Ethical Issues with Troll Dialog [SPOILERS]

[Hedwirg the Resolute]

It is only developer's view: in PnP you can at least try to *prove* your intent out of character, but this is a computer game, so dev's had to lable some decisions somehow.
Play as you want, play as it fits your character's alignment (you can even turn "Immersive Mode" option on) - there is a merchant in your capital, named Arsione, that sells Atonement spell scroll in case you need to return your character's alignment as it was at first level.

[Patriarche]

I really dislike that the "chaotic" option is making peace with the trolls and letting him live as a vassal to your barony. You prevent further bloodshed, protect the barony citizens, and quite legally create peace by accepting an oath of fealty. How is that chaotic? It seems to me that should be LAWFUL thing to do.

Accepting monsters into your kingdom, no matter if they swear an oath of fealty or not, is a chaotic thing to do. I thought it was an illogical choice to put ''help kobolds make peace with mites'' in chapter one to be a lawful (good) thing to do. Allowing chaotic monsters to live within your future territory is not a lawful thing to do. it is chaotic. So I agree that accepting the oath of a chaotic creature is a chaotic option.

[No One of Consequence]

Accepting monsters into your kingdom, no matter if they swear an oath of fealty or not, is a chaotic thing to do. I thought it was an illogical choice to put ''help kobolds make peace with mites'' in chapter one to be a lawful (good) thing to do. Allowing chaotic monsters to live within your future territory is not a lawful thing to do. it is chaotic. So I agree that accepting the oath of a chaotic creature is a chaotic option.

I can see your point of view, but I think it can be seen as an ultimate Lawful thing to do to accept Chaotic creatures into your kingdom as you will teach them the Law and make Lawful creatures out of them. Proselyt Lawful, if you want.

[Patriarche]

I don't know if trolls can become ''magically'' lawful, I think it would require centuries of adaptation, if at all possible.

The fact that they respect your authority and your strenght does not make them lawful, as chaotic evil creatures follow a leader only because he is stronger, so indeed defeating the troll king would satisfy the criteria for them to become your subject.

so if we go by that reasoning, they would follow your law only as long as you are the leader, and I think we could even say that they wouldn't even wait until after your death, they could launch another attack as soon as they hear that you are away, say visiting someone in Brevoy. Not sure if we could trust a troll to uphold any honor if he thinks he is in a more advantageous position.

[No One of Consequence]

Maybe not in his generation, but what about second-generation trolls in your lawful kingdom ? Third-generation ? Those that would grow up learning the ways of your kingdom ? Maybe they would become Neutral instead of Chaotic, and maybe even Lawful some day, who knows ?

This discussion reminds me of an old comic strip with the first Troll Paladin... who ended up giving up his paladinhood faced with other people's prejudices. Striking them down was more simple...

[Beroli]

I'd just like to say, for my part, that I'm really glad this is the first computer game with the D&D/Pathfinder alignment system that I've ever played that didn't treat Lawful Good as semantically identical to "Good Good" and Chaotic Good as semantically identical to "Dirty Good."

I didn't at all get the impression that Lawful Good was worse than Chaotic Good, it just wasn't automatically better, and one of the aspects of that is that mercy--whether that's "I'll show Hargulka mercy" or "I'll show mercy to these worshipers of Lamashtu" or "I'll show mercy to Nyrissa" is Chaotic Good, where "You did something bad, you have to pay" is Lawful.