Guild Wars 2

With the end of this living story drawing near i suddenly had a random thought.

With the direction to more player input into the story, letting them choose the direction it might evolve, what would you do if the following would happen:

Regardless of Scarlets true motive in the end. Even if her whole reason was to save somebody (Sylvari, the world, a little puppy, whatever…)

Remembering everything that happened so far.

If you were posed the question right before the end to kill her off or take her into custody, which would you choose?

I am asking, because it could be an interesting point in the story. Something that could (depending on the further plans of the writers) have an major impact.

I think that kind of decision is taking it too far. You end up with too many real world-like ethical questions…

People don’t want to think about the fact that if the game were real then all those evil NPC’s and random monster/animals that they’ve been killing have friends and family and had childhoods and dreams and aspirations and were victims of circumstance etc. etc. etc.

Basically I sincerely hope Arenanet doesn’t open up that kettle of fish. Kill her or don’t kill her, but whatever you do don’t put the decision in players hands.

Put her into custody and then bring her to court where her trial is dragged on forever while making very little progress with the prosecutor giggling and laughing all the time.

I don’t think they would hold a trial for her anyway – or attempt to bring her into custody.

At this stage with all the destruction she has wrought it’s kind of a kill on sight situation.

Given what Rytlock told Rox in the instance in this update, I don’t think she would allow Scarlet to walk away.

I’d kill her. She’s too smart and dangerous to keep alive. Plus all the unexplaining/lorebending/breaking she does… best to kill her. Boom headshot style.

and then burn the remains just to be sure. then scatter her ashes in the ocean so nobody can like, harness the magical power of her corpse or consecrate the grounds upon which she was killed or anything ridiculous like that.

FlamingFoxx.1305:

and then burn the remains just to be sure. then scatter her ashes in the ocean so nobody can like, harness the magical power of her corpse or consecrate the grounds upon which she was killed or anything ridiculous like that.

she’d come back as the true form of the deep sea dragon.

calling it.

Nah, gotta dismember her into six boxes – one per arm, leg, head, and abdomen – then cremate each box, then with the ashes still in the boxes, submerge them into six different impossible-to-get-to places such as the Great Imperator Smelter or w/e it’s called in Black Citadel.

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Nah, gotta dismember her into six boxes – one per arm, leg, head, and abdomen – then cremate each box, then with the ashes still in the boxes, submerge them into six different impossible-to-get-to places such as the Great Imperator Smelter or w/e it’s called in Black Citadel.

Don’t go telling everyone where my horcruxes are thanks >.>

Konig Des Todes.2086:

Nah, gotta dismember her into six boxes – one per arm, leg, head, and abdomen – then cremate each box, then with the ashes still in the boxes, submerge them into six different impossible-to-get-to places such as the Great Imperator Smelter or w/e it’s called in Black Citadel.

And then she returns to the world of the living every April 1st, right? :p

Nah, she’ll return to the Fractals of the Mists as a April 1st only boss fractal that replaces the bosses of the three boss fractals (so instead of Jade Maw, Berserker/Firestorm, Mai Trin/Horrik, you get Scarlet in those locations).

FlamingFoxx.1305:

I think that kind of decision is taking it too far. You end up with too many real world-like ethical questions…

People don’t want to think about the fact that if the game were real then all those evil NPC’s and random monster/animals that they’ve been killing have friends and family and had childhoods and dreams and aspirations and were victims of circumstance etc. etc. etc.

Basically I sincerely hope Arenanet doesn’t open up that kettle of fish. Kill her or don’t kill her, but whatever you do don’t put the decision in players hands.

This is a pretty good point.
Leaving the story on a cliffhanger like this for a week, just to find out that the majority of players would have just killed her off, eventually dooming Tyria, because their assessment of the whole situation was wrong and they let their emotion take is certainly a difficult thing wo work with.

Though i as going for exactly that direction as i posed the question. While on one hand it would be interesting to see how the majority of the players take the whole story, as it would have mostly played out at this point, and would allow them to personaly “close the chapter on Scarlet”, the real life implications you are bringing up are there.

While they a dark, these could be the things we wanted, as we talked about that our “actions” schould have consequences.
At this point in the story every player should have all information he needs to make a decision. Live with the crazy person to fight another day, or put an end to her ways and find your own solutions.

Sure, the real world is there somehow, but how many other “stories” are trying to show the “humanity” of people. That there is a reason they went that way, but just went overboard.
This is a topic that reaches back to the old myths, because in the end “everyone gets what he deserved”.

While this is a game, it still evokes emotions and desires.
On the other hand, this is PG and we would be no hero if we just kill off someone like this. even if the person deserved it.
The game is a “hero” simulator. It is leaning more to the “clean” side of things.
In the end my question was mostly hypothetical and based on the problem the LS had so far: The way it was delivered and how the average joe takes to the antagonist.

Jaken.6801:

FlamingFoxx.1305:

I think that kind of decision is taking it too far. You end up with too many real world-like ethical questions…

People don’t want to think about the fact that if the game were real then all those evil NPC’s and random monster/animals that they’ve been killing have friends and family and had childhoods and dreams and aspirations and were victims of circumstance etc. etc. etc.

