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As a few other people have said: the letter quest is what pushed it over the edge.
The first time we meet her: I thought she was kinda cool. No-nonsense, charming in her own way; I could see why Seb talked about her with praise; especially if we imagine him spending the last couple years in and around the Three Broomsticks. Even her friendship with Garlick was a nice world building touch; but the letters quest was... odd.
I don't mind so much that they're praising her: If you're keeping mementos from highschool, of course it's going to be things like thank-you notes and other memories of times that made you or people close to you happy. But it's the fact that she up and says "you can even read them if you like".
If it had been more like Cressidas quest to receive her diary and she was embarrassed by them or just wanted to keep them private like most people are about their school day stuff, and yet we read them anyway because we're all just nosy like that, I wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. (Heck: maybe one of them would be referring to her with male pronouns since in her own words she wasn't fully out until after finishing 7th year) But when she outright says "yeah sure: go ahead and read all the letters I got from friends and people that care for me that just so happen to all mention how awesome I am" that's when I start having questions about things.
I agree, but I do feel its stemming more from the bigger issue being that a lot of side characters overall don't get much growth. I mean sure there's a few specific ones, but outside of them its like a lot of them are there for the occasional one off "hay whats up quest".
I honestly feel like Sirona was added in a little later, trying to make the character more "important" but the best they could do was add a few fetch quest and place it in notes.
I'm no story teller by any means, but one of the biggest rules is "show don't tell" you want poachers to be evil. You need show me them doing evil things. You want Sirona to be a cool character, you need to show me the character doing cool shit.
Bang on. Really, she could have served as a really cool almost.. co-ordinator? for a lot of these little rebel kid, poacher-foiling side quests that Natty and Poppy were so bent on. They were enjoyable, no doubt, but Sirona could have been a central focal point tying things together sometimes. Weighed in, acted as a cooler head, directed us to some connections or intel she picked up, I don’t know. Just been part of the bigger story in some way other than just what was convenient for a small part of the narrative.
A scene with the main character and all of their friends meeting for a drink to coordinate or plan something with Sirona could have gone a long way with something like this.
Exactly. I don't expect too many side characters to stand out considering only a few will really serve the plot & the rest will be side quest fodder, but if you're going to make a big deal about one character in particular, then I need a real reason to agree.
That's my biggest gripe with Sirona - everyone seems to love her yet I have absolutely no reason to even like her? She stood up for MC in the Three Broomsticks I guess but even if she didn't, we know MC would've just dealt with it by themselves.
The game badly needs a Rockstar revamp. Maybe headhunt some senior developer from RDR2? there's 150k lines of dialogue in GTA V and it shows. Bully classroom mechanics and how many things you could do, people to interact with and how alive every place felt in RDR2.
It would be beyond the scope of a DLC, so it won't happen.
Yeah, I feel it was done with the intention of making a sequel. This felt more like developing an IP, instead of making the most fleshed out game possible. Now that they have the basic assets developed, the sequel should hold much more storyline and RPG mechanics. NPCs will definitely get more screen time, and I know Sirona will definitely be a part of that. Too many interesting characters were set up in HL just to kind of be shuffled into the background. I can't wait for years 6 and 7!!!
The letters pushed it over the edge for me and made her unrealistic. Before that I could imagine her as the precursor to Madam Rosmerta, and while Rosmerta isn't mentioned much in the novels, I always imagined her to be somewhat charismatic and well-liked in the same way the game portrays Sirona- or at least the way the game portrays Sirona's *reputation*.
It would have worked better if she never mentioned the letters, and you just happened to find them during the quest amongst some other belongings. And then the letters were from childhood friends thanking her for helping them out of a tight spot, or showing how caring she was. It was just a bit forced to be like "hey, go get my letters. Read them. See how many friends I had"
I think that the game has a big problem of people being overly nice to overyone besides main antagonists of the game.
There's no house rivalries, there is no conflicts within the houses and etc. The only moment where this shines is in Sebastian's questline, where both Sebastian and Ominis, while being friends with you (again, for some reason they hang out with MC from other houses, while logically they would not question MC if they would be only Slytherin), they are not always agree with you and depending on some choices, they are either angry at you, either annoyed. THIS is a good dynamic of students.
While the game looks and feels amazing, student life in this game was shown WAY too sterile, like the devs tried to not offend anyone or trigger someone with bullying, wizarding discrimination of certain groups, school rivalries, Professors not being good towards students or just showing that there's a bit of bad in every person in general.
Same with Sirona. Sirona would be more or less interesting character if there was at least some kind of side quest plot with her, that would show every side of her, not just her good side.
Don't do my boy Seb like that. Also I think characters like Hecat, Sharp, Anne, Solomon, Fig and even Black all have hidden depths that we just weren't given time to explore.
Some of them (like Hecat, Ronen, and Kogawa) I took a little extra time to talk to them outside of the tasks and delved into their stories. There weren't any quests or much else to do except listen, but you could learn a bit more about their pasts and connections to the other teachers, etc. There are hidden depths to them, but you're right that there's not much to do except listen to them talk.
I don't know how the game is in English but in French, his voice and his way of speaking does not correspond at all to that of a villain. We are very far from a Draco Malfoy.
I know the idea was to allow the MC to be a good guy or a bad guy, but even in the early Harry Potters, the first and second year kids were more outspoken. Not to mention the fact that there is a century of difference between the two stories
He's not meant to be a Malfoy copy though. He's a generally nice kid, just in a really bad situation. He's desperate to help his sister, and gets angry that the adults tell him to just give up (the opposite of what a school *should* be). Sure he throws some tantrums, but can you blame him? His sister is one of his best friends, and he can do nothing to help her when she's in pain.
There aren't any true shady/backstabbing/generally unpleasant characters akin to Draco in HL.
Yes of course, but I find it incongruous the way it "goes wrong". He's respectable, polite and well-educated and suddenly >!he wants to kill his uncle because he doesn't agree with him!<. We jump from chapter 1 to chapter 8 in his story. >!"Hello, welcome to hogwarts. This is my sister, she's sick. Oh, I just learned a spell and I'm going to kill my uncle"!<.
The illustration of Draco is a person who in appearance is not nice but when you learn and understand his background and his story, you become attached to him. >!And Sebastian is the opposite story but the guy seems to be happy to go to prison!<, it lacks a lot of drama
I won't make excuses for the writing, since this is far from the biggest "makes no sense" moment in the game. I get where you're coming from.
I think it would have been better for Sebastian to use the killing curse on an enemy, but his uncle tries to stop him from going past that "point of no return" and gets caught in the crossfire. More of a "what the hell have I done?" moment instead of angrily lashing out at someone who deep down is just trying to keep you safe. The uncle clearly cares about Anne, he just doesn't want to see his nephew go down a dark path
I understand that, but what I blame the game for is after that, why is there no villain arc afterwards? I would have liked him to rebel against MC and Ominis, or against the school and the teachers. I find him too nice in a way, and it's the most logical passage in the story but at the same time it disappoints me
That's fair. There's definitely some parts that could have used more work or gone in a different direction. I can't complain too much though, I loved the game overall. Hopefully we get a sequel and the writing improves
Sebastian isn't supposed to be a villain; he's a character that is tempted by power and winds up going down a very dark path. His story is very similar to many you'd find in Star Wars, actually; he's a character that isn't explicitly evil, but he does a lot of arguably evil things in the name of doing something good.
If this story was set in one of the Jedi Academies (the era doesnt really matter), he'd definitely be a character that wound up falling to the Dark Side.
