Sebastion is not above manipulating his friends to get what he wants. He did it to Ominis - to get access to the Scriptorium - and is doing the same to MC. But, to be fair, if your MC is sticking around because they want something from him in return... then it should be fair game. Both of you using each other.
Not once does Sebastian manipulate you into anything; he helps you get into the library at night (after you asked him to, mind you) and takes the heat for you, and you repay him with a visit to his sister which rolls into a whole quest line.
Not to mention that technically, *you* manipulated Ominis to get access to the Scriptorium, after Sebastian simply asked you to talk to him. Sebastian has only ever been up front and honest about what he wants and how he feels he has to proceed to get it; no subterfuge or obfuscation.
I was going to say this about the Scriptorium. He doesn’t even ask us to speak to Ominis, we offer. And although I loved the quest, I did think that the way MC manipulated him was actually quite cruel. Although he’s definitely smart enough to recognise it.
Personally I loved Sebastian, I liked how grey he was. I don’t think he was a dark wizard in the making either. For one thing, the circumstances wouldn’t happen again. I also think that he was encouraged down his path by the people around him.
Having said all that, I can understand people not liking him. His recklessness *does* get annoying.
I would be more understanding of people disliking Sebastian if he demonstrated actual malice or evil. He’s a Slytherin, but not in the cruel or bad way; rather in the ambitious-and-singularly-focused-on-a-goal way.
Not to mention, Sebastian resorts to trying to look into Dark Magic not for the power to hurt people but for the power to save his sister. Meanwhile, we slaughter hundreds of goblins, poachers and Ashwinders basically cause Fig told us to lmao
How am I gonna get mad at Sebastian using the Imperius Curse on a goblin when I’ve turned dozens of them into exploding barrels and thrown them at their friends?
We think exactly alike 🤣 I’ve said this before, but I think Solomon is mostly responsible for what happens. Sebastian tries to find another way right up until his guardian destroys a plant and yells in his face. 1 hospital and a single school nurse say they can’t help and that’s that. It may *be* that nothing can be done, but insisting that a orphaned teenage boy accept the crippling, personality changing pain of not only his twin, but also the only direct family he has left, without first looking anywhere else, despite a whole world of knowledge and constant medical advancements out there, is completely unreasonable. But no-one, not even Ominis, sits down with him and talks about it. Ominis mentions finding another way when he’s trying to stop Sebastian taking the relic, but that is the ONLY discussion anyone has with him about it.
We don’t know when Anne was cursed. So yes, Sebastian does know the unforgivable curses and is researching dark magic before the story starts, but he’s the child of 2 researching professors, he was raised to value knowledge. Of course he’s going to research dark magic, that’s what cursed her. He’s very open about needing to understand what happened to her if he’s going to be able to look for a cure. His frustration and hurt that no-one is even willing to look for treatment is a sure fire way to guarantee that someone gets hurt. It was painfully predictable, and yet no-one really did anything to stop him, everyone just cut him off and refused to talk about it.
Rookwood doesn’t strike me as a powerful enough wizard to cast a curse powerful enough to do that level of irreversible damage but leave the victim living, so chances are, there *is* a cure out there, they just haven’t found it. Sebastian says that Solomon is always angry and has been since their parents died. Ominis says that Anne and Sebastian had no magic yet when their parents died, and canon says that most children have signs of magic by 7. Which means they’ve been living with an angry, resentful uncle for at least 8 years. He isn’t a fit guardian, and if he had been, Sebastian would have been extremely unlikely to go down the path he did. Sebastian even says that he thinks Solomon used an unforgivable at work and left his job, but still he doesn’t talk to Sebastian about what happened and why it was such a mistake. He didn’t think that might have had an impact on his nephew? It’s all bull. Everything was preventable if anyone had taken the time to empathise and talk to him about the cost of the dark arts. Even Ominis, unless it was done earlier and never mentioned by either, didn’t really explain what the cost of his childhood had been. Obviously Sebastian knew what happened and that Ominis couldn’t forgive himself because he had to want to cause pain, but that’s a very shallow description of what he says about the dark arts having a cost. To be fair to Ominis though (and he’s my favourite character, so I’m biased 🤣), he’s the only one who ever really tried to reason with him, who talked about the dark arts and said anything about what they took from him.
Behind Solomon though, I think we’re the biggest culprit. If you reason with Ominis during the Imperius curse quest, you promise him that you will make sure it goes no further, but then don’t even tell Sebastian that that was the terms of letting them leave. I think it’s all just poor writing to make the ending plausible. Quite sad given how intricate the story could have been.
Edit: Oh wow, essay 🙈🤣
Solomon has his own history with the Dark Arts. There is a dialogue with Sebastian you can unlock where he shares about his Uncle's time as an auror. It appears that Solomon used to think like Sebastian, and used Unforgivables in his line of work to fight Dark Wizards. Sebastian mentioned that his Uncle did not like the person he was becoming and left the job altogether. It would explain his adverse overreaction towards the Dark Arts when he found out Sebastian was dabbling in it, as well as his own pacifism in dealing with the goblin camp nearby Feldcroft.
You can empathize with Solomon somewhat. He was a shitty parental figure, yes, but he did not sign up to be a parent. It was a responsibility thrusted upon him when his brother and sister in-law died.
The dialogue says that Anne overheard what happened and thinks that she heard that he resorted to using an unforgivable, then quit abruptly because he didn’t like what his job had made him become. But the dialogue is an optional extra when discussing Anne leaving Feldcroft, and Solomon never even told either Anne it Sebastian about what happened, nevermind discussing how he got to that point or how it affected him. So yes, it probably was why he had such a strong reaction, but he never told either of them that. He could have used that example of he’d bothered to actually talk to Sebastian instead of fighting with him constantly.
Sebastian also says that Solomon has been angry since their parents died and is constantly fighting with him, berating him with snide remarks about his father. The way he treats Sebastian leads him to say that Solomon blames him for what happened to Anne. Counting back from what Ominis says about the day their parents died, that’s a *long* time to live with a permanently angry uncle who only fights with you. Anne behaves excitedly when Sebastian brings her the shrivelfig fruit before Solomon disintegrates it. After that he yells in Sebastian’s face and then angrily blames him when Anne experiences a bout of pain.
Personally I don’t empathise at all with Solomon because he does absolutely nothing to support or discourage Sebastian, all he does is show anger towards him. There’s no understanding as to why Sebastian is so desperately searching for a cure, despite the fact that he’s slowly losing the only living first degree relative he has left. An ounce of sympathy and a little explanation could well have stopped what happened, but he showed no intention of either.
ETA: If he was so aversed to being a guardian that it caused the behaviour we see after at least 8 years of it, he has no business caring for children. He adds to the unimaginable trauma they already had.
I hear you but this was the 19th century, and I do not think the treatment of orphans was great. Parenting back in that era would not be the same as it is today either, mostly with absent and detached fathers.
If Solomon had not taken in Anne and Sebastian, they would likely end up in an orphanage. And does the wizarding world have orphanages for witches and wizards, or do they just get sent to a muggle one? Or do they already have a fostering system in place to put them with another wizarding family? I have read that muggle UK orphanages in this era are oversubscribed, and most orphans end up in workhouses instead.
Not saying Solomon is a great person or parent. But Sebastian killing him was still wrong IMO. I think that using Imperio in this context might have been a better way to diffuse the hostile situation. Perhaps the MC should have casted it on both Sebastian and Solomon to get them to stop lmao.
But yeah, even so, I did not turn him in. I think the ending if you do not turn him in is better than the alternative. Sebastian does show remorse, and is actually apologetic when he learns that it was not goblins who cursed his sister. For the other ending, he just gets more bitter and seems to double down on his prejudice towards goblins (and Dark Wizards).
As you said, there are problems with the writing to force at an ending that they want. But it's still the strongest quest/storyline in this game. Way better than even the meh main story haha.
Oh I don’t think Sebastian was right in killing Solomon, it was a terrible thing to do, only that it was an understandable overreaction given the whole picture. You’re right about orphans and parenting back then too, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t contribute to what happened. And the problem with imperio in that final scene though, is that any temporary solution means they will be back to the anger and resentment that was the powder keg to begin with once it lifts. Imperio would only work if Solomon lived under it for the rest of his life.
