Consequences of Raedric's Hold

[Cartesii]

Im here now too..and i rly don t know...so i killed both ! I will see what will happen ^^

[Avatea]

Its so sad to see a perfectly good fortified Hold go to waste.  I wish we could occupy it and become the Lord of the land after killing both.

Anyone find the Holds Vault yet?  I am still reading questions around this.  Thanks in advance!!

[Songhunter]

So...

 

I'm playing a a roguish type moon goodlike cypher that likes to do good when he cans but doesn't shy away from  making a profit. And I was all ready to storm the keep and rain some biblical level spanking on some guys that clearly needed some. I went the route of the vines, found the togas, wondered if I could cheese my way through the whole place Torment style. I was sooooo happy when that worked I felt even more in love with the game. I found the priest, agreed to help his apprentice, but got a little confounded when the priest told me to consider not killing Raedric.

 

And THEN I found the animancer. And man, her conversation made me doubt this quest all over. I mean, it's like you guys say, Raedric IS a gigantic ball of crazy, but the dude is trying whatever the hell he can think up. I mean think about it, for all they know they KILLED a living god in their lands. I'm not sure how much of a normal occurrance god killing is in that universe, but you cant blame them if they go a little funny in the head. Plus, the animancer looked pretty legit and matter-of-fact in her arguments. Sure, she's an amoral freak (although I can't speak too loud, I stole her zombie cat), but I don't think she's doing all those experiments for funsies.

 

So in the end I killed Kolsc, left Raedric on the throne, and didn't kill the priest or the animancer since I don't really trust one over the other and they might be able to keep the other one in check if either of them tries to swing the puppet known as Raedric too far in one direction. My only regret was not being able to convince the apprentice to get out of dodge when things went south in the Kolsc base.

 

So my question to you all as follows: As a guy that's already having second thoughts about leaving the guy with the worst possible taste in tree decoration history to rule over the Guilded Vale, am I gonna regret my decision later? I've read that it affects the ending, but do you guys know if by a lot? My fears and supossitions are that if I left the priest they might've all turned to a bunch of cultist religious zealots or into an army of undead zombies if I only left the animancer.

 

Or mabye I got it all wrong and I should've killed Raedric after all?

[Christliar]

If you ignore the follow up quest (since my game crashes on the outside of Raedric's hold and I had to teleport with the console) the ending slide says that Raedric kills Kolsc and murders EVERYONE in Gilded Vale and that place becomes a graveyard, devoid of all life and nobody ever goes there.

[zered]

I killed them both, funny thing is I first killed Kolsc, Raedik gave me his sword as a reward. When I attacked him afterwards he fought with me with his bare hands

[Genghis Cunn]

This is a game of choices and consequences.  I decided i n favour of Raedric, killed Klosc, revisited Raedric and had second thoughts.  So I reloaded at the point I'd first left Raedric, and went to Caed Nun.  I couldn't find Maervald (? spelling), there was a magic barrier I couldn't deal with; so I'm back to the Raedric question.  Not a clear choice!  Time to decide ...  I'm a bit influenced by having to kill Giacomo, who doesn't seem to be a baddie, if I kill Klosc.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Genghis Cunn

[Kal Adan]

Raedric is doing everything he can to stop the curse. Problem is he's doing wrong for the right reasons:

 

- Animancer examining his wife dies just because she couldn't fix the curse. She also says Raedric's wife is fine in mind and body.

 

- Raedric kills his wife for worshipping some other god or something like that, thus casing his newborn being a Hollowborn. A poor excuse.

 

- Raedric planned on jailing or executing people worshipping Eothas (he failed doing so for different reasons).

 

- The offer for new settlers is basically the way to counteract his policy of killing people left and right. He then puts his offer on hold and there is a clear warning he'll kill even more people later on to "purge" the land of the curse, because his son was born as a Hollowborn.

 

The worst of all is that it's clear this ain't helping. Raedric is basically killing his people in addition to whatever effects the curse already has on the populace of the land.

 

There is no surprise Kolsc found a good ground for his rebellion and there is no excuse for Raedric's forces being spread too thin to contain rebellion and bandits both. He is using his troops to kill people anyway and he could've done the same even if there were no rebellion. I could understand the situation if Kolsc has manipulated the people to rebel to rise to power, but given what's happening in the Gilded Vale after the player's arrival Raedric's actions are not dictated by Kolsc's actions alone.

 

Kolsc might be a bad ruler, power-hungry or too young, etc. but in the end he seems like the better choice out of the two. Raedric was probably not bad a person or ruler prior the curse, but circumstances made him cling to desperate methods that are inexcusable and as such I find removing him the best course of action. It's not the ideal choice, but given the circumstances I find little doubt to be had here.

[Nasdaq7]

It's the story of South Africa. The scourge is Communism. Kolsc is Nelson Mandela.