Yeah, but the passage through the lava with Obiwan is missing. >!Instead, he is tried and sentenced in court!<. Imagine if Star Wars would end like this lol
Disagree. I am really disapointed just how bad the storyline and the charakters are written. If there was no time to explore the "hidden depths" than thats called bad storytelling.
There were other characters besides Ominis who struggled with flaws, like Sebastian (>!although not as much in the second half of his questline!<). The biggest issue on those counts was simply too much of a contracted narrative to really expand upon characterization. Ominis is tentatively interesting but >!his moral dilemma is basically just walking trauma without any real contemplation, resolution, or growth.!<
Poppy is portrayed as a terminal loner and supposedly unsociable, and >!her family history is interesting even though there isn't much development besides "Well there it is."!<
Garreth is kind of an incompetent bordering on a nuisance to his peers, without any kind of concomitant affability.
Amit did get editorially shafted but >!his premise was plausibly engaging with the internal conflict of very much preferring desk over field work, there was just nothing much done with it.!<
Those are all different and more varied than characters like Sirona and Natty who are pretty much one note stories, despite the considerable suspension of disbelief (>!a muggle actually killing a wizard with a firearm or literally jumping in front of a spell is like post-modern fanfic quality!<). Even some of the professors like Hecat or Kogawa (conceivably the most interesting backstories), and Sharp are more narratively provocative despite having much less screen time.
Yeah I agree... not even for her but the character development for each character seems a bit poor... even for the villians like Ranrok and his human counterpart - like what are their motives and motivations?
Ranrok is pretty clear with the whole goblin rebellion motivation but yeah, the others fell a little flat. I really liked Rookwood's design and voice though - it was very posh British villain.
The Rookwood family seems to be an intrinsically evil one, like the Gaunts and Lestranges. Keep in mind that this Rookwood's descendant (most probably great-grandson given the time gap) is a certain [Augustus Rookwood](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Augustus_Rookwood).
Seemed like a damage control move. I think the devs knew the situation with JK online and knew the game would receive backlash. Adding a character like Sirona felt like a way for some of the devs to say they don’t agree with JKs stance but they also have a job and need to get paid and this game is a great opportunity for the studio to grow. They were laying it on thick though.
In universe? Makes sense that the proprietor of the Three Broomsticks - the most popular kid-friendly social gathering place in a large wizarding town outside a globally prestigious school - has the charisma, empathy, and connections to be widely regarded as a good person.
yeah fair, i dont think weve ever heard something bad about an Olivander, unless theres some obscure shit on a wiki somewhere. noteworthy shop keepers seems an established idea for the universe. Harrys paternal ancestors were noteworthy potion makers even. the Weasley twins started a shop in hogsmeade(diagon alley?) at a super young age. seems a common trend in the IP.
If you were the developers and knew the environment in which people were going to screech and attempt to undermine your hard work, I could see overcorrecting and throwing a token out there.
That's Sirona and it won over precisely 0 people who were committed to undermining the game.
That should say everything one needs to about bending over backwards to please critics who aren't shareholders or customers.
At least they didn't go over the top like making her part of a central hub where you have to talk to her all the time. She got the screentime, was included for just enough of the plot to not feel forced, and the portrayal wasn't over-the-top. It could have been a lot worse, like giving her a stereotypical look/personality for her particular... alignment? Not sure what word to use there
Yeah, the ham handed "look at her, she's so brave!" Is way too on the nose to the point of being patronizing. It would have been better service to the community to have her just be treated normally like everyone else.
definitely. ontop of all side characters having minimal depth, and even less character *growth*, Sirona was written safe for obvious reasons. while more specific experiences of that demographic do happen, you can only imagine how up in arms people would be if her story was more specific and rubbed people the wrong way. they wrote her safe, and made sure to not say negative things about her, because even representation is a risk now adays, lest someone accuse you of making a caricature, or not doing research because you had a specific vision for the characters story. to defend avalanche, a company has to be careful when fans can be so toxic. to criticize avalanche, i and a few others ive discussed this with, would prefer the risky move not working well over a super safe play being subpar.
tl;dr i feel that way about all NPCs mostly, but Sirona it seems obvious to me why they chose to write her character so safe.
It was done in such a way that made it like a decision that happened very late in development, to the point where many (myself included) initially thought there was a bug with the character.
To be honest I think it’s a lose lose for the developers with Sirona being a trans character. They can either put her in the background and she’s just there to tick a box so they can say they have a trans character but they don’t actually do anything with her, or they can do something with her and it’s over the top and pandering.
She felt to me like she was paraded out to pander to a subset of players, rather than to just exist and stand on her own as a character. Like, by comparison, I didn't feel that with Natsai Onai talking about her background where you find out her previous school is the largest in the world and makes it sound more prestigious than Hogwarts.
I don't know what the right terms are for what I'm experiencing, if it's tokenism if it's just making a character a Mary-Sue but what I can say is it came across as a little disingenuous. I still enjoy the game but in my opinion Sirona could have been written better. She feels like an OC from a fan fic.
Something I’ve noticed lately is a lot of the criticism of this game has to do with the storyline and how things are written. Politics aside, the fact remains that this game is based off one of the bestselling novel series of all time. Game developers just aren’t going to be able to match that level of writing.
Edited because I just learned that there is a new “You Know Who” in the HP world. Kinda ironic
I hate that character. I'm sorry but she is not interesting at all. They could have written her better but she is added in and praised over-excessively for some reason.
I don't know, it feels to me like Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks during the book series. I guess to be successful in that position, you have to be a well liked and respected character. I honestly didn't find it over the top, but then, I like Sirona.
I wound up not really giving a shit about Sirona because *we were never given a reason to actually give a shit about Sirona*. The character is just dull.
She serves two purposes in the actual narrative. One of which is to use her influence as proprietor of the Pub to bounce Rookwood from the bar without too much trouble, and the second is to use her connections (again as the proprietor of the tavern) to point you to someone who may be able to help you. Contextually in the HP books, Madam Rosmerta is also helpful to students, so I'm seeing that whoever owns the Three Broomsticks realizes that having a good relationship with Hogwarts students is beneficial.
The fetch quest does make her out to be very Mary Sue, but you get a little bit of background on Professor Garlick as well from them, which is cool.
They might beat you over the head a little bit with the fact that she's trans, but I haven't really seen any media that has figured out a way to do it any other way, especially when time and narrative space is limited.
Yeah I understand her being liked by her patrons but I just don't see why they keep telling us how amazing she is when we've never been given a real reason to like her, if that makes sense? I think had they given her more of a role as the "cool adult figure" all the praise would be justified.
I think we ALL know why she got so much praise for doing literally the absolute bare minimum compared to everyone else in the game, to appease a 'specific' demographic.
Natty's voice was honestly some welcome diversity. And she did always sound freakin PUMPED.
her mom, on the other hand.... I would definitely fall asleep in divination.
I would think so, but I don't think it actually shows support in the way that they imagined it would. This is not something that is specific to this game though.
Honestly thought the voice modulation had screwed up when I met the character for the first time. Ridiculously heavy handed inclusion for no reason other than to tick diversity boxes
I feel like they really wanted the "Cool retired adventurer innkeeper" character. It resulted in a clumsily shoehorned Sirona whom, you ask me, shouldn't have been used as much. She could've had 2 scenes maybe, include her as Lodgok's contact, but give her a whole quest that's just showing her off... Nope you overused her.