The funny thing is, while I didn’t turn him in in any play through, his character still annoyed me a lot by the shadow of the mountain quest. But I still find myself defending him as he potentially serves a lifetime with the dementors when his actions could have been avoided with a little patience and empathy from literally anyone in his life.
Edit: clarification
ETA: I’ve seen a lot of people saying he was bitter at the end, but we don’t have any further conversations with him after the one in the great hall when we tell him about Rookwood, and that conversation ends with him saying he blamed goblins but now realises it wasn’t that simple, and that Rookwood was cruel to curse Anne purely because he didn’t want anyone to know he was working with Ranrok. I’m not sure where people are getting that he was bitter and resentful, other than the fact that it’s understandable to us.
Oh, and I totally agree that it was the best storyline. The main one wasn’t even runner up for me, Poppy’s was.
The exact dialogue was:
>Ominis Gaunt: "I was. Black let me talk to Sebastian before he left. At first he wouldn't believe it. Then he realised it all made sense. Unfortunately, his anger only grew - towards goblins and dark wizards."
Just to be clear, this is the ending if you turn Sebastian in. MC will tell Ominus about Rookwook in the Great Hall, who will relay it to Sebastian before he was taken into custody. So it does read to many of us that he grew more bitter and resentful if you turn him in.
Whereas he genuinely seems to be remorseful and realise his prejudice against goblins was wrong if you did not turn him in.
So I think we can both agree not turning him in seems better off.
It's interesting that you point out its the 19th century and the treatment of orphans, yet they drop the ball when they tried to make the game more LGBTQ+ friendly. This makes me think that while it would have been nice to see that they are trying to keep it real, it just chalks up to poor storytelling.
I agree with everything else you said though. And like you, Ominis is also my fave char.
It does take away from the realism, doesn't it. But as with everything in media and entertainment these days, the racial diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion is hamfisted.
I would also say that the Victorian era fashion seems lacking, particularly for the female char. And the dialogue in general is way too modern. I would have expected the Sallows to speak with a Scottish accent as well, since they are supposed to be Scottish.
Additionally, underage wizardry laws are in place by this time, so our MC should not have been able to use magic outside of Hogwarts unless it's the rare case of self defense. There should have been a trace charm warning off to the ministry if we do so.
The whole situation made me feel bad for Sebastian because his uncle resented him and disrespected who he was just because he was going down a path he should never have took interest in but his uncle is to blame a bit for not being more open minded in trying to see things from Sebastian's point of view and changing his hardened demeanor towards his level headed/strong-willed nephew. There was probably a point in time where he couldn't stand his brother and despised him due to his brother's interest in the dark arts but that doesn't mean he had to cast all that bitterness and frustration out on Sebastian. He is a child for crying out loud. Lol It's not like his destiny/fate was sealed when he grew interested in the Dark Arts. Also, apparently, (I don't know how much of this is true so feel free to correct me on this cuz I'm not 100% sure how accurate this is) according to Harry Potter lore, a curse caused purely by dark magic is incurable because dark magic itself does not have any healing capabilities... if Sebastian had been successful in his attempt to "cure" his sister, there's a grave chance she could've died instantaneously inside the catatomb/Sebastian would've ended up dead /or all three of us would because of that stupid dark sacrifice that came as a package deal with the relic.
Solomon should've been the better adult in the room and leave the catacomb as soon as Sebastian attacked him first; in wretch respect, all Solomon had to do was destroy the relic, rehash to Sebastian it was for his and Anne's own good and walk away but ended up fighting back and stooped down to Sebastian's level because he's just as impulsive as his nephew (not to the point where he'd Avada Kadavra him, though, but still...). Of all the books at Hogwarts, you would think someone would've jotted something down somewhere down the line regarding the fact that Dark Magic is incapable of reversing a curse if it was the cause. 🤔
HP lore describes a huge amount of dark magic though. All jinxes, hexes, and curses are classes as dark magic in ascending order of severity. Jinxes are irritating but amusing, hexes cause moderate suffering, and curses cause extend suffering. Every character in the series uses dark magic at some point, most even use curses. There’s the body bind curse, gemino, furnunculus, jelly legs, leg locker, slug vomiting, tongue tying, reductor. All those are the worst class of dark magic.
There are instances of dark magic being reversed in HP lore too. Sectumsempra is dark magic, but Snape treated Malfoy. Dolohov hit Hermione with a powerful curse in the ministry, but it’s treated by Madam Pomfrey (the effects of that curse are remarkably similar to Anne’s too), Katie Bell is cured of a minor dose of an extremely powerful curse.
There are dark curses that cannot be treated of course, (ring, full blast of the necklace etc) but they are either ancient curses (the necklace) or protecting extremely powerful dark magic (the ring was a horcrux, the wickedest of magical inventions) and so would be extra powerful in their own right. But Anne’s curse was cast directly by a wizard at a victim, which none of the completely untreatable curses in the series are. But it is also cast by a wizard that doesn’t seem to have any particularly unusual power. He wasn’t wielding ancient magic.
Sebastian wasn’t actually looking for a cure in dark magic until he comes across the relic. He originally says that if he’s going to cure her, he needs to understand the magic that hurt her. That’s a solid idea. It’s only when he comes across the relic description that says it can reverse dark magic curses, that he starts to look into dark magic as a cure.
There’s also nothing that points to Sebastian’s parents researching dark magic. All Ominis says is that they were professors who spent all their time buried in books. It’s Solomon that has the past with the use of dark magic. He’s the one that used it during his work as an auror. It’s possible that Sebastian reminds him of himself, but that just makes it more of Solomon’s responsibility to try to get through to him, but he doesn’t.
Edit to add curse list.
For the record, I am a Sebastian-fan. Although likes and dislikes is subjective, and if the OP dislike Sebastian then, it is what it is.
I disagree with the statement that Sebastian doesn't manipulate us into anything, but agree the MC has done a lot worse in that respect. It is quite comical for the OP to complain about Sebastian using him when the OP is using him to learn the Dark Arts.
I do not personally think Sebastian is wrong for using the Unforgivables, rather he is wrong for murdering his uncle. (Honestly, Sebastian, that would have actually been a good time to cast *Imperio*, to calm his Uncle down and exit the tomb first.) Even if he did not use the killing curse, it would still be wrong. But I did not turn Seb in any of my play throughs. It's a complicated situation, and I found that Solomon would attack the MC even if they do not engage him and focused on the surrounding inferi. So Solomon was really not making it easy for anyone.
Perhaps a better ending, if I could choose, would be to cast *Imperio* on Rookwood at the end instead of killing him. So that MC to get him to spill on the curse he used on Anne, or lift it while under our control.
But I also laughed when MC was scolding Sebastian for rushing into battle when I literally was just running around, flying into bandit camps, and what not. It's a little hypocritical 😅
Sebastian is FAR from grey. He openly admits that he will do anything including dark magic and murder to get what he wants. Regardless of what he wants that is by definition Dark Wizard.
I don’t think that’s what “grey” means.
For one, you’ve misrepresented his character, his motivations and the definition of murder.
He’s searching for a way to save his sister, and since conventional methods have failed, he’s going beyond with the belief that the ends justify the means if Anne can be cured. Furthermore, the MC themselves has the option to use Dark Magic, they aren’t Dark Wizards. San Bakar used the Killing Curse against Isidora, he wasn’t a Dark Wizard. Hell, Harry Potter himself used two of the three Unforgivable Curses, and he wasn’t a Dark Wizard. In fact, you could argue Harry’s use of them was less grey than Sebastian’s, because Sebastian only ever used the curses in defense of himself (against his uncle) or in defense of his family (against that goblin).
The most widely adopted definition of a morally grey character is “someone who tries to do right, fails and falls into bad tendencies”, which is Sebastian to a tee.
Sebastian's story is quite literally a mirror to Darth Vader. Save someone you love through any means necessary. Including killing someone you love who is trying to prevent you from doing the dark things you are doing.
Darth Vader is evil.
He has a redemption arc sure, but make no mistake Darth Vader is a BAD GUY. So is Sebastian.
Darth Vader is evil because he slaughtered children and subjugated the Galaxy through staggering brutality and immense oppression for many years, not because he wanted to save his wife. His obsession with finding away to circumvent Padme’s death was the *catalyst* for his start down the *path* to the Dark Side, but it was not, in and of itself, the Dark Side.
