Blackwing's Alignment

[Gift Jeraff]

Blackwing was not included among a list of Neutral characters. He included much more minor characters like Jenny and Hank so I doubt he forgot about a fairly major one like Blackwing.

Is he LG, CG, CE, or LE?

[Jasdoif]

Blackwing was not included among a list of Neutral characters. He included much more minor characters like Jenny and Hank so I doubt he forgot about a fairly major one like Blackwing.

Is he LG, CG, CE, or LE?

I like to think Blackwing is amongst the "specifically not mentioning" category, myself. Blackwing sharing V's alignment is such an easy assumption to make, it's almost intrinsic misdirection; and that being the case we'll find out Blackwing's actual alignment when it's dramatically appropriate, which will never happen if we find out in a list beforehand.

Or maybe not.

[Windscion]

Blackwing is not a character; Blackwing is a class feature, albiet a snarky one.

[Porthos]

Blackwing is not a character; Blackwing is a class feature, albiet a snarky one.

Um. I would tend to think that one of the points of the ending of DStP and a decent chunk of BRitF is that Blackwing isn't JUST a class feature but an actual character of his own right.

[Keltest]

As near as I can tell*, Blackwing would have been True Neutral as a normal raven, and would not have changed alignment upon becoming a familiar. And his behavior in the comic is consistent enough with True Neutral for me to not dispute that.

*This does not mean I have found a rule that says so, rather that I have not found anything at all on the subject of the alignment of familiars.

[Squark]

I think in general Familiars are assumed to share their master's alignment, although I can't find a passage in the SRD. Blackwing's sapience is directly tied to his connection to V (although one of the 3rd edition splatbooks had rules for familiars retaining their powers after the death of their master), so I think the easiest way to think of him would be as a cross between V's personality and a typical Raven's disposition- quarelsome but playful and devoted, and very clever. Apart from playful, I'd say that fits Blackwing rather well.

[ORione]

You could suppose that familiars change to their master's alignment when they become familiars, but in Blackwing's case that would still leave him as TN. For now, that's my guess.

[rodneyAnonymous]

Blackwing was not included among a list of Neutral characters. He included much more minor characters like Jenny and Hank so I doubt he forgot about a fairly major one like Blackwing.

Is he LG, CG, CE, or LE?

It was not an exhaustive list. Blackwing is neutral.

[Murk]

I like to think of all birds as evil. "All animals are true neutral" is uncharacteristicly nuanced of D&D (there was probably a bird watcher lobby involved).

[Windscion]

Porthos, Keltest:
AFAIK, a familiar is a spirit of your alignment (at the time of summoning) clothed in a weak body. I was being facetious in describing BW as a class feature. If BW's alignment differed from V's, BW would experience difficulty being V's familiar. Unless and until we have see V's alignment changing, her familiar should still share alignment. Since V is still TN per WoG, BW should be TN unless we posit that BW was originally summoned when V had some other alignment. (An assumption utterly devoid of basis.)

Keltest: A familiar takes no actions of its own -- which makes BW not a strictly rules-conforming familiar. So I can see why you might treat BW as, say, an awakened raven. Since it doesn't change the answer, it kinda doesn't matter. But a CN caster would presumably have a CN familar, even with the form of a raven. Also, do not feats enable casting using a familar as origin? That doesn't work with some random awakened chipmunk, so I think it an inappropriate model.

[Squark]

Porthos, Keltest:
AFAIK, a familiar is a spirit of your alignment (at the time of summoning) clothed in a weak body. I was being facetious in describing BW as a class feature. If BW's alignment differed from V's, BW would experience difficulty being V's familiar. Unless and until we have see V's alignment changing, her familiar should still share alignment. Since V is still TN per WoG, BW should be TN unless we posit that BW was originally summoned when V had some other alignment. (An assumption utterly devoid of basis.)

Keltest: A familiar takes no actions of its own -- which makes BW not a strictly rules-conforming familiar. So I can see why you might treat BW as, say, an awakened raven. Since it doesn't change the answer, it kinda doesn't matter. But a CN caster would presumably have a CN familar, even with the form of a raven. Also, do not feats enable casting using a familar as origin? That doesn't work with some random awakened chipmunk, so I think it an inappropriate model.

Uh, pretty sure Familiars are quite capable of acting on their own initiative (no pun intended). If they didn't, they'd be absolutely useless as scouts, since the empathic link isn't detailed enough for instructions. In the absence of instruction, most GMs rule they default to typical animal behavior and/or following their masters around, but the nuances of their behavior isn't typically described.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

I think that Blackwing falls roughly on line with Vaarsuvius. Keep in mind that the list doesn't include every character, so Blackwing could be any of the nine.

[Mike Havran]

Both Nale and Z'zdtri refer to Qarr as Z's familiar (or ''your imp'') and Qarr is clearly Lawful Evil while Z is by WoG Neutral Evil. That means a familiar doesn't have to share his wizard's alignment. Then again, Qarr might not be a real familiar since he had a mission on his own and Z was just taunting V there.

[littlebum2002]

Uh, pretty sure Familiars are quite capable of acting on their own initiative (no pun intended).

Initiative? Where? I got a 23!

[Peelee]

I like to think of all birds as evil. "All animals are true neutral" is uncharacteristicly nuanced of D&D (there was probably a bird watcher lobby involved).

Good and Evil require intent. Int<3 cannot form intent. As such, all animals are Neutral. Law-Chaos, I'd need to think on.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Law-Chaos, I'd need to think on.

Same reasoning. To (attempt to) adhere to or consciously reject a code of conduct rather than simply follow your instincts requires intelligence greater than 3.

Grey Wolf

[Peelee]

Same reasoning. To (attempt to) adhere to or consciously reject a code of conduct rather than simply follow your instincts requires intelligence greater than 3.

Grey Wolf

Thank you sir. I was probably over thinking things. Along the lines of, "ants and bees have specific, exacting rituals and methods of communication for maintaining nests and finding food (or fighting wars and taking slaves in the ants case), which is kind of lawful."

[Themrys]

Good and Evil require intent. Int<3 cannot form intent. As such, all animals are Neutral. Law-Chaos, I'd need to think on.

Ravens are very intelligent, though.

As Blackwing acts as V's conscience sometimes, my guess is either True Neutral, or somewhat more good-ish. He overcame his love of baubles to help others, which clearly is an intentional action.

[Peelee]

Ravens are very intelligent, though.

They are indeed. A standard raven is still under Int 3, though, as are all birds. Which was the point I was addressing.

[dtilque]

a typical Raven's disposition- quarelsome but playful and devoted, and very clever. Apart from playful, I'd say that fits Blackwing rather well.

Blackwing being playful

[Seeker]

True neutral characters are concerned with their own well-being and that of the group or organization which aids them. They may behave in a good manner to those that they consider friends and allies, but will only act maliciously against those who have tried to injure them in some way. For the rest, they do not care. They do not wish ill on those they do not know, but they also do not care when they hear of evil befalling them. Better for others to suffer the evil than the true neutral and his allies. If an ally is in need, the true neutral will aid him, out of genuine love or because he may be able to count on that ally a little more in the future. If someone else is in need, they will weigh the options of the potential rewards and dangers associated with the act. If an enemy is in need, they will ignore him or take advantage of his misfortune.

Sounds like Blackwing to me.