Dam Alistair
#51
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 04:49
I guess an apostate mage doesn't fit too well with him and I was all too well to replace him with Loghain, a man that seemed to fit the "ideal" Grey Warden mold to begin with, win at all costs. If the wardens keep didn't prove that mentality I don't know what does, Blood Mages summoning demons and performing experiments that led to the sacrifice of many of their own just to win a war against a tyrant, imagine what lengths they're willing to go to to end a Blight, selling elves into slavery perhaps?
#52
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 05:19
Alistair wanted to be good and noble and honorable. Alistair wanted to be the one to sacrifice all for honor. But in the end Alistair was a bastard that had never known family until Duncan. And in the end he couldn't show mercy or compassion and indeed could not be the honorable champion he always aspired to be when these noble intentions came into conflict with his very human nature and his very human desire to slay the man responsible for the death of the only father he had ever known.
[/quote]
Excuse me...WHAAAAAAAAT?
He's not an honorable champion because he wanted to kill Loghain? Really? That's the connection you make here?
Heh..mabye Alistair really didn't have the making for a Grey Warden. He is better than Duncan
People like Alistair is what Grey Wardens need. To keep them honest. To keep them from going too far.
Let me repeat for all of you:
EXECUTING LOGHAIN IS THE SMART, PRAGMATIC THING TO DO.
He's a manace with too much influnce and backing that can't be trusted. Keeping him alive is like playing russian roulette - unfortunately, the game does not acount for that and that earns the game negative points.
[quote]
Duncan and Loghain are similar in that each is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his "greater good".[/quote]
No. Duncan and Loghain are not the same. Not even close.
And from where do people get the idea that Duncan would do ANYTHING to acomplish the "great good"?
[qutoe]
Screw Alistair. Best thing the writers could have done would have been
to give you the option to slit his throat in camp, or arrange for an
"accident" to occur whilst hunting for the blood and the scrolls in the
Wilds, before the battle of Ostagar.[/quote]
Frankly, the best thing the writers could have done is to have Al slit the players throat for being a insensitive bastard and moron.
#53
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 05:25
Iozeph wrote...
Yeah? Tell that to Jory. Tell it to his unbourne son and his widow. I'm sure they'll understand.
Call it weakness of character. I call it pragmatism. Saying sorry won't
bring the dead back. It won't ease the suffering of the wronged either. Jory could have joined the regular troops at Ostagar but instead Duncan killed him when they were in desperate need of more troops. But no- keeping the club a secret was more important.
You must have missed the part where JORY PULLED OUT A WEPON.
Lotion Soronnar wrote...
I'm not going to justify racism. That it's stupid, is a given. That said, nobody cared about the Elves. Go play a Dalish Elf and address the Landsmeet concerning Loghaine's fleeing the battlefield at Ostagar. Watch as the people practically laugh you out of the hall.
They laugh oyu out regardless of race if you mention Ostagar.
Alistair is a whingebag. He's senior to you as a warden. If he really had a problem with your methods he'd have stopped you from cutting the throat of the wounded soldier in the wilds, and would have been calling the shots from there, through the tower at Ostagar, and onwards. He's a coward. He's content to go along to get along and only after the tough calls have been made, does he actually bother to voice his disapproval.
He can't stop you in time even if he wants..regarding that neck-snapping and knife-gutting. He can't read your mind and doesn't know what your character was about to do.
And yes. He's letting you lead. So? Is that a problem? Frankly, the logical thing if oyu act like a mass murderer would be for Alistair to leave, but since he is cruical for the story, that was not an option.
Oh, one more thing. Al is better than Loghain. Better than Duncan. Better than Morrigan, better than you. He's even better than Chuck Norris!
#54
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 05:30
all round winning scenario.
Modifié par Lominia, 13 décembre 2009 - 05:31 .
#55
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 09:39
Lotion Soronnar wrote...
Oh, one more thing. Al is better than Loghain. Better than Duncan. Better than Morrigan, better than you. He's even better than Chuck Norris!
THIS!
Though even Sten is better than Chuck Norris...in fact Sten is DA:O very own Chuck Norris
#56
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 10:17
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." - Mahatma Gandhi
The decision to kill Loghain is basically based off one emotion. Anger. Anger which had likely turned into hatred. Hatred.. is never good.
The proof is in the epilogue whether you like it or not. Loghain proves to be a competent and valuable Grey Warden.. Alistair becomes a drunk.
Note: The "pragmatic" thing to do.. is to not throw away a potentially valuable resource in fighting the Archdemon.. btw.