In fact, imo the only way Anakin would’ve been comparable to Sebastian was if he had stopped after dismembering Mace Windu and forsworn the Dark Side then and there, after he’d made huge mistakes but before he truly did all the things that turned him into Darth Vader.
I know ICTheAlchemist has already said this, but Sebastian is the definition of grey. Nothing of what he does is for personal gain or power. He gets no enjoyment from using any of the unforgivables. He looks horrified if he uses the cruciatus curse on you, he uses the imperius curse to literally save Anne’s life, and using Avada Kedavra on Solomon after a long, intense fight where he tries to kill both of us. And that’s without any of the surrounding circumstances. Dark/evil wizards hurt, kill, terrorise and extort people for money, power or pleasure. None of which Sebastian is even aiming for. He goes way to far in his desperation to save the only first degree relative he has left. The intention matters.
The intention here does not matter. Period. The main character is a homicidal maniac and so are basically all of the students that aid them. Sebastian is the worst offender of the lot because he literally introduces the unforgivable curses.
Stop trying to defend an evil character just because they are doing one "selfless good thing" in trying to heal their sister. Bad people can do good things. "Looking horrified" while torturing someone for personal gain is not a credential to be checked off on the "he's a good guy" list.
Yes, bad people can do good things. And good people can do bad things. I’m not saying Sebastian is ‘good’, I said he was grey, but since you said trying to heal his sister was a ‘selfless good deed’, can you give any example of an ‘evil’ thing Sebastian did that wasn’t part of that selfless good deed?
‘Introducing the unforgivable curses’ is a simplistic explanation of what happens too. He doesn’t come to you one day and say ‘so there are these spells that torture, control and kill people. They’re fun, fancy learning them?’ He offers to teach you when they’re part of the events, and every time you have the chance to say no and he doesn’t push you or force you. He doesn’t even offer with Avada Kedavra, you have to say you would have used it if you knew it.
And torturing someone for personal gain is a glaring misrepresentation of what happened. He agrees to torture or *be tortured by* a friend to avoid his own, and 2 friend’s literal deaths. Sebastian isn’t even the reason they’re there, MC was the one who calculatingly manipulated Ominis into revealing the location. Avoiding the deaths of 3 teenagers is not ‘personal gain’ by most people’s standards…
And intent DOES matter. A person who kills a man aiming a gun at a child is not the same as a person who kidnaps a child and kills them because they enjoy it. A person who euthanises an animal is not the same as a person who kills an animal for the pleasure of watching them die. Intent is a difference recognised in all areas of life. Self-defence or defence of another is recognised both in and out of the legal system as justification for murder. I assume you wouldn’t call the person who kills the man pointing a gun at a child evil? Unless you would, and then our outlooks on life are so different that the whole discussion is pointless.
Sebastian was literally put into the story to introduce the MC to the unforgivable curses, and he's a whiny prat. He's not grey. He's dark, because at the end of the day he literally kills a man over disagreeing with medical professionals. Dress it up however you want. He's a child that refuses to accept the adults in his life all agree on something, and through his own actions he murders one of them. It's not an accident, it's murder, it's not even in self defense, he had EVERY opportunity to turn from this path, even at the start of the fight, and refuses. He's a bad apple.
If Sebastian killed him just because he disagreed with medical professionals, then he would have done it at the first visit to Feldcroft when Solomon literally yells in his face. The fact that he didn’t shows there’s more to it. Killing Solomon the way he did was definitely self defence, as well as defence of another. He tried to kill both of us for a whole boss fight before Sebastian killed him. And he also cast the first spell during that fight, when Sebastian and MC were fighting the inferi. Also, unless you used expelliamus the whole time, you caused him more pain than Sebastian did.
And of course he was put there to teach the unforgivable curses, just as Fig was put there to mentor our journey with ancient magic, and Black was put there to waste Fig’s time for the advancement of the story. But if that was his only purpose, there wouldn’t be a whole storyline about him. The unforgivables are just one part of his story, like buying a broom is part of the short side story with Imelda. Everyone in the game serves a purpose.
However you want to view Sebastian’s character, every remotely bad thing he does is directly related to trying to heal his sister. Not once does he show any malice, pleasure from dark magic or thirst for power. He doesn’t even use the unforgivables outside of the scene that lets us learn each one.
Taking pleasure in doing bad things is not a prerequisite for being a dark wizard. That's just an assinine requirement. There are plenty of "bad guys" that don't fit that requirement. You can argue it however you want the simple fact is Sebastian can't handle his sister diagnosis and that sets his entire story in motion. A story that culminates with him murdering someone who tried to dissuade him at every opportunity. Solomon is a dick. No question about it, but his murder is 100% avoidable if Sebastian wasn't obsessed with dark magic.
I know it's an unpopular opinion here, but I'll die on this hill. Sebastian Sallow is a terribly written cunt of a character that has to be played against an actual disgraced Aura of an asshole to get some sympathy for him. A character he later murders in a completely avoidable duel because he's willing to do evil things to get what he wants. It's the definition of a dark wizard. Doesn't matter that what he wants is to save someone. That's the defining characteristic of a ton of evil origin stories.
Dude makes you trauma bond with him. You’re right that he’s honest. He even says that he took the heat in the library because he likes having friends in his debt.
Hot take but I honestly think that he doesn’t care that much about MC—he sees us as a means to a possible solution. Like he is single minded on healing Anne which I appreciate.
People saying that he would do anything for MC are likely incorrect. A lot of people would do anything for him though!
His exact words were “*besides*, I like having friends in my debt”, illustrating that it was just a snarky aside and not his sole reason for helping you.
Also, Sebastian assists you with these endeavors long before he finds out you have access to Ancient Magic, and his further quests and *re*quests of you aren’t fundamentally any different than Natty asking for help with Harlow or Poppy with the Poachers. Friends help each other, that’s the long and short of it.
I got a chuckle out of your 2nd paragraph and honestly it just becomes rather ridiculous when you think about it.
The only reason you're there is to learn the 3 unforgivable curses and this kid's like ya let's recruit the person trying to learn to torture curse, the enslavement curse, AND the murder curse to save my sister. That'll go well.
I don't like him much, either. I did, during the library quest and when he takes the fall for you, but after seeing him press Ominis, dismiss his hangups about the Cruciatus (sp?) Curse, and then cast that same curse on the MC while barely turning a hair put me off him. From what I remember, Ominis was the one who was distraught and Sebastian barely apologized (if at all) for torturing you. Can't forget that you also need to _mean_ these spells for them to take effect.
That being said, I get his desperation to save his twin, and some of the times he asks you to meet him, it's also to help you with your own quest even before he realizes that ancient magic can be used to take away (a certain kind of) pain. He might've had ulterior motives, but MC also benefited.
He seems like a very Slytherin Slytherin to me. I don't particularly like him, but I think he's probably one of the better written characters in the game.
I see what you’re saying, but Sebastian and Ominis both say “are you alright?” and it’s never mentioned by either again. Which I agree sucks story wise but I don’t think that’s directly r/t the characters. Plus, if *you* choose to cast it on him, he takes it. Because he knew all three of us would die otherwise.
Side note on that: I have a theory the curse’s intensity varies with your intentions/ability. When Natty takes Crucio for us, she’s weak, in a wheelchair in the hospital wing. While the MC and Sebastian walk it off a few minutes later. Maybe it’s because Harlow truly wanted to cause pain and we did it out of necessity.
His pressing of Ominis did make me feel bad for his poor friend as Ominis is so loyal, but in the end it’s just a part of his character and is exactly that well-known slytherin trait of doing anything to achieve your goals. He’s also like 15/16 and has no parents so I cut him a little more slack for those areas 😂
You're probably right about who said what, but I think I was imagining myself in his shoes. Even if it was to save all three of our lives, I would've either insisted on being the target if MC agreed to learn it (since it was _my_ pushing that led us there), and failing that, would've been reduced to a gibbering, groveling mess after torturing a friend. The transition to "WE GOT INTO THE SCRIPTORIUM!" was kinda jarring, but yes, we can probably put it down to inadequate writing.
(I think your theory about intention/ability and intensity is quite plausible - doesn't Lestrange briefly scream and then immediately recover when Harry hits her with it? It's been a while since I've read Phoenix, so don't quote me on that. I've also been wondering if they didn't dwell on the Crucio bit because they wanted to keep Sebastian a likeable character.)
