There must always be... A... Reaver King?

JamDubs·8/2/2015, 8:50:11 PM·13 votes·6,973 views

It sounds like, from the Epilogue of Bilgewater event, that Gangplank was the only thing holding Bilgewater together. However malevolent as he was as the uncrowned king, he seemed to at least have a strong sense of keeping things in order. He was the final, most important cog in the well(?) oiled machine that was Bilgewater, keeping people from getting too wise for their own good and giving the city a powerful, if unpleasant, reputation.

Now that he's been dethroned, the whole place is a mess. It kinda reminds me of the Lich King from Warcraft: Without proper direction and control, nothing in Bilgewater really gets done, and it instead devours itself and everything around it.

Did Miss Fortune goof? Did she just straight up ruin her home for revenge? It seemed like she was doing it for more than personal reasons, even seeming somewhat benevolent in making sure all of Bilgewater saw Gangplank's fall. But if Bilgewater is just going to be in the throes of chaos now that Gangplank is not such a visible authority, it appears that she might have damned everyone in the city to a life of conflict. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and all that, y'know? Gangplank, for his viciousness, seemed to be precisely what Bilgewater needed to keep everyone straight(ish).

Gangplank is no doubt going to try and reassert his dominance, but at this point will it help? Will his return be seen as a sign of strength that the gangs will pledge loyalty to? Or will he simply become a big dog in the fight, and Bilgewater will remain in a state of civil war? Did that scarlet wench ruin everything, or did the old sea dog need to be put in his place?

16 Comments

RiotRiotJaredan8/3/2015, 1:54:58 AM10 votes

I love these discussions, really on point and insightful from all.

SaltyToplaneGoat8/2/2015, 9:07:24 PM9 votes

I don't think that Miss Fortune cares what she has done. Every happy memory she had of this city was burned down together with her home fifteem years ago.

Bilgewater isn't exactly the place you come to love...

yay nibbers8/3/2015, 8:34:06 AM3 votes

If anything, Fortune made things worse for everyone should Gangplank somehow find his way back into power. It's clear from his new VO and the epilogue that the whole experience has made him colder and more ruthless than he was previously. Before, he was methodical and knew what needed to be done to keep everyone in line and he did it in ways truly terrible, but there was still a bit of warmth to him, a respect for his fellow man (assuming they haven't crossed him). Now everyone is suspect after losing what he thought was absolute control.

I personally like(d) Gangplank despite his viciousness. There's a depth to his character that goes beyond bloody violence for the sake of bloody violence. "Every cut has a purpose."

Shénzhì8/3/2015, 12:35:03 AM2 votes

{quoted}

  1. Did Miss Fortune goof? Did she just straight up ruin her home for revenge? It seemed like she was doing it for more than personal reasons, even seeming somewhat benevolent in making sure all of Bilgewater saw Gangplank's fall. But if Bilgewater is just going to be in the throes of chaos now that Gangplank is not such a visible authority,
  1. it appears that she might have damned everyone in the city to a life of conflict. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and all that, y'know? Gangplank, for his viciousness, seemed to be precisely what Bilgewater needed to keep everyone straight(ish).

  2. Gangplank is no doubt going to try and reassert his dominance, but at this point will it help? Will his return be seen as a sign of strength that the gangs will pledge loyalty to? Or will he simply become a big dog in the fight, and Bilgewater will remain in a state of civil war? Did that scarlet wench ruin everything, or did the old sea dog need to be put in his place?

Holding a grudge for as long as she has, or for however long, dominates logic. She wants revenge and, at last, she got it (or some of it). She must have got goosebumps when she lit the sky up around Gangplank. He's still out there ... and she's hunting bounties.

Dense majorities of Bilgewater residents were Gangplank's gangs, maybe. 'Who cares anyway?', she may think. It's a lawless shit-hole with no integrity anymore. Let it ruin.

Miss Fortune and Gangplank both track Gangplank's gang members. When things settle down; it won't settle down. There will be a power struggles or an empty husk. For Bilgewater to be useful again may need foreign influence ... and Bilgewater has its own Sea Monster trade and stolen stockpiles. Which cities may those be?

NA Darklarik8/3/2015, 5:55:43 AM1 votes

Your problem (as was mine) was thinking Sarah Fortune MissFortune To be a benevolent person. I thought she would improve Bildgewater and take the position of 'Queen' but nope.

Riot seemed to prefer to Gut her old character and intentions by just turning her into a blood-thristy revenge bitch. She dosent seem to give to shits that Bildgewater is in chaos, hell, i think she might even enjoy it. The chaos makes hunting everyone loyal to Gangplank That much easier.

It makes me want to see Gangplank succedd all that more. Her little revenge plot destroyed the pillar of order that Bildgewater needed, and she had no intention of fillin it in or caring who would get hurt from the consequences.** All she cares about is Revenge. She like Kratos, with GangPlank being Zues (For all ye God of War fans)**.

"Zues must live for Olympus to prevail" well, Gangplank must live for Bildgewater to Prevail.

Trylobyte8/4/2015, 1:09:43 AM1 votes

What I found interesting was how much Miss Fortune had in common with Graves. Who cares if everything goes to hell if you get the revenge you want? But they took different paths. Graves reconciled with the guy who destroyed his life, because they met, fought, and bled in person. They had time to redevelop the old friendship and realize they both still wanted the same thing. Miss Fortune acted at a distance, though. She didn't realize Gangplank was the glue holding Bilgewater together, the one thing giving the place the order she wanted, and she couldn't put revenge out of her head. She got her revenge, but at what cost? Bilgewater is self-destructing. Gods help her if certain groups find out she was responsible for destroying the comfortable lifestyle they were all enjoying...

J4kzy8/3/2015, 12:23:34 AM1 votes

i think Gangplank is going to be obsessed with revenge for MF destroying his body and reputation. he had it coming tho

NegaDKR8/3/2015, 2:28:23 AM1 votes

I should have guessed that the lore team had some Discworld fans, I mean, talk about Vetinari job security.

Doctor Dyment8/3/2015, 5:25:07 AM1 votes

I have one of two ideas on how this scenario is going to play out in the future.

Either 1: Gangplank will be consumed by a burning desire for revenge that rivals, if not surpasses Miss Fortune's own desire to kill Gangplank. Trying to kill the Pirate King, only made him mad. He will single handedly cut a path through Bilgewater, and indeed Valoran as a whole, just to kill Miss Fortune. Once he does, or perhaps something else happens, he returns to Bilgewater and begins to rebuild the empire he once had. Or,

Option 2: Gangplank finds out who tried to kill him, (Miss Fortune) but instead of chasing after her like a mad dog, he attempts to keep a calm head. He decides that the best course of action is to reassert his dominance in Bilgewater to get back to power as much as he can, then once he has amassed enough men, gold, and other resources, he will THEN go after Miss Fortune with a vengeance.

Both of these stem from a single idea that Gangplank seemed to hold very dear to himself: Respect. All he asked for was respect, and if he got that he was appeased with the residents of Bilgewater. But now that he has seen that everyone doesn't respect him anymore, on account of he almost died in front of the whole city like a damn fool, he will go after anyone who does not swear loyalty anymore. These two scenarios would play out depending on how highly he held the idea of respect. I personally believe that number 2 is a more realistic option, but I also think number 1 could happen.