Reasonable Authority Figure / Video Games

Reasonable Authority Figures in video games.

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• Ace Combat:
  • In Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere, Gabriel Clarkson tries to bring about a ceasefire between General Resource and Neucom, but he’s forced to defect to Neucom when Gilbert Park takes over the UPEO.
  • President Vincent Harling of the Osean Federation and Prime Minister Nikonor of the Union of Yuktobonian Republics in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, both immediately bring an end to the war between their two countries once they’re rescued from the Grey Men, and arrive in the Osean Capital of Oured to broadcast a call for peace on live television.
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
    • AWACS Long Caster is far more friendly to Trigger and Count when they’re transferred to the LRSSG, compared to AWACS Bandog. He also treats the friendly Eruseans with respect and professionalism during the last missions when the Radicals try to keep the war going.
    • Wiseman, as head of the LRSSG wing, doesn't care whether Trigger and Count are former convicts; all that matters to him is their ability to do the job and to keep them alive, like his regular pilots. He'll even praise Trigger during his first mission as Strider leader if the player destroys the support beams before Wiseman has the idea to do so.
    • Vice-Chairman Edwards of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs is the second highest ranking officer in the Osean Military. When he contacts the LRSSG in the second SP Mission, its to order for Brigadier General Clemens to be arrested when its revealed that he’s a traitor after he tried to order Mimic Squadron to stand down when they attacked Trigger.
• Sheriff Sarah Breaker from Alan Wake, an ordinary, level-headed, small-town sheriff who is not only explicitly against the FBI Agent Nightingale's hot-headed "shoot first, ask questions later" approach, but reasons that Alan Wake could not be (technically) behind everything weird happening with the town. When she's confronted with the reality that a force of darkness is attacking the town, she grabs a shotgun and a light and gets ready to fight back.
  Nightingale: Sheriff Breaker, this is Agent Nightingale. I've lost contact with most of the men you assigned me. It's Wake's doing!
  Breaker: Wait, are you seriously telling me that geek writer just took out my deputies?! Are you kidding? I mean, have you seen this guy? He wears a tweed jacket! Over.
  Nightingale: He's the guy we're chasing! If it's not him, who, then? Bigfoot? Over.
  Breaker: I don't know yet, but I'm not in the habit of jumping to conclusions. That tends to come back and bite you in the ass. Out.
• In the original Assassin's Creed, King Richard turns out to be one of these when Altaïr meets him at the end of the game and confronts him with Robert de Sable's plot to take over the Holy Land. Rather than having the Assassin killed out of hand, he listens to Altaïr's words (including his commentary that all of Richard's "best men" were working against him, to which he concedes) considers Robert's response evenly (hey, the Assassins are killing Crusader soldiers), and, confronted with two men who obviously hate each other and don't have enough proof of either of their claims, decides to let them hash out their differences with the sword. Once Altaïr wins, King Richard has an amiable chat with the Assassin, offers him a bit of advice, talks kindly of Saladin (who is busy fighting his army at that very moment^note The two had a surprising amount of respect for each other in real life (their siblings were almost engaged to be wedded at one point) so this is not out of character for him either) and then lets Altaïr go.
  • In the second game, both of Ezio Auditore's parents are pretty cool, and it's obvious they love each other, as well as their children. After Ezio gets involved in a street brawl and then goes to his girlfriend's house, only to get caught in her bed by her dad, the morning after, Giovanni (Ezio's father) starts off telling his son to stop being so immature and get it together... only to find himself chuckling at the fact that Ezio reminds him of himself at that age, and brushes it off. As for Ezio's mother, she's a patron of Leonardo da Vinci and goes out of her way to be kind to the lower classes. She also isn't fooled by Ezio's supposed denials of his troublemaking the night before, leading to an amusing conversation about Ezio needing to rethink his outlets.
  • Lorenzo de' Medici as well. Ezio's father has always been his friend, and Lorenzo is determined to help in any way he can to stop his city (and all of Italy) from falling into Templar hands.
• The Baldur's Gate series has a few, but Duke Eltan, and his right-hand man Scar, of the Flaming Fist — the de facto police force of the eponymous city — stand out, as much of the second half of the game consists of fleshing out their initial suspicions about the Iron Throne and trying to find them the evidence they need to justify bringing the law down on them. The leadership of the Order of the Radiant Heart are this in the second game, offering support to good-aligned or very persuasive player characters at several points of the game and notably responding to the party being tricked into murdering several of their knights by demanding that they hunt down those responsible for the deception. Inspector Brega clearly has a trace of this, but his role, while expanded by third party mods, is undermined by the over-the-top corruptness of the Amnish government (Magistrate Bylanna, by contrast, clearly considers herself this but flirts with the Lawful Stupid and Obstructive Bureaucrat tropes far too much to qualify). Melissan presents herself as this, and the game forces the player to go along with it even though they're unlikely to have been fooled.
• Quaestor Verus from Baten Kaitos Origins, who serves as the Big Good of the story and works to help Sagi stop Baelheit's plans for promachination. Subverted; Verus is actually an unrepentantly evil chessmaster who reveals himself as soon as Baelheit is dead.
• Bug Fables: At first, when Elizant asks for the termites' help in dealing with the Wasp King, Queen Layra II is skeptical that the wasps would pose a threat because of her kingdom's defenses. When she witnesses Team Snakemouth best them in The Colosseum (with the knowledge that they couldn't defeat the Wasp King), she immediately realizes that Elizant is not lying, and complies.
• Dr. Crabblesnitch from Bully can be this when he's not a Dean Bitterman. For example, upon having full proof of their misdeeds, he immediately fires Mr. Hattrick, Mr. Burton and expels Gary Smith while reinstating Jimmy and Zoe to the school after they've been falsely accused.
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars' General Granger, who still actually takes Nod seriously in the beginning, tries to prevent Boyle from annihilating an entire Yellow Zone by Ion-Cannoning Temple and tries (it could or could not be successfully, depending on player choice) to convince the player to not use the liquid T-bomb of the same variety that caused the aforementioned yellow zone cessation of existence.
• The Elder Kettle in Cuphead is pretty much of a Mentor Archetype. Despite the fact that he's disappointed that Cuphead and Mugman gambled in the Devil's Casino, he also helps them by offering a magic potion which will allow them to fight the debtors for their contracts. He also hopes that if they get powerful enough, they can take on the Devil and free their souls.
• Dark Souls 3 has Ludleth of Courland, the only Lord of Cinder to not say Screw This, I'm Outta Here and become a boss. Instead, he remains at Firelink Shrine and provides the Ashen One a very important service by Transposing boss souls into weapons, and he does his best to keep you fully informed of every possible choice you make. If you bring him the Eyes of a Fire Keeper item, he'll honestly tell you about what it does (unlocks an alternate ending), despite the fact that the Eyes' purpose goes directly against his goals, and he encourages you to do what you feel is right even if it goes against his own wishes.
