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| “ | You know, all that mattered to me was loyalty. It was all I knew. It was all I ever believed in. | „ |
| ~ Arthur to John Marston reflecting on his time with the Van der Linde gang. |
Arthur Morgan is one of the two main protagonists (alongside John Marston) of the Red Dead Redemption duology.
He is a notorious outlaw who serves as the lead enforcer of the Van der Linde Gang, as well as their deadliest member. He assists his mentor Dutch van der Linde in trying to live the dream of living outside of the law, but after some mishaps and tragedies, Arthur begins to have doubts about his loyalty to the gang's leader, who begins to show signs of losing his sanity. Throughout the game, he attempts to either achieve his redemption for his crimes or become even more ruthless and cold-blooded in his life.
He is also the best friend of John Marston, although the two have a bit of quarrel with each other during the game, as Arthur held a grudge on the latter for destering the gang for a year, all while Abigail was pregnant with their son. Eventually, as the story progressed, the two reconcile their bond with each other. He is also the arch-nemesis of Micah Bell, Andrew Milton and one Colm O'Driscoll's arch-enemies.
He was portrayed by Roger Clark in motion capture.
Quick Answers
What is the role of Arthur Morgan in the Van der gang?
How does Arthur Morgan's personality influence his actions in the game?
What is the background story of Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption II?
How does Arthur Morgan's age at death impact the storyline of Red Dead Redemption II?
Personality
| “ | There's a good man within you … but he is wrestling with a giant. | „ |
| ~ Marry Linton to Arthur. |
Arthur is a cold, ruthless and brutal outlaw, who often resorts to threats and violence, and has very few moral qualms about killing. At his worst, Arthur could be completely emotionless and unemphatic to the people he hurts and kills to the greatest displays. Despite being capable of committing such violence, Arthur does have a more playful and joyful side to his personality that comes out around those he is friendly with. He isn't above joking or employing sarcasm amongst his friends. Notably, Arthur was kind and polite to John Marston's son, Jack. Having a gentle demeanor around the young boy in contrast to his threatening persona.
Despite his ability to commit great acts of violence, Arthur has his own moral code and doesn't believe in what he deems as unnecessary killing. Especially if it endangers himself or those he cares about. He was also raised by Dutch to believe that revenge is a fruitless endeavor. It seems Arthur strictly believes that violence should be cold, necessary, and without feeling, never out of personal enjoyment or without reason.
In his own terms, Arthur is aware that he is a "bad man" and clearly understands that his bad behavior is morally wrong. However, he justifies his own actions as being different from most criminals. As the Van der Linde gang carries a philosophy that Arthur genuinely believed could help people. But he soon realized that this philosophy to be a ruse or an "excuse" as John Marston would later put it.
Arthur’s Honor can affect his overall personality as a whole; with high honor, despite for being brutal, arrogant and sarcastic, Arthur will be seen as a selfless and gentle person who will think of others and more practically about situations, such as when he realized that the gang was fighting for an idea that didn't work anymore, and how he realized that the women and Jack would surely die if he didn’t help them leave the gang. With low honor, Arthur can be seen as a selfish and sadistic person thinking of himself solely, such as caring about his own survival, even prioritizing revenge on Micah and getting the gang's money stash over helping John and his family.
Unlike most people of the time period, Arthur does not hold sexist or racist views, even stating he hates everyone equally.
Skills & Abilities
- Combat: Arthur is by far the deadliest and most skilled member of the gang.
- Master Marksmanship: Arthur is by far the single best gunman in the gang, having nearly perfect aim. He is a master of any and all kinds firearms including shotguns, revolvers, pistols, rifles, bows and throwing knives.
- Dead-Eye Vision: Arthur's Dead Eye gives him astounding reflexes, precision, accuracy and aim, being able to easily gun down several opponents in seconds.
- Weapon Mastery: Arthur is highly skilled with a variety of melee weapons, including knives, throwing knives, machetes, tomahawks. His experience and knowledge extends beyond melee weapons such as explosives and dynamite. He not only knows how and where to set charges, but can improve the explosive power even further with gunslinger-era alchemy.
