Dan teh Man

Yeah, it didn't change anything. It does give you the different dialogue choice you mentioned ("I'd rather not get involved") but the journal entry is identical, as is the conversation with Raedric. So the Wiki page I referenced previously is simply inaccurate -- there doesn't seem to be any way to ally with Raedric from the start of the quest. From an RP standpoint, you can simply turn Kolsc down, tell Raedric that Kolsc didn't send you and then ally with him by saying you don't care who's on the throne as long as you get paid (however Bleak Walkers will still get the class-specific dialogue choice for attacking Raedric, which is my only gripe). It just would have been nice if there actually was a bounty placed on Kolsc's head in Defiance Bay. Oh well.

Okay, so I rolled a Bleak Walker, maxed out stealth on my two level-ups (upon leaving Cilant Lis and after having the dream in Gilded Vale) and headed straight for Raedric's Keep. Kolsc approached me in Esternwood and the three dialogue choices I had to end the conversation were: "I can handle any threat on my own."; "Why don't you come with me?"; and "Thank you for the warning. Perhaps I'll return later." Regardless of what I chose, the journal entry remained the same, mentioning that Raedric was a tyrant that people wanted removed from the throne. I then went to the keep, broke into the sewers, stealthed my way to Osrya, tried both killing her for her key and completing her quest to get her key (without killing any guards), and my conversation with Raedric was the same: he mentions how Kolsc hired mercenaries to do his bidding, and there's a Bleak Walker-specific response of "Save your words, for they do not move me. I will end this feud here and now." There's a small chance that the conversation with Kolsc might go differently if he approaches you in Gilded Vale after completing a few quests. I'll try that tomorrow to see if it changes anything, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't because that's what I did in my previous Bleak Walker playthrough. Regardless, I'll give it one last shot tomorrow.

I have "Show Personality/Reputation" enabled in the options as added security that I don't say something out of character, so I've been able to avoid all diplomatic and benevolent responses. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have made such a big deal out of this -- the game gives a perfectly suitable opportunity in the dialogue to switch sides, so it doesn't affect the outcome of the quest. It just seems like no matter what I do or say prior to my initial meeting with Raedric changes the Bleak Walker-specific dialogue choice in the conversation, and that's what ultimately bothered me at the time -- it felt wrong not choosing the class-specific response, but doing so would lead to a battle with Raedric. I'm assuming it's just a very small oversight on the part of the devs, as the response I'm referring is essentially, "I don't care about your personal life situation Raedric; I'm putting an end to this right now." In a perfect world, that would only be an option if you did agree to aid Kolsc, but it seems to come up in the conversation even if you turn him away. You know what, I'm going to start a new game either tonight or tomorrow as a Bleak Walker, dump all my points into stealth and sneak my way to Raedric one more time just to make sure I'm not talking out of my behind here. I definitely did that before, but perhaps I killed a single guard or something. I'll report back shortly (and will be thoroughly embarrassed if I was wrong).

For whatever reason, the game always assumes that I've sided with Kolsc when I visit Raedric's Hold, even when I choose the responses you mentioned. In a nutshell, there doesn't seem to be an option for completing the quest without first taking his "side" unfortunately -- no matter what I say or do, my conversations with Raedric always imply that I'm on Kolsc's side, and every time there's a Bleak Walker-specific dialogue choice that initiates combat with Raedric. I really do wish I was able to simply go to Defiance Bay and hear about the bounty on Kolsc's head (as the Wiki page implies), as that would certainly be more suitable from an RP stance for my Bleak Walker (helping a ruthless thayn who wants to quell an uprising). Oh well, I'm still having a blast playing Pillars of Eternity and have sunk about 20 more hours of game time since completing this quest, so I'm fine with moving past it. I was just misled by the information on the Wiki page and thought I'd check in with some of the veterans here to see if it was even possible. Appreciate the feedback.

You're making quite a few assumptions here, my friend. It actually seems impossible not to "side" with Kolsc during your initial meeting with him (either in Gilded Vale or Esternwood) -- even when I brush him off, the dialogue choices with Raedric still seem to assume I've sided with Kolsc. I've also tried stealthing all the way to Raedric without killing any guards, and while the opening line of the conversation with him is different, it still leads to the same conversation choices overall. The info I've pulled from the game's Wiki page in my previous post just seems to be inaccurate. According to the page, Kolsc will not approach you if you have a bad reputation in Gilded Vale, however he stops me in Esternwood regardless of my reputation. I've also headed straight for Defiance Bay with a cruel disposition, but have seen no mention of a bounty on Kolsc anywhere. Obviously this is nowhere near game-breaking and I'm still enjoying the game immensely, but it would have been nice to have been able to ally with Raedric from the beginning rather than contradicting the Bleak Walker oath (according to the dialogue choices) by apparently switching sides, regardless of what I said to Kolsc in the initial meeting. P.S. - I do appreciate the roleplaying tips, though. I guess I'll have to stop taking those pro bono puppy rescue missions with my Bleak Walker now

Hey guys! So according to the PoE Wiki site, there's a way to side with Raedric without first siding with Kolsc (long story short, I'm having the same problem Luckmann had with the Lord of a Barren Land quest from an RP perspective; here's the link to his post a few years back -- https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/78443-why-must-you-oppose-raedric-vii/page-1). Anyway, I've been doing some digging and apparently there's a way to avoid that awkwardness. Here's what I found on the Wiki site: (from http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Raedric_VII) If you avoided Kolsc and either infiltrated/fought your way through the hold he will act surprised to see you. If you infiltrated and made a deal with Osrya you may tell him that you are on his side.(from http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Kolsc) If you avoid him and have a Goldpact Knights background or Cruel disposition, you will be informed at Defiance Bay that Raedric VII put is a price on his head. Then you might hunt him at Magran's Fork. Now I've tried both of these solutions, and neither seems to work. Even with a bad reputation in Gilded Vale, Kolsc always approaches me on my way to Raedric's Hold and dumps his quest on me (thus causing the awkward dialogue with Raedric that I'm trying to avoid as a Bleak Walker). I've also tried ignoring Esternwood completely and headed straight for Defiance Bay with a Cruel disposition, but I haven't heard anything about a bounty on Kolsc's head. Is this just bad info from the Wiki site, or am I doing something wrong? P.S. - I know that this is hardly game-breaking or story-breaking, but I would greatly appreciate it if someone could help me work around this. I can still side with Raedric either way, but it feels weird ignoring the Bleak Walker-specific dialogue that initiates combat with him. EDIT: The copied and pasted content needed a bit of formatting.

Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but I've just started playing the game for the first time. Like the OP, I also have an issue with this quest from an RP sense for my Bleak Walker, especially considering there's a class-specific dialogue choice when speaking with Raedric that initiates combat with him. I want to side with Raedric and even though you still have that option when confronting him, it feels wrong going against my order. According to the PoE Wiki site, there's a way to side with Raedric from the start: (from http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Raedric_VII) If you avoided Kolsc and either infiltrated/fought your way through the hold he will act surprised to see you. If you infiltrated and made a deal with Osrya you may tell him that you are on his side. (from http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Kolsc) If you avoid him and have a Goldpact Knights background or Cruel disposition, you will be informed at Defiance Bay that Raedric VII put is a price on his head. Then you might hunt him at Magran's Fork. However, avoiding Kolsc in Esternwood seems impossible (apparently he avoids you if you have a bad reputation in Gilded Vale, but this is untrue seemingly), and I've also tried ignoring the quest and going straight to Defiance Bay, but haven't heard anything about the bounty on Kolsc in Defiance Bay. I know it's a shot in the dark, but can anyone verify whether or not this is even possible?