Guild Wars 2

… so why don’t they simply read Caudecus’ mind?

It’s obvious they suspect him of conspiring against the queen (during CM story mode, Jennah claims she’s inviting him to be her guest in DR so that she can keep a closer eye on him; plus, depending on the player’s personal story, you discover that Caudecus is funding, and giving orders to, the bandits).

So why not simply read his mind to discovered what he’s been plotting?

Surely, if the queen and the leader of the Shining Blade were to reveal that they’ve been using their mesmer powers to discover evidence against him, it would have to be accepted.

The only downside I see is that it would be a cause of concern with the other ministers; they probably consider that if they are to work together with the queen, then she should respect them enough not to read their minds. But their concern could probably be mitigated be presenting Caudecus as a special case, since there was already reason to suspect him.

Very interesting thing you bring up here, and while your explanation is very valid, I suspect there is strong, ancient magic that is keeping the queen and Anise from reading Caudecus’ mind.

It is learned in the Whispers lvl 20-30 storyline that Caudecus placed a tracking enchantment on his daughter’s necklace that was her mother’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has more tricks up his sleeve, like blocking mesmers from invading his mind. What’s more, if our theories about Caudecus being a front man – maybe unknowingly – of the White Mantle are true, he might have received an artifact or spell of mursaat origins that shields his mind.

Or it is just something the writers overlooked…

In Edge of Destiny, Jennah told Logan she wouldn’t look into his mind without permission. Whether this is a moral standing or a technical limitation is unspecified iirc (since the two tried looking into Kralkatorrik’s mind but got whiplashed out, I’m guessing moral but that whiplashed out part could be due to a technical limitation of the magic and they simply tried because they didn’t know what the “mind in that storm” was), however who’s to say that they haven’t looked into Caudecus’ mind?

They cannot simply oust Caudecus because of something that they cannot show the people. There’d be a rebellion; her status is too unstable, especially with the charr truce now and there being so many people in favor of Caudecus thanks to his circus and other “enjoy life, have no worries, those centaurs at the gates will never get you!” methodology.

Jennah and Anise can’t just shout “He’s White Mantle!” – the people think the White Mantle have been gone for 250 years. Nor can they just shout “he’s in cahoots with the bandits!” because they’d have no proof to back up their claim and the people, who know they’re not politically friendly, may see that act as them getting rid of political rivals in order to solidify her reign… which would lead to more bandits who are disillusioned into the notion that Jennah’s a tyrant.

The whole Jennah v. Caudecus scene is a psychological and political battleground. Just because they know the other’s guilty of something doesn’t mean that they can call said other out on it – they need proof or else they have nothing. Especially with Krytan politics against Ministers where if you cannot prove someone guilty, all evidence used in that trial can never be used to argue guiltiness from the party again.

Actually, Konig, if they mindraped him and learned of his secrets, Jennah and Anise could keep him under watch, and the first occasion he “farts” (read: does something shady) without consent, they could arrest him and lead a perquisition for evidence of guilt.

Interestingly, this is the first thing that happens once the Separatist plot is foiled, yet I don’t understand why they didn’t do it sooner. And I also wonder how come we have found nothing in his bloody manor, not even a letter from a bandit leader. I highly doubt Jennah and the Shining Blade would’ve let the cleaning staff into his office to remove the incriminatory evidence.

Well, thing is that they know that Caudecus is a criminal. But they still need proof. They very well may be keeping constant tabs on him and may have already read his mind – but mindreading still isn’t proof. And even if Caudecus knows about something going down, that doesn’t mean he knows the details of it – he may intentionally keep himself out of the know for such scenarios.

As to finding things in his manor – it seems he set things up so that should others come snooping around, the nearby bandits are to act hostile against his manor. No other reason why the bandits would only just then start kidnapping servants and blowing kitten up in the manor when the Shining Blade and Seraph are investigating.

Even after CM story, he’s not really under arrest. He’s in “protective custody”.

The first time I saw that scene, it was a bit of a CMOA for Jennah’s political acumen – she managed to put it in ways that Caudecus couldn’t really refuse without admitting that he was in no danger from the bandits and Separatists.

For one, it’s probably very much against the law to forcefully read the mind of a noble, much less the Legate Minister.

Second, since I doubt Jennah is ever going to outright kill him, none of the information obtained through such mentions can be used in court. The minister/judge in charge of the case will ask where you got the information of his supposed illegal activities, and you can only say, “Oh, I read it from his mind. He’s totally guilty…”. Against a highly respected minister like Beetlestone, they case will be thrown out right there.

Third, even if you did get the information they needed, Beetlestone is an expert of having cat paws, flunkies, and goons to take the fall for him. The human noble storyline goes in-depth about this.

Mesmers are useful but their magic isn’t unknown. I imagine there are counter measures to anything that is commonly used by all the playable races.