Gorion's alignment may be wrong... *Spoiler*
Crucades
Member Posts: 36
Just had a thought about Gorion after reading his note he left for you, in which he basically says...
Firstly this isnt a dig at how he rushes you out of Candlekeep without no information. This is me merely trying to get my head around that this guy is Lawfully Good, he is a monk, a wizard and a sometimes harper. And he leaves you a letter like that laying around for anybody to read on his bedside cabinet. Shouldnt he at least be CG?
I gotta admit, I was less consumed about avenging him after reading that letter, I mean at least Saverok got a chance to weigh up his options a bit before choosing his path. Gorion was kinda an abusive parent.
Hey kiddo, if your reading this then I guess am toast. Yup your the bastard spawn of the Lord of Murder. Did I ever tell you about the time after your mother was raped by Bhaal I took her in whilst she was all vurnable and got a bit of loving myself? Good times.
Love, G
Love, G
Firstly this isnt a dig at how he rushes you out of Candlekeep without no information. This is me merely trying to get my head around that this guy is Lawfully Good, he is a monk, a wizard and a sometimes harper. And he leaves you a letter like that laying around for anybody to read on his bedside cabinet. Shouldnt he at least be CG?
I gotta admit, I was less consumed about avenging him after reading that letter, I mean at least Saverok got a chance to weigh up his options a bit before choosing his path. Gorion was kinda an abusive parent.
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Comments
Gorion must have known a great deal of the issue, yet he tells CHARNAME nothing. He also leaves a potential future god in the hands of Jaheria and Khalid. Am starting to suspect the man was insane.
Not really sure why he wouldn't be Lawful Good. He tried to give Charname the most normal life he could under the circumstances. The letter in the cabinet was a last-resort thing and it's pretty clear that Gorion would have told you himself when he felt the time was right.
On a related note, there is a Harper paladin in Waterdeep called Eather Heilean who apparently "deals" with Moonstar defectors (which kind of creeps me out since they're a force for good too, but okay) and is trying to make the Harpers more open in their dealings there, so I guess that's one example of a LG Harper.
I'm mostly okay with Gorion as LG, though, since we know so little about him. It's only the pallies who aren't supposed to lie at all, and he did have the whole planning thing down pretty well. It's weird that "I was sleeping with your priestess of Bhaal mother" is his go to cover story, but Harpers seem to lead colorful love lives in general.
As for Gorian constant lying, or at the least withholding of vital information, that can be put down to the old adage, "The road to hell is paved in good intentions."
Or my personal favourite, Billy Connelly: "Would you rather someone said 'Good Morning' and not mean it, or 'F*ck off' and mean it."
Morals really are tricky things if you think about it.
Even if we were to consider lying a non-lawful act, alignment is a continuum, not a single point. A person can do things contrary to their alignment and still remain 'in the realm' of that alignment. Life is messy.
As for rushing you out of Candlekeep, he was probably under alot of pressure to do so and was still unsure how to tell you the truth. Should he lie and spare you pain, or tell the flat out truth and risk emotional break down on your part? You have lived a peaceful life, and putting the weight of this truth on you? He might have felt it was too much truth at once.
Then again, we know so little about Gorion that it's hard to say. The game says Lawful Good, so I'll go with assuming that's correct, even though if I was DMing the story, I probably would have made him CG.
Which was more or less my point. A Lawful Good alignment only means that they live by a code of conduct and try to always do the right thing. Neither one 'necessarily' precludes lying.
And even if it does (which I don't buy for a second), a few lies in a life that is on balance mostly about telling the truth, will not shift your alignment 'Enough' to make a difference.
Gorion told Charname a version of the truth that would allow, in Gorion's view, Charname to grow up more or less normal. the stories about how and where Charname originally came from were not 'Necessary' to tell a small child until he or she was old enough to know the truth and therefore telling him may have done more harm than good. There's not harm in that as far as I can see.
Nothing to suggest, other than the fact CHARNAME grows up in isolation under the pretense of a lie with no friends other than a girl that was, whatever way you look at it, lied about as well.
I think by looking at the bigger picture, his reasons are irrelevant in regards to him being Lawfully Good, it just doesnt work out. CHARNAME is effectively manipulated due to the fact Gorion even knows that no matter what happens, the blood of Bhaal will start its corruption and CHARNAME needs to take the most painful route to a resolution due to Gorions actions.
It just would've been nice to be shown what kind of a parent he was, rather than told second-hand. I think that's why there is such confusion over his character and motivations.