----
Though I despise Alistair's character.. I absolutely love the writing. I agree that it is a completely human character.. with human flaws.. well written and beautifully designed. I was moved by the character enough to feel some semblance of genuine emotion when he abandoned "our" cause.
There is a monstrous difference between thinking a character is poorly designed.. and thinking a character is so well designed you could be moved to dislike him.
---
I also think people are just defending their choice to kill Loghain. That's fine.. THAT choice, I actually have little opinion of. The choice to kill Loghain is made by a real hero.. the PC.. and NOT just because it's the PC. Rather, because the PC, unlike Alistair, comes from a place of zero responsibility.. and then after only being a new recruit.. leads Ferelden to victory.
So when a PC decides to kill Loghain. I don't agree with it.. but it's a choice being made by a far superior man/woman than Alistair could ever hope being. What I dislike.. is Alistair's reaction.
---
And he DOES betray Duncan. Duncan's one purpose in life.. was to serve as a Warden. Alistair walked away from that.. when he hatred overcame his love for Duncan.
Also.. when you first meet Alistair.. when you ask about Duncan.. and Alistair says "He saved me." ((Paraphrased)). If you suggest "Maybe he just found you useful." Alistair gets really pissy..
We never get Duncan's side of the story.. what if Alistair was just "useful"? Alistair is looking for a daddy.. he's looking for a family.. and because he lives in this fantasy.. he seems to have arrested development. I think it far more likely that he simply invented this whole "Duncan is like my father."
I'll have to pay more attention to exactly what Alistair says next play through.. but I don't recall any hard evidence of "fatherly" activity other than the dubious "saving" from the Chantry.
Modifié par Medhia Nox, 13 décembre 2009 - 10:19 .
#57
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 10:36
#58
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 10:43
#59
Posté 13 décembre 2009 - 11:15
With all that he, in my opinion, is the main gripe is that he walks out on Ferelden, should the PC decide that Loghain should try atonement by becoming that which he despised - a Grey Warden.
I understand Alistair's anger. I understand the background, even though I think all this 'family' stuff was mostly going on in Alistair's mind. But abandoning the fight, Ferelden, all of the Grey Wardens, and basically walking out on them is despicable. Let him be mad as hell at the PC, fine, I even understand. Let him refuse to talk to her/him for the rest of his life, ok, that's understandable as well.
Let him be so pissed off that he leaves the whole of the Grey Wardens even. But after the fight, not before. That's desertion. Condemning the whole organization, and abandoning the whole of Ferelden because of one person's decision makes Alistair good? No, it makes him a traitor and a deserter, running from the fight for Ferelden because he's immature and rash. Were he truly the good and honorable man, he would not leave in a fit of rage before a huge battle.
Turn his back to the Grey Wardens afterwards? Fine, if he feels he needs to, but not before. He knows how vital the Grey Wardens are, yet he leaves. The witch stays (if you make her deal, of course), the golem stays, the assassin stays, the quinari (sp?) stays, all stay and face their biggest nightmare head on. Except for the other Grey Warden in the group, everyone fights for the survival of all.
Modifié par Sabriana, 13 décembre 2009 - 11:16 .
#60
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 01:55
I'd even make Alistair's guard give over his meal so I can feed it to Alistair in his brand new "Deserter's Cage".
#61
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 02:41
Sabriana wrote...
Let him be so pissed off that he leaves the whole of the Grey Wardens even. But after the fight, not before. That's desertion. Condemning the whole organization, and abandoning the whole of Ferelden because of one person's decision makes Alistair good? No, it makes him a traitor and a deserter, running from the fight for Ferelden because he's immature and rash. Were he truly the good and honorable man, he would not leave in a fit of rage before a huge battle.
Wouldn't you rather know where he stands before the battle rather than say in the middle of the battle like Logain does at Ostagar? That to me is unforgiveable betrayal. How anyone can trust Logain when he has been nothing but deceiptful to your character throughout the entire game? Alistair has his faults but I know that when we end up on that roof together fighting the archdemon he's going to have my back.
#62
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 03:17
Good thing Arl Eamon can see reason when you tell him that his wife is dead and you were directly involved. Otherwise.. all this "justice" that gets taken out on Loghain would have ended my character's story at that point. You think he would care that it's "not the same"? No.. if he were a man who simply feeds on his own emotional state.. he would have had you killed on the spot. Fortunately.. reason governs his heart.. and his heart tempers his reason (at least for this event.)
I think it's modern people's deeply ingrained fear of death that makes them think that death is a punishment. Living - ostracized by the nation you desperately loved - and forced to recruit and serve a group of people you originally despised.. that's punishment in my mind. And it has everything to do with that first word.. "living".
