#low honor playthrough

[throwra3882]

So I just finished my first playthrough of low honor RDR2, and I have some things to say about Arthur's morality. More below the cut.

It was much harder to do a low honor playthrough than a high honor playthrough. It felt so unnatural, and the story kept pushing me to do the honorable thing, even when I tried to do the dishonorable option. For example, you have a choice between 'forgive the debt and give money' or 'just forgive the debt'. Both of them give you honor (although the first choice gives you more).

Arthur also helps the Native Americans even if he doesn't have to. He helps John and Abigail. He gained so much honor when he threw Strauss out of camp that I had to ride to Emerald Ranch and kill a bunch of animals to tank my honor again.

I headcanon Arthur as a high honor man who sometimes has to do bad things for good reasons (protecting and providing for his chosen family). Also, I think the people that Arthur surrounds himself with are good people (still killers and thieves, but anyway) who see the good in him.

"You ain't as mean and dense as all that." I don't think I can say it better than Charles.

So how do you guys play as Arthur? High or Low honor?

[cutemothman]

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

Ambarino, Grizzlies West

[justabiteofspite]

As Much as I Love Gloomstalker/Assassin/Champion Astarion...

This honor mode run has turned me to a new religion, the belief that Monk-starion is in fact the way, the truth, and the life, Amen.

The Raphael fight wasn't so much a fight as much as it was Astarion stunning his ass every single round and beating the ever living shit out of him while the rest of the crew played Cambion Clean Up. What legendary actions? Never saw a single one. I was fully planning on my Durge Bard/Paladin to keep hold monstering him every turn but I ended up being able to use those spell slots for thunder smites instead!

Open Hand Monk 8/Thief 4 for anyone who would like to also convert. I took ASI Dex, Tavern Brawler, and Alert for my feats. I'll post a more detailed breakdown and my strategy with him later but just...damn.

[bricreative]

Should I try a dark urge play through?

[toxooz]

I need to see Low honor Arthur in your art style Pleaseeeee!!!!! (bonus points if you make him a black wolf anthro!!~)

would he just look like Arthur but 😈Evil😈???? i could see him wearing all black sksksk i kinda did that in my first playthorough but iM PLAYING AGAIN (in my fishing era) but im keeping his clothes canonically the same bc 🥺 that being said i wanna draw him soon tbhhh

[jimmycarterghostland]

Red Dead Redemption 2 players with HIGH honor when they find out honor affects the game:

Red Dead Redemption 2 players with LOW honor when they find out honor affects the game:

[big-boah-2]

The first shall be last.

[vampiryaoi]

been replaying rdr2 for about a year now and just finished chapter 6 :,) oh i am so devastated…. this playthrough has ruined me.

[claired3lune]

saw a tiktok recently about having a hard time picking mean dialogue options in video games and it reminded me that i've never fully completed lis 2 or 3

[roaringheat]

godddd there's so much dialogue where someone calls Arthur good/kind/caring and he shuts it down by saying he's a bad man or something similar. I didn't really think anything of it at first, just thinkin it was the game reinforcing the whole outlaw thing but when you look at how often it happens on top of the times Arthur bashes himself even in private it's like god damn!!! this man has self worth issues!!!

[manicmarsupial]

Arthur: *finally up and about at camp after fighting a deadly septic wound and assorted complications*

Dutch: You haven't donated to the box. We nEeD MoNeH!

Arthur: *stays away from camp for a while, picking flowers, bird watching*

Dutch, noticing the money box is empty: *sends out Charles/Bill/Uncle/half the camp to look for Arthur because he’s sO worRiEd*

Arthur: *crawls back into camp sobbing, with two gunshot wounds, multiple broken ribs and various other injuries, days after not having met up with Dutch at the agreed meeting spot after an obviously fishy negotiation with Dutch’s sworn nemesis, having been kidnapped by said nemesis*

Dutch: You were missing?

[cutemothman]

i always get roasted for keeping my arthur with just a mustache. i'm sorry to those who don't understand that long hair + mustache arthur is his sexiest form

[nthspecialll]

The fandom glorifies Arthur Morgan

Now I am not talking about about low honor, I play high honor and got it as the top at the end of every damn playthrough but my Arthur, as it is the cannon Arthur, is not a good guy. I am not going to talk about all of the murder, robbing and stuff he does, because we are majorly aware of it, I am talking his sexism, casual ignorance and disrespecfulness.

