Very interesting thesis about demigod backstories.

By lifekatana on August 1, 2009 10:32:16 AM from

So I was looking around at Tom Chicks site and I found something rather interesting:

I've no doubt Tom already knows all this, but I want to make a point about how many of the stories are morally gray.

Sedna was nice enough to raise the dude that tried to kill her from the dead after her giant kitty whomped him, but she also abandoned her tribe without a thought.

Oak is an undead suit of armor who raises the spirits of the fallen to fight on his side. He's also an outcast from his people, and battles demon things.

Regulus brutally murdered a large number of people with a giant crossbow for tearing his wings off. He's also estranged from his own kind, who consider most of humanity barbarians.

Rook is the dead champion of a bunch of downtrodden civilians raised up again as a castle.

Erebus is a nice enough chap so long as he has blood to nom. Otherwise he's an insatiable killer, more than happy to suck the life from his own mother. Which is why he wears a tunic full of blood injecting needles.

The Unclean Beast is pretty seriously unholy. His back story is icky.

The Torchbearer burned his father to death after his father murdered TB's lover and all his friends with fire. And now he's insane.

The Queen of Thorns wants to conquer humanity and is an outcast from her kind.

Rook is obviously good, but Regulus is a mass murderer. The TB was driven to evil, while the QoT embraced evil of her own free will. Sedna and Oak are superficially different, but both have a very specific view of their particular duty, and are disinterested in those things or individuals that prevent them from carrying it out. Erebus strives for culture and goodness, but cannot fully master his insatiable inner beast. Only the Unclean Beast is straightforwardly evil -- he's the unholy spawn of a demon brought to life by a man willing to sacrifice his own wife for power.

There are also some neat, non-good vs. evil connections between the various characters -- for instance, the portrayal of Sedna and QoT as the dual face of nature, with one aloof but nurturing, and the other intimate and murderous. Or Oak and Erebus as two individuals trapped in roles forced upon them by society, embodied most thoroughly in the unbreakable connection both have to the clothes they wear.

That's all I can bring myself to write, but there's definitely more to say on the subject.

It's neat how interconnected it all is. First time I've really felt like a game had characters instead of stereotypes.

+18 Karma | 20 Replies

Ive always felt that some demigods were not on the right side, i mean regulus killed so many people and he dosent seem to feel bad for it, or erebus being or wanting to be good and not being able to do exactly that. I've never liked good and evil in games cause being good or evil is so relative, Demigod at least creates a backstory that gives some personality to the DG and let us know that they are not all bad and not all good.

Reg is a DG of righteous vengeance, though.

I don't think UB is evil, but rather beyond morality. It's not exactly responsible for it's actions. It's the extension of a demon lord's will or something like that (the voice coming from that book that the guy found). UB is just a tool, and tools are not evil nor good. It's like saying a hammer is evil because you can hit someone in the head with it. If UB had Sedna as it's master, then it would probably be used to plant daisies and stop global warming...and I don't see the evil in that.

Sedna did not abandon the tribe from what I can remember.....she was outcast by that idiot chief or whatever he was. She left because she did not wish any more conflict.

Qween of thorns was born different. Because of this she could not find her place. No one of her pixie/fairy friends liked her. So when she found out that she could control other living things she took refuge in that. In other words she did not necessarily choose evil, but rather was forced into it so she could not be pissed on by her "friends".

Rook is the same as UB......not a sentient being that thinks on it's own, but rather a tool. Rook might be good now because he protected those people. The soul of that guy who died is controlling rook. If it would be replaced by a demon or something, we would see a tottaly different side of our friendly neighbourhood walking citadel.

Erebus I feel sorry for...poor guy . He is not evil, he just is classified that way by the people who are afraid and too ignorant to understand him (I'm refering to the people in the story, not you guys )

Torch Bearer.....well.... we all have a part of us that has dark thoughts and a part that has good thougts. His good part was killed in that fire, leaving only his evil one. So he is not really insane, just missing a half of himself. Evil he is, but not by choice, he is only a meat shell of his former self.

Oak is not an outcast, he was banished for not wanting to slaughter innocent women and children. He self sacrificed himself to protect them. Since he was banished he spends all of his time defending the people that were banished with him.

Dunno what to say about Regulus, can't remember his story that well.

Anyway, my point is that they were all good(except rook and ub) in the beggining (as I believe all humans are), but then they somehow got screwed by somebody. Some of them (sedna, oak) could still afford to be on the good side, other's had no choice (erebus, Qot).

So I think it's more like a moral story. You all start the same, but from there, it's anyones guess on how you will turn out, depending on what happens to you.

You can lead all characters to genes and/or enviroment though. Noone is really evil or good, just determined by their parent and their enviroment. In fact you don't have a choice at all in life.

But whatever, this kind of phylosophical debate is not what this thread is about.

Good evil I am the guy with the crossbow...

Good and evil are merely judgement calls. Typically those that are with you and like your ways are "good" and those that are against you are 'evil'

--An evil ex-colonist in America.

This is not a philosophical debate. Read the OP. It's about mythological portrayals of characters, and neat things GPG weaved in the lore.

Actually, Reg and TB are quite simiar if I think about it. Both getting screwed over and both going on a killing spree because of that. Plus they are both good at wrecking towers . Light and dark DGs have more in common than you think. So the OP is right...there's definetly a nuance here...

the endings at the end of the single player tournament give a good indicator as to the true moral persuasion of the various Demigods.

Oak brings about an age of spiritual enlightenment with salvation for all the righteous dead.

