Hello. So I’ve played all 3 games in the Heroes Rise trilogy but this was my first time getting back into it in a while, but I remembered a few things about the first installment, The Prodigy, once I began playing it again. Besides the fact that I had unlocked the Legend Guide and therefore knew you’d be rewarded for staying consistent with your stats, I also knew that if you were leaning far enough on one scale (i.e. Fame/Justice, Lawless/Lawful, etc.), your choices would be limited based on what the game expects you to choose. For example, if you chose to uphold justice over and over again above getting attention from the press, when presented with the opportunity to talk to the press, your choices are limited to a singular option: ignoring the press.
That specific example I’m ok with but what I’m stuck on is the balance of my Lawless/Lawful stat. Having played the game before, I know that, at the end of the game, once you’ve defeated Prodigal, you’re given the option to either kill her or turn her over to the authorities. Every time I’ve played the game in the past, I’ve played it maintaining my Lawful stat, so at the end of the game I have no other choice but to send Prodigal to jail. And the root of my problem is that I now want to play The Prodigy as a hero with little concern for the law, while still doing the right thing in the end. Meaning I don’t at all want to kill Prodigal, because that would just make me as bad as her or as bad as Victon made everyone perceive my character’s parents to be.
So is there any way to maintain my Lawless stat while still being given the option not to kill her in the end?
Also, I think I once read that Jenny won’t be an available RO if you’re lawless and I was wondering if that were true. (And yes, I know that if you tell her you have feelings for her at the end of The Prodigy, she doesn’t show reciprocation til the end of HP.)
I’m not sure about Jenny but I know you if you’re lawless but still below a certain percent you can not kill her. I’m not sure the exact percentage but I think you can get up to maybe about 80% before you HAVE to kill her, but then I don’t think you’ll get a Legend Bonus if you don’t if you have a high Lawless stat. You could always play the middle and then go more towards lawlessness in the second and third game.
Really? I thought 60-65% was the limit. I recall one playthrough where I was only just above 60% in my Solo stat. Then when I was at the Millennial Group’s HQ, I walked in on Fistfull and Monk making out and when given the option to blackmail them or keep their secret out of the kindness of my heart, I literally was not allowed to do the latter, which I would have definitely preferred.
I don’t know if that’s how it works with all stats or I’m just a less experienced player than others.
I don’t know the exact stats, so it might be closer to 60-65% like you said. I only guessed 80% because I remember doing a playthrough where I was higher justice than fame but I was still able to save Sonja over my sidekick.
This is kind of a gripe I had with the Heroes Rise series, your character’s morals are pretty much good vs. bad
Just as @Mewsly said, a high lawless stat will prevent you from sending her to jail but even if you had a somewhat low stat, you won’t reap the legend benefits.
This is also a problem in the other opposed pairs. Some players said that a fame-centered hero will be seen as a fraud and defensive power options tend to cost less than offensive ones.
Kind of sucks for roleplaying if you want a dynamic player character, to be honest.
This does seem to be a general problem for games that use opposed pairs as stats. The player must completely commit to one sort of play style, leading to a generally one dimensional character.
However, I will say, with the Heroes Rise series, this seems to work (I won’t say work well, because I personally am not a fan of opposes pairs as stats, but it does work). The reason I say that is because this series falls into the category of having you define your MCs personality at the beginning, through a set of choices that are very clearly on thing or another. For example, one of the very first choices you make in the first book is whether or not you are lawful/lawless and the options go something along the lines of “heroes are meant to uphold the law” or “no, I was meant to be free”. It is clear what type of character the MC will be from the beginning, so the MC is likely not meant to develop to be a dynamic character, the MC is probably meant to stick to the ideals they’ve had since the beginning, as most heroes do.
The MC may not be the most dynamic of characters, but it works in this case because the story is not too morally complex. There are clear heroes and villains for the most part (at least until book 3), so it would follow that the MC would also have to fit into some boxes neatly. By the time the last book rolls around, the MC is probably already set in their ways and has unshakable beliefs about the world and the way it should be. That’s probably why the MC is meant to act a certain way, at least according to game mechanics.