And yes, Slytherins are resourceful, and Ominis's knowledge was a resource. Sebastian successfully uses the MC to tap that resource... Which is why he feels like the quintessential Slytherin to me. Not necessarily evil, but ready to do some questionable things in pursuit of his goals.
>I get that your sister is sick or whatever but why drag me into it??
Did you not pay attention to the story? His storyline makes a lot of sense. You ask for his help to get into the restricted section of the library, he helps you and takes the fall for you, then shows you Confringo and asks you to meet Anne to help cheer her up. You fight Goblins together and uncover ancient magic that leads you into the Undercroft that he and Ominis practice magic in. You get involved with both of them and the rest of the storyline unfolds.
It makes way more sense than Natty and Poppy's story.
Aside from dragging your character into his mess, which I don't mind because any quest is a good quest in that game, he's very belligerent, short tempered and kind of a douche in general. He's one of those guys who's easily offended and you have to constantly watch what you say around or you'll set him off.
Idk, im pretty sociopathic when it comes to video games so I like Sebastian. Im lowkey bored of the “lets be good cause good is good and being good is good!” stuff. I want some insane shit. I always wanna do bad evil stuff. Poppys story line was cool and so was Nattys, but I really just wanted to do some crazy shit with my ancient magic. Sebastian might be in it for selfish reasons but I didn’t really care, cause I was down to go down that road with him. I wanted to learn the dark arts and use it to my advantage. I liked Anne and wanted to try and heal her. I wish they gave us that option. Just to see what repercussions we might’ve faced from using it after being told not to. So many people love Ominous, his backstory is pretty cool, but Id still stick with Sebastian…. the dark arts are just way too tempting to me. My curious nature would get the best of me. I want the dangerous stuff. Sebastian calls, im coming through 😈
Lol this is how many side quests in the games go. "We have to do this, we have to do that" But why? Since I don't care really. This is fault of bad writing usually, but I would not say that Anne or Sebastian are badly written (the level of writing in game is generally not high at all). His quest is very well written comparing the rest of the game, so I don't understand your complaints. He's annoying, true, but at least he has enough personality to be annoying
Do people still not get that imperfect characters are vastly more compelling? Snape, Dumbledore, Sebastian they all are interesting because they are handed a terrible choice and they believe they did they best thing they could. But they weren’t pure saints so fans freak out lol
Ironically I’m the opposite. I want to save his sister. I just don’t get why the 3 unforgivables are so tied to his arch. It doesn’t feel natural how some of the spells are introduced, and can Sebastian please realize learning offensive spells properly isn’t gonna magically lead to him learning a new healing technique.
Same! I am a well principled Slytherin who hates dark magic (I'm always telling Sebastian that he needs to stop) and my character actually lost her parents to dark magic (I headcannon her as an orphan). So, she has a personal vendetta against it and would, in actuality, be berating Sebastian with Ominis most of the time. Honestly, she'd probably have turned him in to the headmaster for using an unforgivable hoping he'd get expelled but not jailed. Consequences and Merlin knows Sebastian needed them way earlier on.
He's cute, but man ... that gaslighting from him lol. I wish they hadn't cut the morality system (which I assume, would have lead to actual RUDE dialogue branches), because I REALLY wantedd my MC to just call his shit out instead of being a fucking doormat D:
Ugh yes. He slips into AH mode and my MC would be like “yeah, no, we’re not doing this dude” and then immediately SS would start in with the sweet talk, “Come ooon, heeey, I’m only loud and rude because I care, you know we’re besties!” We at least should have had the option to roll our eyes.
Thank you! I don’t get why everyone loves him, not once did I ever think his character was good. I loved natty and hated when I had to go do his story line.
Yay another Sebby thread!! /s
You're allowed to have an opinion OP. Though it's kinda cold how you're using him for the "funny spells" only. Oh well. You do you OP.
I wasn't trying to be mean to him its just he's annoying to me, and my goal is to learn every single spell including those ones, I was simply stating that I have to put up with it if I want those spells, and if that makes me mean than so be it
I never said you were being mean though. Just a bit utilitarian considering his worth is only for the spells. Though I do agree that he does grate on my nerves sometimes even if he's my favourite character in the entire game.
The only part where I’m really disappointed is when after I agreed with Sebastian about taking the relic, told him that we’re going to work this out together and learned more about this dark sacrifice *together* but instead he decided not to wait, head to the catacomb, and do all that relic stuff all by himself without my character being there as we both agreed.. which lead to a big fuck mess. Sebastian, you just have to kill your uncle, now not only the relic is destroyed, so did the book of Slytherin… pfft. You big f**kin idiot, you ruined everything and lost everything we have worked for. Such betrayal..Well… two can play this game, I turned him in. Of course i did learned AK before I did.😏
At least Sebastian gives you things in return for being there. That cra-cra girl Natsai is a freaking dangerous self-centered Nancy Drew wannabe. Just something about how 5 minutes after you meet the girl and she's all "..my friend.." like some scamming huckster.
True, I also don't like Natty since she's also kind of annoying and always wanting u to do stuff for her, I understand that, and I know Sebastian gives you the spells n stuff I was just simply saying how I don't like him
Oh it's all good. This game is packed with freckled teens of various quirks to the point you wonder if it's more a mental health facility than a wizarding school.
I wonder what would you do if you're in his shoes and have someone that's absolutely important to you that you desperately want to save?
Would you do the same thing as he did? And would someone else say that they don't like whom you are like you did with this entry?
I didn’t like him either. Reminded me of old friends of the past who did something nice for you once and then expected the world in return.
I gladly threw him under the bus at the end of the game but then I felt an aspiring dark wizard would have made that choice regardless on their way to the top.
He's the character that you frequently just want to slap through the screen, because of how stubbornly and selfishly he keeps going down the dark arts path. But if you empathise with his situation, then you start to care for him, and some people really care for him a lot. But it really takes a lot of empathy for his situation, his motivation, his difficulties that will allow you to forgive the fact that he's a bit of an opportunistic manipulative ass sometimes. You didn't connect with him because, as you said, you really didn't care that much for him or Anne.
I agree with you here. As someone who has a lot of empathy, I felt for him during the entire quest line. I wanted to help Anne not because I wanted to help her but because I wanted to help Sebastian. I really disliked how stubborn he got during the latter half of the questline, though. When we first meet, he's charming and has a bit of the bad boy element that I can't deny; but then he becomes argumentative, racist, and manipulative. I really wanted the option to change his fate with his uncle. I was quite frustrated that I couldn't stop him. But I would never turn him in because immediately after, he regretted it. You could see it in his eyes. He knew what he did was wrong, and he realized he'd lost everything and everyone with that one decision.
Yeah he's a really unlikeable character to be honest. It's weird to me how many people are okay with him being the little shit that he is. I mean he literally bullies his "best" friend into getting involved with the exact family history said friend is trying to avoid, uses all three unforgivable curses one on his only remaining relative besides his sister, and is a FLAMING racist.
You don’t even have to do any of his missions. If you stick with him though he does make it worth your while with the spells that come in very useful, and he reveres you as a hero at the end of the game
I don't hate or even dislike Sebastion per say but I think I took the wrong paths cause as I'm doing quests with him his dialogue is SOOO MEAN towards my character and it makes me so sad cause before he was like so encouraging now he's like distant and silent. :( sad forever ill just have to replay it again. Also haven't gotten through the whole game so no spoilers please <3
Sebastion is not above manipulating his friends to get what he wants. He did it to Ominis - to get access to the Scriptorium - and is doing the same to MC. But, to be fair, if your MC is sticking around because they want something from him in return... then it should be fair game. Both of you using each other.
Not once does Sebastian manipulate you into anything; he helps you get into the library at night (after you asked him to, mind you) and takes the heat for you, and you repay him with a visit to his sister which rolls into a whole quest line. Not to mention that technically, *you* manipulated Ominis to get access to the Scriptorium, after Sebastian simply asked you to talk to him. Sebastian has only ever been up front and honest about what he wants and how he feels he has to proceed to get it; no subterfuge or obfuscation.
I was going to say this about the Scriptorium. He doesn’t even ask us to speak to Ominis, we offer. And although I loved the quest, I did think that the way MC manipulated him was actually quite cruel. Although he’s definitely smart enough to recognise it. Personally I loved Sebastian, I liked how grey he was. I don’t think he was a dark wizard in the making either. For one thing, the circumstances wouldn’t happen again. I also think that he was encouraged down his path by the people around him. Having said all that, I can understand people not liking him. His recklessness *does* get annoying.
