I think one of the things that’s so interesting about that scene with Zerxus and Asmodeus is that, aside from Asmodeus’ manipulations, there are so many different layers and nuances to Zerxus’ actions here and they allow for a complex examination of what it means to show kindness in the (literal) face of evil.
There’s the surface layer, the act itself. The act, devoid of all context, is simply compassion (although there’s nothing simple about choosing to be kind). Zerxus sees someone suffering, and without any hesitation or conditions, not only wants to help them, but actually does help them. This is kindness at its core - no matter who Asmodeus is or what he’s done, he’s in pain and Zerxus has the ability to do something about the symptoms if not the cause.
There’s the broader context to the act. We the audience know who Asmodeus is and more or less what he’s trying to do. Zerxus knows who he is, although we don’t know how much he’s figured out about Asmodeus’ plans. I’ve mostly seen two camps of thought - either that Zerxus doesn’t realize what Asmodeus is up to, in which case he’s a well-meaning but naive fool, or that he’s aware of Asmodeus’ angle but has enough arrogance to think he can reform the Lord of Hell, that he can fixhim.
I think both extremes of the spectrum are just that - extremes. Is Zerxus ignorant of what Asmodeus is trying to pull? By no means. He knows Asmodeus intends to fight the gods, and tries to intercede for mercy on behalf of mortals. Is he trying to change Asmodeus’ mind? Not really! He casts Atonement, but he doesn’t try and dissuade Asmodeus from his course of action, only asks that he remember the kindness he’s been shown when it comes to the innocent people caught in the middle of his struggle with the gods.
Then there’s the one of the most complex parts of this scene. What are Zerxus’ motivations in helping Asmodeus? Again, there seem to be two main schools of thought. Either Zerxus genuinely wants to help Asmodeus because that’s the kind of person he is, or it’s all classic Avalir hubris. But there’s a lot of ground between those two camps, and I submit that the truth (whatever truths there are in this relationship) lies somewhere there.
Zerxus is a kind man who shows unconditional compassion to people whom he sees are suffering. Zerxus is aware that Asmodeus has plans for the future which will likely cause a great deal of suffering, and wants him to remember the kindness and mercy he’s been shown when that time comes. Zerxus is an extremely competent paladin who is good at what he does without the aid of the gods. He has a justifiable amount of confidence in his own abilities, and is willing to assume the responsibilities that come with these powers (“With great power…”). Zerxus has had spoken doubts about the gods and unspoken doubts about Evandrin’s death, and Asmodeus is wearing the face of his dead husband as he offers some very attractive truths.
All these motivations can be true at the same time. Zerxus can be kind because he is a compassionate person and kind because he has a noble objective and kind because he believes he has the ability and the obligation to help and kind because this entity is wearing Evandrin’s face and offering answers to the questions that trouble him. None of these negate the other. They do not erase the kindness of the deed itself (comforting a suffering person) nor do they overshadow its context (helping a Betrayer God).
But is it hubris? I think there’s a more interesting angle to look at things, which is the different ways that Zerxus presents himself throughout the scene. First, a healer. Then, an intercessor. Only later, an ally. What’s interesting is that with each of these, Zerxus only is offering up what he can personally give. Tending to wounds. An open ear and guidance in prayer. An offer of aid in facing enemies. Without measuring in terms of success, none of these are beyond his ability to offer. Indeed, the latter two actually require Asmodeus to do his own work, with Zerxus playing a supporting role only.
Does that mean there isn’t any hubris here whatsoever? I do think that there is a little bit of benevolent arrogance in how Zerxus assumes that he has the power and authority in this situation to decide what help Asmodeus needs and what help he’s prepared to give him, especially after having just seen how Asmodeus uses people who offer him anything. But I don’t think he’s doing this out of pride in his own abilities or righteousness. What he is doing is looking at something much bigger than himself, something he sees as wrong, and deciding to take it on and do what he personally can to make things right.
