Don't like just having a spoiler tab, so I will add that my preference for callbacks would be Corwin and Caelar, both likely for the same general redemption theme that I mentioned in the spoilers, which I am admittedly a sucker for. In-character, I think that Caelar would be a bit easier to shoe-horn in than Corwin, due to Corwin's many responsibilities and obligations, although others have mentioned ways to bring her back into the story.
I think that the reason why some people, why I, want Caelar in further works is that players, and people in general, like to believe in the theme of redemption. We like to think that, no matter one's failings, it is possible for a person to work hard and redeem themselves, or at least mitigate the damage that they cause.
Such a theme is especially prevalent in Baldur's Gate. Sarevok, the ruthlessly evil main antagonist in the first game comes back in ToB, potentially recognizing the folly of his evil ways and undergoing an alignment change, going from CE to CG. Viconia, who is probably one of the most popular love interests in the series, can do the same, becoming TN from her NE beginnings. Ascension added to that theme of redemption, allowing LG Balthazar, who originally would refuse to believe that Bhaalspawn could be anything but inherently evil, to team up with you and get his happy ending. Even Irenicus and Bodhi, who are evil to the point where they likely can't be redeemed, can at least aid CHARNAME against Amelyssan and make up for (a teeny, tiny amount of) the grief they caused CHARNAME.
Most importantly, CHARNAME's story can be one of redemption, of proving that even though they are a Bhaalspawn, they can fight the darkness of their nature and birth and become a shining example of heroism. Almost everyone, from the Harpers to the common folk to the Bhaalspawn themselves expect Bhaalspawn to be twisted, evil children of a twisted, evil father, and you can prove them wrong.
Thematically, having Caelar as a DLC in which she can either redeem herself would fit into the Bhaalspawn mythos. It would also follow in the footsteps of some of the more intriguing Bioware NPCs such as Aribeth of NWN or Bastila of KotoR, characters who fell to their inner darkness and character flaws, but were allowed a chance to redeem themselves, and while this would be a bit derivative, I wouldn't really mind if there were even two character tracks, with one following a redeemed Caelar while the other followed an evil blackguard Caelar. Heaven knows, we need more evil characters in BG2.
Haven't tried them all yet, but my favorite so far is Corwin. Shes great because she is useful in party, strong and has interesting background, personality i really like her a lot. I also was surprised in a good way about K'khiin, i thought she will definitely be some primitive evil, but shes not
Don't like just having a spoiler tab, so I will add that my preference for callbacks would be Corwin and Caelar, both likely for the same general redemption theme that I mentioned in the spoilers, which I am admittedly a sucker for. In-character, I think that Caelar would be a bit easier to shoe-horn in than Corwin, due to Corwin's many responsibilities and obligations, although others have mentioned ways to bring her back into the story.
I think that the reason why some people, why I, want Caelar in further works is that players, and people in general, like to believe in the theme of redemption. We like to think that, no matter one's failings, it is possible for a person to work hard and redeem themselves, or at least mitigate the damage that they cause.
Such a theme is especially prevalent in Baldur's Gate. Sarevok, the ruthlessly evil main antagonist in the first game comes back in ToB, potentially recognizing the folly of his evil ways and undergoing an alignment change, going from CE to CG. Viconia, who is probably one of the most popular love interests in the series, can do the same, becoming TN from her NE beginnings. Ascension added to that theme of redemption, allowing LG Balthazar, who originally would refuse to believe that Bhaalspawn could be anything but inherently evil, to team up with you and get his happy ending. Even Irenicus and Bodhi, who are evil to the point where they likely can't be redeemed, can at least aid CHARNAME against Amelyssan and make up for (a teeny, tiny amount of) the grief they caused CHARNAME.
Most importantly, CHARNAME's story can be one of redemption, of proving that even though they are a Bhaalspawn, they can fight the darkness of their nature and birth and become a shining example of heroism. Almost everyone, from the Harpers to the common folk to the Bhaalspawn themselves expect Bhaalspawn to be twisted, evil children of a twisted, evil father, and you can prove them wrong.