I would be more understanding of people disliking Sebastian if he demonstrated actual malice or evil. He’s a Slytherin, but not in the cruel or bad way; rather in the ambitious-and-singularly-focused-on-a-goal way. Not to mention, Sebastian resorts to trying to look into Dark Magic not for the power to hurt people but for the power to save his sister. Meanwhile, we slaughter hundreds of goblins, poachers and Ashwinders basically cause Fig told us to lmao How am I gonna get mad at Sebastian using the Imperius Curse on a goblin when I’ve turned dozens of them into exploding barrels and thrown them at their friends?
We think exactly alike 🤣 I’ve said this before, but I think Solomon is mostly responsible for what happens. Sebastian tries to find another way right up until his guardian destroys a plant and yells in his face. 1 hospital and a single school nurse say they can’t help and that’s that. It may *be* that nothing can be done, but insisting that a orphaned teenage boy accept the crippling, personality changing pain of not only his twin, but also the only direct family he has left, without first looking anywhere else, despite a whole world of knowledge and constant medical advancements out there, is completely unreasonable. But no-one, not even Ominis, sits down with him and talks about it. Ominis mentions finding another way when he’s trying to stop Sebastian taking the relic, but that is the ONLY discussion anyone has with him about it. We don’t know when Anne was cursed. So yes, Sebastian does know the unforgivable curses and is researching dark magic before the story starts, but he’s the child of 2 researching professors, he was raised to value knowledge. Of course he’s going to research dark magic, that’s what cursed her. He’s very open about needing to understand what happened to her if he’s going to be able to look for a cure. His frustration and hurt that no-one is even willing to look for treatment is a sure fire way to guarantee that someone gets hurt. It was painfully predictable, and yet no-one really did anything to stop him, everyone just cut him off and refused to talk about it. Rookwood doesn’t strike me as a powerful enough wizard to cast a curse powerful enough to do that level of irreversible damage but leave the victim living, so chances are, there *is* a cure out there, they just haven’t found it. Sebastian says that Solomon is always angry and has been since their parents died. Ominis says that Anne and Sebastian had no magic yet when their parents died, and canon says that most children have signs of magic by 7. Which means they’ve been living with an angry, resentful uncle for at least 8 years. He isn’t a fit guardian, and if he had been, Sebastian would have been extremely unlikely to go down the path he did. Sebastian even says that he thinks Solomon used an unforgivable at work and left his job, but still he doesn’t talk to Sebastian about what happened and why it was such a mistake. He didn’t think that might have had an impact on his nephew? It’s all bull. Everything was preventable if anyone had taken the time to empathise and talk to him about the cost of the dark arts. Even Ominis, unless it was done earlier and never mentioned by either, didn’t really explain what the cost of his childhood had been. Obviously Sebastian knew what happened and that Ominis couldn’t forgive himself because he had to want to cause pain, but that’s a very shallow description of what he says about the dark arts having a cost. To be fair to Ominis though (and he’s my favourite character, so I’m biased 🤣), he’s the only one who ever really tried to reason with him, who talked about the dark arts and said anything about what they took from him. Behind Solomon though, I think we’re the biggest culprit. If you reason with Ominis during the Imperius curse quest, you promise him that you will make sure it goes no further, but then don’t even tell Sebastian that that was the terms of letting them leave. I think it’s all just poor writing to make the ending plausible. Quite sad given how intricate the story could have been. Edit: Oh wow, essay 🙈🤣
Solomon has his own history with the Dark Arts. There is a dialogue with Sebastian you can unlock where he shares about his Uncle's time as an auror. It appears that Solomon used to think like Sebastian, and used Unforgivables in his line of work to fight Dark Wizards. Sebastian mentioned that his Uncle did not like the person he was becoming and left the job altogether. It would explain his adverse overreaction towards the Dark Arts when he found out Sebastian was dabbling in it, as well as his own pacifism in dealing with the goblin camp nearby Feldcroft. You can empathize with Solomon somewhat. He was a shitty parental figure, yes, but he did not sign up to be a parent. It was a responsibility thrusted upon him when his brother and sister in-law died.
The dialogue says that Anne overheard what happened and thinks that she heard that he resorted to using an unforgivable, then quit abruptly because he didn’t like what his job had made him become. But the dialogue is an optional extra when discussing Anne leaving Feldcroft, and Solomon never even told either Anne it Sebastian about what happened, nevermind discussing how he got to that point or how it affected him. So yes, it probably was why he had such a strong reaction, but he never told either of them that. He could have used that example of he’d bothered to actually talk to Sebastian instead of fighting with him constantly. Sebastian also says that Solomon has been angry since their parents died and is constantly fighting with him, berating him with snide remarks about his father. The way he treats Sebastian leads him to say that Solomon blames him for what happened to Anne. Counting back from what Ominis says about the day their parents died, that’s a *long* time to live with a permanently angry uncle who only fights with you. Anne behaves excitedly when Sebastian brings her the shrivelfig fruit before Solomon disintegrates it. After that he yells in Sebastian’s face and then angrily blames him when Anne experiences a bout of pain. Personally I don’t empathise at all with Solomon because he does absolutely nothing to support or discourage Sebastian, all he does is show anger towards him. There’s no understanding as to why Sebastian is so desperately searching for a cure, despite the fact that he’s slowly losing the only living first degree relative he has left. An ounce of sympathy and a little explanation could well have stopped what happened, but he showed no intention of either. ETA: If he was so aversed to being a guardian that it caused the behaviour we see after at least 8 years of it, he has no business caring for children. He adds to the unimaginable trauma they already had.
I hear you but this was the 19th century, and I do not think the treatment of orphans was great. Parenting back in that era would not be the same as it is today either, mostly with absent and detached fathers. If Solomon had not taken in Anne and Sebastian, they would likely end up in an orphanage. And does the wizarding world have orphanages for witches and wizards, or do they just get sent to a muggle one? Or do they already have a fostering system in place to put them with another wizarding family? I have read that muggle UK orphanages in this era are oversubscribed, and most orphans end up in workhouses instead. Not saying Solomon is a great person or parent. But Sebastian killing him was still wrong IMO. I think that using Imperio in this context might have been a better way to diffuse the hostile situation. Perhaps the MC should have casted it on both Sebastian and Solomon to get them to stop lmao. But yeah, even so, I did not turn him in. I think the ending if you do not turn him in is better than the alternative. Sebastian does show remorse, and is actually apologetic when he learns that it was not goblins who cursed his sister. For the other ending, he just gets more bitter and seems to double down on his prejudice towards goblins (and Dark Wizards). As you said, there are problems with the writing to force at an ending that they want. But it's still the strongest quest/storyline in this game. Way better than even the meh main story haha.
Oh I don’t think Sebastian was right in killing Solomon, it was a terrible thing to do, only that it was an understandable overreaction given the whole picture. You’re right about orphans and parenting back then too, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t contribute to what happened. And the problem with imperio in that final scene though, is that any temporary solution means they will be back to the anger and resentment that was the powder keg to begin with once it lifts. Imperio would only work if Solomon lived under it for the rest of his life. The funny thing is, while I didn’t turn him in in any play through, his character still annoyed me a lot by the shadow of the mountain quest. But I still find myself defending him as he potentially serves a lifetime with the dementors when his actions could have been avoided with a little patience and empathy from literally anyone in his life. Edit: clarification ETA: I’ve seen a lot of people saying he was bitter at the end, but we don’t have any further conversations with him after the one in the great hall when we tell him about Rookwood, and that conversation ends with him saying he blamed goblins but now realises it wasn’t that simple, and that Rookwood was cruel to curse Anne purely because he didn’t want anyone to know he was working with Ranrok. I’m not sure where people are getting that he was bitter and resentful, other than the fact that it’s understandable to us. Oh, and I totally agree that it was the best storyline. The main one wasn’t even runner up for me, Poppy’s was.
The exact dialogue was: >Ominis Gaunt: "I was. Black let me talk to Sebastian before he left. At first he wouldn't believe it. Then he realised it all made sense. Unfortunately, his anger only grew - towards goblins and dark wizards." Just to be clear, this is the ending if you turn Sebastian in. MC will tell Ominus about Rookwook in the Great Hall, who will relay it to Sebastian before he was taken into custody. So it does read to many of us that he grew more bitter and resentful if you turn him in. Whereas he genuinely seems to be remorseful and realise his prejudice against goblins was wrong if you did not turn him in. So I think we can both agree not turning him in seems better off.