• Brad Garrison from Dead Rising is shown to be a very levelheaded leader from the very beginning of the outbreak, encouraging the survivors to run to safety and immediately making sure to stock the Security Room with supplies. While he does write Frank off at first, he has good reasons to do so which he makes sure to lay out, and he comes to trust him as a valuable ally after they fight together multiple times, even though he does criticize Frank for taking some supplies from a box. He even offers to have the DHS pick up the charter fee for Frank's helicopter if they can use it to evacuate Dr. Barnaby. When it's revealed that the US Government initiated a coverup of the town of Santa Cabeza, Brad essentially decides that whether or not the claim is true doesn't matter because evacuating the mall is the first priority, even though he does admit the claim sounds plausible.
• Demon Hunter: The Return of the Wings: When Gun tells he may be one of the People of the Wing, Evan, the clan chief, doesn't probe further and asks Gun to keep it a secret.
• In Destiny, Commander Zavala, the military leader of the Guardians' Vanguard, is one of these. He's very much a by-the-book soldier who emphasizes maintaining control over the battlefield and keeping proper records and getting authorization before carrying out missions. When Oryx invades the system and begins launching large scale Takings of the various alien forces in the system, Zavala orders everyone into a defensive posture and starts collecting intelligence to figure out what they should do, while the more freewheeling Cayde-6 pulls the player aside for an unauthorized high-risk mission to board Oryx's flagship and to disable its weapon and set up a Portal Network to allow the Guardians to invade the ship. When Zavala finds out, he is initially shocked and angry, but then congratulates the player and Cayde on their foresight, saying that "Any victory, no matter how unorthodox, is still a victory." Though right after he pulls Cayde aside for a two-plus hour chat about the stunt he pulled...
• Dragon Age:
  • Lord Harrowmont from Dragon Age: Origins. This is part of what contributes to Gray-and-Grey Morality, considering that as the dwarf noble, he asks you say, to his face, that you did not kill your brother. If you say "yes", then he says, "I believe you." It's also likely that He actually wouldn't have had Bhelen arrested if he was crowned; he does kill Bhelen if he's crowned but Bhelen attacks first. Even if Bhelen's crowned, he kneels before him and accepts defeat.
    • Subverted when he becomes king, where he proves to be a poor and ineffectual ruler bogged down by his bigotry of the Casteless and his adherence to the crippling traditions of the dwarves. Bhelen becomes a mix of this and Well-Intentioned Extremist dragging the dwarves into the future kicking and screaming once he's king though.
  • Dragon Age II:
    • Viscount Marlowe Dumar is a rare stabilizing figure in the otherwise unstable political climate of Kirkwall focused on making sure things don't go to hell. While his authority is severely limited by the influence of Meredith, he does try to get Hawke to stem the tide. Eventually, he's killed by the Arishok in his takeover of the city.
    • Grand Cleric Elthina tries to present herself as this, arguing for peace whenever tensions in Kirkwall escalate. Problem is, that's as far as it goes — she does nothing to address the actual causes of those tensions, whether it's Templars abusing mages or one of her own priests backing anti-Qunari zealots. In both cases, her lack of action leads to open war.
    • Ser Thrask leads the moderate Templars in a secret opposition to Meredith and actively protects runaway mages from his overzealous colleagues' mistreatment. Which is why he has to be killed by a mage who requests his protection and abuses his trust to get back at Hawke.
    • First Enchanter Orsino also, at least in comparison to the zealous Meredith and until the player learns that he dabbled in dark magic and protected a Serial Killer necromancer so Meredith wouldn't use his actions as a pretext. His main concern is protecting his students and subordinates, and he'll allow Hawke to take the lead or speak their piece much more readily than Meredith will.
• Dragon Quest:
  • Dragon Quest: When an unknown warrior appears claiming being able to slay the Dragonlord, King Lorik XVI decides to trust him; he kindly gives the hero gear and some money to get started with his quest, and records his progress every time the hero drops by.
  • Dragon Quest II: Similarly, the King of Midenhall provides his son with gear and cash when he decides to set off on a journey to destroy the evil Hargon.
  • In Dragon Quest III, most of kings are clever enough to realize that helping the Hero and their party is paramount to the world's continued existence. Generally, if a ruler is not helping you or giving you tips, it is a safe assumption that they are some monster impersonating the real authority figure.
  • Dragon Quest V:
    • Treacle, Queen of Faerie Lea, promises to help the main character after they help her despite distrusting humans.
    • After returning to Coburg and becoming his brother's royal advisor, Prince Harry is always eager to help he Hero out.
    • Despite his lack of talent or desire for his position, Prince Wilbur is at the very least as kind and courageous as his brother becomes and provides the hero with any help that he can supply.
  • Dragon Quest VII: Baretta, the wife of the chief of the Deja Tribe is more reasonable than her practical-joke-loving husband. She keeps the tribe running, and is more in tune with Layla's thoughts and feelings than Layla realizes.
  • Dragon Quest VIII:
    • As goofy and blustering as he is... and when he's stopped feeling sorry for himself, Trode is repeatedly shown to be a kind, reasonable King who truly wants to save his kingdom. He is also surprisingly open to listening to the thoughts and feelings of others.
    • King Clavius is not perfect, but he is a well-respected ruler and will put his foot down when he has to, especially after realizing that his son is too immature to take the throne or a wife.
    • Abbot Francisco, the head of Maella Abbey, is reasonable and compassionate when it comes to deal with commoners and doesn't turn them away just because they're not rich. Unfortunately, due to his old age, he doesn't have a lot of influence on the Abbey anymore.
    • The Lord High Priest is highly respected and even his ambitious, corrupted right-hand man, despite his scheming and smarminess, won't dare touch him.
  • Dragon Quest IX: Apus Major looks after the other Celestrians in the Observatory and serves as a benevolent supervisor for all.
    "Very good. The young have confidence where the old have experience."
  • Dragon Quest XI:
    • King Carnelian is praised as the wisest ruler in the land and adored by his subjects. His cruel actions to the hero are due to Demonic Possession by Mordegon. Once he is freed of possession, he reveals himself to be a capable ruler and fully supports the hero's mission.
    • The Sultan of Gallopolis is well-liked by his subjects, quick to take action in organizing an investigation when Erdwin's lantern begins to fall, and is willing to help out the party in their quest however he can.
    • Queen Marina. Unlike some other mermaids and fish folks, she is quick to welcome the Luminary and his party to her realm and helps them on their quest.