#63
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 03:43
If there was an option to lock him up until the blight had been dealt with I would have done that, but there isn't so... off with his head before he takes off mine.
#64
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 05:15
So, as programmed.. in his last 30 years of life he spends it trying to atone for his sins.
A valuable resource is thrown away because of hatred and mistrust.
---
Again, this is a PC choice.. the PC has actually gone through the storyline. Alistair on the other hand is just a follower.. WANTS to be a follower... then throws a fit when he doesn't like where you lead.. and then, becomes a deserter.
Concerning killing Loghain.. I can see the point of both options. Both are valid choices (to me) and are based off of the hard choices the PC has had to make through the game.
If Duncan had killed Loghain, or even the other senior Grey Warden at the end (forget his name).. I wouldn't have pitched a fit and run away crying and became a drunk. I would have accepted their senior decision (a position Alistair puts you in from the start - and there are PLENTY of games "Mass Effect" where you answer to senior officials.. so being "in charge" isn't a given) and continued on with the mission to save Ferelden and the world.
#65
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 05:25
#66
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 07:35
Medhia Nox wrote...
Lotion, I'm glad you said that killing Loghain is the "Smart and pragmatic" thing to do.. because in my opinion.. it isn't the "good" thing to do.
"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." - Mahatma Gandhi
The decision to kill Loghain is basically based off one emotion. Anger. Anger which had likely turned into hatred. Hatred.. is never good.
The proof is in the epilogue whether you like it or not. Loghain proves to be a competent and valuable Grey Warden.. Alistair becomes a drunk.
Note: The "pragmatic" thing to do.. is to not throw away a potentially valuable resource in fighting the Archdemon.. btw.
On emotion and common sense. He had it coming. I you just turned him over to the Landsmeet, they would have executed him anyway. No court in the world would let him walk free - treason alone is punishable by death.
B.t.w. - executing Loghain isn't really evil. "Thou shall not murder." Not kill.
I don't consider the epilouge proof of anything. The Landsmeet and the rest of the game are somewhat botched.
And Loghain is not a valuble resource. He's not irreplacable. There's hunderds of knights and thousands of soldiers of al lraces outside of Recliffe. I can make a hunder new Grey Wardens. But the game doesn't let me.
So when a PC decides to kill Loghain. I don't agree with it.. but it's a choice being made by a far superior man/woman than Alistair could ever hope being. What I dislike.. is Alistair's reaction.
I don't gather by what logic do you consider the PC so superior to everyone in the universe? Ego trip much?
And he DOES betray Duncan. Duncan's one purpose in life.. was to serve as a Warden. Alistair walked away from that.. when he hatred overcame his love for Duncan.
F*** it. Personally, I'd reserve the right to walk away from any group that I consider act as douchebags and morons. I hold no allegiance to idiots and traitors. He walked away from the PC's group. So what?
The man was emotionally and spiritually broken at that point . The PC stuck a knife in his back and his whole world crumbled..a.gain. You really expect him to act like superman at the lowest point in his life? If you start judging people by how they act in such moments, then we can write off the whole human race right now.
#67
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 08:39
Loghain? I respect the guy for doing what the felt was necessary to keep Ferelden going, although different methods could have been found I think, had he not been so paranoid....or if he kept better company than Howe maybe...but what can i say he wasn't in a position to find better people who weren't politically or tactically useful to him.
Still the one thing I have noticed about Alister is that he can't fully wrap his head around the mantra, he actually drew a line where some didn't. Like The Blood Drinking (Clearly Blood Magic), but he feigns ignorance, yet he still doesn't approve of regular blood magic, then again all of Ferelden doesn't bleh......
Jory toke out a blade to try to save himself, so he could get back to his family, Daveth toke it like a man and drank the damned thing, really wished he survived atleast he got the mantra in his head and ready to go. Duncan....he did well for the most part, not sure why he didn't try to talk down Calin in Ostagar, but I am sure he had his reasons.
See Alister is more like a buffer character who is pretty much the embodiment of Fereldens Human consciousness, things they like to see, and not like to hear. Makes it really hard and annoying to deal with, but gives you a good sense of what the Landsmeet wants to hear and see.
Hell, I would have gone with Morrigans plan at the end, had it not have that little nudge that it may allow another archdemon to pop up. (will probably have to do that later xD)
Still Alisters annoyances still somewhat makes up for it once you finally get rid of him and make him king after some tough love ofcourse. One thing I could never stand about him is his jokes > . >
Most of em I either found them to be of poor taste or him just trying to escape the gravity of the situation, hell I would have made Sten a Grey Warden had I known how to hell to do the damned ceremony, which i am disappointed we were not allowed to do after finding the third grey warden in Howes dungeon.