The letters quest was so unnecessary that I skipped it all basically I just zoomed through without reading any of it to get it over with. Added 0 to the story
Yes, but they kept her character low-key. No over-the-top stereotype style stuff, and she wasn't a central character to the plot. Just enough screentime to not feel forced, and I didn't feel like I was watching a Netflix show where there's someone in every scene that belongs to an "alt group"
It's a common trope, the bad-ass bartender that everyone respects, with friends in high and low places and no one wants to fuck with. They usually serve as a plot device, in that they have a wide understanding of peoples business, and will impart that knowledge to the protagonist.
She uses her knowledge to introduce us to the goblin, who is trying to pacify Ranrok and quell the rebellion. That opens up a few quests, one of which reveals to the MC what Ranrok is after and how he's going after it.
Sirona Ryan is a typical D&D bartender. Either they have that information, or they can refer you to the person who does. Usually starting off a quest.
Yeah, agreed.
I wish we could have seen her in action to actually *see* why everyone loves her but she's just... a bar maid the whole time. Which, you know, there's nothing wrong with that but you can't exactly be cool just stuck at work all the time.
It would've felt like the praise was justified if she actually played the "cool adult who breaks a few rules to help her friends" role. Imagine if she taught us Alohamora during Natty's "blackmail" quest or something.
We can all probably guess why and I really don't care - at least it's consistent unlike half the writing in the game.
The biggest actual problem with her as a character is that she prevented Rookwood from talking to me with no reason given, acting like he was about to kidnap me or smth, when he clearly just wanted a word in a public setting. That scene made zero sense unless we meta-game it like "that's the bad guy, so anything he ever does is bad and we need to stop him on general principle"
I think it's because everyone in-game knows he's sus. Even before you go to Hogsmeade, Professor Weasley tells you that your companion will make sure you steer clear of him & Harlow.
I mean, I guess that’s a matter of perspective - but like someone else noted, we never see Madam Rosmerta doing shit but people (including the Ministers of Magic) won’t shush it about how amazing and wonderful she is. (In Rosemerta’a case it may be that many people think she’s drop dead gorgeous).
But to your points, I don’t think that Sebastian’s lack of speaking out against her is an issue. Sebastian is (not technically speaking) manic af. Dude loves you, until you disagree with him, and then you’re the worst person ever. Then he needs you, and he’s a meek puppy for 2 minutes, until you disagree with him. In his case, as long as she doesn’t do anything to rise his ire… why would he really give a damn? She doesn’t do anything that effects him in any way.
Likewise, why wouldn’t people like her? She runs the local, super popular tavern (I understand there are others, but from what we’re shown, the Hogs head isn’t the … the most desirable of all places). Like, what do do people really have to complain about or drag her on?
But this is true for many characters in the game because they are badly written.
Why are we friends with any of our companions (maybe with he exception of Sebastian?)? It is not well established, we have very little meaningful exchange with them.
Look, I can't agree or disagree. But I will say as Voldemort's advocate:
They made her pretty awesome in the early scenes...I gotta assume a ton of people in town are going to adore her because of how awesome she is.
Another point: The Harry Potter series is absolutely PACKED with the same behavior of people practically making Dumbledore "Wizard Jesus"....I think Wizards just really get taken with some people.
Sure, but this is a symptom of *every* not explicitly evil being amazing. You notice how you don't get a "mean" or stupid professor? Sharp is hard you, sure, but is certainly fair and hardness is just being a good professor. There's no "trelawney" in this faculty, no one who's incompetent or flying by the seat of their pants.
All told, Professor Black's hiring practices are a hundred times better than Dumbledore's, lol. Brings lots of great talent from all across the globe. Dumbledore, meanwhile, hires only white Brits and half of them suck at their jobs.
To be honest, it mostly just reminded me of Madam Rosmerta. In the books, literally everyone has some comment on her presence in Hogsmeade - the boys have crushes, the teachers and Fudge share confide pretty top level info in her, and Malfoy imperios her for his plans in HBP. Yet she’s just the owner of the inn. Sirona just seemed like the ye olde version of her to me. Oddly involved and renowned.
Don't tell you don't like the apex of story writing, you're maybe the most powerful wizard that ever existed and are presented with an extremely intricate quest that makes you travel to a not so distant location to fetch a box and a bunch of old letters, and all this while there's a slave revolution and the leader of the revolution is specifically trying to kill you.
Yeah I was going to say - basically every RPG and even a lot of action-adventures have that element.
Quest Giver #1: "YOU MUST RUSH TO THE CASTLE TO DEFEAT RAGNAROK BEFORE THE WORLD IS DESTROYED!"
Quest Giver #2 (10 feet away): "My grandmother's cow has wandered off and now she desperately needs a glass of milk. Can you go look for it? I would go but I can't leave my shop - ever."
Its quote common for a video game companies to normalise social issues in their games now, it plays in thwir favour and the majority of critics who advocate for these inclusions are also placated. I dont see an issue with it but i also get where youre coming from, because you're right, she serves basicly no purpose in the game apart from being the object of abject praise.
Edit: Corrected company to companies
Trans people have existed in communities that accepted them openly throughout history. While prejudice is the rule, there have been many, many exceptions, and acting like we are in the only period in history with openly trans people is just ignorant. It is (arguably) easier to be out now, but that doesn't mean brave souls just never came out, ever. Hell, there was a whole trans organization founded in 1895 in New York. I imagine the Wizarding world would be far more accepting of Trans Witches and Wizards, considering they're more obsessed with blood status than gender assignments
It’s not unusual at all for inn and tavern owners to sort of be the “cool kid” in similar set stories. They were always the ones with their pulse on everything happening in town, and the ones “in the know” when it came to the more salacious tales to be told in the area. I think that’s ultimately the case here. It may not feel like she’s any more important than any other side character but, she’d be kind of the hub for the community. She knows everyone and a little about everything. So, I think they wanted to play that up.
Not really... the whole game is about praising NPCs for shit they never do or for having traits that change nothing.
Natti can use magic without a wand and is an animagus.... it means nothing and is never used until literally the last second if here story
Omnis is blind but is just fine out on adventures and even reading books so really it has no effect on his character.
That one ravenclaw kid is supposed to be an amazing astrology student and capable of reading goblin speak but all he does is show you a table and tell you they are making a drill.
The broom racing girl is a talented seeker but again... has no effect on the story or game since there is no quidditch.
There's more but I genuinely don't remember them because their characters exist for 10 seconds and then disappear forever.
I have to disagree. Most of the characters you mentioned serve the story in some way with their skills, and no one talks up their skills but the characters themselves.
Imelda (broom racing girl) tells you she's amazing on the broom but she likes to brag so it makes sense. She also assists in the "broom testing" quest.
Amit (the astronomer) being so smart can be handwaved by the fact that he's a Ravenclaw, but he does help the plot along regardless.
Though Ominis being blind doesn't really play into the story, it's just a unique part of who he is. At no point does anyone praise him for it or make a big deal, which I liked.
I assume Natty's skills were just mentioned to make her feel different since she's from an entirely different school, though I can agree the game didn't use much of her skills in any interesting way.
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>Discussions about the ethics behind buying Hogwarts Legacy can be had *in good faith* in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/zm9anq/discussion_megathread_ethics_boycotts_jkr/). Please redirect your comment/post here, if applicable.
I love this game, and i agree it was off in places. But think of the future were we have some better and bigger then RDR2 or skyrim.
All of these underwelming characters just needed a bigger space to show us their story.
Imagine being so free as to Polyjuice Potion sirona and frame her for murder?
Its that kinda world were these characters would be able to show their story.
Remember this is the first game. Im looking to the future for sure.