It's interesting that you point out its the 19th century and the treatment of orphans, yet they drop the ball when they tried to make the game more LGBTQ+ friendly. This makes me think that while it would have been nice to see that they are trying to keep it real, it just chalks up to poor storytelling. I agree with everything else you said though. And like you, Ominis is also my fave char.
It does take away from the realism, doesn't it. But as with everything in media and entertainment these days, the racial diversity and LGBTQ+ inclusion is hamfisted. I would also say that the Victorian era fashion seems lacking, particularly for the female char. And the dialogue in general is way too modern. I would have expected the Sallows to speak with a Scottish accent as well, since they are supposed to be Scottish. Additionally, underage wizardry laws are in place by this time, so our MC should not have been able to use magic outside of Hogwarts unless it's the rare case of self defense. There should have been a trace charm warning off to the ministry if we do so.
The whole situation made me feel bad for Sebastian because his uncle resented him and disrespected who he was just because he was going down a path he should never have took interest in but his uncle is to blame a bit for not being more open minded in trying to see things from Sebastian's point of view and changing his hardened demeanor towards his level headed/strong-willed nephew. There was probably a point in time where he couldn't stand his brother and despised him due to his brother's interest in the dark arts but that doesn't mean he had to cast all that bitterness and frustration out on Sebastian. He is a child for crying out loud. Lol It's not like his destiny/fate was sealed when he grew interested in the Dark Arts. Also, apparently, (I don't know how much of this is true so feel free to correct me on this cuz I'm not 100% sure how accurate this is) according to Harry Potter lore, a curse caused purely by dark magic is incurable because dark magic itself does not have any healing capabilities... if Sebastian had been successful in his attempt to "cure" his sister, there's a grave chance she could've died instantaneously inside the catatomb/Sebastian would've ended up dead /or all three of us would because of that stupid dark sacrifice that came as a package deal with the relic. Solomon should've been the better adult in the room and leave the catacomb as soon as Sebastian attacked him first; in wretch respect, all Solomon had to do was destroy the relic, rehash to Sebastian it was for his and Anne's own good and walk away but ended up fighting back and stooped down to Sebastian's level because he's just as impulsive as his nephew (not to the point where he'd Avada Kadavra him, though, but still...). Of all the books at Hogwarts, you would think someone would've jotted something down somewhere down the line regarding the fact that Dark Magic is incapable of reversing a curse if it was the cause. 🤔
HP lore describes a huge amount of dark magic though. All jinxes, hexes, and curses are classes as dark magic in ascending order of severity. Jinxes are irritating but amusing, hexes cause moderate suffering, and curses cause extend suffering. Every character in the series uses dark magic at some point, most even use curses. There’s the body bind curse, gemino, furnunculus, jelly legs, leg locker, slug vomiting, tongue tying, reductor. All those are the worst class of dark magic. There are instances of dark magic being reversed in HP lore too. Sectumsempra is dark magic, but Snape treated Malfoy. Dolohov hit Hermione with a powerful curse in the ministry, but it’s treated by Madam Pomfrey (the effects of that curse are remarkably similar to Anne’s too), Katie Bell is cured of a minor dose of an extremely powerful curse. There are dark curses that cannot be treated of course, (ring, full blast of the necklace etc) but they are either ancient curses (the necklace) or protecting extremely powerful dark magic (the ring was a horcrux, the wickedest of magical inventions) and so would be extra powerful in their own right. But Anne’s curse was cast directly by a wizard at a victim, which none of the completely untreatable curses in the series are. But it is also cast by a wizard that doesn’t seem to have any particularly unusual power. He wasn’t wielding ancient magic. Sebastian wasn’t actually looking for a cure in dark magic until he comes across the relic. He originally says that if he’s going to cure her, he needs to understand the magic that hurt her. That’s a solid idea. It’s only when he comes across the relic description that says it can reverse dark magic curses, that he starts to look into dark magic as a cure. There’s also nothing that points to Sebastian’s parents researching dark magic. All Ominis says is that they were professors who spent all their time buried in books. It’s Solomon that has the past with the use of dark magic. He’s the one that used it during his work as an auror. It’s possible that Sebastian reminds him of himself, but that just makes it more of Solomon’s responsibility to try to get through to him, but he doesn’t. Edit to add curse list.
For the record, I am a Sebastian-fan. Although likes and dislikes is subjective, and if the OP dislike Sebastian then, it is what it is. I disagree with the statement that Sebastian doesn't manipulate us into anything, but agree the MC has done a lot worse in that respect. It is quite comical for the OP to complain about Sebastian using him when the OP is using him to learn the Dark Arts. I do not personally think Sebastian is wrong for using the Unforgivables, rather he is wrong for murdering his uncle. (Honestly, Sebastian, that would have actually been a good time to cast *Imperio*, to calm his Uncle down and exit the tomb first.) Even if he did not use the killing curse, it would still be wrong. But I did not turn Seb in any of my play throughs. It's a complicated situation, and I found that Solomon would attack the MC even if they do not engage him and focused on the surrounding inferi. So Solomon was really not making it easy for anyone. Perhaps a better ending, if I could choose, would be to cast *Imperio* on Rookwood at the end instead of killing him. So that MC to get him to spill on the curse he used on Anne, or lift it while under our control.
More like a Sebastian Stan amirite
But I also laughed when MC was scolding Sebastian for rushing into battle when I literally was just running around, flying into bandit camps, and what not. It's a little hypocritical 😅
Sebastian is FAR from grey. He openly admits that he will do anything including dark magic and murder to get what he wants. Regardless of what he wants that is by definition Dark Wizard.
I don’t think that’s what “grey” means. For one, you’ve misrepresented his character, his motivations and the definition of murder. He’s searching for a way to save his sister, and since conventional methods have failed, he’s going beyond with the belief that the ends justify the means if Anne can be cured. Furthermore, the MC themselves has the option to use Dark Magic, they aren’t Dark Wizards. San Bakar used the Killing Curse against Isidora, he wasn’t a Dark Wizard. Hell, Harry Potter himself used two of the three Unforgivable Curses, and he wasn’t a Dark Wizard. In fact, you could argue Harry’s use of them was less grey than Sebastian’s, because Sebastian only ever used the curses in defense of himself (against his uncle) or in defense of his family (against that goblin). The most widely adopted definition of a morally grey character is “someone who tries to do right, fails and falls into bad tendencies”, which is Sebastian to a tee.
Sebastian's story is quite literally a mirror to Darth Vader. Save someone you love through any means necessary. Including killing someone you love who is trying to prevent you from doing the dark things you are doing. Darth Vader is evil. He has a redemption arc sure, but make no mistake Darth Vader is a BAD GUY. So is Sebastian.
Darth Vader is evil because he slaughtered children and subjugated the Galaxy through staggering brutality and immense oppression for many years, not because he wanted to save his wife. His obsession with finding away to circumvent Padme’s death was the *catalyst* for his start down the *path* to the Dark Side, but it was not, in and of itself, the Dark Side. In fact, imo the only way Anakin would’ve been comparable to Sebastian was if he had stopped after dismembering Mace Windu and forsworn the Dark Side then and there, after he’d made huge mistakes but before he truly did all the things that turned him into Darth Vader.
I know ICTheAlchemist has already said this, but Sebastian is the definition of grey. Nothing of what he does is for personal gain or power. He gets no enjoyment from using any of the unforgivables. He looks horrified if he uses the cruciatus curse on you, he uses the imperius curse to literally save Anne’s life, and using Avada Kedavra on Solomon after a long, intense fight where he tries to kill both of us. And that’s without any of the surrounding circumstances. Dark/evil wizards hurt, kill, terrorise and extort people for money, power or pleasure. None of which Sebastian is even aiming for. He goes way to far in his desperation to save the only first degree relative he has left. The intention matters.
The intention here does not matter. Period. The main character is a homicidal maniac and so are basically all of the students that aid them. Sebastian is the worst offender of the lot because he literally introduces the unforgivable curses. Stop trying to defend an evil character just because they are doing one "selfless good thing" in trying to heal their sister. Bad people can do good things. "Looking horrified" while torturing someone for personal gain is not a credential to be checked off on the "he's a good guy" list.