[Nasdaq7]

The Liberal left might support Kolsc while Radedik might find support of people to the right.

[Avatea]

It's the story of South Africa. The scourge is Communism. Kolsc is Nelson Mandela.

...now that made me laugh.

 

Anyone find the Vault that we have permission to empty out?

 

Can we please have the ability of taking over the Keep if we kill everyone?  Its in great shape!

[Marceror]

Neither paths are inherently good or evil, its just a matter of how you perceive it. As it stands, I'm slightly inclined to side with Raedric. 

 

Kolsc seems like the popular choice but he doesn't strike me as a capable leader, more like a power-hungry kid who wants to be on the throne. He tries to look like a "people's person" but I don't know if that's just an act to get the populace on his side or not... He doesn't seem minimally interested in helping or finding a cure for the Hollowborn curse either. My reaction to him: "Good job, you 'inherited' a broken, dying land whose half of the population is dead and the other half is unable to produce viable offsprings. Enjoy your short reign!"

 

Raedric strikes me as a harsh man, a cold leader. He's someone who is capable of making though decisions and committing sacrifices for the "greater good"... even if that comes with a heavy cost. He is both ruthless and mad, but also the ONLY man in Gilded Vale who is TRYING to liberate his land from the curse. He believes that in killing some people now, more lives will be saved in the future. Its a though decision with no guarantees of success... but I think a small chance is better than none, and Kolsc doesn't look like he will do squat about it.

 

 

I hope Eder forgives me... because I'm going to side with Raedric.

You realize this makes you evil, right? And by you, I don't mean your character, I mean you. As long as you're okay with that...!

[YaroslavSobolev]

I have a little bit of advice on playing it. You may first think it's a bit off-topic, but please understand.

 

One of the central themes of the main storyline (and, by extension, the aesthetics of the entire game) is, as

Iovara near the end

puts it, facing the question "What if it's impossible to know anything for sure?".

 

To achieve this, creators of the game went to great lengths to provide this feeling - the feeling that you have to act with scarce information now and your actions will have consequences you will never know. And authors worked very hard to give you the feeling of uncertainty even after the game ends. So that you would forever be uncertain whether this or that choice you made have changed the story, and how. You can imagine how very hard it was for creators — to give you this feeling despite you (a player) knowing that there can't really be infinite possibilities in a computer game.

With this post, you are trying to undo what creators of the game did for you. You created this post because of your inner struggle, because facing the question I mentioned makes you uneasy. It is painful to face it, it causes psychological and existential pain. Observe how it works in your soul. Because observing it working in your own soul is part of the game story. Only then you would understand what

Iovara

was telling you. Only by experiencing it yourself, by reflecting upon it.

 

If you are trying to use saves or internet forums to figure out what could have happened, had you made different decisions — you are missing on a big chunk of experience this game strove to offer you. I'm not saying it is true for other games, but this very game is built around precisely this theme, and you're denying it. Give it a chance, or, at least, give it some time.

 

_{Maybe I should post it as a separate thread.}

[Nakia]

If you return to the magistrate in Gilded Vale after resting you get told to leave town that when Raedric's men come they will dispose of any one that might have contributed to the Hollowborn heir.  Anyone.   It seems to me there is little to encourage the player character to side with Raedric although that could change after talking to him.

 

You can also ignore the quest.

[abaris]

 

 

I killed raedric and put kolsc in place and there was an interesting development latr on in act 3.

 

I am too interested in this, i went back to glided vale and the hold and still no event, what do i ave to do to trigger it?

 

 

There's an npc in the twin elms tavern that triggers it

 

 

That's not even necessary. Your stronghold gets attacked by a certain kind of enemy at some point. After that attack, if talking to the steward, she hands you a message containing the details. But as has been said. It's not that interesting compared to other quests and events.

 

Killing Kolsc doesn't seem to have any impact at all other than Guilded Vale not being as happy with your decision than it is when Raedric is killed.

[teknoman2]

i went with Raedric.

he is harsh but fair. he did not exempt his wife from the law he himself established about giving birth to hollowborn.

he tried everything he could in order to find a solution. there was none, but he at least tried

he was a loved and respected ruler before the legacy and gilded vale thrived. he wasnt a crazy murderer from the start, circumstances forced his hand

he was the legitimate ruller, so siding with him would carry favor among the important people in Defiance bay

 

Kolsic is like a politician. he tries to gain favor from all by speaking with big words about big ideals in order to gain power for himself. he has poor leadership skills, since he attacked and failed to capture a castle full of soldiers who just wanted an excuse to change sides and he has no plan about what to do with gilded vale when he becomes the ruler. he is a shortsighted man who bases his strategy on the shortshightedness of others. 

[Christliar]

I have a little bit of advice on playing it. You may first think it's a bit off-topic, but please understand.

