophy, but you know greek or roman stuff is totally cool, and maybe some kind of weird medievalist stuff…” All of our fantasies reflect in some manner our reality, so there is nothing wrong with wanting to roleplay in a world where the absolute good corresponds roughly to what I believe it is in the real world.
 
AMFV, you’re right. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t base the in-game morality on Catholic morality if you want to. But if you do so, then the question about killing orcs and goblins is not really about killing orcs and goblins in a D&D world. It’s about the Catholic view on the morality of killing sentient intelligent ‘ensouled’ creatures. The D&D setting, and the fact that they are orcs and goblins, becomes irrelevant.

If the Original Poster wanted to ask about this aspect of Catholic morality then she or he could have done so. I didn’t interpret the original post in this way. Perhaps I was wrong. I naively thought it was a topic about ethical systems within a D&D game, because that’s what was mentioned in the original post.

Perhaps I was misled by this:
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CeaselessMedik:
I know it’s a game, but we’re roleplaying.
I must admit, I hadn’t considered the possibility of using Catholic morality as an in-game ethical system. To me that seems like a missed opportunity for devising something different and more interesting to roleplay.
 
AMFV, you’re right. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t base the in-game morality on Catholic morality if you want to. But if you do so, then the question about killing orcs and goblins is not really about killing orcs and goblins in a D&D world. It’s about the Catholic view on the morality of killing sentient intelligent ‘ensouled’ creatures. The D&D setting, and the fact that they are orcs and goblins, becomes irrelevant.

If the Original Poster wanted to ask about this aspect of Catholic morality then she or he could have done so. I didn’t interpret the original post in this way. Perhaps I was wrong. I naively thought it was a topic about ethical systems within a D&D game, because that’s what was mentioned in the original post.

Perhaps I was misled by this:

I must admit, I hadn’t considered the possibility of using Catholic morality as an in-game ethical system. To me that seems like a missed opportunity for devising something different and more interesting to roleplay.
Well Catholic Morality could be very interesting to roleplay, one could explore the roots of various moral problems, or get to experience what life would be like if one had moral problems that were not the same as the moral problems that one has. It like any complex system of ethics and morals has more than enough depth to be able to contain a nearly infinite number of different stories.

Furthermore, there is a bad tendency among many roleplayers to associate different and interesting, something can be interesting in that it is a retake on something old, something doesn’t need to be different to be interesting, exploring things that are similar is oftentimes much more interesting.
 
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