Aloth: Opinions

[Slotharingia]

Does Aloth have an issue with men? In Deadfire, a whole ton of his eyerolling is directed at Tekehu & Serafen, and Eder, who is the one who's actually mean to him stays at 0 (for me). All three guys are big fat softies, and all his interactions with them involve him being negative as far as I can remember. The women, on the other hand, cause him to gush with approval. What does this mean? Does he feel more comfortable around women because of his abusive father? Is he obsessed with duty because of his neglectful mother?

What's your take on his comments on his father/mother depending upon whether he's pro/anti leaden key?

 

Also, is Aloth defined by being OCD/neurotic? He makes multiple coments about tidiness/cleanliness, and his reactions also fit into that category. As in, he'll approve only if what you say fits into a very narrow spectrum of what he considers positive, and even if he doesn't agree with the principle, he'll still approve of things that match his criteria (duty is good even if he's skeptical about what your duty is to). He's also really uptight and can't relax.

 

How does Iselmyr fit into all this? Is it kinder to supress her or to leave her as part of him (does he need her)?

 

Aloth's been a permanent fixture on my team since Deadfire came out and I'm now on my third character trying to get his approval by legit means, so I've been thinking about him quite a lot and would like to read some opinions.
 

[Aramintai]

I think you're reading too much into it. He doesn't like a certain type of character, not gender. It seems that female companions are more serious and dutiful, which he likes, while male companions are big goofs all around, which he doesn't like. If you play as a serious dutiful male Watcher he'll like you too. It may be considered a writing flaw, or some pro-feminist agenda as to why companions are written like that, but it has nothing to do with Aloth.

As to why he likes serious and dutiful people, it's easy - he'd like to be considered as such himself. And certainly it didn't come from nowhere but was shaped by the events in his life.

As to what gender he leans more to for romantic relationship - I don't think he has a preference, because by the looks of it he's an effin virgin who doesn't even think about it that much, being preoccupied with academic studies and messed up by Iselmyr for so long. He kinda reminds me of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

[Yria]

I don't think it's really about their gender. It's just that all our female companions are dutiful/responsible, and all the male ones are the opposite of that. How Eder manages to stay 0 and -2 after the Iselmyr disaster is beyond me though.

[Slotharingia]

I wasn't suggesting he has a preference male / female for the Watcher, just making observations on his opinions of out buddies. Honeslty it would be ridiculous to make him prefer men or women at the same time as being available to both (on a relationship level).

[Slotharingia]

I don't think it's really about their gender. It's just that all our female companions are dutiful/responsible, and all the male ones are the opposite of that. How Eder manages to stay 0 and -2 after the Iselmyr disaster is beyond me though.

 

Probably because the approval system isn't based on banter, and Eder is rude in banter (I think?). He is the most deserving of it though.

[marimo]

I don't think it's a gender thing but more that the male crew members in this game set off his irresponsibility pet peeve because of their personalities. Maia, Pallegina and Xoti are incredibly dedicated to their causes, even to a fault in the case of Maia and Pallegina especially. Whereas Serafen and Eder are dedicated in their own ways but more laid back and irreverent, and Tekehu is...Tekehu.  

 

I would call him neurotic in a colloquial sense but not a clinical sense, meaning that he's very uptight and anxious by nature, always second guessing himself and holding himself back. I don't think he has OCD, I think he's just particular about certain things like order and cleanliness due to both his personality and his upbringing. 

 

I also think that they've done too good a job balancing out the choices you can make for Aloth like what to do with Iselmyr or whether to go pro- or anti-Leaden Key, or whether to tell him to give up on his mission. I go back and forth on what I think is best for him but ultimately I lean towards keeping Iselmyr, having him go anti-Leaden Key, and telling him not to give up on his mission. Even though it means he leaves the Watcher in the end cards. I think it's healthy for him to be a little more assertive and pro-freedom, and he sounds proud of himself when he talks about strategies he figured out on his own. I think he needs that kind of thing and it's good that he's found the confidence to follow his own lead.

