What Are Your Oppinions on Raoden?

[Honor is Wayne]

I know Raoden to be a very controversial character when it comes to likeability. I personally think he is a great character, but I want to hear your opinions.

[Treamayne]

31 minutes ago, Honor is Wayne said:

I know Raoden to be a very controversial character when it comes to likeability. I personally think he is a great character, but I want to hear your opinions.

Most discussion on Raoden is in the Elantris Forum (e. g. I Like Raoden) Since Cosmere Discussion is meant for when discussing two or more different series/stand-alones for the Cosmere (or general Realmatics that is beind all Cosmere stories). 

That said, I don't think I realized he was "controversial" - he's a great character. But Brandon was also worried about how Raoden would be perceived:

Elantris Annotations:

Spoiler

Annotation to Ch 3:

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Regardless, Hrathen certainly has the most interesting character progression in the story. Raoden and Sarene, despite many interesting attributes, are two of the most static characters I’ve designed. This book isn’t about their growth as people, but rather their ability to overcome their desperate odds. Hrathen, on the other hand, has a real opportunity to grow, learn, and change. Perhaps this is what makes him people’s favorite. It certainly made him the critic’s favorite.

Annotation to Ch 13:

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This chapter really shows off the core of Raoden’s character–lets him be the hero that he is. I’ve never written another character like Raoden. In a way, he’s not as rounded as some other characters (characters like Hrathen.) He doesn’t have the flaws or internal battles of some of the more complex characters I’ve designed.

That doesn’t, however, make him any worse a character in this particular book. Raoden is something of a superman–he does the right thing at almost every turn, and his internal struggles only serve to make him more noble. You can’t often get away with this in fiction. However, I do think that there are really people like him in the world–I’ve known a few of them. By including him in a book with Hrathen and Sarene, each of whom have their foibles and internal problems, I think I avoid making the characters of the book feel too shallow.

And, there is a certain . . . beauty to a character who is simply noble. Often times, we as authors think that making a character ‘rounded’ or ‘realistic’ means corrupting them somehow. I think Raoden defies this concept. He probably wouldn’t be a very compelling character outside of an extreme situation like Elantris. However, confronted by the almost overwhelming problems and tasks associated with the city, his strength only serves to make him feel more realistic to me. A weaker character would have broken beneath Elantris. Raoden can struggle on.

Annotation to Ch 31:

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If I were to assign Raoden two defining traits, the first would be his ability to make the best of what he’s given (as I’ve spoken of above.) The second, however, would be the personality trait he manifests in this chapter–his simple belief in the goodness of the human race.

I suppose this is a facet of his optimism. Raoden believes in people–he believes that, as a whole, they will do what is right. He believes that they are more rational than the nobility sometimes give them credit, and he believes that most men will do what is good if they are presented with all of the facts.

He really is a noble man. He’s perhaps the only person I’ve written in a fantasy book who, from day one, actually deserved to be king.

Annotation to Ch 53:

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On a more serious note, I’ll get to some of the major events in the chapter in a moment. First, let’s talk over some smaller annotations. I like the fact that Lukel doesn’t like Kaloo–it seems like a perfect characterization for both of them. I will note, however, that Lukel has much better lines in this chapter than Kaloo does. His crack about Ahan getting sick by sheer laws of probability makes me chuckle every time I read them. Kaloo, on the other hand, spends all of his time trying to be honorable and true. Raoden is a good hero, but he can be dreadfully boring sometimes. Maybe that’s why he threw himself into the Kaloo persona so eagerly.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited September 19, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Honor is Wayne]

1 minute ago, Treamayne said:

Most discussion on Raoden is in the Elantris Forum (e. g. I Like Raoden) Since Cosmere Discussion is meant for when discussing two or more different series/stand-alones for the Cosmere (or general Realmatics that is beind all Cosmere stories). 

That said, I don't think I realized he was "controversial" - he's a great character. But brandon was also worried about how Raoden would be perceived:

Elantris Annotations:

  Hide contents

Annotation to Ch 3:

Annotation to Ch 13:

Annotation to Ch 31:

Annotation to Ch 53:

 

Hope that helps.

Thanks again!

[Nitpicking]

Raoden is likeable as a person. I don't dislike him.

The thing is, he's boring to some. Too perfect. I think there's some justice there.

[Jult]

I like him a lot. He's a pretty strong contender for my favorite Cosmere character. I've never seen the Brandon quotes provided above before, but "Raoden is something of a superman" brings a smile to my face. I've been a diehard Superman fan for decades. 