- Expert Hand-to-Hand Combat: Arthur is a fearsome and powerful fighter, being able to win most fights with little difficulty. He defeated a man far bigger and stronger (who knocked out Javier in one hit) than him outside a saloon at Valentine. Even when dying and weakened by tuberculosis he is still highly skilled, fighting Micah Bell on equal footing.
- Peak Physical Condition: Arthur is one of the toughest members of the gang, making him very strong, fast, and extremely durable. He is able to lift and move very heavy objects with minimal effort, whether on missions or helping at camp. His physical strength is second only to Charles Smith. After contracting tuberculosis, his health weakens immensely, although he remains a lethal fighter. He still fights men far bigger and stronger than him.
- Expert Survival Skills: Living the outlaw life and often being on his own, Arthur is highly adaptable and possesses the skills to survive any place and any situation. He is a expert fisherman, hunter, and survivor; able to swiftly skin animals from bears, bison, alligators, deer, cougars, boars, rabbits, racoons, rats, in a matter of seconds.
- Master Illustrator: Arthur learned how to draw and write as a kid thanks to Dutch and Hosea. He has very neat and simple handwriting, and can draft high quality illustrations in seconds.
Quotes
| “ | We're thieves, in a world that don't want us no more. | „ |
| ~ Arthur Morgan's view on the world. |
| “ | Maybe when your mother is finished mourning your father... I'll keep her in black, on your behalf! | „ |
| ~ Arthur Morgan threatening Archie Downes. |
| “ | Listen to me. When the time comes, you gotta run and don’t look back. This is over. | „ |
| ~ Arthur to John Marston. |
| “ | We got lawmen in three different states after us. They chased us from the west, they chased us over the mountains. | „ |
| ~ Arthur on the gang's situation. |
| “ | Where's our money!? | „ |
| ~ Arthur to Thomas Downes. |
| “ | Be loyal to what matters. | „ |
| ~ Arthur to John Marston. |
| “ | This whole thing is pretty much done. We're more ghosts than people. | „ |
| ~ Arthur to Sadie when agreeing to join on her revenge quest. |
Trivia
- He is of Welsh descent on his father's side and of English descent on his mother's side.
- Arthur is the first protagonist in a Rockstar Games title to potentially die from an illness.
- Arthur contracting tuburculosis is actually foreshadowed in his stats menu under the wellbeing section with the entry claiming that "Sickness can not be so easily cured". When the player ultimately switches the John Marston it instead says "John will not get sick".
- If Arthur's honour is high, he is represented by a deer. Deer symbolize the powers in nature that are not easily subdued.
- Arthur's surname is possibly a reference to the Morgan horse breed, which appears in the game among a vast majority of horse breeds.
- Arthur died at age 35 or 36, from tuberculosis. This is when the famous gunslinger Doc Holiday died in real life, who also had tuberculosis.
- With low honour, Arthur is a villain protagonist who only really cares about himself. With high honour, Arthur is an anti-hero turned hero who becomes one of the most honest and good-hearted men in the gang. One who often goes out of his way to help strangers, despite his constant sarcasm about doing so, making him a Knight in Sour Armour. Although he often rebukes it because of the life he lived, many people consider him a great man.
- If Arthur talks with Mary-Beth, Karen or Tilly while having low honor, Arthur can admit he feels like he's lost his mind and isn't in control of himself (a possible fourth wall break). He can even state that he's no better than Micah, or believe that Micah put a spell on him.
- Arthur’s low honor also subtly affects his dialogue both in the story and in free roam. For example, during gunfights with lawmen or fistfights with NPCs, or when killing someone, his dialogue will be less sarcastic and more vicious. Also, when bumping into NPCs, he will respond in a nasty manner.
- Arthur Morgan's actor, Roger Clark, received numerous nominations for his performance, and won the Best Performance at the The Game Awards.
External Links
- Arthur Morgan on the Red Dead Wiki
- Arthur Morgan on the Villains Wiki
- Arthur Morgan on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Arthur Morgan on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
