Chaos shall flow...

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According to Alaundo's prophecies children of Bhaal shall be aligned good and evil but chaos shall flow through them.

Does that mean that <CHARNAME>'s alignment should be CG or CE? Can't she/he be a paladin? If all children of Bhaal shall be CE or CG then why is Imoen NG?

What do you think?

 

Wasn´t it that choas shall follow in their passage or something like that? Hence, this can be interpreted as great changes following from their actions - but needn't influence their alignment.

 

Well, the canon alignment (based on the railroad parts of the games) does seem to be CG, yes. But I don't think it's a matter of limiting them to a chaotic alignment. Some of the most Lawful people I know are that way in a vacuum; the world is chaos around them as they try to reshape it into something a little more structured.

I would say no. While a paladin's code of honor is RPable in BG1, it's patently impossible in the vanilla BG2. Allying with thieves or vampires? No thanks on both. Some mods add a third way that might make it possible, but it's still a bit of a stretch with everything else going on.

One simple explanation is that she wasn't affected by her taint when growing up. It was completely suppressed by her uber-cheery personality, as you learn in the sequel. And then there's Lawful people actively fighting against it, as mentioned above. That the chaos flows through them doesn't mean they'll welcome it.

 

My personal opinion is that, all bhaalspawn are chaotic simply by blood and what they are, however it does not affect their alignment. A well-meaning LG bhaalspawn creates chaos whether she likes it or not, but that doesn't effect her core values and morales.

 

As has been said, the chaos they bring does not mean that they intended to cause it- they may well be trying to bring about order but fate continually intervenes.

 

The other thing is Bhaal himself wasn't chaotic. His alignment was neutral evil. So I don't think it necessitates that the PC be chaotic at all.

 

This is from memory as I don't have the game installed atm:

The Lord of Murder shall perish
In his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny
Chaos shall be sown in their passage
So sayeth the wise Alaundo

I take it to mean trouble will follow all of Bhaal's children, reguardless of their alignment and/or inclinations towards evil/good/law/chaos/neutrality.

 

Thanks everyone for replies.

kuemper wrote:

I already know that from chanters. I always listen to them in Candlekeep when i start a new game. I like them singing it. What i wrote (They will be aligned good & evil but chaos shall flow through them) was from a scroll in Candlekeep. It's in the first level or 2nd.

After some thinking i agreed with everyone who replied. Well, that means i can play with a LG Paladin next time i start (i've finished with a solo CN thief recently) who will try to bring order but will be dragged to the middle of chaos.

I agree with Felinoid that Paladins can not be played properly in BG2. There is another problem for me too: I don't understand how can a paladin have a thief in her party. She wouldn't let a thief or bard pickpocket something from people. (though in IWD2 you can be a Paladin/Rogue multiclass but it's another story)

 

Terminology in Baldur's Gate can be a little confusing. Thief simply means they have the thief skills. From a role playing aspect this imo can be either that they are thieves or have simply learned the skills for adventuring purposes. Pickpocketing has never been a main skill for me. I frquently play a F/T and the alignment may be CG or NE depending on how I feel. I have never been able to play a Paladin in BG II.

 

If you aren't comfortable with having a Thief and a Paladin together, simply do what 3E does and call the Thief a Rogue. Go through the game allowing your Thief to pick locks and disable traps but not backstab, pick pockets or set traps. It would be possible for a Paladin to knowingly travel with a Thief- they may be trying to reform them. Some would, some wouldn't- it depends on the personality of the Paladin involved.

While much of BG2 isn't compatible with strictly playing a Paladin, you can make a reasonable effort (although the shadow thief/vampire decision doesn't really fit in at all). I was trying through recently, but got sick of Saerileth and abandoned that game.

On the other hand, I sometimes find that I prefer the game like this- it lends a darker overtone knowing that while your character may have noble eventual goals, for now they find that the ends must justify the means.