    • Queen Frysabel. Snorri mentions that, unlike most of Erdrea, she refused to take Carnelian's claims about the "Darkspawn" at face value and instead resolved to make her own judgement based on how the Luminary acts. In the second act, she tries her best to keep the population calm when her kingdom is struck with Gold Fever and allows the heroes to investigate the issue without any problem.
    • Benedictus, the Elder Sage of Arboria, shows the party a lot of support.
    • Once the Luminary and Hendrik reach the entrance to Angri-La, three monks recognize Hendrik as a knight from Heliodor, and are none to pleased with them having blocked the road; they try to pick a fight with the two of them. The High Lama stops them, saying that's not how they welcome guests, and he points out the knight's companion is the Luminary, who they've been waiting for. All in all, he's much more forgiving to Hendrik than his adult disciples.
  • Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime: His Royal Wobbliness is a bit pompous, but is fairly wise and very encouraging to Rocket.
  • Dragon Quest Monsters: The King of Great Tree is a goofy but kindly ruler who wants Terry to be the champion of Great Tree but never at any point forces him.
  • Dragon Quest Builders 2: While he's a little frustrated at first that his throne room is going to be transformed into barracks and then a workshop, the King of Moonbrooke quickly comes around and becomes the Builder's fiercest supporter.
  • Dragon Quest Heroes II: Twin Kings and the Prophecy's End: Doble subversion. The King of Accordia is the only monarch with his head on straight as chaos engulfs the land. Then he's seemingly revealed as the Big Bad; and then it's revealed he was being manipulated by the true Big Bad.
• The Elder Scrolls
  • Throughout the series (at least until their deaths), Emperor Uriel Septim VII and High Chancellor Ocato serve in this role. It's especially notable for Ocato, given that his predecessor, Jagar Tharn, was the exact opposite. When the Emperor dies in the intro of Oblivion, Ocato does his very best to hold the Empire together. One of the first acts of the Thalmor, in an attempt to destabilize the Empire, is to assassinate him.
  • Azura, a Daedric Prince, often seems like this but may Subvert it depending on how one interprets her actions. Her goals usually align with the best interests of mortals, making her seem very reasonable (especially compared to the other, more malevolent Daedric Princes), but she typically has some very self-serving and often petty motives as well. For example, in the main quest of Morrowind, she guides the Nerevarine in defeating Dagoth Ur, preventing Dagoth from taking over the world and warping it into his twisted vision. However, defeating him involves destroying the source of his godly powers, which is where the Dunmeri Tribunal also draw their divine powers. The Tribunal went against her wishes in using the power source thousands of years ago, possibly killing her beloved champion in the process, and she has had a grudge against them ever since. She qualifies as Good Is Not Nice at the very least; defy her, and she can become as mercilessly vindictive as any other Daedric Prince.
  • Zenithar, the Aedric Divine God of Work and Commerce, is one. He is said to be the deity most in touch with the mortal world and preaches the benefits of being a Honest Corporate Executive. He is also described as a "warrior god'', but "one who is reserved and restrained in times of peace". His followers call him "the god who will always win" as he stands to gain from any action.
  • Morrowind:
    • In the main quest, Vivec serves as one (and is at least mostly reasonable). He is the only member of the Tribunal who still actively opposes Dagoth Ur instead of angsting over his waning godhood (Almalexia) or retreating into complete solitude (Sotha Sil), and once you fulfill enough prophecies to convince him that you are the Nerevarine, he gives you a detailed and succinct explanation on how to defeat Dagoth Ur and instructs everyone else on Vvardenfell to assist you however they can, while he holds the magical fort for you, so to speak.
    • Most of the guilds and Great Houses have at least one such leader. In factions where the majority of the leaders are corrupt (such as the Fighters' Guild and House Telvanni), they are that much more important. Subverted by the ultimate leader of any faction that requires (or even allows) Challenging the Chief; the Chief in question is never reasonable.
    • In the Backstory, Lord Indoril Nerevar was one. He mostly went around trying to stop people from killing each other. First he united the disjointed Chimer people, and then Enemy Mined with the Dwemer in order to repulse the invading Nords. His time as leader of Resdayn (later Morrowind) was considered one of the most peaceful and prosperous times in the history of the Chimer/Dunmer people. His Plot-Triggering Death and prophesied Reincarnation fuel the game's main quest.
    • Likewise, the leader of the Dwemer, Dumac Dwarfking, was also said to be one. He supported the alliance with the Chimer even when other Dwemer clans, such as the Rourken clan, exiled themselves as a result. He attended Nerevar's wedding as well as the coronation of Emperor Gorieus, showing a willingness previously unseen by the Dwemer to engage in the affairs of the other races of Tamriel. Had Kagrenac told Dumac what he was planning to do with the Heart of Lorkhan, its entirely possible that Dumac would have stopped him, averting whatever it was that caused the Dwemer to disappear.
  • In both Oblivion and Skyrim, Sheogorath, The Prince of Madness, of all people, is one. In the Shivering Isles expansion of Oblivion, he gets you to try and stop The End of His Realm as He Knows It. In Skyrim, he has you do therapy on the series' equivalent of Caligula, former Emperor Pelagius the Mad. Though strict and utterly insane, he has a twisted but clear love of his people and will reward any mortal that does what he says to the letter. Which for a Daedric Prince, means quite a lot. Also in the Shivering Isles, the Mazken (aka Dark Seducers) are much more reasonable and willing to work with mortals than Sheogorath's other servants, the Aureal (aka Golden Saints), who are proud, arrogant, and who despise mortals.
  • Skyrim:
    • One of the first tasks is to go to Balgruuf, the local Jarl (leader of the region), to warn him about the rampaging dragon. Now, dragons have seemingly been extinct for hundreds of years. Most people don't think they exist any more. But upon hearing the firsthand account of the dragon attack (on top of multiple other reports), Balgruuf immediately accepts it, sends soldiers to reinforce undefended towns, and puts his guards on alert. And when it's revealed that the player is Dovahkiin, he instantly recognizes their importance and endeavors to help you in any way possible. Late in the primary storyline, if you backed him up during the civil war and protected Whiterun, he will only be slightly reluctant to agree to risk his castle and city by deliberately luring Odahviing into his castle to trap it.
    • Emperor Titus Mede II is surprisingly reasonable when you meet him at the conclusion of the Dark Brotherhood assassination quest. He even noted to his own captain of the guard that to dissuade the Dark Brotherhood from an assassination, no matter how unlikely, is pointless, and accepts his death with the grace and dignity befitting his station. Everyone else in the quest appears like squabbling children by comparison.