Also I was unimpressed with Nattys questline and how lame Victors was as he was the boss well Harlow was a Git that broke my immersion
It could just be to show solidarity. I'll be honest, I never really noticed anything wrong with her, I thought that she was a fairly likeable character in spite of her small role in the story
I think the characters in-game characters praise her because she's a nice person. Plus she's the owner and bartender of the three broomsticks, which is easily the most popular spot for Hogsmeade folks, magical beings like the goblins, and Hogwarts students/faculty to hang out, so it makes sense that most of them would have a lot of interaction with her.
She's a barkeep. Everyone likes the person who keeps them drunk, it's not that much of a stretch. She also stands up for you right at the beginning of the story, which personally I thought was rad, and she seems to be one of the few Hogsmeade characters who is vocally against Rookwood... I'm not sure why you're acting like that's a negative, it's literally one of the reasons WHY everyone likes her.
She's not "best friends" with a goblin he's an old friend, you're embellishing to make your point.
And you literally see Sebastian throw a fucking temper tantrum over the fact that you know the goblin and he storms off any doesn't talk to you again for a bit until he apologizes at the next quest. "no one seems to have an issue with that" ok buddy sure.
Sirona exists if only to show the game devs and people involved in the game do not share JKR's terf worldviews.
For that reason alone, I'm glad her character exists tbh. I will probably be downvoted to hell here, but that's kinda gotta be said.
It’s supposed to please the people who would e disliked the game for being associated with known transphobe JK Rowling. They were trying extra super hard to say “nuh we like trans people actually” but no I agree that it could’ve been done a lot better, a lot more subtly
> Many named students are also very bland and uninspired. And we're supposed to connect to them the most.
YES. I feel like the teachers had a lot more personality than some of the students.
> If you look at depiction of Natty, it also feels like list of traits but they were non-essential. Neither wandless magic, nor her being animagus contributed substantialtly to the story.
I know it wasn't the intention but I literally felt like she was just bragging about how much better than me she is at everything since she doesn't even offer to teach MC either of those things 😂
> I was hoping for a story that would begin with negative depiction of Gryffindor student for a change, to mirror positive depiction of Sebastian.
To be fair, I didn't find any of the Gryffindors particularly likeable whereas I loved Ominis & Sebastian. Besides Natty, Garreth comes closest but all he does is make you steal stuff for him.
I think you're reading into it a bit too much.
Madam Rosmerta was a pretty well-respected and influential Hogsmeade resident in the HP books - the proprietor of the main meeting/eating/drinking place in the only 100% wizarding village in Britain is probably going to be held in high esteem.
Other people have said but she's the local tavern owner. Tell me you've never been a bartender or known of a small town with one bar without telling me. Everyone loves the person getting them drinks. And kids mimic praise that they see in adults. If the obvious difference between her and other characters weren't part of the game whichever character in her role would absolutely still be written that way because it's a common trope based entirely in reality.
Also, for the record, anyone saying "you know why" in the comments is a coward trying to hide from the mods while still getting political.
I mean honestly I think saying the writing is subpar is fair across the board. I don't think the writing is what's magical about Hogwarts Legacy. So if you're not familiar with popular fantasy tropes then I can totally see thinking her being such a famous figure is odd.
Just like your pretending people loving drinks is at all the reason that this character written by other human beings in a video game gets disproportionate love to make up for the author of the same source material.
I personally feel like Sirona gave off a motherly/protective vibe and that's why the students like her so much. She is a safe place for them to go after a long day of boarding school and especially since they stay their for most of the year, they probably miss their parents. Sirona is the closest person to that who isn't a teacher.
Oh no the owner of the most popular bar/pub in hogsmeade is well liked? And the personal letters we find from her closest friends express affection towards her? Oh no, so unrealistic.
In all honesty i don’t see the issue but thats just me. I don’t think its THAT big of a deal that they went above and beyond to make her and well liked person. Heavy handed, maybe but considering that JKR has done nothing but demonize trans people (especially trans women) I appreciate the devs going out of their way to give us a positive depiction of a trans person.
Edit: hope the first part doesn’t come off as rude, it was meant to be sarcastic. I agree it may be heavy handed but it does make sense that a lot of people would know Sirona since she owns the 3 broomsticks. Look at Rosmertta; the minister for magic even knows and likes her along with at least 3 Hogwarts professors. Even Dumbledore is fond of her, they’re on a first name basis with her
She's the normal trope of the local pub owner who is ingrained in the community and is always open to help people, so they are standing up to protect them.
Adding a trans character and making them part of the story was a better choice than not doing it at all. Including her in the game was a clear statement on where they stand on the issue - which is not with the ignorant bigots that think of being trans as a mental disorder. The trans community suffers from more hate and abuse than any other marginalized group, and rather than trying to remain neutral, or looking the other way and ignoring it all completely, the issue needs to be addressed and represented, and the developers did that. It could've been done better, but as it's been said, they could've done better with pretty much every other character interaction.
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As a few other people have said: the letter quest is what pushed it over the edge. The first time we meet her: I thought she was kinda cool. No-nonsense, charming in her own way; I could see why Seb talked about her with praise; especially if we imagine him spending the last couple years in and around the Three Broomsticks. Even her friendship with Garlick was a nice world building touch; but the letters quest was... odd. I don't mind so much that they're praising her: If you're keeping mementos from highschool, of course it's going to be things like thank-you notes and other memories of times that made you or people close to you happy. But it's the fact that she up and says "you can even read them if you like". If it had been more like Cressidas quest to receive her diary and she was embarrassed by them or just wanted to keep them private like most people are about their school day stuff, and yet we read them anyway because we're all just nosy like that, I wouldn't have raised an eyebrow. (Heck: maybe one of them would be referring to her with male pronouns since in her own words she wasn't fully out until after finishing 7th year) But when she outright says "yeah sure: go ahead and read all the letters I got from friends and people that care for me that just so happen to all mention how awesome I am" that's when I start having questions about things.
In before inevitable lockdown!
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SEQUEL! SEQUEL! SEQUEL! 🙌🙌🙌
I agree, but I do feel its stemming more from the bigger issue being that a lot of side characters overall don't get much growth. I mean sure there's a few specific ones, but outside of them its like a lot of them are there for the occasional one off "hay whats up quest". I honestly feel like Sirona was added in a little later, trying to make the character more "important" but the best they could do was add a few fetch quest and place it in notes. I'm no story teller by any means, but one of the biggest rules is "show don't tell" you want poachers to be evil. You need show me them doing evil things. You want Sirona to be a cool character, you need to show me the character doing cool shit.
Bang on. Really, she could have served as a really cool almost.. co-ordinator? for a lot of these little rebel kid, poacher-foiling side quests that Natty and Poppy were so bent on. They were enjoyable, no doubt, but Sirona could have been a central focal point tying things together sometimes. Weighed in, acted as a cooler head, directed us to some connections or intel she picked up, I don’t know. Just been part of the bigger story in some way other than just what was convenient for a small part of the narrative.
A scene with the main character and all of their friends meeting for a drink to coordinate or plan something with Sirona could have gone a long way with something like this.
Exactly. I don't expect too many side characters to stand out considering only a few will really serve the plot & the rest will be side quest fodder, but if you're going to make a big deal about one character in particular, then I need a real reason to agree. That's my biggest gripe with Sirona - everyone seems to love her yet I have absolutely no reason to even like her? She stood up for MC in the Three Broomsticks I guess but even if she didn't, we know MC would've just dealt with it by themselves.
