How did you end the 'Blood Legacy' quest?

[Ichthyic]

 

the binary choice is getting my goat.

tough titties I say.  at least a few quests NEED to have limited decision trees like this one does.

 

it adds variety and spice, and helps remove the bland flavor too much of this game already has.

 

 

[Evange]

 

 

the binary choice is getting my goat.

tough titties I say. at least a few quests NEED to have limited decision trees like this one does.

 

it adds variety and spice, and helps remove the bland flavor too much of this game already has.

 

Agreed. We need more of such quests. I reloaded for countless times to make sure I chose the outcome that I felt most comfortable with.

[chouia]

With Grieving Mother, it should be easier. I didn't have it in my party...

 

First I though the girld could be saved, so I let here go. I hesitated to kill here, but I got hope, and she didn't deserve to die.

I got pity for skaen "slaves", but the way they use was so trash that I killed them all.

I though to tell the truth to save the girl, even if I didn't like the uncle... Maybe the uncle didn't deserve to die, but he was so selfish and unscrupulous he didn't deserve to live... And I didn't know the worst for the girl: to be accused of murder, or to be treated at Sanitorium?

So I didn't tell anything, and I took all the money the uncle could give me: he would not need it anymore. Furthermore, everyone seemed to be happy with my choice, and I got good reputation.

I hope it was not too hard for the girl, after the murder. I hoped I could help her later, saying at her trial it was not her fault...

 

Hard choice, indeed.

Edited April 15, 2015 by chouia

[Althernai]

I *like* the fact that you can't finish everything in an ideal fashion. I think there should be more tough choices in games. ...And, yeah, I don't think what would make things ideal should always be broadcast. I think it *should* make sense, however, even if after the fact.

In principle, tough choices are not intrinsically bad. However, they have to be implemented in a way that doesn't leave the player asking "Why the devil can't the character just do this instead?" and this appears to be rather hard to do. For example, in this quest, if you are not a Cipher and you didn't bring along Grieving Mother, there is nothing you can do about the girl's affliction. This is problematic because the game makes it perfectly clear that the Watcher is capable of manipulating souls. You couldn't have missed it because, at the very least, you needed to do it to the Old Watcher to clear the path to this area. It would be one thing if you at least had the option to look at her soul and the game would tell you that repairing this is beyond your abilities, but that's not what happens -- the fact that you have this power is completely ignored.

 

The other branch is even worse. Suppose you have your Cipher or Grieving Mother heal the girl. The single most obvious option is to invite her to stay at your stronghold... and it is nowhere to be found. This isn't even a supernatural action, it's just common sense. You can invite others who have nowhere to go to stay with you (e.g. the Ogre in the same area), so why not her? A "tough choice" that exists solely because an obvious option that would make things work out better was not implemented is bad design.

[Katarack21]

I like Skaens ideas on principle, but his followers carry-out is horrid. I mean, the revenge and all, yes, but forcefully sacrificing an innocent to achieve it? Nothing in his principles *forbids* that, but nothing encourages or requires it, either. That's all on them being dickheads; in fact, if I were Skaen I would seriously dislike them and think about encouraging that young girl along a "different" path.

[Qorach]

I wanted to return her to him for extra money and a chance of getting into nobility, but there was no such option. So I purified her using GM, and advised to go to big cities. And I let him go, incest for extending your noble line is nothing wrong in my book.

[Exyll]

 

Well the most annoying thing is that you (the player) have a stronghold / keep, instead of sending her out on the road after giving her a pat on her shoulder. Why not (if you are playing as a good character) allow her to stay there? Instead you send out the girl with no experience fighting or anything to go out and survive in the wild on her own. Considering how dangerous this world is, it feels like a evil choice.

My keep even has a *chapel* I could send her straight to if she wanted. I was really hoping that would be an option!

