Does the party in BG3 skew Evil, or am I confused?

[Majere]

So this is throwing me a bit. It doesn't seem that BG3 actually tells you character alignments, but so far I've met an evil Demihuman fighter, a High Elf who worships a very evil god, a warlock enslaved by a demon, and a dhampir who bizarrely seems to be the most pleasant of the bunch. I assume Wyll is meant to be Chaotic Good or something, but still it looks like you're being pushed towards Evil if you want a cleric, a tank, and/or romance options that don't come with a helping of sausage.

I mean, I'm trying to be tolerant but literally the first thing the Gith did once I found her again was try to make me slaughter a couple of innocents, so that ended poorly for her. (It didn't help that she had some armour I rather fancied...)

Are they going for the whole idea that alignment is more a personality trait, and you're supposed to tolerate it and gently bring people around, or something like that? It really seems that good-aligned characters are thin on the ground at the moment.

[EruWan]

Kyutaru a écrit :

Because that's what evil people do...

damn I have flashbacks from my previous lives, so many "do gooders" are either sociopats or simply ♥♥♥♥ and grifters trying to gain something either for themselves or to boos their ego

[Actalo]

Kyutaru a écrit :

WotC is moving away from alignments anyway. They too often create confusion, like "why is the evil people so nice and friendly and helpful?" Because that's what evil people do...

I believe alignment is mainly for reoleplay purposes - to help the player make decisions on how their player should react to the world.

However, it should be noted that evil people can do good deeds without good intent and good people can do evil deeds without evil intent - the same goes with chaos and law.

[Amogus]

Kyutaru a écrit :

WotC is moving away from alignments anyway. They too often create confusion, like "why is the evil people so nice and friendly and helpful?" Because that's what evil people do...

well "evil" doesn't mean someone must act like joker all the time, ever heard the book Banality of evil? Many Nazi world war 2 concentration camp guards and personal were not "evil' in that they look and act like what stereotypical cartoon villain, but they were polite pleasant and family man, yet they have no problem sending millions to the gas chamber.
Think about the character from Inglorus bastard colonel hans Landa in the first farm scene with the french farmer, he was presented as a very pleasant and charming guy

[aramintai]

Who are the evil characters here? I haven't played early access in a while but I recall only Astarion leaning towards that path if you don't restrain him. And there was something fishy about Gale.
The rest were either neutral, or good. And Shadowheart clearly was not quite all there, far from typical Sharran. Won't be surprised if the rumors about her are true and she's actually a brainwashed cleric of Selune.

Minsc was chaotic good in BG 1,2 and Jaheira actually was neutral good, even though the game allowed druids to be true neutral at that time.

I think it's ok to not show their alignments considering that apparently you can sway origin characters into different directions. But I loved alignment shift system in Planescape: Torment, there's that.

[WeenerTuck813]

I definitely do not think that shadow heart is an evil character

[Recjawjind]

aramintai a écrit :

Who's are the evil characters here? I haven't played early access in a while but I recall only Astarion leaning towards that path if you don't restrain him. And there was something fishy about Gale.
The rest were either neutral, or good. And Shadowheart clearly was not quite all there, far from typical Sharran. Won't be surprised if the rumors about her are true and she's actually a brainwashed cleric of Selune.

Minsc was chaotic good in BG 1,2 and Jaheira actually was neutral good, even though the game allowed druids to be true neutral at that time.

I think it's ok not to show their alignments considering that apparently you can sway origin characters into different directions. But I loved alignment shift system in Planescape: Torment, there's that.

While character "alignment" can ofcourse shift based on your actions and interactions with them, Lae'Zel and Astarion absolutely start out evil.

[potate]

yes very hard morality evil good

[Agent Chieftain]

Shadowheart is just an edgy tsundere. For all her talk about darkness and loss, she also loves you choosing morally good options that help people.

[aramintai]

Recjawjind a écrit :

While character "alignment" can ofcourse shift based on your actions and interactions with them, Lae'Zel and Astarion absolutely start out evil.

I agree about Astarion, but are you saying this about Lae'Zel because her race is evil by default? In early access she was so driven trying to get to her people to remove the tadpole I don't recall her doing something evil specifically. Her upbringing and situation in an alien world among strangers are so well woven into the story I can't say I would have reacted much differently if I were her.

[aramintai]

Also, let's not forget Karlach who's good hearted as devs said. And Halsin's definitely not evil.

[aramintai]

arcanitespidertank a écrit :

Shadowheart seems like a confused character. Evil deity, but appreciates good choices. Under Shar on the wiki it says that the worshippers are "those seeking to forget". Maybe she has a dark past? Maybe she was indeed brainwashed. Idk, she's interesting.

Yea, she's fascinating. Can't wait to unravel her mystery. The most interesting companion for me personally.

[MeatGolem]

I like them all. They all are sympathetic and interesting to me in their own ways. Except for Gale. Gale is a douche.

Oh ok, I like Gale too... as long as he isn't talking.

EDIT: And I really need to stop spelling Gale Gael. Sorry I have a friend named Gael.

[Recjawjind]

aramintai a écrit :

I agree about Astarion, but are you saying this about Lae'Zel because her race is evil by default? In early access she was so driven trying to get to her people to remove the tadpole I don't recall her doing something evil specifically. Her upbringing and situation in an alien world among strangers are so well woven into the story I can't say I would have reacted much differently if I were her.

Lae'Zel hates diplomatic solutions, she just wants to beat answers out of people, then kill them. Sure, that is what githyanki do, but it's still an evil trait. She hates being altruistic, and definitely wants to do anything in her power to please vlaakith, who is without a shadow of a doubt an evil lich queen.

If you make good aligned choices, she'll dislike you pretty quickly.

She also doesn't get any affinity for petting Scratch. Truly, truly wicked! >:(

[aramintai]

Ok, so if we take their default states, race and paths they're leaning to into account:
Evil: Astarion, Lae'Zel
Neutral: Shadowheart, Gale (one is a tsundere with ambivalent approval choices, another one is too fishy to be good)
Good: Wyll, Karlach

Seems pretty balanced to me. But since they can be led to different paths as you play this whole topic is moot.

[Kiru]

Some people are funny. Complain about characters shifty behavior, then kill them to steal their armor. :D