I quite often see people say that Arthur Morgan is a woman lover, and he definitely is, he is better than a lot of men from that time (which isn't hard), but he would not hold up in modern times, because he is not from modern times.

Generally speaking, Arthur Morgan is a man who believes in gender roles, he believes in the idea of "a man being a man" and "a woman being a woman." He has opinions about what a woman should do and what a man should do.

I think the biggest hint at this is his relationship with Sadie, because while he accepts her running with the boys he doesn't seem entirely happy about it. "You got a pair of pants and all of a sudden you think you're Landon Ricketts?" "You want to ruuuunnnn with the men?" and also "can Ms Grimshaw spare you?" when the girls asks if they can come to Valentine with him.

Talking of that quest, when he runs off to get Jimmy Brooks he puts Uncle, a lazy old bastard, in charge of getting the girls home even though they are more than capable of doing it themselves as they are healthy young women who knows how to handle horses.

In several antagonize lines against women performers (which are just as cannon as his greet lines) he shouts things like "That isn't very ladylike!" or "Go back to the kitchen" and "go make someone supper."

People keep saying Arthur would "treat them right" and he would, to an extent, he would care for you, he would be nice to you, but he would force those gender roles. He does have a belief women are somehow "softer" and that he as a person with a provider gene should do more of the harsh work.

So now we covered that, lets talk about the racism, or as I probably should rather call it, ignorance, because it is very commonly know Arthur does not judge by the color of skin.

The first one is that Arthur uses the whites-only saloon in Rhodes. Tilly mentions it to Arthur that they don't allow people of color into it, and yet he still supports it, it isn't a big thing but it is something of notice.

Secondly, when he talks to Eagle Flies where he "sets him in his place" Arthur, honey, you are so wrong here. Eagle Flies is being chased by the government for the mere fact that he exists with a different culture, you are being chased because you murdered so many folks, you can run across the sea and live a good life, they are fucked regardless.

When we first arrive in Lemoyne, Lenny and Arthur talks about the Lemoyne Raiders about racism and Arthur says "These boys got a manner about them but I haven't particularly noticed," Arthur of course you wouldn't, you are a tall, muscular, white man with sun kissed hair and blue eyes, you are the poster boy for eugenics.

Lastly, which will also bring me to the third point, the casual disrespect:

Arthur causally calling Javier a slur on the boat for no reason, did you really need that one-liner so badly? That goes for a lot of times in the game such as: "are you secretly normal" "what a lunatic" "we should find a better story for that scar" "But you continue to irritate me, I will kill you and make my appologies to the lady" "stick around and you might die for her as well" "oh I didn't know I was talking to a lady." All those were a slight bit disrespectful, enough to be able to annoy the majority of us if he said it to us, and they were also unnecessary.

He is also canonically chronically late, most notably we can hear Sean saying "that man will be late to his own funeral," and when you go around antagonizing characters in camp they are not surprised at all, rather they go "back at it again huh?"

All of this is just to sum up, Arthur is a pretty bad man (also counting in all the illegal stuff) and we tend to glorify him and forget some of these things, partly is also because Rockstar are amazing at hiding them, at making them seem natural, and they are because this is a historically accurate game! It is set in 1899 and this is a man from 1899 he is going to be casually sexist and disrespectful, and again, considering that he is from 1899 he is a decent guy because the majority of folk would be like Micah, not Arthur.

I definitely love Arthur, and I love Arthur exactly because the point of his character is him not being a saint but a human. His redemption is choosing to do good where he can, but even so, this is a man in 1899 and he is going to have a 1899 mindset. If you want to play a game that is set in the past but don't have that type of accuracy it is not Red Dead you want to play.

Also here is an Arthur pic as a thank you for reading all of that. I love him.

[pinescent-and-gingerbread]

Hi, how you doing, luv? I saw your requests were open so here I am!

I told this idea to a friend and we liked it so much I needed to see it written, and I love how you write Arthur!

I don't usually request/like low honor Arthur but hear me out! Low honor Arthur with a female reader and he's user her as his alibi whenever he goes on a killing spree. But she happily applies, smiling at the officers when she gets questioned like "it ain't him officer. how do I know that, you say? he was with me the whole time🤭" while Arthur quietly cleans the blood splatters off his guns

Samy!! Here it is!! I really hope you'll like it😭 Also, hell yes, what an ask! Loved writing it. Makes me want to write more Low!Honor. And ngggh the best compliment ever telling me you love how I write him I can't

˖✧ Pretty lies

✦ Pairing: Low!Honor Arthur Morgan x Fem!Reader  ✦ Warnings/Tags: Blood (obviously), guns, cursing, canon era speech, ending is suggestive. Therefore, MDNI, please! ✦ Words: 1,8k ✦ a/n: Okay so, this is my first attempt ever at a Low Honnor Arthur. I guess I just made him bolder, extra cocky+extra flirty? Hope it’ll fit! ALSO, as always, English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if anything sounds weird. Please if you notice any mistakes, reach up to me! ✦Credits. First pic is from Reddeadcomfort on Pinterest, gun pic from Pinterest too. Second one from my playthrough; blood stains and dividers by me.