 

especially since you had that kind of option with the ogre on the map below

 

Interesting options, but as I dont like GM/Ciphers, and I wasnt about to let Wymun get away with doing that to the girl- I had to snap her neck

Also, killing the Lord, while it may get you overwhelming rep in Dyrford, you also lose moderate rep in DB

Lastly, as bad as an act he might have done, it still didnt warrant murder

[Ferdinan Stormcaller]

 

I like the fact there isn't always a "best ending" answer. I do wish that "You can crash at my castle" was an option.

[Ormag]

I just let the dude get away with his plan and didn't tell the lord anything.

My choice has actually granted me an offer from some certain deity much later in the game.

[Ichthyic]

 

the fact that you have this power is completely ignored.

actually, that isn't at all the case.

 

but, to know that, you'd have to have grieving mother with you.

 

it wasn't grieving mother ALONE that fixed the girl, she could only do it with YOUR help.

 

however, you're right that you wouldn't know this unless griieving mother was in your party.

 

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

In the beta I let them carry out their plans as I had no option to save the girl. Provided that option, I undid the curse, butchered the Skaenites, sent her to the temple, and killed Harrond.

[dragoninnight]

I don't bring mothher with me so I did not know that I can save her. My character Killed her and let Harrond live.

 

I wish there is a option to spread rumor about the lord, I don't think he's deserved to die but let him go like nothing happen make me very dissatisfied.

[Faerunner]

Had the Grieving Mother free the girl from the influence of the ritual, helped the girl escape, then killed the uncle.

 

I think the Skaen had a point about power, corruption, socially created ideas of "inherently noble bloodlines" nobility, leading to socially condoned abuse of that power and exploitation of innocents to perpetuate that power and privilege, etc. I just thought they went about it all wrong (since the PC can note their plan was needlessly complicated, and Eder notes, "Coulda just formed a lynch mob. They don't do a lot of things right, but in situations like this they know what they're doing"), and they ironically ended up being just as bad as her uncle since they also forcibly implanted her with their own "progeny" in a way that left her traumatized afterwards. (And would have broken/consumed her mind, body, and soul if they succeed.)

[WebShaman]

"#1: He is a lord in Defiance Bay, and you choose to extort him for money, and you wonder why your Defiance Bay reputation takes a hit? Let's put it this way: When he returns home, he's not going to be your biggest fan."

 

I got the extra money for my "silence" (perhaps you should do this to find out what really happens) - he obviously "betrays" this by some negative means. Now, I have the reputation of Champion with Defiance Bay, and also as being extremely honest - I can ruin this "lord" with a word - which I would have done had I the chance. I can see a hit with the Dorendals (or whatever they are called), that would actually make sense. But that took no hit! So your point here is misguided.

 

The hit should be factional, not global against Defiance Bay reputation.

[elf1]

I rescued her with GM and told her to wander off into the woods or whatever. let her uncle go with passive aggressive disapproval 

 

I was very disappointed with this quest because i could not rp my character the way i wanted...

 

my character is not very empathetic and is aedyran royalty so bloodline is very important to her... she actually sympathies with the nobeman's problem more than his niece. In her view it sucks to be the girl but sacrifices have to be made for pedigree

but in the quest there are no options except to be outraged at his actions

so i stopped caring and just pick some random options

[WebShaman]

This is one of the main problems with the game and the IP itself - there is no "morality". None. Not through the gods, and it is not made clear if such arrangements are legal or not.

 

Most of the game is like this - but here you get railroaded, indeed.

[sorrynameused]

I sat there for a while thinking of every possible long-term outcome for each decision. I remember she mentions something about playing the lyre, so i figure the most optimistic future for her would involve performing with a lyre, if she should not call upon her nobility to get by and assuming she has no other discernible talents.

 

With that in mind, here's a list of pessimistic(P) vs optimistic(O) outcomes for each choice when you give her advice:
Honest - hit the road

P: She dies on the road via bandit/monster attack

O: She finds shelter somewhere, eventually she finds her own way in life.

Benevolent - get help from the temple

P: She's stuck as a servant girl or a nun, or is turned away completely.