[+Kelkamer]

He's been one of my top favorite Cosmere characters since I finished Elantris all those years ago. Didn't realize he was controversial

I can agree He's a bit boring, but I enjoyed him being quizative and figuring the city out, while trying to handle his pain and keep everyone's spirits up. Superman is "kinda boring" in some regards, but there's other things that make his stories compelling. Same with Raoden for me, and I'm pumped for the sequel!

[Qianweilian He/him]

On 9/22/2025 at 9:15 PM, Kelkamer said:

I enjoyed him being quizative and figuring the city out

Me as well, and I did enjoy his character, but I feel like his arc is done now. He's achieved pretty much all of his goals and resolved the conflict, he restored the city, he's the king, married Sarene, etc. I would prefer if he took a backburner role as a side character/patron like Roial is in the first book. Brandon will likely introduce a new conflict, but I think Raoden would still feel completed. I have similar feelings about Wax and Marasi in Era 3.

[Treamayne]

On 9/22/2025 at 10:15 PM, Kelkamer said:

He's been one of my top favorite Cosmere characters since I finished Elantris all those years ago. Didn't realize he was controversial

I can agree He's a bit boring, but I enjoyed him being quizative and figuring the city out, while trying to handle his pain and keep everyone's spirits up. Superman is "kinda boring" in some regards, but there's other things that make his stories compelling. Same with Raoden for me, and I'm pumped for the sequel!

 

1 hour ago, Qianweilian said:

Me as well, and I did enjoy his character, but I feel like his arc is done now. He's achieved pretty much all of his goals and resolved the conflict, he restored the city, he's the king, married Sarene, etc. I would prefer if he took a backburner role as a side character/patron like Roial is in the first book. Brandon will likely introduce a new conflict, but I think Raoden would still feel completed. I have similar feelings about Wax and Marasi in Era 3.

Raoden was never meant to be a primary character in any sequels - he may or may not get a Cameo though. WoBs:

Spoiler

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Brandon Sanderson

The scene where the children talk about art is one I nearly cut from the book on a couple of different occasions. I worry that this is one of the scenes that contributes overly-much to the "Kiin's family is out of place" feeling that people occasionally get. In addition, I worry that I made Kaise too intelligent here. Three things make me retain the scene. First, I think it's kind of amusing. The second is a spoiler, so I won't say much on it—just let it suffice that I wanted to give Kaise and Daorn some good characterization.

For you spoiler readers, those two would be the main characters of any sequel I wrote to Elantris. I'd set the book about ten years after the ending of this one.

The third reason for retaining the scene is because I put it in, in the first place, quite intentionally. Kaise, and to a lesser extent Daorn, are a small reaction against Ender's Game. When I read that book, and some of Scott's other works (which, by the way, I think are all brilliant) I got to wondering if children who were as smart as his really would act the way they do in his books. Not to disagree with one of the greatest sf minds of our time, but I wanted to take a different spin on the "clever child" idea. So, I presented these children as being extremely intelligent, but also extremely immature with that intelligence. I'm not convinced that IQ brings maturity with it, and think there's only so much "adult" you can have in a kid. So, I put in Kaise and Daorn to let me play with this idea a little bit in Elantris.

Elantris Annotations (June 27, 2005)

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Brandon Sanderson

As a side note, I'm planning this seon here to make an appearance in the sequel (if I write one.) She would be Adien's own seon, as he would probably be the hero of the sequel. (Along with his brother and sister.) For those of you who think I didn't deal enough with the seons in this book—the sequel would have strong focus on them. In fact, I'm tempted to make this seon a viewpoint character. However, that would bump me up to four characters, which wouldn't let me use the chapter triad system.

Elantris Annotations (July 15, 2005)

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Brandon Sanderson

Speaking of sequels, here's what I'M planning. A book that takes place ten years after the events of ELANTRIS. It would occur in the capitol city of Fjorden, and would star Kiin's children as viewpoint characters along with a Seon viewpoint character. The plot of the book: Wyrn has declared that Jaddeth, the Derethi God, is going to finally return. (A new interpretation of the scriptures says that he'll return when everyone east of the mountains converts, so they don't have to worry about Teod and Arelon.) Kiin's family, ambassadors to the Fjordell state, has to deal with the chaos of this announcement, and investigate the truth behind the Dakhor magic. Thoughts?

Brandon's Blog 2006 (Sept. 27, 2006)

 

Hope that helps