Shandalar, "default benefactor" (dialogue revision)

Unferth

I have no idea where this note should go, so I hope someone will kindly move it if need be. Anyway, when you meet Shandalar in Ulgoth's Beard, he introduces himself as the town's "default benefactor." "Default" suggests that UB has multiple benefactors and that all benefactor-ing falls to Shandalar unless otherwise specified—an unlikely situation on the face of it.

Surely what was intended here was "de facto": Shandalar is a big fish in a small fishing village, a powerful mage who happens to live in UB and who is looked upon—willingly or unwillingly—as a patron or protector or what have you. Given that he goes out of his way to qualify his status (and even though "de facto benefactor" is a little oddball), I think it's worthwhile to give him the words his situation suggests.

Jalily

By "default benefactor," he means the role automatically falls to him because no one else has shown themselves willing or capable of taking on the responsibilities. Like how if there's only one eligible entrant in a contest, they become the default winner.

sarevok57

he is quite the lazy one as well, if you bring the soul taker dagger back im quite certain he will not help you defend the town against all of the baddies and things that happen afterwords, he is just so concerned with his whacky little magical cloak that really has no significance, and also, if he resides in that town, where does he live? when he dimension doors out of there, doesn't he just disappear forever? and why doesn't he ever give his daughters a visit at their home?

scriver

I'm not sure you understand how villages work.

Unferth

That's a really good read, @Jalily. Still, I'm not sure the analogy quite fits: I doubt the Beardians got together and said, "someone here has to be our benefactor, and Shandalar's the only sensible choice, so it falls to him by default." That would be a strange understanding of "benefactor." If Shandalar didn't live in UB, would they have given someone else the responsibility (by default)? Without Shandalar, there would be no benefactor: Unlike a contest, which exists prior to selecting a winner, the role of benefactor can't exist independent of someone capable of fulfilling it. In the same way, Shandalar doesn't hold an office that existed prior to his presence ("Official Ulgoth's Beard Benefactor"), but rather just happens to live in UB and just happens to be a powerful person; that's why the other residents look to him to take on a certain role.

So, weirdly enough, I like "de facto" for essentially the same reasons you like "default": Shandalar is benefactor because of the purely contingent fact that he is more powerful than anyone else in town. It also suggests a certain hesitance on his part to be bothered with the townspeople's concerns, which seems to me in character.

enneract

"de facto" would be the form of that statement which most english teachers would like. "Default" has a different, and somewhat more general connotation, while "de facto" implies that something is the case simply because it is the case.

Unferth

Haha. Amazing, @enneract. English teacher speaking.

meagloth

I think de facto makes more sense. Default sound a bit silly.