Thematically, having Caelar as a DLC in which she can either redeem herself would fit into the Bhaalspawn mythos. It would also follow in the footsteps of some of the more intriguing Bioware NPCs such as Aribeth of NWN or Bastila of KotoR, characters who fell to their inner darkness and character flaws, but were allowed a chance to redeem themselves, and while this would be a bit derivative, I wouldn't really mind if there were even two character tracks, with one following a redeemed Caelar while the other followed an evil blackguard Caelar. Heaven knows, we need more evil characters in BG2.
Considering that Corwin's primary concern is her daughter. That 'responsibility' would be the obvious way of getting Corwin into BG2. I've mentioned this on a poll thread I've made, but I'll say it again. Amn is really close to Muranndin, an evil aligned kingdom ruled by Ogres, at one point in the D&D mythos , it actually fought Amn and took many Amnian slaves. Calimshain is not that far from Amn either, and it also has slavery, and as we know, even though slavery is outright banned in Athkatla, there were slavers opperating in the Copper Cornet, and a mission that leads you to a slaver house in the city. So I could very much see a "Searchers" (famous 1959 John Wayne Western) esque story that brings Corwin to Amn in search of her daughter and her kidnappers.
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I total crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
Totally out of practicality. Heh. Not, as she assumes, that you see something in her worth redeeming? Or at least I think that was what she said.
Oh, and I did see her offer, I just didn't quite recall that Blackguard was mentioned. Meh. Silly me, because what else would she have offered?
And I think making her fall in BG2 would be more... interesting.
Doing some quick research on the forums, though - since I don't have access to the game right now... yes?
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
If you let Caelar become a Blackguard, she only does so on condition that Belhifet kills Hephernan (a pretty fitting end, actually). You only ever have to fight one or the other.
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
If you let Caelar become a Blackguard, she only does so on condition that Belhifet kills Hephernan (a pretty fitting end, actually). You only ever have to fight one or the other.
Yeup. Now that I'm back home, I took a look and that's exactly the case. Guh. I can't believe I didn't pay enough attention to catch that. I'm an idiot. She actually reclasses as a Blackguard at that point, gaining the related abilities at the same time. Looking at her stats though, I'm... not entirely sure her wisdom actually matches her actual wisdom. I frankly don't think so - it's a 12 - but mileage may vary.
@Camus34 I actually disagree with you. Here's why.
To me a tragic hero is one that, intending to do good, is led to bring misery upon himself and those he loves. Turin Turambar (from Tolkien's The Children of Hurin) is THE best example of tragic hero I have ever seen in any media. Caelar feels a lot more like an anti-villain or noble villain. She has a kind of a noble goal, but she actively knows she will have to screw everyone around her to achieve it, and is willing to do so anyway. I think Beamdog messed up big time with her alignment.
The mens rea is what usually lets us discriminate between good and evil characters. Caelar does evil deeds. Calear does evil deeds fully knowing she is doing them, therefore she is evil. Caelar does not commit evil deeds because it profits her own person, nor does she commit them for evil's sake, thus she can't be neutral evil or chaotic evil either. Conclusion: Caelar is lawful evil. Do you know who else is lawful evil? Any noble villain or anti-villain you can name.
I am a bit confused concerning your last post. Do you mean to say that you were disappointed with Caelar too, though not for the same reason as I? What I think I get is that you wanted to explore and learn more about her character whereas I wanted her to fill some specific role. Characcter exploration is fine I guess, but it's a lot more easier if you find those characters to be at least logical, even if you don't agree with the choices they make. Caelar does feels very irrational to me. I can't relate to that in any way. That's a pity I guess.
Now, back to that Corwin matter.