Sedna brings about an age of peace and life, an end to wars, and sickness.

Rook ushers in an era of incredible physical production of monuments and economic prosperity.

Regulus enforces harsh justice and retribution against those who have done misdeeds.

all 4 light side Demigods are pretty much good guys. Regulus is a bit of a jerk, but we already knew that just based on his voice-acting. still he only punishes bad guys. he's like Batman. harsh methods but always justified.

Erebus literally drinks the lifeforce out of the whole world and becomes an unstoppable horror that threatens the universe.

The Unclean Beast causes the world to be overrun with conflict and disease, a black era full of suffering.

The Queen of Thorns causes an age of blight where plants and crops fail worldwide while the starving masses compete for her favor.

Torch Bearer is the biggest surprise. Once he achieves godhood his thirst for vengeance is quenched and he becomes a deity devoted to love and reconciliation.

so TB could conceivably be a light side god, viewed from a certain angle. the other 3 dark siders are extremely evil. Erebus is the scariest of them all really.

Mercy, not love..!

Erebus is the coolest, sucking the whole world dry:o

Erebus is completely misunderstood and I feel for the poor chap. Every time he sends his happily waving minions to hug our citadel I welcome him and either go out of my way to meet him in person or at least greet his little fellas with a warm welcoming shower of my Beasts lifeblood. Only the best for my guests, even if it isn't exactly improving my health! Most of the time my efforts will be acknowledged with the sound of the Horn of Battle by Erebus when he pays his respects from afar. It's always welcome as our joyful dance of happiness will last a little longer.

Often other demigods will join the festivities and will do their very best not to disappoint. But Sedna is a rare guest which only demonstrates how little she really understands hospitality. Strange for somebody how claims that all life is precious!

Quoting Kitkun,

reply 2

Reg is a DG of righteous vengeance, though.

Really? Not bad voice acting?

I really don't like the light vs dark aspect of it. I mean, no matter their background, they are all fighting each other for the exact same goal: to become the next god by beating all of their half siblings. Nothing but temporary alliances make sense, since there can be only one new god and none of them are likely to agree to being the lackey.

Really? Not bad voice acting?

A lot of the voice acting & scripts are really corny, but I like that.

Corny is good in this game, but you know light vs dark is not the right place to put all of this, its more like gray against light gray against dark gray against darker gray or something like that.

This game is about a rumble match between all demigod until the last one standing who will then become god, therefore the light vs dark doesn't seems to fit into the theme. I think it is better for developers to remove the dark vs light concept.

Quoting Wingsys0,

reply 14

Yeah I never thought it seem right either seeing as only one demi becomes a god.

Its kinda philosofical... Is it good to murder evil people? Is it fair to be considered evil because you were born different (QoT) and just could control the world around you? Would any outcast that happens to be immortal be considered evil? Is it evil to revenge for the murder of the ones you love and being burned alive? If you happen to eat people, but do your very best not to, are you evil?

I have felt with every story (except UB.. pure monster was created by mistake). You have to pity most of the DGs (not you QoT serves you right to be nerfed). Only Rook and Oak are truly epic heros. TB, Sedna and QoT, LE have genetic mutations that made them superior. UB is as his name states and Regulus is a nosey angel who got himself in trouble.. built a giant crossbow and began camping people... Counter Strike style!

The light and dark is not about the alliance between the demigods but in the pantheon itself: their 8 Gods(and 8 DG's/maps inciddentally...); 4 of them dark, 4 of them light. The Ninth God will act as swing vote, so it matters if the DG in question is light or dark.

You can debate about the true nature of these demigods, be they evil or good.

Though their sides were picked based on their appearances, atleast thats what I think.

For instance, How could you call a vampire good? No matter how you twist or turn it, he remains a demon, which would be best placed on the dark side.

The QoT kills people to feel the rush of their life energy run through her veins.

UB: Quite obviously evil

Though this is totally besides the point, I just wanted to let you know my opinion on that

Anyone who's ever played D&D quickly comes to the realization that a violent character is rarely capable of meeting the criteria for "good" set out by today's standards. However, they can often quite easily meet the criteria of feudal society, where the battle to destroy evil was considered a major part of upholding good. However, even then, the principles of good and evil are vague, individual-dependant concepts, which teeter on the brink of chaos. What about a person who kills only evil people? Kills, yet feels repentant? What about a person who doesn't kill, or go out of his or her way to harm others, but generally proceeds for the betterment of him or herself with little regard for general society? Is it evil to sacrifice one to save many, or many to save one? Ultimately, it's up to the person in question.

Generally speaking, however, people are grouped in these categories based on what character would be portrayed as the "good guy" in a novel. Regulus seeks revenge for damage to himself, protagonist. Torchbearer seeks a similar revenge, but becomes psychopathic. Antagonist. UB... Well... We don't go to Ravenholm.

I have the impression that GPG could have made a great single player campaign with such good ideas for the demigods.

For once, they are not just the usual fantasy characters: the dwarf warrior, the elvan ranger,.... and gpg even had the good taste to do not create absolutely good or evil characters (in many games, the arch ennemies that want to destroy the whole world are really ridiculous, why would they even want to destroy everything??).

And when you see what they are planning for supcom 2 (a giant half mechnical, half biological dinosaur named cybranzilla), you can think that they should hire someone like Rhianna Pratchett.

It would be great if a solo campaign was made for demigod (in an extension or by some modders) but i doubt it will be the case.

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Very interesting thesis about demigod backstories.