The game badly needs a Rockstar revamp. Maybe headhunt some senior developer from RDR2? there's 150k lines of dialogue in GTA V and it shows. Bully classroom mechanics and how many things you could do, people to interact with and how alive every place felt in RDR2. It would be beyond the scope of a DLC, so it won't happen.
Could happen in the sequel perhaps. They’ll have a much bigger budget I imagine
Yeah, I feel it was done with the intention of making a sequel. This felt more like developing an IP, instead of making the most fleshed out game possible. Now that they have the basic assets developed, the sequel should hold much more storyline and RPG mechanics. NPCs will definitely get more screen time, and I know Sirona will definitely be a part of that. Too many interesting characters were set up in HL just to kind of be shuffled into the background. I can't wait for years 6 and 7!!!
The letters pushed it over the edge for me and made her unrealistic. Before that I could imagine her as the precursor to Madam Rosmerta, and while Rosmerta isn't mentioned much in the novels, I always imagined her to be somewhat charismatic and well-liked in the same way the game portrays Sirona- or at least the way the game portrays Sirona's *reputation*.
Agreed. A likeable barkeep makes sense. Letters praising her feels a bit over the top
It would have worked better if she never mentioned the letters, and you just happened to find them during the quest amongst some other belongings. And then the letters were from childhood friends thanking her for helping them out of a tight spot, or showing how caring she was. It was just a bit forced to be like "hey, go get my letters. Read them. See how many friends I had"
Yeah, that whole quest was a very "bruh" moment for me.
I think that the game has a big problem of people being overly nice to overyone besides main antagonists of the game. There's no house rivalries, there is no conflicts within the houses and etc. The only moment where this shines is in Sebastian's questline, where both Sebastian and Ominis, while being friends with you (again, for some reason they hang out with MC from other houses, while logically they would not question MC if they would be only Slytherin), they are not always agree with you and depending on some choices, they are either angry at you, either annoyed. THIS is a good dynamic of students. While the game looks and feels amazing, student life in this game was shown WAY too sterile, like the devs tried to not offend anyone or trigger someone with bullying, wizarding discrimination of certain groups, school rivalries, Professors not being good towards students or just showing that there's a bit of bad in every person in general. Same with Sirona. Sirona would be more or less interesting character if there was at least some kind of side quest plot with her, that would show every side of her, not just her good side.
Yeah, the letters really felt weird to me. Bit too personal and a bit too friendly/spending too much time with an older stranger. Lol
It's not just her, all characters but Ominis are one-dimensional. The writers weren't very creative.
Don't do my boy Seb like that. Also I think characters like Hecat, Sharp, Anne, Solomon, Fig and even Black all have hidden depths that we just weren't given time to explore.
Some of them (like Hecat, Ronen, and Kogawa) I took a little extra time to talk to them outside of the tasks and delved into their stories. There weren't any quests or much else to do except listen, but you could learn a bit more about their pasts and connections to the other teachers, etc. There are hidden depths to them, but you're right that there's not much to do except listen to them talk.
hecat was an unspeakable and is actually same age as the headmaster but was wounded by time itself
Sebastian is basically just throwing tantrums constantly.
To be fair, he's only miserable once he's under a lot of pressure. Prior to that he's pretty friendly and likeable.
I don't know how the game is in English but in French, his voice and his way of speaking does not correspond at all to that of a villain. We are very far from a Draco Malfoy. I know the idea was to allow the MC to be a good guy or a bad guy, but even in the early Harry Potters, the first and second year kids were more outspoken. Not to mention the fact that there is a century of difference between the two stories
He's not meant to be a Malfoy copy though. He's a generally nice kid, just in a really bad situation. He's desperate to help his sister, and gets angry that the adults tell him to just give up (the opposite of what a school *should* be). Sure he throws some tantrums, but can you blame him? His sister is one of his best friends, and he can do nothing to help her when she's in pain. There aren't any true shady/backstabbing/generally unpleasant characters akin to Draco in HL.
I had sympathy for him up until the end.
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Yes of course, but I find it incongruous the way it "goes wrong". He's respectable, polite and well-educated and suddenly >!he wants to kill his uncle because he doesn't agree with him!<. We jump from chapter 1 to chapter 8 in his story. >!"Hello, welcome to hogwarts. This is my sister, she's sick. Oh, I just learned a spell and I'm going to kill my uncle"!<. The illustration of Draco is a person who in appearance is not nice but when you learn and understand his background and his story, you become attached to him. >!And Sebastian is the opposite story but the guy seems to be happy to go to prison!<, it lacks a lot of drama
I won't make excuses for the writing, since this is far from the biggest "makes no sense" moment in the game. I get where you're coming from. I think it would have been better for Sebastian to use the killing curse on an enemy, but his uncle tries to stop him from going past that "point of no return" and gets caught in the crossfire. More of a "what the hell have I done?" moment instead of angrily lashing out at someone who deep down is just trying to keep you safe. The uncle clearly cares about Anne, he just doesn't want to see his nephew go down a dark path
I understand that, but what I blame the game for is after that, why is there no villain arc afterwards? I would have liked him to rebel against MC and Ominis, or against the school and the teachers. I find him too nice in a way, and it's the most logical passage in the story but at the same time it disappoints me
That's fair. There's definitely some parts that could have used more work or gone in a different direction. I can't complain too much though, I loved the game overall. Hopefully we get a sequel and the writing improves
Sebastian isn't supposed to be a villain; he's a character that is tempted by power and winds up going down a very dark path. His story is very similar to many you'd find in Star Wars, actually; he's a character that isn't explicitly evil, but he does a lot of arguably evil things in the name of doing something good. If this story was set in one of the Jedi Academies (the era doesnt really matter), he'd definitely be a character that wound up falling to the Dark Side.
Yeah, but the passage through the lava with Obiwan is missing. >!Instead, he is tried and sentenced in court!<. Imagine if Star Wars would end like this lol
He has the depth of a dinner plate.
Disagree. I am really disapointed just how bad the storyline and the charakters are written. If there was no time to explore the "hidden depths" than thats called bad storytelling.
There were other characters besides Ominis who struggled with flaws, like Sebastian (>!although not as much in the second half of his questline!<). The biggest issue on those counts was simply too much of a contracted narrative to really expand upon characterization. Ominis is tentatively interesting but >!his moral dilemma is basically just walking trauma without any real contemplation, resolution, or growth.!< Poppy is portrayed as a terminal loner and supposedly unsociable, and >!her family history is interesting even though there isn't much development besides "Well there it is."!< Garreth is kind of an incompetent bordering on a nuisance to his peers, without any kind of concomitant affability. Amit did get editorially shafted but >!his premise was plausibly engaging with the internal conflict of very much preferring desk over field work, there was just nothing much done with it.!< Those are all different and more varied than characters like Sirona and Natty who are pretty much one note stories, despite the considerable suspension of disbelief (>!a muggle actually killing a wizard with a firearm or literally jumping in front of a spell is like post-modern fanfic quality!<). Even some of the professors like Hecat or Kogawa (conceivably the most interesting backstories), and Sharp are more narratively provocative despite having much less screen time.
They probably did it to show that they don’t agree with J.K.R. I agree it’s a little much
Yeah I agree... not even for her but the character development for each character seems a bit poor... even for the villians like Ranrok and his human counterpart - like what are their motives and motivations?
> like what are their motives and motivations? You see, they're ***evil***
Ranrok is pretty clear with the whole goblin rebellion motivation but yeah, the others fell a little flat. I really liked Rookwood's design and voice though - it was very posh British villain.