O: She is sheltered, gets money/help from the priests, perhaps she lives with them for a while, eventually buys a lyre and plays it in the temple. Perhaps she leaves and seeks out her inheritence. Maybe she is turned away but gets help from the innkeeper, buys a lyre and plays at the inn.

Passionate - seek out a large city

P: Has to resort to prostitution to get by, gets mugged, loses her baby.

O: She begs for money, uses the money to buy a lyre and performs on the streets, her talent or beauty is noticed and she's taken in by nobles to play for them. Eventually she is granted her inheritance.

Deceptive - goes into hiding

P: She's miserable and lives like a rat, starves.

O: Finds an abandoned cottage, learns witchcraft, becomes Flemmeth.

 

 

I chose to send her to the temple as i figured it was the least dangerous option, with the least amount of travel and risk. I figured it'd be a good starting point for her to get help and after that she could make her own decisions about where to go and what to do.

I also extorted her uncle and let him live. I imagine he will live in dread that he has no heir and will have plenty of time to learn remorse, regret, and guilt.

 

If in future he discovers where his niece is, he will likely try to provide financial aid to them, whether he feels guilt or not, this may benefit her. I think if i had killed him, she would not have bothered pursuing her inheritance, assuming she has knowledge of it. I think this way if he lives, the inheritance will come upon her more proactively, and if he dies, it will simply come upon her later in life, perhaps when the child has grown up, this could be more desirable as it gives them time to learn how to build a life with little, possibly developing life skills, or simply she has time to make friends with the Dyrwood folk, as they'd be warmer towards her considering she basically has nothing thanks to that noble douche.

 

More pessimistically the noble douche learns nothing, feels no guilt, attempts to sire another heir with some other unfortunate, and the inheritance goes to them, in which case it has minimal discernible effect on Aelys's life.

 

IN SHORT:

Sent Aelys to get help from the temple, i think it's a good, realistic first stop at the least.
Let the uncle live, i think there is more opportunity for the uncle to repent, and/or proactively benefit Aelys's financial standing in future.

[Xosmi]

I cleared out the entire skaenite cult, because even if they are trying to punish an evil noble, their methods are seriously flawed to say the least.

In the end, i decided to send aelys off to the local clergy, and let the Lord go. Sure, he doesn't get punished directly for his actions, but at least he will have to live out the rest of his life knowing he will be the last of his line.

 

It's a bit of a moral conundrum, but if you really want to stand on the moral high ground, you'd want to bring him to justice without a. involving innocents (i.e aelys) and b. playing judge and jury yourself.

Since the game doesn't offer this as an option in any way, i picked to get paid and let him go, guess it's up to the gods to punish him now

It would have been cool to be able to bring the lord to justice - i would have loved to b able to convince Aelys and the local inn-keeper and/or some members of his guard (dialogue with the skaenites suggests they knew what was going on all along) to testify against the lord, and attend a court ruling in defiance bay a lá the animancy trials.

[Karkarov]

Let his niece go, told her to go into hiding with the priests on the edge of town.  As a cipher I cleansed her of all the whack job nonsense the skaenites did myself and even wiped her memory of her uncle raping her.  Skaenites I left dead and buried.  Uncle Lord Jerkwad I personally took care of..... if you get what I am saying.  By the end of the game let's just say the people of Dyrford REALLY liked me.

[WebShaman]

It all doesn't really matter on a larger scale, because they will all be reborn in other lives, and the cycle continues.

 

Only...The gods are false, so...anything done where they are used to justify it is clearly flawed.

 

Personally, all that really matters is your journey, and how you complete it. You yourself decides.

 

I personally was overwhelmingly benevolent and diplomatic, with some cleverness sprinkled in. I was interested in helping others where I could.

 

The Skain Cultists attacked me (I had no choice) so I defended myself. I had no real interest in killing them, but they insisted on dying.