I don't necessarily think she had to take our side in the matter of the trial. BUT, I do think at that point she should at least have shown some compassion. Lawful Neutral (which is the alignment she should have been given) characters are not devoid of emotions, they just have the will to somewhat stop them from interfering with the making of their decisions. Decisions such as to stand by Baldur's Gate, the Flaming Fist and her very own family. It's like one second she's in love and the next one she's got the mood of a skeleton robot... Seriously? Does she suffer from some bipolar disorder or multiple personalities? All SoD long her conversations felt wrong because of it.
Corwin: Hey, what about I join your party? Between the two of us, I feel there's nothing we can't accomplish. CHARNAME: Yeah, why not. Corwin: Also, if I see anything suspect while on the road, I will drag you back to the camp in chains myself. CHARNAME: Really? Is this your way to tell me you're interested captain? I never would have guessed you'd be such a smooth talker. Corwin: (headshots CHARNAME... Hours later, wonders why she feels so alone...)
Even though this is an exaggeration, there really are unfortunate dialog options that do match that conversation surprisingly faithfully. Back on track, I think she should have told us why she chose to move on and admit to being somewhat conflicted and unwell with the situation. That's it. I would have understood that. The universe does not revolve around CHARNAME and there's a case to be made (as you pointed out) about taking the city's and her family's side.
To summarize it, I feel almost the same as you about Corwin with the exception that I think there's a way of choosing one's city or one's family and how she did it wasn't it. Not at all.
EDIT: formatting and spelling...
The literary tragic hero is the person who gets dragged along by fate and no matter how well intended their actions, they wind up causing great harm to themselves and others. It can be intentional or unintentional. The ills that span from Aeneas' journey in Virgl's epic The Aeneid are not his fault, he is dragged by the wheel-cart of fate which is emphasized greatly in Book 4, when he leaves Queen Dido of Carthage (whom he has fallen in love with, partly due to his mother Aphrodite's machinations) and the possibility of being king of Carthage, because he is told by Jove (through his messenger Mercury) that he must go on to found the prototype for Rome. This causes Queen Dido (who had recently lost her husband, and struggled with professing her love for the Trojan Aeneas) to build a great funeral pyre, and curse Aeneas and his kin to never know peace with Carthage (thus mythological explaining the three Punic wars), then she kills herself atop the fire with the sword she presented Aeneas with when they had their 'first date', and the Pyre is so large Aeneas can see Dido burn as he sails towards his destiny. It's not his fault that Dido killed herself, and what will be Rome is cursed to ignominious strife with Carthage, he is being moved along by destiny. Rome must be founded, Aeneas is an important stepping stone.
The opposite is Milton's Satan, perhaps the finest character in the Western cannon, a character that was the main inspiration for the romantic period of literature. Satan has a grand realization, or an epiphany, he understands his lot in life. He will always lose out to omnipotence, but his nature is evil itself, he even seems to understand that he is so good at deceiving that he is somewhat deceiving himself, however he casts that anxiety aside. So he goes on to tempt man, and succeed in their fall. Satan does what he does for selfish reasons (he wants to be king of the mountain), but also because he does not want his people, angels, to be placed below god's new creation "humanity" hence why he and his fellows rebelled. What Satan does is purely his fault (according to Milton) becuase giving up paradise, for the anthisis is a big no no for Christian theology. Satan is tragic because we sympathize with why he does what he does, and at the end of it all he knows some greater punishment is in store but not what, and in book 12 he finds that he is stuck in the form of a snake and all of his compatriots in hell are snakes as well, hissing their disdain at him (as opposed to the applause he gets in book 2, oh the irony). Satan is sort of like a fallen Paladin, he starts off as an Archangel, and then is "cast down into hideous combustion and ruin" (sound familiar?).