Arthur’s violence wasn’t a secret to anyone. Not to anybody in camp, not to you, certainly not to himself. 

Not even to numerous people at this point, considering the large number of poor fellas who had the bad luck to cross him and ended up beaten to a pulp, covered in bruises, head in a drinking trough, riddled with bullets, or even worse.

But you loved him, no matter what. You knew about his flaws. Knew about his brutal, crude side. But around you, this heated aura was turning into something else entirely. And you liked it.

So, when a panting Arthur had rushed to you on the porch of Strawberry’s hotel, blood covering his entire self, face and hair included, blue eyes shining sapphires in a tide of rubies, you weren’t that surprised. You were even less when he asked you to be his alibi for whatever the Hell he just did, as he had taken the habit of doing lately. Lying for Arthur’s crimes could have looked like an immoral thing to do, but as a member of the gang too, you clearly weren’t a saint either.

And you really were enjoying this little game.

The subtle grin Arthur had every time you would lie in front of the police for him, asserting with absolute conviction you had been together all day. The rosy tone his cheeks, ears and neck were displaying when you felt bolder and added some details in your alibis. Details about fake, steamy nights or afternoons you were supposed to have shared, swearing to the Lord you had the unholiest of times together. Oh, the look he was giving you. Knowing, amused, dreamy and so, so proud and debauched. Lustful, even.

You were sure he was enjoying it too.

“Alright, I’ll cover for you again. But at least go take a bath, I can’t do miracles.” You ordered him, a devilish smile on your face. 

“Thank you, sugar.” Arthur quickly answered, his voice just a low, breathless mumbling, barely letting you distinguish his words.

He quickly entered the hotel and you heard the receptionist gasp from where you were. You chuckled to yourself, imagining his outraged face rapidly losing all its composure under Arthur’s hard gaze piercing through the layer of blood, ordering him to prepare a bath as gently as if he was doing a hold-up.

Poor man must have liquefied on the spot.

You leaned against the patio’s fence and breathed in the fresh late afternoon air of Strawberry, alpenglow golden and rosy on top of the mountains, a peaceful scenery under your eyes. Contrasting with the horror and brutality Arthur must have left in his trail.

He was quick to join you again, looking fresh and neat as if he were a completely normal gentleman. His messy hair and dirty beard long gone, a nice black shirt, shiny boots, and a scout jacket on, probably to match Strawberry people's clothes. 

The only things that hadn't benefited from a change were his eternal Gambler hat and his holster and revolvers, both still painted with blood stains, a red and morbid Appaloosa coat on shiny metal.

“Policemen won’t be too long to arrive. ‘Hid my face but they chased me down all the way from Flatneck Station.” He informed you, voice calmer and shoulders less tensed.

“What the Hell were you doing there?”

“Robbin’ a train.” He replied with a cocky grin, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“More like slaughterin’ a train, uh?”

“Smart mouth.” He retorted, amused by your remark. “Too many of ‘em bastards had irritated me.”

“And how much did you get exactly?”

“Seven hundred.” His smirk widened as he patted his satchel, which was probably full of stolen money.

“Damn, Arthur! All by yourself? You never cease to impress me.”

His eyes wrinkled in a genuine smile, a rare sight. He didn’t add anything, silence enveloping both of you, as often in his company. But you knew he had loved your praise. 

Arthur casually sat on one of the chairs behind you, legs open to be more comfortable, and took his guns out of his holster, as relaxed as if he had sat to draw in his journal.

He knew the Law had absolutely no proof against him, and that you were charming enough to lead them up the garden path as easily as if they were children. 

As he had planned, two terribly worn-out lawmen arrived, clothes soiled and face tired. It looked like they didn’t have the time to take a good bath contrary to your companion, probably interrogating the whole town before arriving here. One of them, the shorter of the two, climbed up the wooden stair treads and spoke.