    • Tsun, the old Nordic god of "trials against adversity" and shield-thane of Shor, is met in Sovngarde and qualifies. According to Kodlak Whitemane's journals, in his dreams he saw Tsun turn his back and refuse to let any Harbinger of the Companions enter Sovngarde after they chose to embrace Lycanthrophy, instead letting the Daedric Prince Hircine drag their souls off to his realm. However, when it came Kodlak's turn, Tsun came down from his post to watch the Dragonborn fight alongside Kodlak's spirit to cleanse it of the curse, before gladly accepting him into Sovngarde as a true Nord. Likewise, Tsun will still give you a chance to prove yourself in combat even if you earn his disgust and hatred by declaring yourself Nightingale or Listener.
• Elohim Eternal: The Babel Code: Judge Beyoz is more willing to hear the Cainites' side of the story than most of his fellow Idinites. This is because he knows that he doesn't know much about the world around him, which means his prior biases could be false.
• Fake Happy End: The sapient monster community used to kill human explorers and recruit them if they kept their sanity after being reborn as monsters. Fortunately, a samurai monster took command of the community and ended this practice. When the samurai meets the party, he welcomes them as guests and has a path cleared for them to climb further up the tower.
• Fallout: New Vegas:
  • The King serves as this for Freeside, being totally devoted to helping out Freeside and willing to cooperate with the NCR if certain choices are made, though his friend Pacer is secretly sabotaging any effort at peace.
  • Each faction in-game (excepting the Legion) has at least one member in a position of authority who is not a complete dick. Colonel James Hsu and Ambassador Crocker for the NCR, Mother Pearl for the Boomers, McNamara for the Brotherhood of Steel, Regis and (if properly convinced) Papa Khan for the Khans, Marcus for the Super Mutants, Jason Bright of the Bright Brotherhood, and the list goes on.
  • Davison, the leader of the Nightkin in the rocket facility basement, is an interesting example. He's willing to negotiate with the Courier, scare away the ghouls so that his less-stable underlings don't harm them, and will leave peacefully if told that he won't find what he's looking for in the building. The interesting part comes from the fact that all the reason apparently comes from Antler, the Brahmin skull on the desk, while Davison himself distrusts you and would rather murder you on the spot. His backstory states he, like most Nightkin, felt very lost without his "Master" to guide him, until he found Antler to replace him. Essentially, his mind created a Reasonable Authority Figure out of his need to follow one.
• Etrian Odyssey:
  • Etrian Odyssey: Visil is posed as one in The Millennium Girl, though it's not obvious until after you're forced to kill him. This contrasts his portrayal in the game's original version as well as the remake¿s Classic Mode, whose inner intentions are unambiguously sordid.
  • Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan: Every authority figure is one, having nothing except the best interests at heart for their land and its residents, as well as its neighbors. However, Prince Baldur lost it in the face of the threat of his empire being completely destroyed, resorting to more extreme measures. After the party foils his plan and he is rescued by the Medium, even he settles back into this role, aiding you in fighting the Great Dragon when it threatens his people.
• General Leo from Final Fantasy VI, who is a good guy at heart, working for the wrong people. He stands out for being able to make decisions on his own: refusing genetic experimentation on his body, refusing to poison Doma, and fighting Kefka without hesitation. He never quite gets a chance to really talk with the heroes, though, essentially skipping the Reasonable Authority Figure phase because he's one step ahead of them when it matters.
• Final Fantasy XIV has Ramuh, a primal worshiped by the Sylph tribe. While most other primals are Omnicidal Maniacs interested in little more than slaughtering mankind, Ramuh is a sage guardian of the Sylph who desires little more than to protect the Sylph and the Twelveswood. While conflict with Ramuh is inevitable, he does so not to kill the adventurers that challenge him, but to test them to see if they and their kin are worthy of protecting the Twelveswood.
  • There's also the entire leadership of Eorzea: after the events at the end of Realm Reborn, when the Warrior of Light is accused of murdering the Sultanna, it quickly becomes clear shortly into Heavensward that none of the leaders of the Grand Companies believe it to be true, given what the Warrior of Light went through for the realm. Their first meetings with the Warrior are to assure them that they remain steadfast allies no matter what happens.
• There are seveal Fire Emblem examples, since in any given game, there’s a good bet that there’ll be a reasonable monarch somewhere willing to listen to the heroes and lend them a few troops:
  • Lord Uther in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is not only Hector's brother and father figure, but the most reliable of the Lycian leaders.
  • King Hayden and Pontifex Mansel in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones do what they can to support Eirika and Ephraim's quests.
  • Empress Sanaki (for Begnion) and King Caineghis (for Gallia) in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn are wise rulers who do their best for their countries and want for beorc and laguz to live together in peace. In the end Micaiah becomes Queen of Daein and Elincia confirms her authority as Queen of Crimea, and both reign very well.
  • Chrom's sister Emmeryn in Fire Emblem: Awakening is the wise Exalt of Ylisse and she both finished raising Chrom and Lissa, but rebuilt the nation from zero after the wars with Plegia. After her death (or retirement, if she's recruited via Spot-Pass), Chrom takes over and reigns just as well.
  • Fire Emblem Fates has Mikoto, the kind and gentle Queen of Hoshido, though she dies early in the story. At the end of the games Xander (Conquest and Revelation), Ryoma (Birthright and Revelation) and the Avatar (Revelation only) become the very wise and prosper rulers of Nohr, Hoshido and Valla, respectively.
• In Freedom Planet, the Royal Magister of Shang Tu is portrayed as wise and cautious, and far more reasonable than the other kingdom leaders, Prince Dail of Shuigang (who's Brainwashed and Crazy and hell-bent on Revenge) and Mayor Zao of Shang Mu (a Greed-driven Napoleon).
• In Golden Sun, Lord McCoy refuses to let you travel to Kolima because he doesn't know anything about Adepts and Psynergy and consequently doesn't see any reason a scrappy bunch of teenagers could save the town when he already hired the strongest warriors he could and they never returned. And he's RIGHT: even with their Psynergy, your party only barely escapes their first encounter with Tret's curse.
• Greedfall: Pretty much all the leading figures in the game fit the bill in some way. Admiral Cabral of the Nauts, Governor Burhan of the Bridge Alliance, Mother Cardinal Cordelia of Thélème and Major Sieglinde of the Coin Guard are all more than willing to listen to De Sardet, and usually quick and eager to come down like a ton of bricks on any abuses committed by their subordinates. On the end of the Natives, even the most hostile and xenophobic chiefs will hear De Sardet out before deciding to kill them. Even Inquisitor Aloysius, the most evil authority figure in the game, is driven by a genuine belief in the necessity of punishing heretics and evil-doers rather than the out-and-out sadism one would expect, and will act on that belief at the player character's behest in spite of having no external reason to do so.