 

But it kills me a bit that he sounds so happy in his little comments after you trigger his romance, because he sounds happy so rarely and because the relationship won't last very long. 

[Yria]

Eder isn't the only serious offender, I think Aloth also takes real issue with Serafen poking around in his head (and who wouldn't?). But his reactions to Tekehu are hilarious, mostly because Tekehu actually likes him in return and always remains cheerfully friendly in banter.

 

 I don't think he has OCD, I think he's just particular about certain things like order and cleanliness due to both his personality and his upbringing. 

 

This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.  

[marimo]

 

 I don't think he has OCD, I think he's just particular about certain things like order and cleanliness due to both his personality and his upbringing. 

 

This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.  

Ah, I should really go and read those sometime.

[Aramintai]

Tekehu actually likes him in return and always remains cheerfully friendly in banter.

Tekehu's like that with everybody. But it's his empty boasting and narcissism Aloth hates, not friendliness.

[Skazz]

But it kills me a bit that he sounds so happy in his little comments after you trigger his romance, because he sounds happy so rarely and because the relationship won't last very long. 

 

That's because Aloth isn't really a guy who's obsessed with duty bur rather someone who is desperately looking for a purpose in life. Having been an empty void for the majority of his life, he jumps from one extreme cause to another to find something big enough to justify his existence, here, now, at all costs (notably, if you tell him to go away after his confession in PoE 1, he commits suicide; also notice how there is very rarely any middle ground with him).

 

Him being very happy when romanced makes sense because this unexpected and unconditional love gives him exactly the source of validation he needs.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Skazz

[Shadenuat]

Nah it's just that reputation system is a buggy bad written **** and so are characters. I don't think all the negative disposition changes for Aloth were intended and that all changes for all characters were balanced that well. Too often they react to the stupidiest ****.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Shadenuat

[Aramintai]

This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.  

That woman is really unhealthy for the guy, I'm glad I helped him get rid of her. Her stay was long overdue. Now he can be a true master of himself and his decisions, and nobody can mess with him anymore.

[Yria]

Tekehu's like that with everybody. But it's his empty boasting and narcissism Aloth hates, not friendliness.

 

I know, I'm just amused by these instances when one companion really dislikes another, but they remain blissfully ignorant of that and act like everything is great between them.

 

 

Ah, I should really go and read those sometime.

 

It also gives a good perspective on Aloth's dislike towards animancy. Defintely worthy of reading if you like the character.

[Slotharingia]

Eder isn't the only serious offender, I think Aloth also takes real issue with Serafen poking around in his head (and who wouldn't?). But his reactions to Tekehu are hilarious, mostly because Tekehu actually likes him in return and always remains cheerfully friendly in banter.

 

 I don't think he has OCD, I think he's just particular about certain things like order and cleanliness due to both his personality and his upbringing. 

 

This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.  

Yeah I agree it's terrible Serafen pokes in his head, but I think he actually means well, lol.  BTW what short story?

 

 

I think you're reading too much into it. He doesn't like a certain type of character, not gender. It seems that female companions are more serious and dutiful, which he likes, while male companions are big goofs all around, which he doesn't like. If you play as a serious dutiful male Watcher he'll like you too. It may be considered a writing flaw, or some pro-feminist agenda as to why companions are written like that, but it has nothing to do with Aloth.

As to why he likes serious and dutiful people, it's easy - he'd like to be considered as such himself. And certainly it didn't come from nowhere but was shaped by the events in his life.

As to what gender he leans more to for romantic relationship - I don't think he has a preference, because by the looks of it he's an effin virgin who doesn't even think about it that much, being preoccupied with academic studies and messed up by Iselmyr for so long. He kinda reminds me of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory.

 What do you mean by pro feminist agenda? I mean personally, I don't think they are "better" people, just more prone to adhere to authority (real or imagined), which could equally be interpreted as anti-feminist.

