Sarah1281 wrote...
I think you misunderstood the situation. I hate that Rica's 'happy ending' is so, well, mediocre but Bhelen is the voice of reform. The more traditional dwarves wouldn't even go have a child with a casteless woman at all. If you side with Bhelen and return to Dust Town you see two thugs talking about Bhelen allowing dwarves to fight. The epilogue tells you that Bhelen grants the casteless greater rights in exchange for military service (which is also new) and has to deal with assassination attempts because of it. Bhelen treats Rica so much better than other nobles treat their noble hunter that she's just so amazed that he treats her like a person, there's a rumor going around that he intends to marry her, and people talk about how scandalous it is that she's spent so much time in the palace.Morwen Eledhwen wrote...
My reason for choosing Harrowmont as a DC was that I was disgusted with the whole caste system and Bhelen seemed to represent that for me, while Harrowmont and his followers seemed ready to accept the idea that "casteless" dwarves were not some sort of lower life form and could make productive members of society if given a chance. To me, Rica did not "win" or "overcome" her casteless situation by bearing Bhelen's child; she was a victim of Dwarven society as much as anyone else. To me it was all the more pathetic that not only was her becoming Bhelen's concubine the only way for her to have a decent life as a casteless Dwarf, but that the successful conclusion of her campaign to acquire a noble "patron" was a source of pride and a joyous occasion not only for her, but for the whole family and anyone attached to it. Yes, I knew that by choosing Harrowmont over Bhelen (though I would have preferred to avoid killing him for Rica's sake if possible) I would most likely find myself cut off from my family, but I felt that if Harrowmont could actually institute some reform and end that cycle of hopelessness, crime and squalor that define the lives of Casteless dwarves as a whole, it would have been worth it. Also, what if Rica had had a girl instead of a boy? She would have been casteless and the cycle would have started all over again. . .
Still, the actual scene of being screamed at by Rica was pretty tough and I could have used some "comfort" time with Alistair afterwards.
Harrowmont, on the other hand, is the voice of tradition. He's a good man but tradtion is more important to him than most things and if you mention your casteless status to the Shaper he tells you all about how you've never been to Orzammar as a non-Warden because you don't exist, casteless are abominations, they should never have been born, since they were born they should have died young...Also, if you give Harrowmont the Anvil he uses it to make stricter caste restrictions. If he doesn't have the Anvil he only manages to isolate Orzammar more.
If you're trying to help the casteless, you need to side with Bhelen. He's the reformer, he's the one giving people hope, he may be evil but he is also determined to save Orzammar from being choked by its obsession with tradition and throwing away so much of its population.
Agreed. As much as I disliked Bhelen during both my DC (even though he was good to my sister) and DN games, he is the one who will bring about more change. I think Harrowmount is the more honorable, but he resists change.
edited to bring my post back on topic and eek, my first ToP.
Modifié par tuppence95, 19 août 2010 - 08:18 .
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