Oh yeah i still killed the annoying guy who was the son of the arl of Denerim though, always did, never was any use in the landsmeet really and everyone thought he was dead to begin with so lets make it abudantly clear i thought. Course alister disapproved cause we had no idea what that man had done although his tone was clearly insolent and pretty much a jackass.
Still the only thing I used alister was for trap triggering, aggro and eventual KO, practically THE punching bag really
Modifié par Personaaddict, 14 décembre 2009 - 08:42 .
#68
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 08:56
Personaaddict wrote...
See, for me Alister is a bit of a mixed character, I kept with the mantra of the Grey Wardens, Do Everything it Takes to Win against the Blight, which is why i let Avernus live in Wardens Keep and reaped any benefits I could get from it. Alister Disapproved yeah, but I really could not care less, for me he was supposed to be that one piece of the puzzle to keep Ferelden togeather after the war.
I know people keep saying that the Grey Warden are not paladins (but given how zealous some paladins can be,, that is debatable), but why do so many people insist on the exact opposite? Tehy look at Grey Wardens like friggin blackguards.
No, the GW's won't do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. They are not warriors of pure good, but they aren't depraved, moralless bastards either. They have their standards and they have their own lines in the sand.
Still the one thing I have noticed about Alister is that he can't fully wrap his head around the mantra, he actually drew a line where some didn't. Like The Blood Drinking (Clearly Blood Magic), but he feigns ignorance, yet he still doesn't approve of regular blood magic, then again all of Ferelden doesn't bleh......
Erm...sicne when is drinking blood blood magic? The mages have a way from keeping the blood fresh, but that is not blood magic.
#69
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 09:38
Iozeph wrote...
Right... because we're supposed to shell out even more money for a simulanteous book release, in order to get back story that should have been organic to the game we already paid a solid chunk of cash for. How about no?
So nothing is black or white. Dragon age is such a dark tale bent on turning all the old fantasy tropes on their ears, right? Then where is the option, during the joining, for the PC to band together with Jory, fight off and possibly kill Alistair and Duncan, and then desert? Have them end up in Lothering or Flemeth's camp via a different plot development, for al I care. Where is the option?
Really. I couldn't care less for Alistair's misguided case of hero worship. He's every bit the irresponsible moron that his brother, the king, was. It's all about joining the secret club and sitting around goofing off at the clubhouse- occasionally going out to play soldier and fight things that aren't anywhere as well equipped or able to fight against you, unless they band together under an archdemon. Nevermind all of the lives ruined by Duncan, and those of his ilk, because it's for the "greater good."
Duncan's an honourable man? No. Duncan is travelling the countryside shopping for meat and picking the choicest cuts for his slaughter. Joining gets you a bull'seye on your back, ever-increasing insanity, and a grisly death down in the deeproads. And you do this in exchange for escaping what? A little extra duty as a templar, or a mage, or doing time in jail as a rogue and breaking out on your own or going legit? How is the joining a mercy or an honour to any but the terminally ill or stupid? Duncan knows exactly what price he's forcing people to pay and he does it anyway. So you know what? Screw him.
Daveth is proof enough that there are plenty of true believers and patriots willing to do something as stupid as drinking darkspawn blood for the benefit of Ferelden. So go recruit them and leave people with families to protect alone.
How does Alistair rationalise sticking by the PC after offering a chance for redemption to Sten(a self-confessed CHILD KILLER), and then completly flipping out when you want to offer Loghaine redemption?
Screw Alistair. Best thing the writers could have done would have been to give you the option to slit his throat in camp, or arrange for an "accident" to occur whilst hunting for the blood and the scrolls in the Wilds, before the battle of Ostagar.
Pure win.
The wardens are lawful/evil at best- chaotic/neutral at worst.
Almost.
Despite all the talk of Dragon Age being "grey" in terms of morality, what Bioware and David Gaider (in both the game DA:O and the novels The Stolen Throne and The Calling) have accomplished is to produce an embodiment of D&D's Lawful Neutral alignment: Characters sacrifice principles and personal desires (love and friendship) for the sake of duty (to the kingdom, to stopping the Blight). The general result is that each character becomes a miserable wretch (Maric, Loghain). Interesting, but not the revolutionary morality play that some believe.
Edit: As a sidenote, I do not accept a "greater good" as valid philosophical justification for an evil deed (I consider the murder of Ser Jory an evil act regardless of the resulting "good") but I framed the above in relation to the D&D alignment scale.
