Give detect evil a long cooldown, or make it cast a small amount of XP to use. (50 or so)
The reason for this suggestion is that it's too easy to metagame with this ability. You can ward against it with spells, yes. But the paladin will just spam this ability until your ward runs out, partially because OOC they already know you are evil.
Detect Evil already requires a concentration check to prevent being stunned.
If you want paladins out of commission raise the evil stakes!
The issue is, people keep metagaming this ability. Yes, I know DMs have said the ability itself isn't metagaming. BUT how people use it is.
If someone pops a Prot from Good potion and a paladin literally spams the ability every 2 rounds until the potion wears off, that's pretty dirty and doesn't seem IC at all. Frankly, this ability is rife for misuse. Personally, I would rather see the ability removed and paladins be forced to learn if someone is evil based solely on RP and IC interactions, but if we can't have that... then at least make it so the ability can't be spammed.
It's better for story if the paladin has to work out who is evil than if they just spam Detect Evil until potions/spells wear off.
It is completely IC for a paladin to use Detect Evil every single second that they are alive. This is not metagaming. Indeed, if they do not do this and quest with an evil PC, they will fall.
Quote"If someone pops a Prot from Good potion and a paladin literally spams the ability every 2 rounds until the potion wears off, that's pretty dirty"
I'm going to have to disagree here, unless the arguement is to be made that other characters cannot identify the magical effects fo the potions you consume? But thats a pretty dangerous slope to go down.
Pointedly if someone recognises you casting the "DONT DETECT ME AS EVIL" spell infront of them, then it seems perfectly in character to be checking that person down the line to see if they're evil or not, am I crazy?
Being evil has consequences.
Like being a paladin has one.
I mean what kicked this whole thread off was me doing the perma-check for evil.
And I still almost was made to fall because I got baited into thinking it was only an armor making me see someone as evil, not the PC itself (there was valid IC and OOC reason to believe that he got shifted out of evil).
So yeah, being a Paladin is fucktough.