In that sense then, yes, general Age of Arcanum hubris of defying the gods and thinking that the only limit to what a person can do is their own ability. But unlike others in Avalir, we also see Zerxus value and abide by certain principles, a personal code of morals that informs his decisions. Truth. Mercy. Redemption. So it’s not quite accurate to frame Zerxus’ decisions as a case of unbridled arrogance, just as it isn’t wholly correct to describe him as a paragon of pure good intentions. He’s a person like anyone else! He’s doing what he believes is best with the power and the information that he has, and history (and thousands of Critters on the edge of their seats) will judge the outcomes of his best.
And really, aren’t we all just trying to do the best we can in our own personal stories? That’s all we can do, in the end.
“History will remember me” says Laerryn. A character that we’ve never heard of before, in a city we’ve never heard of before, from a campaign set in the past.
The fun thing about Zerxus Ilerez is that he likes to toot his own horn about not needing the gods because as First Knight of Avalir his power comes from the people, but he also loves bitching about how much he hates Avalir and reminding everybody it’s not his home so like, idk bud it seems like there’s no faith or loyalty there either
so it makes perfect sense that he’d buy Asmodeus’s horseshit no questions asked. literally if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything and this hypocritical motherfucker ate it so hard he’s shitting out the hook, the line, AND the sinker.
Like I know it’s been said already that the Real Villain Of This Brennan-DM’d Campagin Is Late Stage Capitalism Yet Again but I am genuinely BOWLED OVER by how poorly thought out the Astral Leywright Interdimensional Funtimes plan is.
I mean
Leaving off the fact that we the audience know the apocalypse is kicking off in like two hours, just imagineif Vespin Chloras and the Calamity hadn’t/weren’t going to happen and this unhinged scheme actually got to play out.
It’s bad enough that the “heroes” of this miniseries are a literal oligarchy of six privileged dickheads running an entire government with no public oversight or accountability, but this plan was cooked up by literally threeof them. Three people! On their own! Have decided it’s a great idea to shift their entire city-state to other planes of reality!
I know they said the purpose of Avalir was exploration and research and knowledge but! This is not a research station! This is a city! You know! A place where civilians and kids live! Even if the world wasn’t about to end, what were they going to do when people started objecting to relocating their kids and families to other dimensions that may or may not even be HOSPITABLE to life from the Prime Material Plane!
They have no idea what’s out there! They’re doing this BECAUSE they have no idea what’s out there! And they’re just going to shift their floating mountain city-state full of kids and civilians into literal parts unknown!
It’s like if the Royal Society circa 1800 pointed to the city of London and said “guess what everybody, every single one of you is relocating to an exotic foreign locale! which exotic foreign locale? fuck if i know, we just spun a globe and picked at random! here’s hoping we don’t wind up at the bottom of the ocean!”
Jesus H fucking Christ the hubris on these people is glorious and even without Betrayer Gods gunning for humanity’s ass it’s still so clear that this could only ever end in tragedy.
I’m crying. I’m laughing. These people are fundamentally awful and selfish. i love them so much. I’m going to fiddle while they burn.
Shoutout to Aabria for causing the calamity. This isn’t a joke, this isn’t sarcastic, I mean literally. It takes some fucking balls to be the one to do it. We all know this is the calamity game, and someone has to fuck up really, really bad. And I mean, everyone sort of has to fuck up really, really bad. But, no matter what everyone else does, there is someone who has to push the big red button, even if they know what it’s gonna do. And that is so hard. So to actually be the one to do that, to take the bad choice, especially when you’re doing a show that broadcasts to a huge audience invested in this world? That is insane. It was so good, so character motivated, so well played. I loved it.
I am literally never going to be normal about this game. Holy shit. I am going fucking insane. Someone needs to either give me a line of coke or tranquilize me I am running up the walls. Wtf this is so good.
I cannot begin to state how much I respect these players. As a player, you want to get it right. You want to do it right, to win, maybe not save the day, but win. And so to know what’s happening, and that it’s going to be bad, and purposefully making the wrong decisions? Absolutely insanely good. The sheer talent. I am blown away.