• Guild Wars has several leaders who are willing to listen and aid the heroes without first seeing drastic evidence there's a problem beyond the average monster infestation.
  • Prophecies has King Jalis Ironhammer, who is happy to aid the Ascalonian exodus even in the middle of a civil war.
  • Factions has Emperor Kizu, though his support is somewhat undermined by the squabbling of the Luxons and Kurzicks.
  • Nightfall has the Istani Elders, who accept the evidence and act on it within reason, and Prince Ahmtur, the only Vabbian noble who doesn't immediately run and hide.
  • Eye of the North sees the return of King Jalis Ironhammer, who brings an army just on Ogden's word. Captain Langmar also shows this to a degree, aiding against the Destroyers and accepting Gwen despite initial mistrust.
• Halo has Commander Thomas Lasky, the first officer of the Infinity. In Halo 4, he sees first-hand how much of an incompetent Jerkass his boss Captain Del Rio is, to the point where Lasky allows Master Chief to escape arrest for not surrendering Cortana's chip to Del Rio, and even gives him a fully-loaded Pelican to carry on his mission. Lasky's later rewarded when Del Rio is relieved/stripped of his command by FLEETCOM, becoming captain of the Infinity himself.
• Heavy Rain's Norman Jayden acts as this to Ethan Mars as he is the only one who thinks he's not the Origami Killer. Even though the evidence matches, he finds his psychological profile and geolocalization doesn't match up.
  • If Ethan is arrested in "Under Arrest", Norman would free him.
• Horizon Zero Dawn:
  • Of the three High Matriarchs of the Nora, Lansra is an angry traditionalist and Jezza quietly neutral. Teersa is by far the most reasonable of the three, allowing tradition to bend in a few places when necessary. The game starts with her letting Rost give baby Aloy a naming ceremony despite the fact that both Rost and Aloy are outcasts and shouldn't be allowed to take part in such rituals (and it should be the baby's mother doing the ritual), and near the end she invites the rest of the tribe into the forbidden part of Mother's Heart to save them from an attack.
  • The 13th Sun-King, Jiran, was known as the Mad Sun-King. He started as a warmonger, and then when machines started becoming more hostile he went insane and thought he could solve the problem with lots and lots of Human Sacrifice. His son, Avad, staged a revolution, killed him, and is now working hard to rebuild relationships with all the tribes his father raided. It's to the point that his personal bodyguards are all from the Oseram tribe, one of the groups that suffered the most under Jiran, but they still serve him loyally.
• Infinite Space has a few, but Kendrick Coyle of Lugovalos stands out the most for not approving Desmond's poor treatment toward non-Lugovalian-born citizens. His appearance arguably gives more positive light for Lugovalos, since before he appears in the story, Lugovalos is introduced as nothing but a tyrannical enemy.
• In I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, Chief Rhett one of the few authority figures who can be convinced to vote for Sol or Marz as governor without needing a Persuasion check.
• Jagged Alliance: Chimurenga, leader of the Grand Chien communists, will put his fairly considerable resources at your disposal without a second thought if you can convince him that you and your backers have a better chance of putting an end to the civil war and restoring peace and prosperity than he does. While he whole-heartedly believes in what he preaches, his ultimate goal is to improve lives, not take power for himself or impose an ideology for it's own sake.
• Princess Zelda tends to be this in The Legend of Zelda games, at least when her personality is fleshed out. Usually she's blocked from actually doing much, either by her Evil Chancellor or her unsuspecting father, so she asks whichever generation of Link that just stumbled into the castle to help her out.
  • In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the tribe chiefs are very willing to give the amnesiac Link a chance and work against their peoples' prejudices to help save the world. Particularly the Gerudo chief, who susses out Link's cross-dressing disguise almost immediately but stops her bodyguard kicking their only hope against the Divine Beast out of the city; but by the same token, she agrees to assign him a trial to make sure Link's claims are legit.
• Mass Effect:
  • N7 Captain David Edward Anderson always supports his N7 protégé Commander Shepard in his/her quest, even at the risk of his own reputation or career. In the sequels, he gains even more power and always tries to act responsibly. Come the third game, he's being promoted to Admiral, holding together the resistance movement on Earth and is regarded as a figure of hope second only to Shepard and co.
  • Admiral Steven Hackett is also one of these. He has to direct the Alliance's space forces against an ever-increasingly crazy galaxy but holds it all together somehow. Come the third game, he's being promoted to Fleet Admiral.
  • In Mass Effect 2, Wrex becomes one, if he survives the events of the first game, as he is now the leader of Clan Urdnot, one of the most powerful krogan clans, with his goal being the eventual unity and reformation of all of the krogan clans. He's not soft, planning to drag them to this goal whether they like it or not, but he is fair and restrains himself as much as possible.
  • The Illusive Man acts as one during the events of Mass Effect 2. He provides as many resources as he can spare towards defeating the Collecters and gives Commander Shepard broad operational discretion about how to accomplish their mutual goals, even when he notes how Paragon Shepard's methods aren't the way he usually operates. Unfortunately, this goes out the window in Mass Effect 3 when the Illusive Man comes to blows with Shepard over his own goal of dominating the Reapers and turns out to be indoctrinated.
  • In the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC it's revealed that Admiral Hackett is the only person keeping Alliance intelligence (among others) from arresting Shepard following his/her reappearance. He's also the one who gave Shepard's dog tags to Liara for her to return to the Commander, although she only reveals this if you haven't romanced her.
    Liara: Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me, so I could return them to you. He sends his best, and hopes you're okay.
  • Arrival pretty much solidifies Hackett as this. (Note: This is in response to Shepard blowing up an entire star system by wrecking a Mass Relay.)
    Admiral Hackett: I don't need to read the report to know you did the right thing.
  • In the third game, Hackett allows Shepard to take the lead in assembling the forces necessary to retake Earth and supports the decisions s/he makes along the way, even if it costs resources that might be needed.
  • Also in the third game, the quarian Admiralty Board members aside from Tali include one who is supportive of Shepard's attempts to broker peace with the Geth (Admiral Koris), one is who is hesitant but willing to listen (Admiral Raan), one who is strongly opposed to Koris' stance (Admiral Gerrel), and one who is batshit insane (Admiral Xen).