Argent is closer to the tragic hero of Satan--I say closer because she may not fall at all whilst in the Nine Hells-- she knows what she is doing causes great ill, however the reward, or greater good to her, justifies her means. She is, in some sense struggling against the impossible fate of the Bhaalspawn who must move on to BG2. She is partly selfish in that she wants to save her uncle (at great cost), but she also wants to destroy the demon who has been trapping and torturing souls, and save as many souls as possible. I don't really care about the alignments in Baldur's gate. They've never really made sense. lol
Disappointed? Maybe. Is that what that emotion is called? I was more exasperated, in my view. Yes, I did want to explore the character a little bit more even within the SoD game, but it's not as if it can't be done in BG2 instead. And it is a good point that maybe Caelar'd have made out the better antagonist if she hadn't been that selfish girl in the dark.
As for the rest... the fact that my reaction to her was mostly "you bloody idiot" might be telling that I'm more or less interested because "what the bloody hell were you thinking" rather than really understanding or relating to it.
As for Corwin, I think we should simply close it here; neither of us are going to agree. We've seen different things out of the game, and people are different; I'd suspect you're a better person than I in many ways. Less a bundle of neurosis and issues, at least, if not just simply better with morality. I'd be surprised if you weren't better with morality. I came into this with the intent on just giving out the scripts, not trying to export my own opinions... which I ended up doing. Guh.
The fact is that we see it from different lights cast by our own experiences; it happens. In the end, I'm simply sad, but others will have other reactions.
Besides, if I push this much further it's going to end up treading into just what makes me a mess of a person and I'd really rather not investigate that again. I like being able to make a facsimile of a sane person, thank you very much.
@rapsam2003 said: Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
You are sooooooooo evil prepare yourself to have your butt kick for goodness !!! EVIL MEET MY SWORD, SWORD MEET EVIL !!!! DEATH OR GLORY !!!!
Seriously, I agreed with you Baldur's Gate 2 have very few evil character (Viconia, Edwin, Korgan, Sarevok, Dorn, Hexxat) It would be interesting to have our little Aasimar follow the path of evil. Maybe a quest and a lot of interaction between her and the Order of the Radiant Heart, if she becomes a Blackguard. Evil smirk. After all even I love playing a Paladin, sometimes it's fun to kill them.
That's probably an explanation why Amelyssan wasn't a goddes with almost the entire Bhaal's essence yet Abdel can become a god right away after killing her. Demons are from Abyss, devils from Baator and daemons from Gehenna/Hades.
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
If you let Caelar become a Blackguard, she only does so on condition that Belhifet kills Hephernan (a pretty fitting end, actually). You only ever have to fight one or the other.
Yeup. Now that I'm back home, I took a look and that's exactly the case. Guh. I can't believe I didn't pay enough attention to catch that. I'm an idiot. She actually reclasses as a Blackguard at that point, gaining the related abilities at the same time. Looking at her stats though, I'm... not entirely sure her wisdom actually matches her actual wisdom. I frankly don't think so - it's a 12 - but mileage may vary.
Does her alignment change and did she use Hephernan blood to close the portal, shouldn't Belhifet be opposed to closing of the portal?
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
If you let Caelar become a Blackguard, she only does so on condition that Belhifet kills Hephernan (a pretty fitting end, actually). You only ever have to fight one or the other.
Yeup. Now that I'm back home, I took a look and that's exactly the case. Guh. I can't believe I didn't pay enough attention to catch that. I'm an idiot. She actually reclasses as a Blackguard at that point, gaining the related abilities at the same time. Looking at her stats though, I'm... not entirely sure her wisdom actually matches her actual wisdom. I frankly don't think so - it's a 12 - but mileage may vary.
Does her alignment change and did she use Hephernan blood to close the portal, shouldn't Belhifet be opposed to closing of the portal?
Her alignment changes to Lawful Evil and I'm pretty darn certain you have to kill her, so she's probably not the one who closes the portal. At a guess, that's probably her uncle - again, I've no access to the game at the moment.
