Guild Wars 2

If you talk to Senna, one of the NPCs at the camp in Kessex Hills, you get this:

Senna: May I help you?
Player: I’m gathering information on Scarlet.
Senna: Oh! Well, let me tell you. My domestic partner worked with Omadd back when Scarlet was studying there. And he told me she was crazy even then.
Player: Who is Omadd?
Senna: Not who is. Who was. He’s dead, killed by Scarlet just before she disappeared. He was Headmaster Emeritus of the College of Synergetics and Scarlet’s biggest supporter, the fool.
Player: Supporter?
Senna: Quite. The Arcane Council wanted to toss her out on her blooming bum, but Omadd made such a convincing case for her rare genius that he got them curious. So, they let her believe they were welcoming her.
Player: They weren’t welcoming her?
Senna: No. They were studying her. I mean, what if you could replicate her? What if you could grow a plant that increased your ability to reason? Unfortunately, they added to her megalomania.

It’s strange that they would put such an important character revelation in an optional dialogue with such a minor NPC, so I figured I’d share it for those who would otherwise miss it. What do you guys think? Maybe she’s not quite as lore-breaking as we thought?

Like most of the “new” information about Scarlet this patch, nearly all of that came from this short story from four months ago. While I give ANet due credit for responding to criticism, the only thing really new there is the Arcane Council’s motive for allowing her, which really doesn’t impact Scarlet much at all.

EDIT: Maybe that was exceedingly harsh. A lot of the earliest cries of lore-shattering were due to her apparently easy acceptance by a notoriously ethnocentric governing body. Being told that they did in fact see gain for themselves mitigates that point, even if the reasoning is slightly ridiculous.

Yes, they’ve managed to slowly reduce the lore-breaking aspects of Scarlet. But it’s all just retrospective. Honestly, Scarlet probably would have been better off if that particular short story never got released, and we just had these NCPs’ lines.

Still, doesn’t help the lore-breaking/bending aspects of her about her vision nor how she gets these alliance to not only work together but to continue working for her after they blatantly failed.

We are told in that conversation however the Scarlet (Caera) was crazy before she went into the eternal alchemy technobabble vision tank. If an asura calls someone a crazy scientist then they’re probably totally looney tunes. The “What Scarlet saw” story only showed her nemesisness after she emerged from the machine.

I feel like that particular part of “What Scarlet saw” would have been so much more effective as an in game painterly cinematic. Player’s probably wouldn’t have so much of a problem with her if they had been able to witness her bad-kittenry.

In regards to the alliances continuing to work for her – obviously a lot of that needs explaining – but I get the feeling that it’s quite simply that each of the alliances is more powerful now than they were before. Yes they’ve all failed, but they weren’t exactly winning on their own. So perhaps it’s more that they can recognize how beneficial the alliances have been? With the Molten alliance for example – would you expect either to be willing to dissolve the alliance and lose the new technological advancements that were made as a result? But then of course you did stress their continuance to work for her which can’t really be so easily explained. Unless she has something on all of them. Or is very, very rich. Maybe she’s duplicating money using the Mists and then bringing it into Tyria – why has no one done this?

FlamingFoxx.1305:

Maybe she’s duplicating money using the Mists and then bringing it into Tyria – why has no one done this?

Maybe Dhuum is still active out there : P

@Stooperdale the term “megalomania” is a far cry from the kind of crazy scarlet is. It just means that she thought the world revolved around her. I wouldn’t call that crazy, per se, just arrogant to an extreme.

From Wikipaedia – A quotation by Bertrand Russell gives his interpretation of megalomania: “The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.”

Sound like Scarlet to you?

Yes, but the jump from megalomaniac to crazy is in her manic glee, inability to come to grips with the fact that we’ve bested her, not once but multiple times, and her blowing herself up. Repeatedly. At this point her megalomania is in danger of becoming a sideshow rather than a defining character trait.

