Potential for Character Development (possible spoilers if you haven't played PoF)

As a reader and even as an author, one of the most interesting facets of characters is actual character development and as I played through PoF (AWESOME story telling; particularly with LW), something really stuck out to me and I can't help but wonder what the future holds for us as player characters. Backtracking just a bit, one of the biggest issues with being THE hero, is that we often become too self-indulgent and oftentimes, we believe OUR way is the only way. Which leads me to this question: What happens when the wider world discovers that WE, as the Commander, are solely responsible for what is happening with the events of PoF.

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED PATH OF FIRE

Kralkatorrik is not only on the move, but even MORE powerful than ever because of OUR single minded pursuit in destroying Balthazar. Palawa Joko is back in the realm of the living and terrorizing all of Tyria because WE had to escape the Mists and go after Balthazar and in our haste, we never considered what would happen to P.J. if we actually KILLED Balthazar; not to mention WE left the door wide open behind us for him to walk out. And it's not like we're OFFICIALLY backed by any particular faction like the Pact, the Vigil, the Priory, or even the Order of Whispers anymore so we cannot hide behind the excuse we were on 'official' business.

One can even make the argument that WE are responsible for what happens (or nearly happens) to Taimi which may lead to some serious dissent with in Dragon's Watch; particularly on Braham's end and he's not exactly fond of us anyway and let's not forget his 'protective big brother attitude' towards Taimi which may play a role. And Rox is faithful to Braham.

There is so much to explore with out characters and the ramifications of our actions moving forward and given the quality of the writing for the game and Anet's ability to develop memorable characters and events, I truly hope that we, as the HERO, do experience some kind of major fall out for our actions. After all, the bigger one is, the harder they fall.

So I ask you, do you think we might see some sort of fall out for our actions moving forward and if so, what might that entail and will we be able to redeem ourselves in the eyes of Tyria?

Yes and no -- I see the Commander's actions leading to tragedy (though likely the presentation thereof will be the opposite of gritty -- Tyria is a nasty place to try to survive in but doesn't feel that way when playing the game). ANet has shown a willingness to upend the world even if they will no longer upend individual maps.

However, I don't think of any of my characters as being the Commander. I have my own RP and unique characters, thank you! None of them are on first name basis with world rulers, none of them have commanded armies or fought elder dragons. Rather, the story ANet presents is the story of the world and its elites, and playing through it is an interactive movie with almost no choices to make. I enjoy playing it, re-playing it for achieves and to try it with different professions and rp attitudes, but I don't identify with it.

While the Commander was at Jennah's side dealing with the White Mantle invasion, my nobleman daredevil was infiltrating the walls after returning from another adventure just in time for the siege cannons to fire before he could enter the city, then dealing with a Mantle attack on his estate; his father, a Ministry employee, was one of the hostages in the Park. While the Commander was rallying the retaking of LA, my nobleman was struggling through the miasma to seek his lover to save her (he failed, her player permakilled her). The storylines affect my characters, often profoundly, but the Commander's actions are not mine, I didn't write or choose them and I prefer not to play celebrities.

@Donari.5237 said:Yes and no -- I see the Commander's actions leading to tragedy (though likely the presentation thereof will be the opposite of gritty -- Tyria is a nasty place to try to survive in but doesn't feel that way when playing the game). ANet has shown a willingness to upend the world even if they will no longer upend individual maps.

However, I don't think of any of my characters as being the Commander. I have my own RP and unique characters, thank you! None of them are on first name basis with world rulers, none of them have commanded armies or fought elder dragons. Rather, the story ANet presents is the story of the world and its elites, and playing through it is an interactive movie with almost no choices to make. I enjoy playing it, re-playing it for achieves and to try it with different professions and rp attitudes, but I don't identify with it.

While the Commander was at Jennah's side dealing with the White Mantle invasion, my nobleman daredevil was infiltrating the walls after returning from another adventure just in time for the siege cannons to fire before he could enter the city, then dealing with a Mantle attack on his estate; his father, a Ministry employee, was one of the hostages in the Park. While the Commander was rallying the retaking of LA, my nobleman was struggling through the miasma to seek his lover to save her (he failed, her player permakilled her). The storylines affect my characters, often profoundly, but the Commander's actions are not mine, I didn't write or choose them and I prefer not to play celebrities.

Gonna have to echo this. None of my characters are the Pact Commander the way I play them because none of them would behave in the way the Pact Commander does. The Pact Commander has, to me, become another NPC only we control them and they're nothing more than a vessel to feed us the (in my opinion, lackluster and frustrating) story. They're a doormat now and my characters, as varied as they are, are the farthest things from doormats.

I, too, have my own story that, while affected by the main story, does its own thing.

For example, I do have one character that follows the story a bit closer than the others. However, he's taken a malicious, vengeful interest in both the Pact Commander and Rytlock. He wants to punish them and make them suffer for their screw-ups and mistakes so when he isn't helping the Sunspears kick in the teeth of Joko's minions at Istan, he's gathering intel on where the Commander and Rytlock may be so he can eventually find them, fight them, and beat (some information out of) them.

My other characters, which form a large krewe and are also in Istan aiding with weakening Awakened forced, aren't aware of this but as soon as they do learn of this they're gonna try to put a stop to his pursuit and when/if it happens it won't be pretty.

@Robj.6815 said:Kralkatorrik is not only on the move, but even MORE powerful than ever because of OUR single minded pursuit in destroying Balthazar. Palawa Joko is back in the realm of the living and terrorizing all of Tyria because WE had to escape the Mists and go after Balthazar and in our haste, we never considered what would happen to P.J. if we actually KILLED Balthazar; not to mention WE left the door wide open behind us for him to walk out. And it's not like we're OFFICIALLY backed by any particular faction like the Pact, the Vigil, the Priory, or even the Order of Whispers anymore so we cannot hide behind the excuse we were on 'official' business.

It is a good point, but then, the alternative would doom Tyria. It is true that killing balthazar made kralk more powerful, but what if we didn't? balthazar would have killed kralk and tyria would have been destroyed for sure. At this point, the commander's aim was to stop balthazar, joko wasn't even a threat here, because it wouldn't have mattered if he could have escaped or not the underworld if balthazar succeded in his plans.

The commander's path has not been perfect (specially since the previous LS), he/she had to make many tough choices, sometimes none of them good, but its like choosing the lesser of two evils, and the will to follow it through is what makes me admire this character.

@Pax.3548 said:

@Robj.6815 said:Kralkatorrik is not only on the move, but even MORE powerful than ever because of OUR single minded pursuit in destroying Balthazar. Palawa Joko is back in the realm of the living and terrorizing all of Tyria because WE had to escape the Mists and go after Balthazar and in our haste, we never considered what would happen to P.J. if we actually KILLED Balthazar; not to mention WE left the door wide open behind us for him to walk out. And it's not like we're OFFICIALLY backed by any particular faction like the Pact, the Vigil, the Priory, or even the Order of Whispers anymore so we cannot hide behind the excuse we were on 'official' business.

That's true, to a point. What COULD we do with Balthazar? I go back to the lead up to the Zhaitan battle and the formation of the Pact as an example: all three factions offered methods to weaken Zhaitan before the big fight with the presumption being other methods were being advanced off-screen.

It's something we didn't even try to explore with Balthazar and Anise, at some point, even mentions our way of handling things is to smack it with our swords. Likewise, Rytlock even expresses a similar attitude in PoF when we're trying to decide which faction to safeguard Amnoon.

I feel like the consequences of our actions and decisions is something worth exploring even if we were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.