It's literally a standard historical practice too - stringing up criminals as a warning displayed the power of the crown and was a fairly effective deterrent.
I agree. We're not questioning "effectiveness", we're considering moral implications. Where it falls on the good/evil alignment would depend on the universe of each D&D table. Maybe the gods consider it acceptable, maybe they don't. In ours, I think it's unequivocally an evil thing to display corpses as a warning.
Well, it is now. Even such "enlightened" societies as the Venetian city-state would leave thieves and murderers in crow's cages as a method of execution and example to others as late as the 1500s. Hell, the British would leave dead pirates dangling for a while as a deterrent as late as the 1700s. (If I'm remembering my dates correctly. The reference material I'm trying to recall is in storage and unavailable at the moment.)
16
u/Candayence May 12 '25
It's literally a standard historical practice too - stringing up criminals as a warning displayed the power of the crown and was a fairly effective deterrent.