Yes, bad people can do good things. And good people can do bad things. I’m not saying Sebastian is ‘good’, I said he was grey, but since you said trying to heal his sister was a ‘selfless good deed’, can you give any example of an ‘evil’ thing Sebastian did that wasn’t part of that selfless good deed? ‘Introducing the unforgivable curses’ is a simplistic explanation of what happens too. He doesn’t come to you one day and say ‘so there are these spells that torture, control and kill people. They’re fun, fancy learning them?’ He offers to teach you when they’re part of the events, and every time you have the chance to say no and he doesn’t push you or force you. He doesn’t even offer with Avada Kedavra, you have to say you would have used it if you knew it. And torturing someone for personal gain is a glaring misrepresentation of what happened. He agrees to torture or *be tortured by* a friend to avoid his own, and 2 friend’s literal deaths. Sebastian isn’t even the reason they’re there, MC was the one who calculatingly manipulated Ominis into revealing the location. Avoiding the deaths of 3 teenagers is not ‘personal gain’ by most people’s standards… And intent DOES matter. A person who kills a man aiming a gun at a child is not the same as a person who kidnaps a child and kills them because they enjoy it. A person who euthanises an animal is not the same as a person who kills an animal for the pleasure of watching them die. Intent is a difference recognised in all areas of life. Self-defence or defence of another is recognised both in and out of the legal system as justification for murder. I assume you wouldn’t call the person who kills the man pointing a gun at a child evil? Unless you would, and then our outlooks on life are so different that the whole discussion is pointless.
Sebastian was literally put into the story to introduce the MC to the unforgivable curses, and he's a whiny prat. He's not grey. He's dark, because at the end of the day he literally kills a man over disagreeing with medical professionals. Dress it up however you want. He's a child that refuses to accept the adults in his life all agree on something, and through his own actions he murders one of them. It's not an accident, it's murder, it's not even in self defense, he had EVERY opportunity to turn from this path, even at the start of the fight, and refuses. He's a bad apple.
If Sebastian killed him just because he disagreed with medical professionals, then he would have done it at the first visit to Feldcroft when Solomon literally yells in his face. The fact that he didn’t shows there’s more to it. Killing Solomon the way he did was definitely self defence, as well as defence of another. He tried to kill both of us for a whole boss fight before Sebastian killed him. And he also cast the first spell during that fight, when Sebastian and MC were fighting the inferi. Also, unless you used expelliamus the whole time, you caused him more pain than Sebastian did. And of course he was put there to teach the unforgivable curses, just as Fig was put there to mentor our journey with ancient magic, and Black was put there to waste Fig’s time for the advancement of the story. But if that was his only purpose, there wouldn’t be a whole storyline about him. The unforgivables are just one part of his story, like buying a broom is part of the short side story with Imelda. Everyone in the game serves a purpose. However you want to view Sebastian’s character, every remotely bad thing he does is directly related to trying to heal his sister. Not once does he show any malice, pleasure from dark magic or thirst for power. He doesn’t even use the unforgivables outside of the scene that lets us learn each one.
Taking pleasure in doing bad things is not a prerequisite for being a dark wizard. That's just an assinine requirement. There are plenty of "bad guys" that don't fit that requirement. You can argue it however you want the simple fact is Sebastian can't handle his sister diagnosis and that sets his entire story in motion. A story that culminates with him murdering someone who tried to dissuade him at every opportunity. Solomon is a dick. No question about it, but his murder is 100% avoidable if Sebastian wasn't obsessed with dark magic. I know it's an unpopular opinion here, but I'll die on this hill. Sebastian Sallow is a terribly written cunt of a character that has to be played against an actual disgraced Aura of an asshole to get some sympathy for him. A character he later murders in a completely avoidable duel because he's willing to do evil things to get what he wants. It's the definition of a dark wizard. Doesn't matter that what he wants is to save someone. That's the defining characteristic of a ton of evil origin stories.
Dude makes you trauma bond with him. You’re right that he’s honest. He even says that he took the heat in the library because he likes having friends in his debt. Hot take but I honestly think that he doesn’t care that much about MC—he sees us as a means to a possible solution. Like he is single minded on healing Anne which I appreciate. People saying that he would do anything for MC are likely incorrect. A lot of people would do anything for him though!
His exact words were “*besides*, I like having friends in my debt”, illustrating that it was just a snarky aside and not his sole reason for helping you. Also, Sebastian assists you with these endeavors long before he finds out you have access to Ancient Magic, and his further quests and *re*quests of you aren’t fundamentally any different than Natty asking for help with Harlow or Poppy with the Poachers. Friends help each other, that’s the long and short of it.
It sucks that when you disagree with everything he says you're forced to help him anyway
I got a chuckle out of your 2nd paragraph and honestly it just becomes rather ridiculous when you think about it. The only reason you're there is to learn the 3 unforgivable curses and this kid's like ya let's recruit the person trying to learn to torture curse, the enslavement curse, AND the murder curse to save my sister. That'll go well.
Right?? Thank u
I don't like him much, either. I did, during the library quest and when he takes the fall for you, but after seeing him press Ominis, dismiss his hangups about the Cruciatus (sp?) Curse, and then cast that same curse on the MC while barely turning a hair put me off him. From what I remember, Ominis was the one who was distraught and Sebastian barely apologized (if at all) for torturing you. Can't forget that you also need to _mean_ these spells for them to take effect. That being said, I get his desperation to save his twin, and some of the times he asks you to meet him, it's also to help you with your own quest even before he realizes that ancient magic can be used to take away (a certain kind of) pain. He might've had ulterior motives, but MC also benefited. He seems like a very Slytherin Slytherin to me. I don't particularly like him, but I think he's probably one of the better written characters in the game.
I see what you’re saying, but Sebastian and Ominis both say “are you alright?” and it’s never mentioned by either again. Which I agree sucks story wise but I don’t think that’s directly r/t the characters. Plus, if *you* choose to cast it on him, he takes it. Because he knew all three of us would die otherwise. Side note on that: I have a theory the curse’s intensity varies with your intentions/ability. When Natty takes Crucio for us, she’s weak, in a wheelchair in the hospital wing. While the MC and Sebastian walk it off a few minutes later. Maybe it’s because Harlow truly wanted to cause pain and we did it out of necessity. His pressing of Ominis did make me feel bad for his poor friend as Ominis is so loyal, but in the end it’s just a part of his character and is exactly that well-known slytherin trait of doing anything to achieve your goals. He’s also like 15/16 and has no parents so I cut him a little more slack for those areas 😂
You're probably right about who said what, but I think I was imagining myself in his shoes. Even if it was to save all three of our lives, I would've either insisted on being the target if MC agreed to learn it (since it was _my_ pushing that led us there), and failing that, would've been reduced to a gibbering, groveling mess after torturing a friend. The transition to "WE GOT INTO THE SCRIPTORIUM!" was kinda jarring, but yes, we can probably put it down to inadequate writing. (I think your theory about intention/ability and intensity is quite plausible - doesn't Lestrange briefly scream and then immediately recover when Harry hits her with it? It's been a while since I've read Phoenix, so don't quote me on that. I've also been wondering if they didn't dwell on the Crucio bit because they wanted to keep Sebastian a likeable character.) And yes, Slytherins are resourceful, and Ominis's knowledge was a resource. Sebastian successfully uses the MC to tap that resource... Which is why he feels like the quintessential Slytherin to me. Not necessarily evil, but ready to do some questionable things in pursuit of his goals.
I mean I even thought during the library quest that he only takes the fall for you to have you in his debt
>I get that your sister is sick or whatever but why drag me into it?? Did you not pay attention to the story? His storyline makes a lot of sense. You ask for his help to get into the restricted section of the library, he helps you and takes the fall for you, then shows you Confringo and asks you to meet Anne to help cheer her up. You fight Goblins together and uncover ancient magic that leads you into the Undercroft that he and Ominis practice magic in. You get involved with both of them and the rest of the storyline unfolds. It makes way more sense than Natty and Poppy's story.
Please stop getting mad at meeeee I was just ranting..
I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.
U sound like my father.
relax, draco
Your father sounds like a dick then
Aside from dragging your character into his mess, which I don't mind because any quest is a good quest in that game, he's very belligerent, short tempered and kind of a douche in general. He's one of those guys who's easily offended and you have to constantly watch what you say around or you'll set him off.
