I think the trick to figuring out how to improve Wyll is to figure out what's wrong with Wyll.
For instance, people didn't like Wyll *before* they knew how much connection he had to the plot. So giving him more connection to the overall plot isn't going to change that. (And by "people" not liking Wyll, I mean the vast audience that generally has little interest in his character.)
I think the disconnect with Wyll has to do with his personality, primarily. He's presented as a paladin in character, but a warlock in class. I get what the writers are going for, and I think there's an interesting angle there that just wasn't captured.
We've got a guy, a youth really, who--with the best of intentions--sold his soul to save his city. This basically ruined his life. He lost not only his soul, but also his home and family and position in the city. --so, our question becomes this: what did that do to him? Well... not a lot, or at least not enough in my opinion. He remains the self-sacrificing do-gooder. He didn't change in that moment. He became a hero, traveling the land and righting wrongs.
The thing is, I don't believe Wyll is a hero. I hear him talk about himself as "the Blade," and it feels more cringe than heroic. I don't think he should ever refer to himself as a hero or as the Blade. Let others say those things about him. Even in small doses, it will go further than anything he could say about himself, even if he's just trying to be humble by saying his friends call him Wyll.
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I'd prefer to see Wyll as quiet, dark, dangerous, and perhaps even severe. A man who knows he is destined for hell. A man who knows he lost everything and has come to terms with it, albeit in a stoic, somber way.
He shouldn't even believe it's possible to break his pact, and if it happens, that moment should be a true arc for him. He shouldn't know what to do with himself. It should fundamentally change him, for the better or worse, depending.
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Mechanically:
--I want his sending stone eye to have a functioning mechanic of some sort in the game. A bonus to perception. A limited duration devil's sight that's useable once per short rest. Something.
--I want his transformation into a devil to be backed up with some sort of mechanic. If he's a devil in flavor, then he should be a devil in mechanic. The biggest flaw is when a game divorces flavor from mechanic in the name of balance.
That sort of sounds like Astarion, just without the flamboyance. That's a HARD pass, for me. One brooding cynic is enough.
Also, it's pretty common knowledge that it's possible to break pacts, as everyone knows that it comes at a great cost. Even Tav has the option to recall a child's fairy tale about it when they talk to Mizora.
The rest I agree with though. Especially about the part of the game SHOWING and not him telling us (really only in the beginning of the game) that he's a hero.
Last edited by Mr. Oakby; 07/12/23 07:33 PM.