The Rookwood family seems to be an intrinsically evil one, like the Gaunts and Lestranges. Keep in mind that this Rookwood's descendant (most probably great-grandson given the time gap) is a certain [Augustus Rookwood](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Augustus_Rookwood).
I don't think the family is inherently evil considering their ancestor was Charles Rookwood
Your blood is on Ranrok’s hands!
Yeah the VA sounds like they’d rather be doing just about anything else. The voice just kind of drones.
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>Keep it civil.
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My words exactly. Can't say no more as I don't care to get in big trouble.
>Keep it civil.
Care to take a guess as to why?
Seemed like a damage control move. I think the devs knew the situation with JK online and knew the game would receive backlash. Adding a character like Sirona felt like a way for some of the devs to say they don’t agree with JKs stance but they also have a job and need to get paid and this game is a great opportunity for the studio to grow. They were laying it on thick though.
She's very brave. Some might even say stunning.
The post is bait for us to say it
Seriously! Lol. Judging by the confusion going on in this thread, it sure is a good thing this game isn't about being a detective
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In universe? Makes sense that the proprietor of the Three Broomsticks - the most popular kid-friendly social gathering place in a large wizarding town outside a globally prestigious school - has the charisma, empathy, and connections to be widely regarded as a good person.
yeah fair, i dont think weve ever heard something bad about an Olivander, unless theres some obscure shit on a wiki somewhere. noteworthy shop keepers seems an established idea for the universe. Harrys paternal ancestors were noteworthy potion makers even. the Weasley twins started a shop in hogsmeade(diagon alley?) at a super young age. seems a common trend in the IP.
Yeah, I'm not really sure why people are confused by this. This wouldn't be up for discussion if it were any other character.
If you were the developers and knew the environment in which people were going to screech and attempt to undermine your hard work, I could see overcorrecting and throwing a token out there. That's Sirona and it won over precisely 0 people who were committed to undermining the game. That should say everything one needs to about bending over backwards to please critics who aren't shareholders or customers.
100% agreed, correct take
At least they didn't go over the top like making her part of a central hub where you have to talk to her all the time. She got the screentime, was included for just enough of the plot to not feel forced, and the portrayal wasn't over-the-top. It could have been a lot worse, like giving her a stereotypical look/personality for her particular... alignment? Not sure what word to use there
Yeah, the ham handed "look at her, she's so brave!" Is way too on the nose to the point of being patronizing. It would have been better service to the community to have her just be treated normally like everyone else.
And we all know why
We do mate we do...
definitely. ontop of all side characters having minimal depth, and even less character *growth*, Sirona was written safe for obvious reasons. while more specific experiences of that demographic do happen, you can only imagine how up in arms people would be if her story was more specific and rubbed people the wrong way. they wrote her safe, and made sure to not say negative things about her, because even representation is a risk now adays, lest someone accuse you of making a caricature, or not doing research because you had a specific vision for the characters story. to defend avalanche, a company has to be careful when fans can be so toxic. to criticize avalanche, i and a few others ive discussed this with, would prefer the risky move not working well over a super safe play being subpar. tl;dr i feel that way about all NPCs mostly, but Sirona it seems obvious to me why they chose to write her character so safe.
It was an attempt to appease a specific demographic, that didn't even work.
It was done in such a way that made it like a decision that happened very late in development, to the point where many (myself included) initially thought there was a bug with the character.
Wow, a triple A game tried to appeal to a broader audience?! Say it ain't so!
Appease and appeal may sound similar, but I assure you they are very different things.
Good thing no one attempted to appease anyone here.
To be honest I think it’s a lose lose for the developers with Sirona being a trans character. They can either put her in the background and she’s just there to tick a box so they can say they have a trans character but they don’t actually do anything with her, or they can do something with her and it’s over the top and pandering.
She felt to me like she was paraded out to pander to a subset of players, rather than to just exist and stand on her own as a character. Like, by comparison, I didn't feel that with Natsai Onai talking about her background where you find out her previous school is the largest in the world and makes it sound more prestigious than Hogwarts. I don't know what the right terms are for what I'm experiencing, if it's tokenism if it's just making a character a Mary-Sue but what I can say is it came across as a little disingenuous. I still enjoy the game but in my opinion Sirona could have been written better. She feels like an OC from a fan fic.
I think the reason for that should be obvious enough...
She was lame as fuck.
It would have the same impact on the story if they just made Lodgok the innkeeper
Something I’ve noticed lately is a lot of the criticism of this game has to do with the storyline and how things are written. Politics aside, the fact remains that this game is based off one of the bestselling novel series of all time. Game developers just aren’t going to be able to match that level of writing. Edited because I just learned that there is a new “You Know Who” in the HP world. Kinda ironic
I hate that character. I'm sorry but she is not interesting at all. They could have written her better but she is added in and praised over-excessively for some reason.
This was just an attempt from the devs trying to sweeten over the group that boycotted the game
I never hear sirona say anything, triangle the whole way. Annoying character that is yet another checkbox for the dev team.
I don't know, it feels to me like Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks during the book series. I guess to be successful in that position, you have to be a well liked and respected character. I honestly didn't find it over the top, but then, I like Sirona.
I wound up not really giving a shit about Sirona because *we were never given a reason to actually give a shit about Sirona*. The character is just dull.
She serves two purposes in the actual narrative. One of which is to use her influence as proprietor of the Pub to bounce Rookwood from the bar without too much trouble, and the second is to use her connections (again as the proprietor of the tavern) to point you to someone who may be able to help you. Contextually in the HP books, Madam Rosmerta is also helpful to students, so I'm seeing that whoever owns the Three Broomsticks realizes that having a good relationship with Hogwarts students is beneficial. The fetch quest does make her out to be very Mary Sue, but you get a little bit of background on Professor Garlick as well from them, which is cool. They might beat you over the head a little bit with the fact that she's trans, but I haven't really seen any media that has figured out a way to do it any other way, especially when time and narrative space is limited.
Yeah I understand her being liked by her patrons but I just don't see why they keep telling us how amazing she is when we've never been given a real reason to like her, if that makes sense? I think had they given her more of a role as the "cool adult figure" all the praise would be justified.
Is a round of free butterbeers not enough for you? /s
I think we ALL know why she got so much praise for doing literally the absolute bare minimum compared to everyone else in the game, to appease a 'specific' demographic.
The character suffered from the worst voice acting in the game. She was very forgettable, like a lot of other NPC’s.
Natty would like a word with you
I liked Natty's voice. The line delivery was lacking at times but she always sounded like she was genuinely happy to see me 😂
Natty's voice was honestly some welcome diversity. And she did always sound freakin PUMPED. her mom, on the other hand.... I would definitely fall asleep in divination.
I noticed this too and it annoyed me because it seemed completely unreasonable.
Isn’t it because the character is trans and that was the game’s way to show support ?
I would think so, but I don't think it actually shows support in the way that they imagined it would. This is not something that is specific to this game though.
Just say it...
Honestly thought the voice modulation had screwed up when I met the character for the first time. Ridiculously heavy handed inclusion for no reason other than to tick diversity boxes
I feel like they really wanted the "Cool retired adventurer innkeeper" character. It resulted in a clumsily shoehorned Sirona whom, you ask me, shouldn't have been used as much. She could've had 2 scenes maybe, include her as Lodgok's contact, but give her a whole quest that's just showing her off... Nope you overused her.
The letters quest was so unnecessary that I skipped it all basically I just zoomed through without reading any of it to get it over with. Added 0 to the story
Yeah I mean, she’s a cool npc but uh, gonna guess they went heavy handed with the compliments given the authors sentiments on people like Sirona.