Modifié par doubledeviant, 14 décembre 2009 - 10:13 .
#70
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 12:24
Medhia Nox wrote...
I think it's modern people's deeply ingrained fear of death that makes them think that death is a punishment. Living - ostracized by the nation you desperately loved - and forced to recruit and serve a group of people you originally despised.. that's punishment in my mind. And it has everything to do with that first word.. "living".
Pfft...that's not punishment.
Being banished from the land? punishment
Loked up in a dungeon cell for the rest of his life? Punishment
Thrown on a torture rack? Punishment.
Left to live comfortably and enter the history books as a hero? No. Just no.
#71
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 12:35
#72
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 03:41
The Grey Wardens were not some organization that sought glory and honor. This is a misconception that Cailen, Alistair, and even Loghain all held. If Alistair had listened to Duncan he would have realized the reason Grey Wardens were heroes: their Sacrifice.
A Grey Warden must be willing to sacrifice everything -- family... love... vengeance -- in order to stop the Blight. Of the new (NPC) recruits, only Daveth seemed to realize this. He payed the price sooner than the others.
#73
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 03:44
I think Duncan sees his duty as Grey Warden a necessary one, maybe even a necessary evil one. He does know what it takes to get that arch demon down. Whatever your ideas might be on the Wardens, no one knows any other way to take the arch demon down, and taking it down is a necessity. Humanity almost became extinct during an earlier Blight.
* the other betrayals have been summed up enough already for me to skip them here.
#74
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 03:55
However, the one thing that gave me pause was that Riordan made the initial suggestion. My PC and Alistair are novices at best, Riordan is a veteran. It is a logical assumption that he knows far, far more about all the Grey Warden tools and secrets than either of them (PC, Alistair). Riordan doesn't offer any deeper explanations, but let's remember that Duncan was not a fountain of imparative information either.
Alistair's initial reaction is perfectly understandable, but his running out of the battle altogether, after the PC makes the decision for Riordan's suggestion is despicable in my eyes. He has nobody's back. He runs out on the Grey Wardens, abandons Ferelden and the battle. A battle that will determine the future of the whole country. As being mentioned throughout the game, the Grey Wardens are vital in the fight against the archdemon, but he runs away.
I know full well that there are people who worship the ground Alistair walks on, people who love him, like him, tolerate him, use him, and despise him. That's how it should be. The characters are not one-dimensional, and everyone sees them differently. Mighty good writing, I say. Congrats Bioware, great job.
I had no problem with the guy, but then the landsmeet happened. My reaction to his behavior is what it is. Nothing will change that. I already understand his motives, his inner torture, the mindgames he plays with himself. However, running out on the people who need him desperately is desertion and betrayal. He of all people knows firsthand the terror the blight brings. He was around and had first-hand knowledge. He knew, yet he ran.
Perhaps if he just left the group, but fought anyways, perhaps with another battalion, another group, whathaveyou. But there is no mention of that, who knows, maybe there was, and I missed it. I doubt it though.
To me, using blood as a means to and end - as a substance to alter a human being is blood magic. To some it might not be so. Personal opinions are what they are, namely personal.
Edited, because the spell-bug bit
Modifié par Sabriana, 14 décembre 2009 - 03:57 .
#75
Posté 14 décembre 2009 - 04:36
If you wanted to make the decisions you little windbag.. why didn't you take the reigns from the begging? Or, did Morrigan make too much sense when she called you a dim-witted follower.
Alistair wants me to make the tough choices - following is easy.. take all the responsibility for my actions.. but, he also wants to blame me for everything he doesn't like. How typical of a modern, pampered, middle class person (likely in any society).
I'm not a fan of Morrigan either.. both of them left me. But with Morrigan.. I expected it. Because she's a selfish - evil - blood sucking harpy. She was honest. I was disappointed to find Alistair to be little different.
---
And to Lotion - these NPCs are NOT important because the story dictates that "I" am the source of Ferelden's salvation. Unlike something like.. World of Warcraft where I'm just a grunt in Thrall or Valen's armies.. and the story would go on without me.
Alistair could NOT have done what I did. He's weak - he's more comfortable being a follower -.. and tells you in the very beginning that he can't. From his own "lips" the truth of this comes out.
So.. "Lead, Follow.. or GET OUT OF MY WAY." Take care Alistair.. you failure.
---
Again, I love the writting.. in depth characters.. all of them. Kudos to their character design to move me to actually enjoy/dislike certain characters. It's the best part of any RPG.. to reflect on my real world philosophy and how it plays out in the game.
Modifié par Medhia Nox, 14 décembre 2009 - 04:38 .





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