Basically I sincerely hope Arenanet doesn’t open up that kettle of fish. Kill her or don’t kill her, but whatever you do don’t put the decision in players hands.

This is a pretty good point.
Leaving the story on a cliffhanger like this for a week, just to find out that the majority of players would have just killed her off, eventually dooming Tyria, because their assessment of the whole situation was wrong and they let their emotion take is certainly a difficult thing wo work with.

Though i as going for exactly that direction as i posed the question. While on one hand it would be interesting to see how the majority of the players take the whole story, as it would have mostly played out at this point, and would allow them to personaly “close the chapter on Scarlet”, the real life implications you are bringing up are there.

While they a dark, these could be the things we wanted, as we talked about that our “actions” schould have consequences.
At this point in the story every player should have all information he needs to make a decision. Live with the crazy person to fight another day, or put an end to her ways and find your own solutions.

Sure, the real world is there somehow, but how many other “stories” are trying to show the “humanity” of people. That there is a reason they went that way, but just went overboard.
This is a topic that reaches back to the old myths, because in the end “everyone gets what he deserved”.

While this is a game, it still evokes emotions and desires.
On the other hand, this is PG and we would be no hero if we just kill off someone like this. even if the person deserved it.
The game is a “hero” simulator. It is leaning more to the “clean” side of things.
In the end my question was mostly hypothetical and based on the problem the LS had so far: The way it was delivered and how the average joe takes to the antagonist.

In the personal story, you make quite a few decisions like this. Where you have to save one group and let the other die. It’s handled quite lightly (which is something that I found very annoying), but it’s there.

In Scarlet’s current state, I would kill her.

But I think it would be interesting to see players’ reactions if this entity’s influence was somehow purged from Scarlet, and leaving us with the original Ceara (or something like that). Or if we started seeing explicit signs of ‘Ceara’ while Scarlet is dying. I think that would be amazing — if we decide to kill her, and her innocent side (if such a thing still exists) calls out for mercy.

Psynch.4087:

Jaken.6801:

This is a pretty good point.
Leaving the story on a cliffhanger like this for a week, just to find out that the majority of players would have just killed her off, eventually dooming Tyria, because their assessment of the whole situation was wrong and they let their emotion take is certainly a difficult thing wo work with.

Though i as going for exactly that direction as i posed the question. While on one hand it would be interesting to see how the majority of the players take the whole story, as it would have mostly played out at this point, and would allow them to personaly “close the chapter on Scarlet”, the real life implications you are bringing up are there.

While they a dark, these could be the things we wanted, as we talked about that our “actions” schould have consequences.
At this point in the story every player should have all information he needs to make a decision. Live with the crazy person to fight another day, or put an end to her ways and find your own solutions.

Sure, the real world is there somehow, but how many other “stories” are trying to show the “humanity” of people. That there is a reason they went that way, but just went overboard.
This is a topic that reaches back to the old myths, because in the end “everyone gets what he deserved”.

While this is a game, it still evokes emotions and desires.
On the other hand, this is PG and we would be no hero if we just kill off someone like this. even if the person deserved it.
The game is a “hero” simulator. It is leaning more to the “clean” side of things.
In the end my question was mostly hypothetical and based on the problem the LS had so far: The way it was delivered and how the average joe takes to the antagonist.

In the personal story, you make quite a few decisions like this. Where you have to save one group and let the other die. It’s handled quite lightly (which is something that I found very annoying), but it’s there.

In Scarlet’s current state, I would kill her.

But I think it would be interesting to see players’ reactions if this entity’s influence was somehow purged from Scarlet, and leaving us with the original Ceara (or something like that). Or if we started seeing explicit signs of ‘Ceara’ while Scarlet is dying. I think that would be amazing — if we decide to kill her, and her innocent side (if such a thing still exists) calls out for mercy.

It is definetly morbid curiosity at work here.
It is the decision between “forcing” a player to do an unethical thing, aka murder of someone “not deserving” and doing the “right” thing.

however it is also a story. Trying to write an interesting story also means looking at the dark side of things. This is one of these cases in my opinion.
Yes we can apply several ethic and psychological ideas into this “dilemma” to kitten what would be right, what would be wrong, however in the end it is “done” and everyone has his own reason for it.

I don’t think we’re going to get that choice. I think Primordus is going to gobble her up.

But if we did get it, kill her. Far too dangerous and crafty to be left alive.

Psynch.4087:

In Scarlet’s current state, I would kill her.

But I think it would be interesting to see players’ reactions if this entity’s influence was somehow purged from Scarlet, and leaving us with the original Ceara (or something like that). Or if we started seeing explicit signs of ‘Ceara’ while Scarlet is dying. I think that would be amazing — if we decide to kill her, and her innocent side (if such a thing still exists) calls out for mercy.

Unless we were one hundred per cent certain that the Scarlet personality was completely wiped, likely including all memories of what she did while the Scarlet personality was in charge…

…then killing her would be the mercy.

My impression, though, is that Caera was a bad seed well before the Scarlet transformation – that just converted her from high-functioning sociopath to full-on psycho. If there’s an original “good” Caera in there, she lost control well before Omadd’s experiment.