  • Castis Vakarian, Garrus' father, apparently. Speaking to Garrus in Mass Effect 3 reveals that in between games, Garrus got really desperate to find anyone in the Turian Hierarchy to listen to him about the Reapers' imminent arrival, so he went to his father, with whom he has... never seen eye-to-eye, to put it mildly. Still, his father is a logical person and, after hearing Garrus' testimony, uses his own not-insignificant clout in the Hierarchy to force some of the other leaders to pay attention. This really gives Palaven the edge when the Reapers finally come at their doorstep. Mass Effect: Andromeda shows that Castis is already willing to believe Shepard and Garrus' story about the Reapers right after Sovereign's attack at the Citadel.
  • Commander Shepard him/herself if Paragon who will listen to everything his/her crew has to say and make sure everyone is treated fairly.
  • The Citadel Council is trying to be one of these, but whether they are or aren't depends on the game and how Shepard approaches them, with Councilor Tevos generally being the most reasonable and Councilor Sparatus being the most unreasonable, and a Paragon Shepard being responded to most favorably and a Renegade Shepard being considered a dangerously loose cannon. This gets flipped by the events of Mass Effect 3: With the Reapers invading, Councilor Sparatus throws any hint of Fantastic Racism toward humanity aside and puts everything he can spare behind Shepard and the Crucible project, Councilor Velarn gives full support to curing the krogan genophage so the krogan armies will join the fight, and Councilor Tevos even declassifies and gives Shepard the location of the asari's top-secret Prothean Beacon on the off-chance it might have something they can use to win the war.
  • Mass Effect: Andromeda has a few, with varying levels of reasonableness:
    • Paaran Shie, governor of the angaran world of Aya. It's her decision that stops the resistance from just shooting Ryder on sight (due to the dramatic circumstances of Ryder's arrival). She generally remains calm and level-headed, though she might give Ryder a What the Hell, Hero? depending on the choices made in Jaal's loyalty mission.
    • The Nexus leadership, by and large (with a few blips here and there). Tann tries, despite his blatant racism toward krogan, and fondness for being an Obstructive Bureaucrat, but he does put his support behind Ryder. Foster Addison grumpily supports Ryder, in-between occasional colossal fuck-ups such as trusting her blatantly useless and stupid assistant Spender, but she doesn't care how Ryder gets results just so long as they do (and if it pisses off Tann, it's a bonus). Tiran Kandros is relatively benign, but a little too willing to use force to break up protests. Nakmor Kesh is the most reasonable of the four, but also has the least actual authority, being the head engineer.
    • All four ark captains are portrayed as extremely reasonable individuals. The turian captain never makes an appearance, but she did everything in her power to ensure her people's survival and had a good working relationship with her Pathfinder. The captain of the salarian ark immediately throws his weight behind Ryder if he takes over as Pathfinder. The captain of the asari ark trusts Ryder immediately despite the extremely perilous situation she is encountered in and despite intensely disliking her own Pathfinder only moves to strip her of the position when she discovers something truly egregious. Nozomi Dunn, the captain of the human ark, is almost single-handedly the reason that Ryder was able to get anything done; ark captains are the only people who can strip their respective races' Pathfinders of the position, and Dunn would arguably have been justified in doing so when the previous human Pathfinder ignored the chain of succession to give Ryder the role. Dunn instead chooses to give Ryder a chance and remains one of their strongest supporters throughout the game.
• Samus's AI minder, Adam, turns out to be one in Metroid Fusion. Though the Federation has assigned him to be an Obstructive Bureaucrat and prevent Samus from discovering their secret projects on the BSL station, he turns against them and aids Samus when it becomes clear how much of a threat the X parasites are.
• In Minecraft: Story Mode, Otto is the only non-tyrannical member of the Old Builders. At first, he's somewhat timid, arguing in favor of Jesse and his friends but being overruled by Hadrian and Mevia. However, by the end he asserts his authority and tries to reward Jesse for winning his bet with the Builders, only to be imprisoned by the other two members. Afterwards, he promises to reform the games with Hadrian and Mevia out of the picture.
• In Mortal Kombat, the younger Sub-Zero becomes this when he becomes Grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, reforming the band of assassins into a force of good. This is exemplified in Mortal Kombat X, when he allies with the Special Forces and helps to train Cassie Cage and her team. He also extends an olive branch to Scorpion once he learns of the circumstances surrounding the Lin Kuei's extermination of the Shirai Ryu. Even when Frost tries to jump Scorpion, and Scorpion subsequently tries to kill him, he keeps cool until he's able to get through to Scorpion.
• Neverwinter Nights 2 has Lord Nasher, the ruler of Neverwinter. He saves you from Luskan "justice" even if you initially chose to undermine law enforcement in the city, later gives you a keep of your own to command, and eventually admits you into knighthood.
• Baraas, the Elder Power of Society and Cooperation in Nexus Clash, is this. He creates systems to keep people working together, teaches a downright sensible ideology in a setting full of zealots of one kind or another, and keeps the Council of Angels that he's a part of intact. Subverted somewhat in that even he is too flawed to create a perfect world and so end the Vicious Cycle of universal death and rebirth that drives the series. In the latest world that he shaped, humanity was so cooperative and structured that it consolidated into two opposing networks of tightly-held alliances that wound up destroying the world in a nuclear war.
• In Ooblets, Mayor Tinstle welcomes you into Badgetown, and her best interest is ensuring that the population doesn't get evicted by the Ooblet High Council.
• Papers, Please:
  • M. Vonel, the secret police officer assigned to investigate your potential ties to EZIC, is this, somewhat surprisingly. If he finds evidence he will come down on you like a ton of bricks (as he damn well should, seeing as EZIC are a known terrorist group). However, he is more than willing to let minor offenses like admitting immigrants with faulty papers or accepting petty bribes slide if that is all you're guilty of. And, even if you are found to have collaborated with EZIC, your fate is imprisonment and an inquiry, not summary execution, which would be expected.
  • You, in your capacity as Inspector of the Arztotskan Border Patrol can be this, or not, as you please. Let the wife who has incomplete papers into the country along with her husband? Turn away the sex worker's abusive pimp? Help a friend recruit engineers for his business? You decide!
• Persona:
  • Ryotaro Dojima from Persona 4, the protagonist's detective uncle, probably counts. He's able to figure out a lot of details behind the murders and kidnappings around the same time the Investigation Team does, and the only reason he isn't able to help is because A) he's Locked Out of the Loop on all of the supernatural aspects of the case, B) Even if he knew, he can't enter the TV world, so he still wouldn't be able to help much, and C) his partner is the culprit. In various nighttime conversations, it's revealed that he also stood up for Kanji and Naoto, when the former was being unfairly suspected because of his history as a Delinquent, and the latter made a suggestion that none of the other detectives were willing to consider.
