[Story Spoilers] I Don't Understand Aribeth

[Veldstadt]

I recently finished the original bioware campaign, and throughout the campaign I was floored by what I would consider bad character writing for the central character of the campaign, Aribeth.

Aribeth betrays her lord, defies A MANIFESTATION OF JUSTICE that had saved her when she was at her lowest point, and decides to kill THOUSANDS just because her lover was an idiot who was too trusting.

Even reading her writings on why she did it, her dreams keeping her up at night; her sorrow, it never really came off as genuine or a reason why she should betray A TRUE, PHYSICAL, MANIFESTATION OF JUSTICE just because she feels bad.

I get that she was irrational, but really? How strong was her faith to begin with if she fell that easily? Her emotions never came across as someone being upset either, just keeping composure.

TL;DR could someone who actually understands the character explain wtf was going on in their head?

[soltan-heatwave]

I believe that she was changed by powerful mind affecting magic. She wasn't totally herself and the magic that was employed against her just amplified her feelings to a breaking point. Elves have an innate resistance to mind affecting spells, but the magic employed against her attacked her at her weakest point and was able to change her. If you remember by what was said, if you talked to the ambassador's in the tower, that Maugram and the powers he served would keep her in line. That indicate to me that she wasn't acting of her own accord.

There are a number of Aribeth redemption mods on the neverwinter vault.

[Veldstadt]

Originally posted by soltan-heatwave:

I believe that she was changed by powerful mind affecting magic. She wasn't totally herself and the magic that was employed against her just amplified her feelings to a breaking point. Elves have an innate resistance to mind affecting spells, but the magic employed against her attacked her at her weakest point and was able to change her. If you remember by what was said, if you talked to the ambassador's in the tower, that Maugram and the powers he served would keep her in line. That indicate to me that she wasn't acting of her own accord.

There are a number of Aribeth redemption mods on the neverwinter vault.

Maugrim's magics and the old one's influence seemed to be a factor, but beyond nightmares and feelings of regret, it seemed very voluntary on Aribeth's behalf. In the journal she pens that she would rather do bad than do nothing, she's transfixed on Fenthick's death... but it doesn't seem very consistent. Mixed with the divine favor / paladin powers, it doesn't quite make sense.

Actually, what doesn't make sense to me is why and how Helm allowed the slaughter of Helm's hold to take place. Where was Helm and Tyr? What were they doing at this time? Why was there no warning?

I'll have to check the mods, but it still seems weirdly written.

[soltan-heatwave]

If you listen to her story, she started out as a vengeful orc killer. The magic used against her just returned her to her old self. I still don't think it was totally voluntary though. The capability for her to return to that vengeful type person was there, but it had to be brought back by a powerful magical influence.

The Helm's hold part doesn't make sense to me either. Remember they let a powerful cleric live and kept him captive. I mean there were a lot of ways he could have communicated though magical means. Especially to Nasher, since they knew each other.

What about the mages in the Many Starred-Cloak guild? As powerful as some of them should have been someone should have been able to ascertain something especially if they summoned other planer beings who kept tabs on things like this. I guess though at the end, there wouldn't be any story for the PC to be involved in if things worked like they should have.

Even before the attack on Helm's hold don't tell me the mages in Luskan wouldn't have known something was going on. With all the magic at their disposal someone should have known or found out something before things went south for them.

As for the deities allowing this to happen. If you know the lore about them none of the deities were omniscient nor omnipotent, so something could take them by surprise. Helm may have been known as the vigilant one or the watcher, that doesn't mean that he couldn't be taken by surprise.

[cjwasright]

Just elf things

[Tesseract]

I think the OP hit the nail on the head in the first paragraph; the writing just isn't all that good. That said, I think you perhaps underrate the emotional impact of the death of someone you love. And Fenthick didn't just die, he was executed just for being an idiot who was too trusting, as you say. Aribeth considered that very unjust to say the least, which deeply shook her belief in and devotion to justice. If justice itself is just a cruel joke in the end, what does it matter what you do?

That and the magical influence from Maugrim & Co is really all the explanation there is, as good or bad as it may be.

And if you want to talk plot holes, Desther had his alignment magically concealed I'm sure, but did all the false Helmites in the city, 24/7? And did nobody notice the kind of magic they were using for their "blessings"? (And for that matter, did nobody make the incredibly low DC Sense Motive roll it should have taken to see that Desther was actively working against the investigation? LOL.)

