What's Going To Kill Belkar?

[hroþila]

Ah, Halfling Baby Steps Are Very Small, also known as Belkar is on the Path to Redemption, He’s Just Moving Very Slowly.

I think the problem with this kind of talk is the unspoken assumption that the path is a straight road to redemption. Even when people take into account that Belkar doesn't have much time left, the underlying assumption is that he'd be redeemed if he had time on his side. But in reality, Belkar has just taken a few steps away from the polar extreme of Evilness. None of the traits he has recently acquired are even rare among Evil characters, after all.

So my opinion is that yes, Belkar is less Evil in absolute terms, and that does put him closer to being Neutral than he used to be, but that's a far cry from being close to Neutral, or even on the road to neutrality, except in the most general sense that would also apply e.g. to Redcloak's realization that hobgoblins are his people too. I imagine that's ultimately what rubs Peelee the wrong way.