[Skazz]

Nah it's just that reputation system is a buggy bad written **** and so are characters. I don't think all the negative disposition chaners for Aloth were intended and that all changes for all characters were balanced that well. Too often they react to the stupidiest ****.

 

Like Pallegina approving of you toppling completely inconspicuous and innocent shrines in the ass-end of nowhere.

[Shadenuat]

Pallegina was just bland in PoE1, but now she's all kinds of stupid. Her quest is probably the stupidiest of the bunch.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Shadenuat

[Yria]

 BTW what short story?

 

This one: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Until_He_Started_Screaming

[Aramintai]

Him being very happy when romanced makes sense because this unexpected and unconditional love gives him exactly the source of validation he needs.

Yea, I figured the same. I think him staying with the Watcher or continuing his Leaden Key work is equally valid, because he still seemed lost after POE1 and that Leaden Key business just looked like a way for him to find his place in the world, to make a difference. So why not find his place with the Watcher and make a difference together?

[Slotharingia]

Nah it's just that reputation system is a buggy bad written **** and so are characters. I don't think all the negative disposition chaners for Aloth were intended and that all changes for all characters were balanced that well. Too often they react to the stupidiest ****.

I think it could have been done better. However, now that I've managed to get positive rep with Aloth really fast with a new character, it seems it might have been intended to match his uptight personality (still not convinced by the idea of him going from needing Watcher approval in 1, to only approving Watcher who acts in a very specific way makes sense though). In general, the approval system is too simplistic. It's based too much on comments people make, many of which are completely trivial, and too little on things of actual importance.  There are also overlapping dispositions that different companions have that could have just been given the same name and resulted in a less perplexing player experience.

 

i really didn't like Pallegina's quest (my char was godlike), not sure I'd call it stupid though xD

Edited June 1, 2018 by Slotharingia

[Shadenuat]

The whole approval system could have been scrapped for something simplier and with more dialogue for companions. It's an example of unnecessary complicated mechanic created for a completely trivial thing like flavor party banter.

[Aramintai]

 What do you mean by pro feminist agenda? I mean personally, I don't think they are "better" people, just more prone to adhere to authority (real or imagined), which could equally be interpreted as anti-feminist.

I meant only that companions writing is scewed - female companions are strong, serious and dutiful (reliable), while most male companions are all sorts of goofs (unreliable). With former generally being viewed as a good trait (especially in males), while the latter generally not, it may look like writers have something against males and wrote them with negative traits on purpose. But it's just an observation, perhaps it's just a coincidence.

[Aramintai]

The whole approval system could have been scrapped for something simplier and with more dialogue for companions. It's an example of unnecessary complicated mechanic created for a completely trivial thing like flavor party banter.

Yea, I'd rather companions had predetermined/fixed opinions about other companions and dialogues. Like it was in BG2, for example. Never liked approval systems, they encourage playing as a psychotic "yes-man" with no backbone if you want to have good relationships with everybody.

[Yria]

I wouldn't really call Maia's and Xoti's interpretation of being dutiful a positive trait.

[Slotharingia]

 

This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.  

That woman is really unhealthy for the guy, I'm glad I helped him get rid of her. Her stay was long overdue. Now he can be a true master of himself and his decisions, and nobody can mess with him anymore.

 

I dislike Iselmyr, but I feel like Aloth needed her at the time she surfaced, because he was basically paralysed. I always got him to get rid of her in POE1 as I felt he's moved beyond needing her and she just causes him trouble rather than helps him at that point.

 

As for romance/Leaden Key. I'm not sure really. It seemed to me he felt overwhelmed by his task and felt it was pointless. He seemed happier to me in the romance ending to me. I haven't done a pro leaden key playthrough yet, but I'm biased to anti leaden key, so I can't see myself pushing him in the other direction.

[Slotharingia]

I wouldn't really call Maia's and Xoti's interpretation of being dutiful a positive trait.

 

Nor Pallegina's. She doesn't even have an issue with the whole slavery thing.