As an ex D&D 3.5 and D&D 2 player, I feel bad that 5e don't make spells that about evil and good (like "Protection from Evil and Good" and "Detect Evil and Good") don't actually interact with alignment. For me it was all the flavor of those spells in older editions was the fact that they affect alignment.
Here is the stat block for the spell I'll use as an example:
Protection from Evil and Good
1st-level abjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (holy water or powdered silver and iron, which the spell consumes)
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutesUntil the spell ends, one willing creature you touch is protected against certain types of creatures: aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead.
The protection grants several benefits. Creatures of those types have disadvantage on attack rolls against the target. The target also can't be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. If the target is already charmed, frightened, or possessed by such a creature, the target has advantage on any new saving throw against the relevant effect.
Detect Evil and Good
1st-level divination
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self (30 ft around you)
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutesFor the duration, you know if there is an aberration, celestial, elemental, fey, fiend, or undead within 30 feet of you, as well as where the creature is located. Similarly, you know if there is a place or object within 30 feet of you that has been magically consecrated or desecrated.
The spell can penetrate most barriers, but it is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
I think about two possible house-rules to give them back their flavor:
- Soft modifications: "Protection from Evil and Good" stay the same (because I didn't found a balanced version for the spell), but "Detect Evil and Good" give the alignment of all creatures that are in the area of effect plus all other information the spell already give
- Hard modifications: Go back to the old version of the spells
- "Protection from Evil and Good" you choose an alignment (except neutral) and all creature of this alignment are affected like the spell actually does for some creature, but don't target them for what they are
- "Detect Evil and Good" tell you what is the alignment of all creatures in affected area, but not there nature.
Since I DMing in Eberron (a world were bad guys are not always evil aligned, good guys are not always good, and creature don't follow their "natural" alignment), I think that both houserules are balanced in some way, but I don't know which would be the most balanced, or if those house-ruled spell are balanced enough.
So here I am to ask for help: which one seems to be the most balanced?
For the record, I playtested the soft version, and it end up just adding more roleplay option for the players (e.g. defend themself by explaining that being evil aligned don't always mean that you will stab the paladin in the back if you can). I didn't already tested the hard version because it's a big change in what the spell does, so I preferred to ask if it could be unbalanced in some way before, and find a fix if it is, and then playtest it.