Hell trials in BG2EE
Senash
Member Posts: 405
Didn't get there myself yet, but I was wondering, if someone could share with us whether the rewards, bonuses and alignment changes from the hell trials are the same as in vanilia BG2?
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I understand that Beamdog wasn't supposed to change existing content, but is there no way that an exception could be made for this? Or was there no way that permission could be granted to change only the hell trial alignment change? It doesn't make sense logically. It doesn't make sense if you are roleplaying. It doesn't make sense period. IMO, this should have been considered a bug.
I believe that the folks working on the EEs are doing as much as they can within the limitations imposed on them. These people, like us, love these games.
http://www.pocketplane.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=128&Itemid=100
It does make the experience much better, though.
Well, that's the story.
The Nine Hells (I assume that is the plane you are transported to, it could be a layer of the Abyss) are suffused with pure evil energy, as is the Bhaalspawn essence within you. Giving in even once allows the essence to take root in your character; that's how evil works.
Some people might argue that choosing good should bring you back, but in a literal metaphysical sense, you just cannot ascend in a place like that - only go down. The Baldur's Gate series is a story about how your character either fights the taint within them, or gives in and embraces it. Staying neutral is a luxury you just don't get to enjoy - you ARE the Last Bhaalspawn. Even the options in hell which allow you to stay 'neutral' aren't really neutral at all.
That's the reality most people don't realize in the AD&D multiverse - the Planes are all, with the possible exception of the elemental planes, radically affected by Law/Chaos/Good/Evil. Perhaps Sigil is balanced, but even then not really, law has a strong foothold there (being as the Lady of Pain is Lawful Neutral, even evil by some accounts). Only in the Prime Material plane can you sit back and pretend the multiverse is otherwise.
Being as your character was born of a God, and that God was evil, you are invariably going to be dragged into a situation to confront that reality. The Hell Trials are where you are forced to once-and-for-all take sides. Up until then you may have enjoyed your Chaotic Neutralness (or whatever) but eventually you have to reconcile yourself with the Bhaalspawn essence.
Personally I think this is one of the best aspects of the game - change.
Nine Hells or Friendly Arm Inn, if you do one evil deed and good deeds the rest of the time, you're not evil. The really silly part is that it doesn't even matter because you can play good or evil afterwards with no change to your alignment. You can pick lawful good and go through the game stealing and murdering at random, but if you pick the right options at the trials, you are still lawful good. I don't think there's really any good defense except that the system is very underdeveloped.
His divine realm was located on Khalas, first layer of Gehenna.
Of course, when it comes to something like a paladin, we'll have to assume that his deity knows what he's doing and he's still going to fall even if nobody sees him murdering someone.
Not that the Enhanced Edition should have changed all that of course, I'm just saying there are good alternatives to the alignment system.
PS: Why can evil characters cast Protection From Evil on themselves? Does that then mean they'll have a harder time hitting themselves? What happens if you cast Continual Light inside someone's eyes? Etc.
If you don't become evil for becoming the Slayer, then there is no reason the trials should be able to turn you permanently evil.
But then again, if an evil character's more than willing to watch said friend get tortured, kill Sarevok a second time, kill a white dragon, but refuses to wear a cloak made from nymph skin, how does that magically make him good? How does deciding to not wear a piece of gross clothing suddenly outweigh the many awful, horrendous acts that he's done in the past?
They say it's easier to fall from Heaven than to climb back up.
The Hell trials make sense within the alignment system, but the alignment system only accounts for black and white and even then it demands consistent roleplaying in order to work.
You could have just sat in your pocket plane forever. You chose to resurrect him to avoid that fate.