The one time I didn't enlist Caelar the fight went kind of badly, so I don't know how that wraps up. I'll try again at some point, but at the moment I've no clue. That said, if Caelar took a God a Blackguard patron, then the logical choice would by Cyric, even if that would demand a change to Neutral or Chaotic Evil.
Oooooh...the chance to turn Caelar evil appeals heavily to my lawful evil sensibilties... *rubs hands together*
Could you let her become a Blackguard in SOD?
No idea, but I'll check when I head home. But that would be awesome, methinks.
She asks the Demon. I didn't let her go through with it, I said that I would fight with her (I was not going to fight her, the demon lord, and that mage lol). I should add that I totaly crushed her crusade, maybe she only offers if certain conditions are met?
If you let Caelar become a Blackguard, she only does so on condition that Belhifet kills Hephernan (a pretty fitting end, actually). You only ever have to fight one or the other.
Yeup. Now that I'm back home, I took a look and that's exactly the case. Guh. I can't believe I didn't pay enough attention to catch that. I'm an idiot. She actually reclasses as a Blackguard at that point, gaining the related abilities at the same time. Looking at her stats though, I'm... not entirely sure her wisdom actually matches her actual wisdom. I frankly don't think so - it's a 12 - but mileage may vary.
Does her alignment change and did she use Hephernan blood to close the portal, shouldn't Belhifet be opposed to closing of the portal?
Her alignment changes to Lawful Evil and I'm pretty darn certain you have to kill her, so she's probably not the one who closes the portal. At a guess, that's probably her uncle - again, I've no access to the game at the moment.
Yep. The uncle closes the portal. This is the way I finished the game on my first run,.
@rapsam2003 Don't know why you'd think my comment was directed towards you. I was commenting on the fact that other people in the thread keep calling Belhifet a demon, which is wrong.
Comments
Such a theme is especially prevalent in Baldur's Gate. Sarevok, the ruthlessly evil main antagonist in the first game comes back in ToB, potentially recognizing the folly of his evil ways and undergoing an alignment change, going from CE to CG. Viconia, who is probably one of the most popular love interests in the series, can do the same, becoming TN from her NE beginnings. Ascension added to that theme of redemption, allowing LG Balthazar, who originally would refuse to believe that Bhaalspawn could be anything but inherently evil, to team up with you and get his happy ending. Even Irenicus and Bodhi, who are evil to the point where they likely can't be redeemed, can at least aid CHARNAME against Amelyssan and make up for (a teeny, tiny amount of) the grief they caused CHARNAME.
Most importantly, CHARNAME's story can be one of redemption, of proving that even though they are a Bhaalspawn, they can fight the darkness of their nature and birth and become a shining example of heroism. Almost everyone, from the Harpers to the common folk to the Bhaalspawn themselves expect Bhaalspawn to be twisted, evil children of a twisted, evil father, and you can prove them wrong.
Thematically, having Caelar as a DLC in which she can either redeem herself would fit into the Bhaalspawn mythos. It would also follow in the footsteps of some of the more intriguing Bioware NPCs such as Aribeth of NWN or Bastila of KotoR, characters who fell to their inner darkness and character flaws, but were allowed a chance to redeem themselves, and while this would be a bit derivative, I wouldn't really mind if there were even two character tracks, with one following a redeemed Caelar while the other followed an evil blackguard Caelar. Heaven knows, we need more evil characters in BG2.
Oh, and I did see her offer, I just didn't quite recall that Blackguard was mentioned. Meh. Silly me, because what else would she have offered?
And I think making her fall in BG2 would be more... interesting.
Doing some quick research on the forums, though - since I don't have access to the game right now... yes?
Also, people should really stop mixing up demons and devils. They are very different things in D&D. It's like mixing up Aboleths and Beholders...
Oh, and Asmodeus wasn't a god yet, iirc...