  • Persona 5
    • Despite being the public prosecutor responsible for interrogating the protagonist after his arrest, Makoto's sister Sae Nijima disapproves of the cruel treatment the police have visited upon him, and is actually willing to listen to his story, farfetched as it may seem. Convincing her of the truth is essential to success, as she helps the Protagonist fake his death when an assassin from the conspiracy targets him, and she prosecutes the Big Bad once the game is over.
    • The Protagonist and Futaba's Parental Substitute, Sojiro Sakura, counts as a more down-to-Earth version. He takes Joker in after their arrangement, lets him and his friends hang out in his coffee shop, and generally tries to look out for him and Futaba despite their eccentricities. He also supports the Thieves once he learns about them, after a long serious talk with Futaba and Joker. By the time of the final Palace, Café Leblanc goes from being the group's hideout in secret to "openly" being so, with the team commandeering the first floor for meetings, with Sojiro's approval.
    • Late in Sojiro's Confidant, two investigators arrive, having heard reports that the protagonist assaulted a man (in actuality, he fell while trying to hit Futaba, after the protagonist protected her), and that Sojiro had been abusing Futaba. The two listen to what the protagonist, Sojiro and Futaba have to say, then decide to close the case. The female member of the duo is unsure whether it's fine to just leave, but the male, her partner and immediate superior, reassures her that she'll understand once she has more experience, and she ultimately goes along with his decision.
    • Kunikazu Okumura, Haru's father, used to be this, but by the time the game starts he's a full-on Archnemesis Dad. The player only gets a tiny glimpse of the man he used to be, and only in Royal during Maruki's false reality.
  • Persona 5 Strikers: Miyako Kaburagi of the Public Safety Department. Although she has "placed the blame on the Phantom Thieves for the national Change of Heart epidemic" as Plan B, Kaburagi still allows Zenkichi to go through with his investigation, which involves working with said Phantom Thieves to unravel the mystery. After the Okinawa incident, she additionally advises him to not trust anyone, even his allies, suggesting she might have caught wind of Owada's meddling within the already corrupt police force and saw fit to tip-off Zenkichi about it. Finally, when Zenkichi comes to her directly asking for help with arresting Owada, Kaburagi gives him three days to seal the deal and reinstates Zenkichi by returning his badge, but not without warning him she'll have to prioritize her own safety should he fail. She then tells one of her subordinates, who was listening in on their conversation, to leave Zenkichi alone and instead focus on digging up dirt on the Commissioner-General, whose heart was changed on Owada's orders.
• In Pokémon Black and White, Gym Leaders frequently assist with taking down Team Plasma's criminal activities throughout the plot, culminating in them helping you Storming the Castle, and keeping the Sages at bay while you hunt down N.
  • Ghetsis presents himself as the face of Team Plasma and seems to take a more moderate stance on the issue than the Team's more extreme members. He asks only for a moment of your time to listen to his speech in Accumula Town, and even helps Bianca recover her Munna when Plasma agents steal it in Castelia City. He turns out to be The Man Behind the Man, N's Treacherous Advisor, and not above abusing (or possibly even murdering) his own son in his pursuit of power.
• In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Clavell takes his job as the academy director seriously, but also tries to be approachable to the students. He personally delivers some forms to the player's house at the start of the game and later investigates Team Star so he can get to the bottom of the bullying rumors himself. He hears out the Squad Leaders' backstories, and, after learning the truth, he admits that they did break a lot of academy rules but were also treated unfairly, thus giving them the "punishment" of turning Team Star Bases into training facilities. Clavell also scolds the player character, Arven, Nemona, and Penny for going into Area Zero, which is strictly off-limits to the public, but also praises them for shutting down Sada/Turo's time machine and saving the region from the Paradox Pokémon.
• Potion Permit:
  • Dr. Nestor assigns the Chemist to Moonbury at the mayor's request to heal his daughter because Matheo's medicine couldn't. Nestor also trusts the Chemist to regain the town's faith in modern medicine after several environmental accidents on the island caused a rift between them and the Medical Association.
  • As Head Ranger, Forrest takes his job seriously to ensure that Moonbury's natural areas are being preserved. The other residents trust him in keeping the animals and supplies in check.
• Rave Heart: Judicator Valinne is the judge presiding over Arcturo's trial. While everyone else jumps to conclusions about Arcturo's guilt, Valinne is more impartial, though she admits that the evidence against him is damning and gives him a week to find proof of his evidence. She also shoots down Sergio's accusation that the Rave family kidnapped Chad as a hostage to bargain for Arcturo's freedom, since they would have made an announcement already if that were the case.
• In Shuyan Saga, the King of Nan Feng seems to be the most level-headed person at court, being willing to believe credible witnesses and not standing too much on ceremony. (He's killed in the first Act.)
• The Ur-Quan Kzer-Za from Star Control 2, while out to enslave every other races, is shown to be this, especially in comparison to their genocidal brothers, the Kohr-Ah. While their punishment is more often than not death, they are willing to take into account of not knowing of an order. In the case of the Syreens who lost their homeworld, they gave them a new, even better homeworld before imprisoning them there. And when you tell them of the Dnyarri threat, they commended you for a service well done, promised to abolish all punishment, and will speed up their war efforts against the Kohr-Ah. Pity it's not that simple...
• Zig-Zagged in Star Wars: The Old Republic in The Empire storylines. With the Stupid Evil and Chronic Backstabbing Disorder that the Sith religion runs on, reasonable Sith Lords that practice Pragmatic Villainy are few and far between and stand out. Unfortunately, due to the nature of The Dark Side and The Corruption that comes with it, 2/3 of them are batshit insane.
  • Darth Marr is the Big Good for the Villain Protagonist Imperial players, and is a Noble Demon who lacks the common Sith psychopathy and single-handedly kept the Empire and its Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering from falling apart in the absence of the Orcus on His Throne Emperor Vitiate.
  • Darths Malgus and Jadus are both proponents of Equal-Opportunity Evil who speak out against the Empire's Fantastic Racism against everybody who's not human or True Sith. Unfortunately they're also avid believers in Dystopia Justifies the Means as Malgus was a Broken Ace who wanted to make the Forever War even bloodier, while Jadus wanted to spread the teachings of the Sith to everyone by making them all live in fear (not caring that muggles don't get superpowers from negative emotion, as for better or worse he believed in equality).
• Stray Gods:
  • Apollo is the first member of the Chorus to directly challenge the decision to execute Grace, pushing for further investigation into Calliope's death.
  • Downplayed with Aphrodite. She is initially empathetic to Grace's distress over Calliope's murder, but ultimately capitulates to the laws that demand Grace be executed. It is not until Apollo speaks up that she voices her own disagreement.