 

One of the central themes of the main storyline (and, by extension, the aesthetics of the entire game) is, as

Iovara near the end

puts it, facing the question "What if it's impossible to know anything for sure?".

 

To achieve this, creators of the game went to great lengths to provide this feeling - the feeling that you have to act with scarce information now and your actions will have consequences you will never know. And authors worked very hard to give you the feeling of uncertainty even after the game ends. So that you would forever be uncertain whether this or that choice you made have changed the story, and how. You can imagine how very hard it was for creators — to give you this feeling despite you (a player) knowing that there can't really be infinite possibilities in a computer game.

With this post, you are trying to undo what creators of the game did for you. You created this post because of your inner struggle, because facing the question I mentioned makes you uneasy. It is painful to face it, it causes psychological and existential pain. Observe how it works in your soul. Because observing it working in your own soul is part of the game story. Only then you would understand what

Iovara

was telling you. Only by experiencing it yourself, by reflecting upon it.

 

If you are trying to use saves or internet forums to figure out what could have happened, had you made different decisions — you are missing on a big chunk of experience this game strove to offer you. I'm not saying it is true for other games, but this very game is built around precisely this theme, and you're denying it. Give it a chance, or, at least, give it some time.

 

_{Maybe I should post it as a separate thread.}

That just sounds cheap to me tbh. Besides, we already know the answer to the question "What if it's impossible to know anything for sure?" - Descartes posed the very same question and came to the (quite wrong) conclusion Cogito ergo sum. Well it's not really a conclusion, more like a statement that he can jump off from, but still.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Christliar

[Sannom]

i went with Raedric.

he is harsh but fair.

I went with Raedric, but to call him "harsh but fair" is stupid. His management of the Hollowborn crisis was cruel and short-sighted. But I couldn't shake the impression that if he didn't have to worry about Korsk, he would become less harsh and less inclined to hang people from Gilded Vale, and that once the crisis was over, he would become a more respectable leader.

[mystang89]

Well I suppose that he did have A correct solution, kill everyone in the village and there won't be anyone left to have hallow born Babies.

[teknoman2]

 

i went with Raedric.

he is harsh but fair.

I went with Raedric, but to call him "harsh but fair" is stupid. His management of the Hollowborn crisis was cruel and short-sighted. But I couldn't shake the impression that if he didn't have to worry about Korsk, he would become less harsh and less inclined to hang people from Gilded Vale, and that once the crisis was over, he would become a more respectable leader.

 

the part about him being fair is the part about his wife. his choice may have being cruel, but considering he had no clue as to what was going on or how to solve it and the wild west type of place the Dyrwood is (first we hang him, then we decide if he is guilty), the measures were not extreme. if the target of these measures was anyone but the locals, the people would be more than happy to participate in the hangings, but since they were included, Raedric was unpopular

[Sannom]

the part about him being fair is the part about his wife.

He wasn't fair to his wife though. The mothers of Hollowborn were supposed to be only exiled, not executed. In fact, he didn't even kill her because of the Hollowborn, but for her continued worship of Eothas.

[teknoman2]

 

the part about him being fair is the part about his wife.

He wasn't fair to his wife though. The mothers of Hollowborn were supposed to be only exiled, not executed. In fact, he didn't even kill her because of the Hollowborn, but for her continued worship of Eothas.

 

being an Eothasian or give birth to a hollowborn are both reasons for a yellow card. do them together and you get a red card

[abaris]

If I play a selfish prick, I side with Raedric. Since I can't quite muster the stomach to do that in real life, I often do it in RPGs.

[Nakia]

Hind sight is always better than fore sight.  From a role playing view your character has no idea how their choice will turn out.  So far everything I have heard in the game up until  you speak to Raedric indicates that killing him just to protect yourself is a good idea.  Once you speak to him I think a very lawful or very mercenary character might side with him.    Kolsc is obviously using you.  This last play I told Kolsc I didn't want to get involved but the quest is still listed in the journal.

[Omnicron]

Either way Gilded vale seems to be in a bad spot in the end, well anything from bad to not on the map anymore, those are the parameters of the consequences of your choice .

[SZJX]

I think Raedric can very well worship Berith and there's nothing wrong it as a last resort when he doesn't understand the true cause, but the problem is what's the point of killing those who're worshipping Eothas and banishing "all mothers of Hollowborn"(i.e. believing they're all wicked Eothas worshippers). That's just nonsense and illogical. At most I'd say it's lackluster writing/excuse for creating a tyrant figure so there's no sympathy for him and he probably deserves to die, not knowing what's going to happen afterwards. There's no denying that Kolsc might be a mediocre leader but it doesn't seem he will do any cruelty from all the clues gathered up till that point. It's like choosing the lesser evil even though it might mean choosing a mediocre one.