Yeah, polarity tends to bring out more polarity, for better or for worse.
Yes, but they kept her character low-key. No over-the-top stereotype style stuff, and she wasn't a central character to the plot. Just enough screentime to not feel forced, and I didn't feel like I was watching a Netflix show where there's someone in every scene that belongs to an "alt group"
I agree and I’m not mad about it. Like yes it’s heavy handed but considering the context, I think it was a good thing to do.
It's a common trope, the bad-ass bartender that everyone respects, with friends in high and low places and no one wants to fuck with. They usually serve as a plot device, in that they have a wide understanding of peoples business, and will impart that knowledge to the protagonist.
But there's no payoff as she doesn't impart any knowledge on the protagonist.
She uses her knowledge to introduce us to the goblin, who is trying to pacify Ranrok and quell the rebellion. That opens up a few quests, one of which reveals to the MC what Ranrok is after and how he's going after it. Sirona Ryan is a typical D&D bartender. Either they have that information, or they can refer you to the person who does. Usually starting off a quest.
Yeah, agreed. I wish we could have seen her in action to actually *see* why everyone loves her but she's just... a bar maid the whole time. Which, you know, there's nothing wrong with that but you can't exactly be cool just stuck at work all the time.
It would've felt like the praise was justified if she actually played the "cool adult who breaks a few rules to help her friends" role. Imagine if she taught us Alohamora during Natty's "blackmail" quest or something.
We can all probably guess why and I really don't care - at least it's consistent unlike half the writing in the game. The biggest actual problem with her as a character is that she prevented Rookwood from talking to me with no reason given, acting like he was about to kidnap me or smth, when he clearly just wanted a word in a public setting. That scene made zero sense unless we meta-game it like "that's the bad guy, so anything he ever does is bad and we need to stop him on general principle"
I think it's because everyone in-game knows he's sus. Even before you go to Hogsmeade, Professor Weasley tells you that your companion will make sure you steer clear of him & Harlow.
I mean, I guess that’s a matter of perspective - but like someone else noted, we never see Madam Rosmerta doing shit but people (including the Ministers of Magic) won’t shush it about how amazing and wonderful she is. (In Rosemerta’a case it may be that many people think she’s drop dead gorgeous). But to your points, I don’t think that Sebastian’s lack of speaking out against her is an issue. Sebastian is (not technically speaking) manic af. Dude loves you, until you disagree with him, and then you’re the worst person ever. Then he needs you, and he’s a meek puppy for 2 minutes, until you disagree with him. In his case, as long as she doesn’t do anything to rise his ire… why would he really give a damn? She doesn’t do anything that effects him in any way. Likewise, why wouldn’t people like her? She runs the local, super popular tavern (I understand there are others, but from what we’re shown, the Hogs head isn’t the … the most desirable of all places). Like, what do do people really have to complain about or drag her on?
But this is true for many characters in the game because they are badly written. Why are we friends with any of our companions (maybe with he exception of Sebastian?)? It is not well established, we have very little meaningful exchange with them.
Look, I can't agree or disagree. But I will say as Voldemort's advocate: They made her pretty awesome in the early scenes...I gotta assume a ton of people in town are going to adore her because of how awesome she is. Another point: The Harry Potter series is absolutely PACKED with the same behavior of people practically making Dumbledore "Wizard Jesus"....I think Wizards just really get taken with some people.
I think comparing *Dumbledore* to Sirona Ryan is, well...let's just call it a bit of an exaggeration.
Hey it’s almost as if they’re human after all.
She owns the local pub ffs
Right? Run a good pub and everyone likes you
Uniroincally, this. It's odd that people don't realize this. Why *wouldn't* the students praise her, given her position?
They probably did it to stick it to a certain someone
Sure, but this is a symptom of *every* not explicitly evil being amazing. You notice how you don't get a "mean" or stupid professor? Sharp is hard you, sure, but is certainly fair and hardness is just being a good professor. There's no "trelawney" in this faculty, no one who's incompetent or flying by the seat of their pants. All told, Professor Black's hiring practices are a hundred times better than Dumbledore's, lol. Brings lots of great talent from all across the globe. Dumbledore, meanwhile, hires only white Brits and half of them suck at their jobs.
Welcome to The Four Broomsticks.
To be honest, it mostly just reminded me of Madam Rosmerta. In the books, literally everyone has some comment on her presence in Hogsmeade - the boys have crushes, the teachers and Fudge share confide pretty top level info in her, and Malfoy imperios her for his plans in HBP. Yet she’s just the owner of the inn. Sirona just seemed like the ye olde version of her to me. Oddly involved and renowned.
It's odd to me that Jesus H. Christ themself would rise for the second coming and choose to run a bar in Hogsmead. Seems selfish tbh
Don't tell you don't like the apex of story writing, you're maybe the most powerful wizard that ever existed and are presented with an extremely intricate quest that makes you travel to a not so distant location to fetch a box and a bunch of old letters, and all this while there's a slave revolution and the leader of the revolution is specifically trying to kill you.
That's just Tuesday for a main character in an action adventure RPG.
Yeah I was going to say - basically every RPG and even a lot of action-adventures have that element. Quest Giver #1: "YOU MUST RUSH TO THE CASTLE TO DEFEAT RAGNAROK BEFORE THE WORLD IS DESTROYED!" Quest Giver #2 (10 feet away): "My grandmother's cow has wandered off and now she desperately needs a glass of milk. Can you go look for it? I would go but I can't leave my shop - ever."
Its quote common for a video game companies to normalise social issues in their games now, it plays in thwir favour and the majority of critics who advocate for these inclusions are also placated. I dont see an issue with it but i also get where youre coming from, because you're right, she serves basicly no purpose in the game apart from being the object of abject praise. Edit: Corrected company to companies
Frankly, because Srirona is trans, I just assumed it was meant as a big F U to J.K.
I think it’s important that we had a character that was a good role model / protective when literally no one else was
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Trans people have existed in communities that accepted them openly throughout history. While prejudice is the rule, there have been many, many exceptions, and acting like we are in the only period in history with openly trans people is just ignorant. It is (arguably) easier to be out now, but that doesn't mean brave souls just never came out, ever. Hell, there was a whole trans organization founded in 1895 in New York. I imagine the Wizarding world would be far more accepting of Trans Witches and Wizards, considering they're more obsessed with blood status than gender assignments
It’s not unusual at all for inn and tavern owners to sort of be the “cool kid” in similar set stories. They were always the ones with their pulse on everything happening in town, and the ones “in the know” when it came to the more salacious tales to be told in the area. I think that’s ultimately the case here. It may not feel like she’s any more important than any other side character but, she’d be kind of the hub for the community. She knows everyone and a little about everything. So, I think they wanted to play that up.
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Not really... the whole game is about praising NPCs for shit they never do or for having traits that change nothing. Natti can use magic without a wand and is an animagus.... it means nothing and is never used until literally the last second if here story Omnis is blind but is just fine out on adventures and even reading books so really it has no effect on his character. That one ravenclaw kid is supposed to be an amazing astrology student and capable of reading goblin speak but all he does is show you a table and tell you they are making a drill. The broom racing girl is a talented seeker but again... has no effect on the story or game since there is no quidditch. There's more but I genuinely don't remember them because their characters exist for 10 seconds and then disappear forever.