• Brian Midcrid from Super Robot Wars Original Generation series, sees how important the good guys are even though they are a bunch of Bunny Ears Lawyers, and usually tries to be helpful. Since that would be boring he is secretly overthrown by a bunch of jerkasses who hate your characters.
• President Dylan Paradine of Strahta in Tales of Graces. He travels his country in plainclothes to gather information personally, takes the party's word over one of the more influential members of Strahta's society, and does whatever he can to help out (as long as it's within reason).
• Tales of Symphonia has Mizuho's Vice-Chief Tiga. Sheena returns to the village having failed to assassinate the Chosen, gets sent to watch the party's movements, then brings them all to Mizuho, against all their customs, after the party has been declared traitors. Tiga hears her out in private, questions the party on what they intend to do, then formally allies Mizuho with them.
• Tales of the Abyss has Emperor Peony IX of Malkuth, a nice guy who genuinely wants peace between the two major nations and is willing to make concessions to get there, although his power is sometimes restricted by an offscreen Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering. It seems to help that he was raised outside the royal court — due to political intrigues, he was sent away from the capital as a child to live incognito, and there he managed to frequently sneak away from his guards and play with the commoner children, including one of your party members.
  • There's also Ion, the leader of the Order of Lorelei, who, like His Imperial Majesty, wants peace between Kimlasca and Malkuth, and actively seeks to reform the Order back to being a religion of life. He acts as a mediator between the two countries.
• In Warcraft III, while everyone else is busy dying horribly, Thrall, Jaina Proudmoore and Malfurion Stormrage save their respective factions and team up in order to prevent The End of the World as We Know It.
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine features three:
  • Inquisitor Drogan who, despite eventually turning out to be The Mole, acts with rationality and respect towards the player and his allies even though his authority pretty much allows him to ignore the opinions and orders of anyone else in the solar system.
  • Captain Titus, the player avatar, is similarly respectful and considerate of the human troops that he encounters. As a Space Marine he is only required to complete his mission by any means, but he goes out of his way to save Guardsman and protect the resources of the Forgeworld and orders his men to do the same.
  • Inquisitor Thrax only makes a short appearance at the end of the g ame, but shows himself to be very level-headed. He is skeptical of Leandros' claim that Titus has turned to Chaos but takes him into custody to confirm this as the nature of his job would require it. That said, he doesn't even disarm the captain, which indicates that he doesn't put much stock to the accusation. By the sequel, Titus is back with his chapter in good standing, which means that he was cleared of any charges.
• The Council of Nations in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The financial backers of the XCOM project, consisting of representatives from 16 member nations, they absolutely recognise you as mankind's only hope against the extraterrestrial invaders, and are generally supportive of you even if you don't always do put forward an amazing monthly report. However, they're also relying on XCOM to protect them: if XCOM shows that it is unable or unwilling to protect a particular nation, then the nation erupts into full scale panic riots. If XCOM doesn't assist in reducing the panic levels, the nation will withdraw from the project in order to focus their limited resources on keeping their country from tearing itself apart. And if 8 or more leave, XCOM is shut down and then it's Game Over, for both you, and the human race.
  • In XCOM 2, the Councilman is extremely reasonable. While he has high expectations of the Commander, he also recognizes that the battle being fought is difficult at best and might actually be impossible. He is quick to praise success, but if and when the Commander fails, he only states that the Commander must do better, because there's literally no one else that can.
    • The various Resistance factions introduced in War of the Chosen are headed by reasonable authority figures as well. The Reapers and the Skirmishers both hate each other with a passion, but are willing to trust in the Commander and XCOM and work together against the larger threat. And no one trusts the Templars, given that they seem to be both fanatical and possibly a little crazy, but all three will work together and even work well supporting each other against ADVENT and the aliens. The backstory makes it clear that they avoided each other like the plague, but that all three leaders recognized that the other faction leaders were doing the same thing they were, and simply just didn't interact: they never fought against each other.
• Xenoblade Chronicles:
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 1:
    • Chief Dunga of the Nopon goes out of his way to help both Melia's party and Shulk's party, recognizing that they are all working to help everyone on the Bionis despite (from his perspective) them all being young and rash. He even sends the village Heropon, Riki, with Shulk as extra help... though that might have been partly because he just wanted to get rid of Riki.
    • Emperor Sorean is the leader of the High Entia, a Higher-Tech Species with a history of Fantastic Racism against the Homs. After some initial mistrust, he allows Shulk's party to do as they wish, and all their problems among the High Entia are the results of people explicitly defying his orders. He also names his half-blood daughter his heir, above the objections of his wife, because he knows pure-blood High Entia such as himself and his elder son are in danger of turning into monsters. Most of his actions are in pursuit of making sure that his people and culture survive a genocide that he can't prevent.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 2:
    • While Mòrag starts off looking like a Darth Vader Expy, she quickly shows this side of her. She's willing to go from opposing to the party to supporting them on their own missions once she gets a better understanding of the situation. She only took Nia into custody because she was associated with a terrorist group and never intended to execute her, instead using that to draw out Rex and get more information on the return of the Aegis. She eventually pulls a Big Damn Heroes when Torna has the party cornered, and even joins the party for the rest of the adventure.
    • Queen Raqura and Emperor Niall, leaders of Uraya and Mor Ardain respectively, also have this. Near the middle of the story, a False Flag Operation by Torna and Argentum makes it look like Mor Ardain has opened hostilities with Uraya in Temperantia. The situation nearly breaks out into open war, but after Indol breaks their neutrality to interfere, the party testifies about Torna's involvement, and Niall puts himself in danger to protect the talks, everyone is quick to make an agreement to prevent the fighting from becoming more than a minor skirmish.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3:
    • The leaders of almost every colony on both sides. Upon discovering that the Forever War is entirely unnecessary and their supposed enemies are just more dupes like them, all the commanders mostly give up with minimal fuss. Notable is Ethel, the commander of Noah, Eunie, and Lanz' home colony; she was so reasonable that the only way her consul could create any conflict was by flat-out mind controlling the entire colony.
    • In the City, Monica Vandham is both the primary face that the party sees and the highest authority. While there is mention of a council under her, she has the final say. In addition to endorsing Ouroboros (even though technically they stole their power from the City), she works to keep her people balanced between the warhawks and the reactionaries while dealing with the reality of a world that is actively trying to murder them.
    • The True Queens. Queen Melia of Keves and Queen Nia of Agnus discovered that their worlds were on a collision course, and found a way to bridge the dimensional gap so that they could work together to avert the catastrophe. While their solution unintentionally created the frozen world of Aionios, they still work to undo this mistake and allow the worlds to separate as intended. Once both Queens are rescued, they are able to rally both nations to fight Moebius without difficulty.

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