The opposite is Milton's Satan, perhaps the finest character in the Western cannon, a character that was the main inspiration for the romantic period of literature. Satan has a grand realization, or an epiphany, he understands his lot in life. He will always lose out to omnipotence, but his nature is evil itself, he even seems to understand that he is so good at deceiving that he is somewhat deceiving himself, however he casts that anxiety aside. So he goes on to tempt man, and succeed in their fall. Satan does what he does for selfish reasons (he wants to be king of the mountain), but also because he does not want his people, angels, to be placed below god's new creation "humanity" hence why he and his fellows rebelled. What Satan does is purely his fault (according to Milton) becuase giving up paradise, for the anthisis is a big no no for Christian theology. Satan is tragic because we sympathize with why he does what he does, and at the end of it all he knows some greater punishment is in store but not what, and in book 12 he finds that he is stuck in the form of a snake and all of his compatriots in hell are snakes as well, hissing their disdain at him (as opposed to the applause he gets in book 2, oh the irony). Satan is sort of like a fallen Paladin, he starts off as an Archangel, and then is "cast down into hideous combustion and ruin" (sound familiar?).
Argent is closer to the tragic hero of Satan--I say closer because she may not fall at all whilst in the Nine Hells-- she knows what she is doing causes great ill, however the reward, or greater good to her, justifies her means. She is, in some sense struggling against the impossible fate of the Bhaalspawn who must move on to BG2. She is partly selfish in that she wants to save her uncle (at great cost), but she also wants to destroy the demon who has been trapping and torturing souls, and save as many souls as possible. I don't really care about the alignments in Baldur's gate. They've never really made sense. lol
Disappointed? Maybe. Is that what that emotion is called? I was more exasperated, in my view. Yes, I did want to explore the character a little bit more even within the SoD game, but it's not as if it can't be done in BG2 instead. And it is a good point that maybe Caelar'd have made out the better antagonist if she hadn't been that selfish girl in the dark.
As for the rest... the fact that my reaction to her was mostly "you bloody idiot" might be telling that I'm more or less interested because "what the bloody hell were you thinking" rather than really understanding or relating to it.
As for Corwin, I think we should simply close it here; neither of us are going to agree. We've seen different things out of the game, and people are different; I'd suspect you're a better person than I in many ways. Less a bundle of neurosis and issues, at least, if not just simply better with morality. I'd be surprised if you weren't better with morality. I came into this with the intent on just giving out the scripts, not trying to export my own opinions... which I ended up doing. Guh.
The fact is that we see it from different lights cast by our own experiences; it happens. In the end, I'm simply sad, but others will have other reactions.
Besides, if I push this much further it's going to end up treading into just what makes me a mess of a person and I'd really rather not investigate that again. I like being able to make a facsimile of a sane person, thank you very much.
Seriously, I agreed with you Baldur's Gate 2 have very few evil character (Viconia, Edwin, Korgan, Sarevok, Dorn, Hexxat) It would be interesting to have our little Aasimar follow the path of evil. Maybe a quest and a lot of interaction between her and the Order of the Radiant Heart, if she becomes a Blackguard. Evil smirk. After all even I love playing a Paladin, sometimes it's fun to kill them.
But...the thing holding this back is how "gods" work in D&D. If the Bhaalspawn doesn't have enough followers (and CHARNAME does NOT, trust me), then the Bhaalspawn cannot even become a "demigod". Deities in the Forgotten Realms gain power based on belief, and they can even lose power based on belief. Some (former) deities were even absorbed as "exarchs" by other gods, meaning they're basically immortal champions who are granted power via the god they champion.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Deity
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Demigod
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Lesser_deity
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Intermediate_deity
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Greater_deity
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Dead_power
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Exarch
Note that all of these wiki pages use sources.
Demons are from Abyss, devils from Baator and daemons from Gehenna/Hades.
Usually a Blackguard doesn't serve a deity but a demon or devil, Like Belhifet, Mephistopheles, Demogorgon....
Don't know why you'd think my comment was directed towards you. I was commenting on the fact that other people in the thread keep calling Belhifet a demon, which is wrong.