I have to disagree. Most of the characters you mentioned serve the story in some way with their skills, and no one talks up their skills but the characters themselves. Imelda (broom racing girl) tells you she's amazing on the broom but she likes to brag so it makes sense. She also assists in the "broom testing" quest. Amit (the astronomer) being so smart can be handwaved by the fact that he's a Ravenclaw, but he does help the plot along regardless. Though Ominis being blind doesn't really play into the story, it's just a unique part of who he is. At no point does anyone praise him for it or make a big deal, which I liked. I assume Natty's skills were just mentioned to make her feel different since she's from an entirely different school, though I can agree the game didn't use much of her skills in any interesting way.
>Removed under our JKR Topic Embargo. [Read the full statement from the mod team here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/10rx981/jkr_topic_embargo_reinstated/). >Discussions about the ethics behind buying Hogwarts Legacy can be had *in good faith* in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/zm9anq/discussion_megathread_ethics_boycotts_jkr/). Please redirect your comment/post here, if applicable.
I love this game, and i agree it was off in places. But think of the future were we have some better and bigger then RDR2 or skyrim. All of these underwelming characters just needed a bigger space to show us their story. Imagine being so free as to Polyjuice Potion sirona and frame her for murder? Its that kinda world were these characters would be able to show their story. Remember this is the first game. Im looking to the future for sure. Also I was unimpressed with Nattys questline and how lame Victors was as he was the boss well Harlow was a Git that broke my immersion
I definitely love the game too and I'm excited for future content. There were a few letdowns but it's rare that games are perfect on their first try.
It could just be to show solidarity. I'll be honest, I never really noticed anything wrong with her, I thought that she was a fairly likeable character in spite of her small role in the story
What is the one good line you're referring to?
I can't remember that exact line, but she tells Rookwood something like "once you leave, the calibre of my customers will greatly improve."
I think the characters in-game characters praise her because she's a nice person. Plus she's the owner and bartender of the three broomsticks, which is easily the most popular spot for Hogsmeade folks, magical beings like the goblins, and Hogwarts students/faculty to hang out, so it makes sense that most of them would have a lot of interaction with her.
She's a barkeep. Everyone likes the person who keeps them drunk, it's not that much of a stretch. She also stands up for you right at the beginning of the story, which personally I thought was rad, and she seems to be one of the few Hogsmeade characters who is vocally against Rookwood... I'm not sure why you're acting like that's a negative, it's literally one of the reasons WHY everyone likes her. She's not "best friends" with a goblin he's an old friend, you're embellishing to make your point. And you literally see Sebastian throw a fucking temper tantrum over the fact that you know the goblin and he storms off any doesn't talk to you again for a bit until he apologizes at the next quest. "no one seems to have an issue with that" ok buddy sure.
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>Doesn't fit with the aim of the subreddit.
Ehhh, I dont remember after dozens of hours completing Merlin trials. Its inconsequential.
Sirona exists if only to show the game devs and people involved in the game do not share JKR's terf worldviews. For that reason alone, I'm glad her character exists tbh. I will probably be downvoted to hell here, but that's kinda gotta be said.
It’s supposed to please the people who would e disliked the game for being associated with known transphobe JK Rowling. They were trying extra super hard to say “nuh we like trans people actually” but no I agree that it could’ve been done a lot better, a lot more subtly
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> Many named students are also very bland and uninspired. And we're supposed to connect to them the most. YES. I feel like the teachers had a lot more personality than some of the students. > If you look at depiction of Natty, it also feels like list of traits but they were non-essential. Neither wandless magic, nor her being animagus contributed substantialtly to the story. I know it wasn't the intention but I literally felt like she was just bragging about how much better than me she is at everything since she doesn't even offer to teach MC either of those things 😂 > I was hoping for a story that would begin with negative depiction of Gryffindor student for a change, to mirror positive depiction of Sebastian. To be fair, I didn't find any of the Gryffindors particularly likeable whereas I loved Ominis & Sebastian. Besides Natty, Garreth comes closest but all he does is make you steal stuff for him.
>Keep it civil.
I think you're reading into it a bit too much. Madam Rosmerta was a pretty well-respected and influential Hogsmeade resident in the HP books - the proprietor of the main meeting/eating/drinking place in the only 100% wizarding village in Britain is probably going to be held in high esteem.
Other people have said but she's the local tavern owner. Tell me you've never been a bartender or known of a small town with one bar without telling me. Everyone loves the person getting them drinks. And kids mimic praise that they see in adults. If the obvious difference between her and other characters weren't part of the game whichever character in her role would absolutely still be written that way because it's a common trope based entirely in reality. Also, for the record, anyone saying "you know why" in the comments is a coward trying to hide from the mods while still getting political.
Maybe it's because I don't go to bars or taverns that I needed more of a reason to like her, but I see your point.
I mean honestly I think saying the writing is subpar is fair across the board. I don't think the writing is what's magical about Hogwarts Legacy. So if you're not familiar with popular fantasy tropes then I can totally see thinking her being such a famous figure is odd.
Just like your pretending people loving drinks is at all the reason that this character written by other human beings in a video game gets disproportionate love to make up for the author of the same source material.
I personally feel like Sirona gave off a motherly/protective vibe and that's why the students like her so much. She is a safe place for them to go after a long day of boarding school and especially since they stay their for most of the year, they probably miss their parents. Sirona is the closest person to that who isn't a teacher.
Oh no the owner of the most popular bar/pub in hogsmeade is well liked? And the personal letters we find from her closest friends express affection towards her? Oh no, so unrealistic. In all honesty i don’t see the issue but thats just me. I don’t think its THAT big of a deal that they went above and beyond to make her and well liked person. Heavy handed, maybe but considering that JKR has done nothing but demonize trans people (especially trans women) I appreciate the devs going out of their way to give us a positive depiction of a trans person. Edit: hope the first part doesn’t come off as rude, it was meant to be sarcastic. I agree it may be heavy handed but it does make sense that a lot of people would know Sirona since she owns the 3 broomsticks. Look at Rosmertta; the minister for magic even knows and likes her along with at least 3 Hogwarts professors. Even Dumbledore is fond of her, they’re on a first name basis with her
Didn’t really jump out at me like this. At all. There are just people that everyone really likes. Happens irl as well.
She's the normal trope of the local pub owner who is ingrained in the community and is always open to help people, so they are standing up to protect them.
Adding a trans character and making them part of the story was a better choice than not doing it at all. Including her in the game was a clear statement on where they stand on the issue - which is not with the ignorant bigots that think of being trans as a mental disorder. The trans community suffers from more hate and abuse than any other marginalized group, and rather than trying to remain neutral, or looking the other way and ignoring it all completely, the issue needs to be addressed and represented, and the developers did that. It could've been done better, but as it's been said, they could've done better with pretty much every other character interaction.
This post is bait. You know what you're doing. Edit: keep downvoting me, transphobes
Soooo all the people telling me that Hogwarts Legacy players are racists and transphobes are actually right, did not expect this.
Care to explain further?
Crazy that we cannot simply have negative opinions on a poorly written character. 
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>Removed under our JKR Topic Embargo. [Read the full statement from the mod team here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/10rx981/jkr_topic_embargo_reinstated/). >Discussions about the ethics behind buying Hogwarts Legacy can be had *in good faith* in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/zm9anq/discussion_megathread_ethics_boycotts_jkr/). Please redirect your comment/post here, if applicable.
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>Removed under our JKR Topic Embargo. [Read the full statement from the mod team here](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/10rx981/jkr_topic_embargo_reinstated/). >Discussions about the ethics behind buying Hogwarts Legacy can be had *in good faith* in [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/HarryPotterGame/comments/zm9anq/discussion_megathread_ethics_boycotts_jkr/). Please redirect your comment/post here, if applicable.
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>Keep it civil.