“Sir, Missus. We’re searching for a dangerous criminal. He has been described by several witnesses as a tall man with broad shoulders, brown hair, blue eyes, and a black leathered hat…” His words slowed down and turned into a whisper at the end of his sentence, lost in the air, as his gaze landed on Arthur. His eyes narrowed realizing he matched the description perfectly.

“Oh, I’m really sorry, officer, we haven’t seen anyone like this…” You said with your most angelic smile, your body turning politely from the fence to face the policeman.

You were now standing right next to Arthur who didn’t look bothered at all. 

All the contrary, he had given a simple salute by nodding his head to the man, the tip of his hat shaking nonchalantly in his direction, and had begun cleaning his guns, blood visible like porcelain dipped in a vibrant red paint.

The officer frowned, clearly not convinced.

“You, where were you-

“Him? He was with me all day officer."

He does not believe you. Yet. You took his arched eyebrow as a personal invitation to give him a good show:

"To tell you the truth, we’re on our honeymoon here, so we took the time to enjoy our day together…”

While speaking, you put a hand on Arthur’s shoulder, to emphasize your words, to look convincing. But you would have lied to yourself telling you weren’t appreciating this, fingers caressing his muscles through the thick jacket, traveling innocently to his neck where you brushed the base of his hair, just underneath his hat, pampering him as if he was a cat.

And Arthur? He had the biggest shit-eating grin you've ever seen on his face. He loved it, the pure audacity of it all, your teasing touch on the back of his head, his own hands busy with his guns, oil and piece of fabric wiping the fresh remnants from his killing spree of a few hours ago, in the most carefree way possible, all of it under the Law’s nose.

A rush of adrenaline spread through him, tingling and warming his body. He tried to fight his own blood from gathering more and more between his legs, but after all, looking all giddy would just make it all more convincing, right?

“But this man really looks like…” The policeman tried to object, before being cut by you once again.

“Officer, I assure you we was here all day…” You asserted, honeyed voice soft to the ears, eyes as innocent as a dove.

“Oh, except for this morning though, we was out. We tried this really special spot, you know? The one in the mountains, where you can bathe in these hot springs… We had a good time there, didn’t we, honey?” You fibbed with perfection, adding even more details to your tapestry of lies.

The hand you had on Arthur slowly pushed his head against your chest, his face ending up cheek against your cleavage. His devilish smirk almost cracked from widening, and the tip of his ears got all red and hot. You could feel it against your skin, both of you relishing in your juvenile, corny lovers play.

Inside, he felt like he was on top of the World right now.

“Yes baby, ‘t was definitely a good time…” Arthur agreed, playful eyes adverting from his revolvers to look at yours from down there, his slightly crooked teeth visible through his gigantic grin.

“A-arlight, I erm…” The lawman coughed, visibly uncomfortable because of your behavior and finally convinced by your pretty little speech. “I’ll leave you to… To "it" then. Good evening Sir, Ma’am.”

He walked back to his colleague who had smoked a cigarette while waiting for him. Arthur and you kept on playing your naive role until both of them were far enough, the last echo of their conversation sounding exceedingly comical into your ears:

“Shit, we lost this asshole…”

 “Told you this couldn’t be him. Who would be stupid enough to strut around right next to the sheriff’s office?”

Yeah, who would be, uh?

You giggled a bit, eyes still locked on the stupid man in question. He hadn’t stopped smiling the whole time, a low chuckle shaking his chest, joining yours.

“This was a close one. You’re getting more and more reckless…” You warned him gently, hand still wrapped around his head.

“But you, on the other hand, are a brilliant actor, darlin’.” He added, his deep voice showing a hint of amusement and mischief. “And you're getting bolder too. A honeymoon, really?”

“The damn bastard wouldn't let it go…” You shrugged with an innocent smile.

It looks like he was comfortable like this because he wasn’t making any effort to pull away from your soft flesh. All the contrary, a sneaky arm curled up around your waist, pushing you onto his lap, his guns and the piece of fabric ending up on top of your thighs.

“Ya know, alibis are fun an’ all but… Maybe we could have a good time for real, sometimes.” He whispered in your ear, big hands handling you gently, one resting on your legs, the other holding your back.

“Yeah? You tired of lying, Arthur?”

“Am tired of doin’ nothin’ while havin’ the most gorgeous woman in town pretendin’ to be my wife…” His thumb slowly strokes your thighs while answering in a low, passionate tone.

This wasn’t just pretty lies anymore. His voice wasn’t joking, it was filled with desire; his hands warm and demanding on your body.

