I’m forgetting his name (Hulruun?) but there’s an Inquisitor in Market Square acting unwisely overzealous (played out trope), including wanting you to go after the Azata followers (Ramien?). A Knowledge checked passed succesfully reveals that he’s been drained of either levels or stats which has left him off of his game.
I’d like for there to be an option to cast a Restoration, Lesser to Restore his WIS and bring him to his senses as a possible way to progress the quest peacefully.
By coincidence I successfully completed this quest today for the first time (I always had to kill him before). Sadly his fanaticism is not the result of attribute damage…
After speaking to Ramien, go back to him, do NOT talk to him about Ramien, instead go through old conversation options until you get the option to mention Irabeth having taken charge at the defender’s heart. Incensed, he heads over. Annoyingly he returns when you find the third Desnite, but he backed off when I called down the light of heaven and talked about righteous wrath.
Yes, I know. Would be better to be able to resolve it without “gaming” the quest. Would also be more satisfying if his fanaticism were the result of ability damage instead of the now hackneyed overzealous crusader stereotype.
Got to give the game journos what the love in the ten hours they’ll play the game I guess.
I look at the fanaticism a bit differently. There are in fact demon cultists all over the place (witch hunts look different when witches are real) and he had an incident where not being sufficiently suspicious of a group of refugees led to a massacre. I think it was intended as a tragic outcome of the war on demons and him staying in his job past the point where he’d started to crack rather than just playing to trope. The unending war grinding people down is something of a recurring theme. It’s not like they don’t show us a more positive view of the man when you arrive wounded at the festival - he tries healing you, upon failing correctly sends someone to fetch Terendelev, and none of the dialog options I’ve chosen have him treating you like a spy. The junior Desnites did behave suspiciously (both in their initial “tampering” with the wardstone and fleeing - right or wrong cops will always view that as suspicious), their explanation of what they were doing would be borderline incomprehensible to a lawful person, and Ramien is attempting to shield them. I don’t disagree that the quest could do with a bit of rewriting (the fourth attempt is the first time I haven’t had to kill the man) and I’d like a few more positive examples of conventional crusaders than we have, but I don’t think this is a straightforward case of stereotyping.
I also don’t think distracting him with the reference to what Irabeth is doing is “gaming” the quest. You are letting him know that things are happening in his absence that are more important than either his feud with Ramien or his vigil over the chasm. He deprioritizes his purge, Ramien agrees to leave town after it is liberated, that seems like a reasonable outcome of the quest. If his second in command (who is still sharp) was around and a meeting could be arranged between the second in command and the Desnites and the second in command convinces Hulrun that they’re just good kids who behaved foolishly and spanking them (rather than hanging them) can wait until after the real problem is resolved, that would also be satisfactory. Unless there was an invisible demon nearby clouding his mind with a barrage of telepathic suggestions (which would explain his fixation on guarding the chasm which is far less explicable than his attitude towards the Desnites), I’m not sure “cast a spell to resolve the situation” (which in this case would be protection from evil on him or glitterdust to reveal the demon) would not feel cheap. Another option they should maybe offer is some kind of deal where they surrender peacefully, and he doesn’t do anything to them until the larger situation is resolved and their questioning and trial (if any) is handled by someone else.
My only major issue (other than how deeply buried the answer is beneath conversation options you have no reason to revisit) is that after he goes to the Defenders’ Heart, he shouldn’t be with the inquisitors who come for the third Desnite and with him not present, they should be easier to talk down.
He definetly can, I think only 2 options makes him think so. Terendelev stops him.
Probably the one where you refuse to tell him why you’re in the area. I haven’t used it to date and he’s fine with “I’m a crusader” or “I’m a scholar”.
I mean if stats and skill checks are going to mean anything at all then that’s encapsulated by the ability drain you non-trivially detect.
And your sympathetic back story is nowhere to be found in the in-game one dimensional portrayal of the narrow-minded religious persecuting all the wrong people as has been de rigueur in these games since at least Guild Wars.
I got the story of the massacre from a dialog with him, (just re-checked - ask him why he’s obsessed with looking for enemies anywhere and he tells you about witnessing the “Red Morning Massacre” where Minagho and other demons disguised themselves as refugees, murdered 62 people and spattered their blood over the wardstone) the reference to him being in the job too long from Ramien, the reference to his second in command being sharp from one of the jr desnites (the bard, I think). The trope you’re referring to most definitely exists, I’m just not convinced this is as pure an example as you’re saying.
The ability drain is why combat with him is even a viable option - he’s an inquisitor who can cast cure critical wounds, making him a minimum of L10, and he’s not alone. If you don’t notice it, you might decide you can’t defeat him and kill Ramien instead (or abandon the quest), so I don’t think it’s meaningless to notice it.
Dialoge choice
“Just passing by.”
If you pick that option that you lived in Kenabres for long time he wants your information, aND immediately starts to interrogate you.
I had a look at a map of Mevdev, and in fairness “just passing by” isn’t a very plausible answer - there’s nowhere you could be going that isn’t still on the edge of the worldwound. I also just did an experiment, and he’s still awful curious when you say “i’m from here” even if you take the Mevdev orphan background. In any event, having seen how he talks about Irabeth after you get him to the Defender’s Rest, I withdraw any defense of the man other than noting he did witness a massacre caused by not scrutinizing refugees that turned out to be demons. Irabeth’s been doing his job while he stood pointless vigil over a hole in the ground, and he wants her brought up on charges when this is all over. Once I’ve cleared the Grey Garrison this run through, I hope the Queen charges him with dereliction.