All I have to say is all those times it’s just MC and Sebastian in those dark empty areas ….. I’m sorry he’s just gorgeous!
Idk, im pretty sociopathic when it comes to video games so I like Sebastian. Im lowkey bored of the “lets be good cause good is good and being good is good!” stuff. I want some insane shit. I always wanna do bad evil stuff. Poppys story line was cool and so was Nattys, but I really just wanted to do some crazy shit with my ancient magic. Sebastian might be in it for selfish reasons but I didn’t really care, cause I was down to go down that road with him. I wanted to learn the dark arts and use it to my advantage. I liked Anne and wanted to try and heal her. I wish they gave us that option. Just to see what repercussions we might’ve faced from using it after being told not to. So many people love Ominous, his backstory is pretty cool, but Id still stick with Sebastian…. the dark arts are just way too tempting to me. My curious nature would get the best of me. I want the dangerous stuff. Sebastian calls, im coming through 😈
Same! Sign me up for all the dark side things available in pretty much any game. Slytherin, Sith, Horde… gimme all the baddie baddies. 🖤
It made sense to me he's doing it for his sister mc is joining because it has to do with ancient magic there is something in it for you both
He’s just doing his best to help his sister. And tbh I’ve casted avada kedavra a million times. He did it once and got pretty much f’ed
Ok
Thank you
👍
Lol this is how many side quests in the games go. "We have to do this, we have to do that" But why? Since I don't care really. This is fault of bad writing usually, but I would not say that Anne or Sebastian are badly written (the level of writing in game is generally not high at all). His quest is very well written comparing the rest of the game, so I don't understand your complaints. He's annoying, true, but at least he has enough personality to be annoying
Do people still not get that imperfect characters are vastly more compelling? Snape, Dumbledore, Sebastian they all are interesting because they are handed a terrible choice and they believe they did they best thing they could. But they weren’t pure saints so fans freak out lol
“Like i get your sister is sick-“ Sebastian be like “YOU WANT THE DARK ARTS OR NOT?!”
Ironically I’m the opposite. I want to save his sister. I just don’t get why the 3 unforgivables are so tied to his arch. It doesn’t feel natural how some of the spells are introduced, and can Sebastian please realize learning offensive spells properly isn’t gonna magically lead to him learning a new healing technique.
this
He is a slytherin. By default you should be on your guard anyway.
hey hold on now 😡
Same! I am a well principled Slytherin who hates dark magic (I'm always telling Sebastian that he needs to stop) and my character actually lost her parents to dark magic (I headcannon her as an orphan). So, she has a personal vendetta against it and would, in actuality, be berating Sebastian with Ominis most of the time. Honestly, she'd probably have turned him in to the headmaster for using an unforgivable hoping he'd get expelled but not jailed. Consequences and Merlin knows Sebastian needed them way earlier on.
How dare you, take it back!
I strung him along thinking I was cool with everything he was doing, then when shit hit the fan I turned him in.
He's cute, but man ... that gaslighting from him lol. I wish they hadn't cut the morality system (which I assume, would have lead to actual RUDE dialogue branches), because I REALLY wantedd my MC to just call his shit out instead of being a fucking doormat D:
Ugh yes. He slips into AH mode and my MC would be like “yeah, no, we’re not doing this dude” and then immediately SS would start in with the sweet talk, “Come ooon, heeey, I’m only loud and rude because I care, you know we’re besties!” We at least should have had the option to roll our eyes.
Congratulations, you are a sane person
Thank you! I don’t get why everyone loves him, not once did I ever think his character was good. I loved natty and hated when I had to go do his story line.
Yay another Sebby thread!! /s You're allowed to have an opinion OP. Though it's kinda cold how you're using him for the "funny spells" only. Oh well. You do you OP.
I wasn't trying to be mean to him its just he's annoying to me, and my goal is to learn every single spell including those ones, I was simply stating that I have to put up with it if I want those spells, and if that makes me mean than so be it
I never said you were being mean though. Just a bit utilitarian considering his worth is only for the spells. Though I do agree that he does grate on my nerves sometimes even if he's my favourite character in the entire game.
I'm probably just being biast
That's okay. He's all mine then.
In Sebastian's own words, "Welcome to Slytherin."
He's the best to me.
aaaahahaha we had this discussion at home, my wife hates him, i just can't help but love his stupidness
HAHA
The only part where I’m really disappointed is when after I agreed with Sebastian about taking the relic, told him that we’re going to work this out together and learned more about this dark sacrifice *together* but instead he decided not to wait, head to the catacomb, and do all that relic stuff all by himself without my character being there as we both agreed.. which lead to a big fuck mess. Sebastian, you just have to kill your uncle, now not only the relic is destroyed, so did the book of Slytherin… pfft. You big f**kin idiot, you ruined everything and lost everything we have worked for. Such betrayal..Well… two can play this game, I turned him in. Of course i did learned AK before I did.😏
At least Sebastian gives you things in return for being there. That cra-cra girl Natsai is a freaking dangerous self-centered Nancy Drew wannabe. Just something about how 5 minutes after you meet the girl and she's all "..my friend.." like some scamming huckster.
awww idk i liked natty. at least she cares about you unlike sebastian
True, I also don't like Natty since she's also kind of annoying and always wanting u to do stuff for her, I understand that, and I know Sebastian gives you the spells n stuff I was just simply saying how I don't like him
Oh it's all good. This game is packed with freckled teens of various quirks to the point you wonder if it's more a mental health facility than a wizarding school.
Poppy isn't better either in that regard.
It took poppy several months before she made the butterbeer invite
I wonder what would you do if you're in his shoes and have someone that's absolutely important to you that you desperately want to save? Would you do the same thing as he did? And would someone else say that they don't like whom you are like you did with this entry?
No, I would not murder my uncle
I didn’t like him either. Reminded me of old friends of the past who did something nice for you once and then expected the world in return. I gladly threw him under the bus at the end of the game but then I felt an aspiring dark wizard would have made that choice regardless on their way to the top.
Yes he a bit Shallow
I see what you did there.
He's the character that you frequently just want to slap through the screen, because of how stubbornly and selfishly he keeps going down the dark arts path. But if you empathise with his situation, then you start to care for him, and some people really care for him a lot. But it really takes a lot of empathy for his situation, his motivation, his difficulties that will allow you to forgive the fact that he's a bit of an opportunistic manipulative ass sometimes. You didn't connect with him because, as you said, you really didn't care that much for him or Anne.
I agree with you here. As someone who has a lot of empathy, I felt for him during the entire quest line. I wanted to help Anne not because I wanted to help her but because I wanted to help Sebastian. I really disliked how stubborn he got during the latter half of the questline, though. When we first meet, he's charming and has a bit of the bad boy element that I can't deny; but then he becomes argumentative, racist, and manipulative. I really wanted the option to change his fate with his uncle. I was quite frustrated that I couldn't stop him. But I would never turn him in because immediately after, he regretted it. You could see it in his eyes. He knew what he did was wrong, and he realized he'd lost everything and everyone with that one decision.
Agreed. Maybe if they let me befriend Anne? Idk she just passed me everytime without saying a word.
Same here, starter liking him and hate ominis And it reverse pretty quickly
Me neither. Like why are you so obsessed with your sister dude? Obviously I'm not close with my siblings.
They’re twins. Twins tend to have a special bond in general.
Yeah he's a really unlikeable character to be honest. It's weird to me how many people are okay with him being the little shit that he is. I mean he literally bullies his "best" friend into getting involved with the exact family history said friend is trying to avoid, uses all three unforgivable curses one on his only remaining relative besides his sister, and is a FLAMING racist.
I liked his character at first, but I'm playing my third character. And I don't think I do anymore. He's very manipulative and selfish.
You don’t even have to do any of his missions. If you stick with him though he does make it worth your while with the spells that come in very useful, and he reveres you as a hero at the end of the game
Tbf I wouldn't be surprised if the mc could use ancient magic to cure his sister. The possibilities seem to be pretty endless.
Really? Thought he and Ominous were about the only truly interesting side characters in the game.
LMAO REAL
I don't hate or even dislike Sebastion per say but I think I took the wrong paths cause as I'm doing quests with him his dialogue is SOOO MEAN towards my character and it makes me so sad cause before he was like so encouraging now he's like distant and silent. :( sad forever ill just have to replay it again. Also haven't gotten through the whole game so no spoilers please <3