“Mmh… I see… Maybe we could actually book a room here for the night then…” You answered in the same quiet register, betraying your own needs.

One of your hands grabbed his guns, the other the blackened piece of fabric damped with oil, and you finished cleaning up his revolvers for him, fingers delicate and attentive.

His eyes are locked on your hands and their movement, completely hypnotized by them, his ears turning entirely red, this sanguine color spreading less and less subtly on his face and chest too.

You can't help but notice the hardness growing between his legs, pressing under your body. 

And he can't wait for the moment when this won’t be the barrel of his gun you'd be holding and caressing between your hands…

“Sounds pretty good to me, “Missus Morgan”.”

[entropyfox]

Low Honor Ending - Micah Bell

Addition to this post. Obviously heavy spoiler warning.

There are two low honor endings:

1) going back for the money -> Micah stabs Arthur

2) helping John -> Micah shoots Arthur

Either way, even if you fail the last mission (crawling to the gun) Micah kills Arthur.

In my last playthrough I chose the option to help John while being low honor.

As for @convolutedsoul ‘s post,

Do I think Micah only enjoyed killing Arthur or did it as an act of mercy?

I think that there is no definite answer to this question.

Micah is a well-written character with many layers and even more dimensions. This game is generally anything but black and white, and that includes Micah.

Micah is a very grey character in many aspects. He has a past that influenced much of his later life. He does not like to talk about it (implied in a camp interaction he has with Javier). I’d go as far as saying that in some scenes he displays redeeming qualities, though perhaps not redeeming enough for the evil he’s done.

He’s far from a genius but definitely not stupid. He knows he has done unforgivable things. He’s not looking to be forgiven.

He wants to kill Arthur, of course he does, he always wanted to. Arthur had basically everything man could need. He was Dutch’s “strongest”, he was the main man, people feared him but he was still loved and needed.

In terms of strength, Arthur was the one thing that kept Micah from claiming the throne. When Arthur got sick, Micah saw an opportunity.

I don’t think that he has the capacity to show much mercy. Perhaps pity would be a better word.

“You’re no better than me, Morgan.”

I think in a way, Micah pities himself.

In low honor Arthur, he sees pieces of himself. He sees that failed potential that’s rotting within them both. He sees that thinly veiled anger at the world, that violence that seems almost domestic. Familiar.

For high honor, he walks off. Perhaps because he can’t be bothered. He knows Arthur will die. He knows that Arthur’s mind will race with every painful breath he tries to take. That Arthur will think of everyone he’s leaving behind, and everything he fucked up in life. Micah doesn’t care. It’s not his business. He lets Arthur die slowly and alone.

Low honor however…

Low honor Arthur is not just Arthur. Low honor Arthur is a wreck of a man who is racking up sins and regrets.

Low honor Arthur kills for fun. Out of boredom even. Filling the void in his heart with hatred and blood instead of love like he was supposed to. Just like Micah.

I think when Micah granted low honor Arthur a quick death, he did it not out of mercy to Arthur, but mercy to himself, perhaps metaphorically. Killing off his own sins in form of someone else’s body.

I truly don’t think there’s a way to pinpoint exactly what Micah was thinking in that moment. We know too little and he hides too much. But I don’t think he’s particularly angry at Arthur. He’s not. By the point of Arthur’s death, he already lost most things that mattered to him. Micah knows that, I think his act of “mercy” proved that enough.

But he again and again preaches not doing anything halfway. When Micah says he will do something. He’ll do it entirely. He’ll finish it up. He does not leave loose ends. It goes against everything he values.

I don’t think he killed Arthur because he was still angry. I think he did it because it had to be done, or else his plans would’ve never concluded.

In my opinion, killing Arthur was neither pure enjoyment nor an act of “mercy” towards Arthur. Perhaps it was both these things, in a way. Or maybe he did it to simply finish what he was doing.

He did not not enjoy it, but enjoyment surely wasn’t the focus.

He does not feel the need to show mercy, except towards his own sins.

Micah Bell does not leave things unfinished. Ever.

Low honor Arthur Morgan and Micah Bell are two sides of the same coin, and I think that some people are too afraid to admit just how similar they are.

By the way, if anyone cares to know. After shooting Arthur, Micah walks off but turns to look at Arthur for just half a second. It’s barely noticeable unless you record and stop the recording. He acknowledged that Arthur is gone. He is no more.

[meekoftheweek]

this is what a high honor vs low honor playthrough feels like to me