moral dilemma

[Icedfate]

i'm sure this has probably been talked about many, many times.

i know i'm reading into this waaaaaay too deep.

i'm confused about the riddle the djinn asks you in the first dungeon.
where he puts you in a hypothetical situation he says a wizard captures you, puts you in a box and puts your sibling in another box unable to communicate.

you both have a button. you both have a choice to either press the button or dont press it

if you press and sibling does not : you die, they go free
if they press, you don't : they die, you go free
if you both press : you both die
if neither presses : you both die

this sounds suspiciously like the little game the heath ledger joker played on batman except, more ways for you to die. (and i'm pretty sure this game came out before that movie, so i guess both of them got the idea from someplace else?)


i'm not gonna bother with spoiler alerts, since this is the beginning of the game, the game is so old, and besides anyone can figure it out by reloading their save.
the end result is really inconsequential anyway.

it still bothers me.

because here's the thing, the only way for you to survive this hypothetical situation is to not press your button and hope your sibling sacrifices themself on your behalf.
of course, if they don't press the button, you die anyway. but you would have died anyway even if you did press the button..
this sounds like the only rational thing to do seeing as you can't even communicate with your sibling, so not pressing the button at least gives you a 50% chance to live. as opposed to 100% chance to die.

if you choose this answer, the djinn admonishes you as a coward and summons gibberlings to fight you as they are more befitting your stature.

I suppose the idea is that it's a "noble deed" to give up your life so your loved one might live...but

if you press the button, sacrificing yourself so your sibling gets spared...and then if they press their button anyway, not only is your sacrifice is wasted, because they die as well theres the irony that you would have survived if you had not pressed it yourself.

so in reality it's like, 75% of you or you sibling dying, 50% chance of both of you dying, 25% chance one of you will live and 0% of both of you surviving...one of you MUST die.

this question is loaded and totally unfair.

of course, if you choose the button, the djinn praises your courage and then summons an ogre mage which you easily slay and get some loot off of it...

so obviously that was the right answer.

but then, what was the whole point?

[Mhblis]

Its an allusion to the whole bhaal spawn Imoen thing.

or

Maybe he is just gone insane and or is just nasty. Genies an DnD lore are not particularly friendly or helpful.

[Teralitha]

Its roleplaying. I doubt anyone has ever tried each choice and finished a playthrough to see if it makes any difference in the journey, and I doubt it does. Much like your alignment doesnt seem to actually matter much, only the choices you make matter.

[Icedfate]

no, it doesn't make a difference. i was just trying to figure out the riddle that's all.
of course i know the "correct answer" but I don't get why that's the "correct answer"

[Hans]

I'm going to have to reboot the game, I thought pressing the button killed your sibling and let you go free?

Either way, I think the whole point is from the Bhaal spawn perspective; how can you claim your birthright if you aren't willing to kill a few of your siblings?

From a real world perspective, I don't know what the point is other than to screw with you. No matter what you pick, the choice feels wrong.

[Icedfate]

Originally posted by Arngrim:

I'm going to have to reboot the game, I thought pressing the button killed your sibling and let you go free?

Either way, I think the whole point is from the Bhaal spawn perspective; how can you claim your birthright if you aren't willing to kill a few of your siblings?

From a real world perspective, I don't know what the point is other than to screw with you. No matter what you pick, the choice feels wrong.

yeah, well that would have made more sense, but i'm pretty sure it was the other way around, i played through the first dungeon 3 times and i read that dialogue over and over again...
maybe i should check again lol

[Woofy]

I think Minsc has the best reply to the question...:-)

I know they wanted a "Prisoner's Dilemma" situation, but I think they didn't truly think it through.

[ViSCrAL]

♥♥♥♥♥ neera

[jbridso]

It's a question of self sacrifice.

Do you push the button giving your sibling the opportunity to survive and condemn yourself to death. Basically, you're willing to give your life to try and save another.

or

Do you not push it giving yourself a chance to survive, but ensuring your sibling's death. Selfish act where you are willing to sacrifice another to try and save yourself.

[danconnors]

I believe you have an option to refuse to answer the D'Jinn's question. To remove your moral problem simply refuse to answer his question. When dealing with demonic creatures refuse to play their game. Their game is meant to confuse you, to test your faith, and, ultimately, make you lose faith. Do not cooperate.

You will lose nothing by this refusal. The D'Jinn has nothing of value to tell you.