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"Mature Content Warning!" |
| “ | What's better than a devil you don't know? A devil you do. | „ |
| ~ Raphael's famous quote |
Raphael, also known as the Devil, is one of the three main antagonists (alongside The Absolute and Enver Gortash) of the 2023 fantasy video game Baldur's Gate III.
He is one of the overarching antagonists of both Act I and Act II, and one of the main antagonists (alongside Enver Gortash and Orin the Red) of Act III.
He is the son of Mephistopheles, the arch-devil duke of Cania, and a powerful and manipulative cambion with grand ambitions to unite the Nine Hells under his rule and become the Archdevil Supreme. To achieve his ambitions, he uses the heroes of Baldur's Gate so they could accomplish his plans on getting the Crown of Karsus so he could gain enough power to take the Nine Hells and later on, the entire world.
Depending on the player's choice, you can either be his ally if you aid him in his goals, or if you oppose against him, he will serve as one of the player's arch-enemies, as well as the arch-enemy of Gale Dekarios of Waterdeep. He's also the arch-enemy of both Hope Hearthflame and Yurgir.
He is voiced by Andrew Wincott.
What Makes Him Pure Evil?[]
In General[]
- As a devil, he tends to make deals with desperate people, only for him to trick them and has them dragged to Hell where they spend their entire life in a eternal torture, both physically and mentally.
- And while he may sometimes honor his deals, this is mainly for pragmatic reasons, and even then, Raphael will find a way to screw around the contracts he makes with his clients.
- Raphael seeks to claim the Crown of Karsus so he could use it to gain god-like powers and conquer all of the Nine Hells.
- Despite his claim of being a well-intentioned extremist who simply wants to end the Blood War of Avernus, he quickly subverts that since he desired to conquer the world and later on, the entire universe, showing that he's just trying to gain more power and influence.
- Despite presenting himself as a charming and affable gentleman, he quickly shows his true colors of being an ambitious and arrogant devil willing to manipulate anyone to achieve his goals.
- His relationship with Korilla Hearthflame is merely pragmatic and professional at best, since Raphael doesn't bother to show any sense of grief towards her death (or potentially non-fatal defeat).
Background[]
- He took over the House of Hope and turned it into his main headquarters, where he enslaved those who he dragged to Hell.
- He repeatedly tortured and heavily implied to have rape Hope Hearthflame for a long time, driving her to the brink of insanity, and this was all out of pettiness since she would reject his advances.
- He disguised himself as a warlock and paid Enver Gortash's parents for them to trade their son to him, as they needed to pay their debts. Under his and Nubaldin's service, Gortash would often be heavily abused by the both of them, making Raphael responsible for Gortash's villainy.
- This also makes him responsible for Karlach Cliffgate's tragedy, since Gortash would sell Karlach to Zariel, unwillingly making her a soldier for Zariel's army.
- After making a deal with Moonrise Towers architect, Morfred, to destroy Ketheric Thorm and his Dark Justicar Army, he contracted Yurgir and his legion of Merregons to destroy them all.
- Before dying, Ketheric would unleash his shadow curse on Moonrise Towers, killing anyone who enters the land without light and turns into a undead corpse or shadow-like creature as a result.
- Ketheric's death also led to Myrkul, the God of Death, to resurrect him and promote him as his Chosen, leading to the undead general to become one of the Chosen of the Cult of the Absolute.
- Only one of the Dark Justicar survived, and made a deal with Raphael to guarantee his survival in the form of many rats, which led to Yurgir's contract unfulfilled, something that has plague the demon warrior for years since he couldn't leave from Moonrise Towers.
- Overall, because of his contract with Monfred (who was condone to serve in the House of Hope), he's responsible for not just the shadow curse on Moonrise Towers, but also the villainy of Ketheric Thorm.
- After learning of the Chosen Trio stealing the Crown of Karsus from his father Mephistopheles, he took the chance to manipulate events from the shadows to get his hands on the Crown.
Baldur's Gate III[]
Act I[]
- He attempts to manipulate the party into forging an deal with him, explaining that he can remove the tadpole in exchange for their souls.
- When the player character refuses, he proceeds to taunt them and sadistically warns them of when their luck and time runs out, he'll appear one last time.
- He sent Korilla to spy on the party to learn much about their progress.
- While he does have her saved the player character if they were captured by High Priestess Gut, he merely did it out of a pragmatic reason, and Korilla even states that Raphael won't always save them.
Act II[]
- He made a deal with a desperate Mol to help her and her gang escape the Shadowlands and get to Baldur's Gate, as well as to help her get to the top of the criminal underworld.
- This is however pointless since the adventurers can stop the Shadow Curse and help the Tiefling Refuges escape to Baldur's Gate safely
- He will eventually encounter the player and tell them to ensure that Yurgir fulfills his contract to the letter. If they tell Raphael that they may potentially have Yurgir as an ally, the former will threaten to make them suffer if they do so.
- If they help Yurgir finally complete his contract, Raphael will simply screw over the contract and state it is still unfulfilled and will make Yurgir substantiate into servitude again.
Act III[]
- He rejected Kith'rak Voss' plea on making a deal, since he had nothing to offer.
- Afterwards, he will then make another deal with the player, that if they help him retrieve the netherstones so he can obtain the Crown of Karsus in order to rule over the Nine Hells. This turns out to be a lie on his part as he also plans to rule the whole world and potentially the whole universe. This leads to two outcomes:
- Should they decide to agree with this deal, he will then give them a unique hammer that will allow them to free the Githyanki prince, Orpheus. However, this will cause strain between their allies and this will also lead to the Emperor feeling ultimately betrayed. Depending on the choices, if the player decides to side with Raphael and free Orpheus, then the Emperor will betray the adventurers and join the Absolute in destroying the city.
- And even as the player honors the deal and gives Raphael the crown after defeating the Absolute, he betrays them and their companions, and forcibly makes them his sex slave.
- After gaining the Crown of Karsus, he proceeds to conquer the Nine Hells and plots to conquer the world and even possibly the entire universe, while making a subtle threat to the players that he'll be knocking on their door soon.
- However, should the party refuse the deal and decide to break into his house of hope, an enraged Raphael will summon previous enemies that they have faced and attempt to kill them. Afterwards, he will then attempt to steal the Crown of Karsus from the Absolute himself.
- Should they decide to agree with this deal, he will then give them a unique hammer that will allow them to free the Githyanki prince, Orpheus. However, this will cause strain between their allies and this will also lead to the Emperor feeling ultimately betrayed. Depending on the choices, if the player decides to side with Raphael and free Orpheus, then the Emperor will betray the adventurers and join the Absolute in destroying the city.
External Links[]
- Raphael on the Villains Wiki
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 Pure Evils
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