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Recently I've been trying to make my dream characters into tangible concepts which is why I've asked so many different class-related questions. I was skimming through templates and found the soulfire creature template in the ability quested below it says that it deals "half as pure good-aligned energy" so that made me wonder can good-aligned energy hurt good-aligned creatures?

Soulfire Substitution (Su) A soulfire creature can modify any spell, magic item, or effect with an energy descriptor to use soulfire instead as a free action. The effect’s descriptor changes to good and fire-for example, a cone of cold composed of soulfire energy is an evocation [fire, good] spell. Such effects deal half their damage as fire damage, and half as pure good-aligned magic energy.

Not sure if they are related but there is a cleric spell called align weapon (see below) but that only seems to be for making a weapon bypass dr and doesn't actually make it deal "good-aligned damage" or the like.

School transmutation [see text]; Level cleric/oracle 2, inquisitor 2; Domain chaos 2, evil 2, good 2, law 2; Subdomain demodand (chaos, evil) 2

CASTING

Casting Time 1 standard action Components V, S, DF

EFFECT

Range touch Target weapon touched or 50 projectiles (all of which must be together at the time of casting) Duration 1 min./level Saving Throw Will negates (harmless, object); Spell Resistance yes (harmless, object)

DESCRIPTION

Align weapon makes a weapon chaotic, evil, good, or lawful, as you choose. A weapon that is aligned can bypass the damage reduction of certain creatures. This spell has no effect on a weapon that already has an alignment.

You can’t cast this spell on a natural weapon, such as an unarmed strike. When you make a weapon chaotic, evil, good, or lawful, align weapon is a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful spell, respectively.

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Alignment won't usually be a factor here

Regardless of the creature's alignment, the creature is dealt full damage by the "pure good-aligned magical energy" of a soulfire creature's supernatural ability soulfire substitution. That is, even though that soulfire energy is described in this unique way, that description offers no further effects beyond that damage bypassing traditional energy resistances.

Thus to resist this energy, a creature must have a special resistance to this kind of energy—like the natural ability heaven's purity that's likewise and conveniently possessed by a soulfire creature. Further, a creature would have to be specifically vulnerable to that kind of energy to suffer additional damage or effect. (Bear in mind that the ability soulfire substitution changes the effect so that it possesses only the descriptors fire and holy, and effects possessing those descriptors may have a greater or lesser effect upon certain creatures.)

I think the closest equivalent to the soulfire damage type is the damage from the flame strike wherein "[h]alf the damage is fire damage, but the other half results directly from divine power and is therefore not subject to being reduced by resistance to fire-based attacks." It may be useful to think of soulfire damage being like a flame strike spell's damage except half results from holy divine power.

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To the best of my knowledge, damage typing (alignment, elemental, etc.) has no effect by default. It only makes a difference when interacting with abilities or other special rules that define some special effect e.g. damage reduction, regeneration, or vulnerability.

High-powered outsiders often do have alignment-based defences, but this is generally overcome by an opposite alignment (e.g. planetars have regen 10/evil). So good-aligned damage isn't likely to make any difference in a friendly fire situation between good creatures; it's much more important against evil outsiders who have DR/good or regen/good.

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