[Narla]

 The worst part of this unsatisfactory choice is how, like in the stronghold defense battles, the user selected formation is ignored. I chose to attack the girl since I didn't have the cypher npc (but I did have a self made cypher adventurer who couldnt do anything) thinking one of the other companions would do something but just killed the girl, and started the fight.

 

 Then my hero wizard got instantly killed because he was in front because of that dumb formation reset, not participating at all in the fight. Double unsatisfactory.

 

edit: if i remember right the boss guy had ~120 accuracy

Edited May 4, 2015 by Narla

[JCPhoenix]

I like Skaens ideas on principle, but his followers carry-out is horrid. I mean, the revenge and all, yes, but forcefully sacrificing an innocent to achieve it? Nothing in his principles *forbids* that, but nothing encourages or requires it, either. That's all on them being dickheads; in fact, if I were Skaen I would seriously dislike them and think about encouraging that young girl along a "different" path.

My main character was a slave, and the Skaen guy had special dialogue for that and I really kind of wanted to go with the Skaen plan from a roleplaying perspective, but I just couldn't go through with letting the girl be a slave to serve Skaen's purposes, so I released her and killed the Skaen priest as well as her uncle. Now what I did try was to release her AFTER letting her return to her uncle that way I didn't have to kill the Skaen worshipers since I did agree with them in principle, but unfortunately the game didn't allow me to do that.

 

Also for those of you who said that the Skaen priest might be lying and she was never raped, the Cipher option does go into detail about HOW you release her and it does show that her uncle did do all the things that the priest accused him of and you have to sever her memory of her uncle completely in order to free her.

[Thedrun]

My character is a bit of a Curious George, ie if there's a locked door I'm going to get through it.  When I first got to Dyrford I got Mr. Lost-My-Pigs task, which sent me into Trygil's shop.  Since I had been pumping mechanics I immediately see the locked door and pop it open.  Trygil gets angry tries to jump me, of course 6 v. 2 doesn't go his way.  Somewhat confused that Trygil was willing to fight to the death over a bit of lockpicking,  I then go down the Mysterious Ladder and get greeted by crazy cultists and blood effigies and wtf with basically no context since I hadn't done anything with the Aelys quest yet.  Fun times.  On reaching the end I did kill the girl, only to later go back and re-do it when I found out about having a cipher.  Killed the lord too because the alternative seemed to be he gets away with no consequences which didn't sit well with me.  Should have thrown that guy in the jail, I got 9 open cells just being wasted...

[hamskii]

I played as a cipher main, so I undid the ritual and killed the Skaenite priests. I feel like this was justified as despite their persuasive logic, there is some evidence in a nearby chest that shows that the Skaenites' animancer was exploiting and violating the girl just as much as her uncle. I told her to hit the road, and trust no one. When I got back to the inn, I killed the uncle. He died quickly, which was a little unsatisfying, but I suppose that was the point.

[Mhantra]

 

I like Skaens ideas on principle, but his followers carry-out is horrid. I mean, the revenge and all, yes, but forcefully sacrificing an innocent to achieve it? Nothing in his principles *forbids* that, but nothing encourages or requires it, either. That's all on them being dickheads; in fact, if I were Skaen I would seriously dislike them and think about encouraging that young girl along a "different" path.

My main character was a slave, and the Skaen guy had special dialogue for that and I really kind of wanted to go with the Skaen plan from a roleplaying perspective, but I just couldn't go through with letting the girl be a slave to serve Skaen's purposes, so I released her and killed the Skaen priest as well as her uncle. Now what I did try was to release her AFTER letting her return to her uncle that way I didn't have to kill the Skaen worshipers since I did agree with them in principle, but unfortunately the game didn't allow me to do that.

 

Also for those of you who said that the Skaen priest might be lying and she was never raped, the Cipher option does go into detail about HOW you release her and it does show that her uncle did do all the things that the priest accused him of and you have to sever her memory of her uncle completely in order to free her.

 

 

My main character on this playthrough is a Skaen Priest with slave background...lol  I wonder what options I will have.