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Veldstadt:

just because her lover was an idiot who was too trusting.

I stopped taking the story seriously at the latest when they threw him under the bus for being too trusting, while she blindly trusted the judgement of her lover herself and blindly trusted in the chain of command and her paladin's duty and that Lord Nasher (who also trusted them blindly) made the right decision in hanging Fenthick, and at the same time none of them would even remotely question Desther's motivations either and not listen to a single warning - as far as the player was even allowed to offer any, despite everyone being able to see it coming from far away and it being so obvious and on the nose that Desther is not a guy to be trusted. If he's so clever at charming everyone and disguising his true self why is he so blunt with the player? That was pretty bad writing already. So when afterwards Aribeth suddenly started crying me a river about her lover's fate while doing absolutely nothing before in order to prevent it, I couldn't care less. I don't get why many players were so enamored with her, she is a terribly written character and not sympathethic at all.

[Veldstadt]

All these are valid replies. It just frustrates me that this was basically my first "OG Bioware" rpg (some say Obsidian developed it, but Obsidian's writing can be good). The story is really hard for me to take seriously compared to the other dnd games. Thank you guys for posting.

[DrLoboto]

I think even among fans of Bioware games, the story would be considered one of the weaker ones, possibly even the weakest. It's one of the main reasons why people were disappointed with the game, especially coming from Baldur's Gate 2. That being said, Bioware's storytelling is popular but can be rather formulaic in general.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/91/fc/ed/91fced37510a6e86c51bec002455e163.png
;) (Spoilers in the text, obviously)

[Tesseract]

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

she is a terribly written character and not sympathethic at all.

I wouldn't quite go that far; she managed to be a little sympathetic despite the bad writing. But she definitely went from Lawful Stupid to Stupid Evil. ;)

[Dutchgamer1982]

Yeah... when I first played the games.. and saw festers man offering "blessings" in every district.... and was very suspict of it from the start... I made a point of actually killing them in all 4 districts.. and was looking for a the plague suddenly stops event... firing because of it...

as for the switch... it does indeed make no sence...

*I agree the killing of fenthic was wrong.
-> fenthic did follow.. he did not perform any of the crimes and we can realisticly even say he "has es nich gewuBt"
-> the lower germans after ww2.. were left off the hook rather easy... if they really had no part and did not know what was happening.. after all yes they were enemy soldiers but they were not guilty of warcrimes..

**fenthic as such was not guilty of warcrimes.. and while he would need to get a couple years of jailtime (for he still served under an enemy).. a year of 2-3 in jail would suffice to satisfy justice, deathpenalty was way to harsh in his case.

**than again if I was aribeth.. I would not have stand idle when fenthic was killed... I would have slain anyone trying that... heck if I the player as the hero of neverwinter had the chance... I likely would have treathed the people of neverwinter to let him go..

-> but suppose aribeth was no able to do such confronting.. to blind in her trust of the law... while me ass the hero... was occupied elsewhere... well than... I can see how that did hurt her

but one of the most important lines the game itself states :
elves are more slowly to embrace chance... a friend today, an enemy tomorrow.. a lifetime would not be enough for an elf to grasp such a drastic change..

**I get how if that is true.. aribeth would not oppose the law.. as she would not be as rash as humans to say this is not justice.. when fenthic was killed...
-> but by the same logic.. while she would struggle with what was law and what was not after fenthics death... and might have turned.... it makes no sence how quickly she makes that turn..

for the same slow changing of mind she had before.. she should still posess than..

If she was written as a human character.. or even half-orc with far more emotional tendensies... and the hanging happened while she was away in port last.. I can see how she would want to see lord nasher hang for what he had allowed...
but not as she is written.. as an elf..

[Chocos Ramabotti]

isn't aribeth only an half-elf?

[Panic Fire]

Um aribeth is half elf, and her story was retconned fixed in Hordes. She never actually loved Fenthick, she thought she did, but she realized that she was using him as an excuse, and that her betrayal of Neverwinter was actually Unjust.

Her character makes much more since in 5e though as she is specifically a Paladin of Vengeance. Who then fell from her tenants and became a fallen paladin. Regardless, like most of NWN main campaign. She is just poorly written. However since she was voiced everyone who played the campaign 50 billion times remembers her specifically.