Stooperdale.3560:

From Wikipaedia – A quotation by Bertrand Russell gives his interpretation of megalomania: “The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.”

Sound like Scarlet to you?

It would if Scarlet wasn’t “silver tongued” and able to manipulate very difficult and diverse faction in Tyria into forming alliances and serving her. The pieces of Scarlet don’t add up, she’s an unbalanced equation.

Stooperdale.3560:

We are told in that conversation however the Scarlet (Caera) was crazy before she went into the eternal alchemy technobabble vision tank. If an asura calls someone a crazy scientist then they’re probably totally looney tunes. The “What Scarlet saw” story only showed her nemesisness after she emerged from the machine.

Arguable. We don’t really get much of Ceara’s personality prior to her experience with Omadd and the machine – in fact, she literally only talks or shows her perspective at two points: her awakening and her entering/in/leaving the machine.

However, throughout the story there is the theme of “not giving a kitten” (to put it bluntly) and being overly cheery. Which matches her in-game persona rather well. There’s nothing to argue that she didn’t go crazy at some point after her awakening – especially if it was some point after leaving the Grove, given that Caithe didn’t mention any insanity/craziness from Ceara while she was in the Grove.

Shiren.9532:

It would if Scarlet wasn’t “silver tongued” and able to manipulate very difficult and diverse faction in Tyria into forming alliances and serving her. The pieces of Scarlet don’t add up, she’s an unbalanced equation.

I do think that Scarlet is meant to be bipolar. At least to varying degrees.

Sadly, it isn’t shown in game. Off screen (post machine experience) we have this silver-tongued mad scientist, on screen we have this tween who thinks she’s better than everyone and doesn’t give a skritt’s buttocks.

Senna:

Oh! Well, let me tell you. My domestic partner worked with Omadd back when Scarlet was studying there. And he told me she was crazy even then.

We know Omadd is dead, who is Senna’s unnamed domestic partner? I’d like to figure this out and see if he has any dialogue options regarding Scarlet.

Oh look! This dialogue gives me the feeling of deja vu!

Thalador

“Interesting…” High Councilor Flaxx made a poor attempt at hiding his excitement at the sight of the incredible golemite. As he wriggled in his seat, a long finger seamlessly activated the communicator built into his gauntlet. Raising his hand to stiffen an anxious coughing fit, he watched as behind the red-haired twig Councilor Yahk moved his own communicator closer to his ear. “Make sure she never reaches the campus… cough… you can restart those experiments now.” Flaxx whispered, accentuating the play with a final, sharp cough. Clasping his hands once more over his chest, Flaxx stared into sylvari woman’s inqusitive green gaze.
“Your skills are certainly… not as shabby as I’d expect from your kind. Fine… we’ll give you one chance. A krewe will soon escort you to Dynamics grounds.”
A group of five asura clad in prim red and black uniform came through the rippling membrane of the gate just then, surrounding the wide-eyed woman as quickly as possible. Faces concealed by masks or hoods, eyes shadowed by grim visors; it was impossible to tell what was on the ’krewe’s’ mind.
Flaxx cleared his throat, continuing on an elevated tone. “Welcome, student! The Arcane Council wishes you fruitful and accident-free studies!” The High Councilor allowed himself a warmer smile.
Behind the overjoyed sylvari, Yahk’s mouth was drawn to the same, knowing smirk. Sharing the moment of triumph with the Inquest representative in a glimpse, Flaxx leaned back in his throne. At long last, they found the perfect specimen for Project Eternity. Kudu’s failure with that firstborn may not be in vain after all.

Obviously, my abysmal hatred for Scarlet influenced the implied fate she would’ve had in the above scenario, but it’s still close to what it turned out to be.

@ANet Writers: I’m up for hire. I’d gladly help with fixing the lore and plot holes in the other 70% of Scarlet’s story – and other areas where the blatant disregard for old, established lore has taken root.