Originally Posted by KillerRabbit
What do you find compelling about him? Do you think he's well written? Do you identify with him? Or do you just like dealing with a manipulator?

  • What I love about him is that he gets stuff done by doing what needs to be done without hesitation, which does not make him a hero for sure but also does not make him a villain since even though he knows what he's doing isn't right, at the same time he won't hesitate to do what's necessary. Because sometimes there is no right or wrong choice, there is only what needs to be done.

    A character with a clearly set stance and admirable strive to survive as an anti-hero who even though does manipulate, is not doing it out of some malicious intent. Our survival truly depends on his survival and vice versa which is why he is trying to do things the way he considers best to maximize everyone's chances, which not only ends up saving the world through us, but also us multiple times through him and by doing so himself. So he may not necessarily be a conventional friend, but that doesn't mean he is our enemy either.

    It's an alliance born out of necessity and I find this whole back-n-forth dynamic interesting to explore as I peel the layers behind his "truths". One may not agree with his actions, but they're a necessity to ensure we get to see another day and that's what I love about him a lot.

  • As for whether I think if he's well written; I think Larian dropped the ball with the Guardian/Emperor thing. Don't get me wrong he's a very interesting character and one I love interacting with, but the issue is he's being used as a mere plot device that pops in and out of existence from time to time to do some exposition and then goes away until the next therapy session. His interactions are short, don't really go anywhere in the long term and are extremely limited, so I do not feel the connection that I would love to have with him.

    Not to mention my expectations as stated above were entirely different for the character, one where the Guardian would actually be an original character and a disguise for the actual Emperor/Empress who would be our fully developed Illithid companion with a deep branching storyline and romance. So they'd be a fully present aspect of the story that the player could interact with and connect to fully, rather than a mere plot device that pops in and out whenever the story requires it to.

  • As for whether I identify with him; heh... no.

    I ain't one of those people who need to "identify" and "be represented" to love a character or enjoy the story. I just love interesting characters and if they can teach a lesson through their writing then they're even better to me.

    For example I love the character of Darth Vader because he's a badass with a badass story, not because I identify with him slaughtering younglings and hating sand. Same way I love the character of Arthas in Warcraft 3 tremendously who is a badass that did what he needed to do in order to try save his people and then became an amazing villain.

  • As for whether I like dealing with a manipulator; due to personal experience I don't really wanna go into detail for this one, so the answer is just a simple no.

    But peeling away the truths from the lies has become a thing for me and the Emperor is not malicious towards the party in any way in my playthroughs, which is why I am not bothered by it. Plus he's not good at it as he thinks he is.

[Linked Image from bg3.wiki] Minthara's Compendium Of Issues