Honey, I Summoned a Demon

[Phil Masters]

This is running into the old problem that fantasy settings often assume the existence of objective “good” and “evil”, without being very clear what the definition is or where it comes from beyond the writer/GM’s vague aesthetic sense — though I believe that D&D has thrown up its hands and said “Good is what the certified Good Gods say is good, so shut up”. Of course, they may be Pratchettian gods who are basically amoral idiots that can’t afford to confuse their worshippers too much (but sometimes do so anyway).

I might add that, if there is an objective good, and following it guarantees that your healing spells will be demon-free, this gives you one (tricky and dangerous) test for whether you’re on the Right Side. One imagines Doctor Benevolus, well-meaning and sincere medical wizard to Lord Dubious’s black-clad Legion of Doom, fossicking up one of the many healing spells he has to cast after the PCs have been through and getting a demon. So while the Legion Rapid Response Team are shooing their visitor back to its plane of origin, Doc Benevolus is sitting in a corner having a crisis of conscience and going “But... But... But...”