The first is related to killing group members. I've played Carrion Fields a few times on and off last year, but never for very long as I had committments to another mud. I found that when I was grouped with characters who had evil alignments, they had an unfortunate tendency to try and kill me. Sometimes they had clearly planned to do so from the start, while other times they just took advantage when the opportunity presented itself.

We don't have rules against betrayal, so a character is generally free to try. This can have consequences at the mortal level (a reputation as untrustworthy, revenge/bounty attempts, etc.) and the immortal level (if a good-aligned character stabs his character in the back, an immortal may well adjust their alignment to better suit their actions, with attendant penalties). Past a point, this behavior becomes counterproductive-- you take the risk of the fight itself, plus you may poison attempts to find groups later.

My observation is that it is not all that common, especially if you don't antagonize the groupmate. Common sense prevails here-- your group probably doesn't want to go get you some item unless they get something out of it for themselves. You also have considerable protection from this if you group with good/neutral people instead of evil ones.

Another question I have is related to playing a good alignment character. Should they only be targeting evil mobs, or are neutral mobs fair game? Does it make a difference if the mob is a human being?

In nearly any scenario, killing good NPCs can cause you problems. As for neutral NPCs, there are more "well, depends..." footnotes. Most roles will distinguish between NPCs that are neutral because they aren't sentient (most animals, animated statues, etc.) and NPCs that are neutral out of a conscious choice. For example, many human villagers may be neutral on account of not having a strong moral stance, but your more heroic archetypes wouldn't run around butchering farmers. In general, whatever excuse you can come up with for doing so... is an even better excuse to walk a little further and butcher some evil bandits or goblins or whatever.

Non-sentient neutrals are generally more in the category of fair game. Some exceptions exist. As one common example, nature-themed or some Outlander-y roles may have a problem attacking animals for sport. Conversely, a good-aligned Outlander might feel justified fighting neutral city guards.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com