(05-17-2013, 05:50 PM)SacredCeadus Wrote: While this is something that can easily be remedied with a house rule, something in me compels me to point out that Dark Knights in Final Fantasy have never been exclusively evil. In fact, it would seem that many prominent Dark Knights are, in fact, of good alignment.
Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy 4 is an example of that. He was raised and trained with the "dark sword" but he isn't a bad person. Matter of fact, he essentially wears his heart on his sleeve and genuinely cares for his companions and fights against evil. Dark Knight is a common job in Final Fantasy titles that the hero(es) can take up to use on their own.
While there are a few enemies that are fought which are also Dark Knights, the majority of the appearances of the job aren't evil aligned. Hell, in Final Fantasy 2, you have a Dark Knight as an enemy until a certain point, at which he JOINS your party. In Final Fantasy 11, there is no real evil there. It is simply implied to be a very bloody (you have to slay 100 monsters with a specific sword for the job unlock quest) and somewhat dark (Dark Knights specialize in Dark type magics, and even have spells given specifically to them within that school) job.
The concept of a Dark Knight may originate from black knights in history, but I don't feel that it should define what Dark Knights are, nor should the name. Break it down, and Dark Knights are simply glass cannon Warriors who sacrifice HP in exchange for big damage and also use Dark magic.
Again, this can be fixed with a simple house rule, but looking at the class on here and seeing them labeled as "evil" seems rather wrong when you consider the class' history in Final Fantasy as a whole.
I hate to keep saying this, but Cecil WAS evil. Dark Knights ARE evil. Cecil switched to a Paladin. It would be the same thing for a ex-paladin to become a paladin once again in normal D&D rules.
Cecil had a change of heart. But he did as he was told and killed people. That is an evil act. Just because he didn't want to, but he did it anyways doesn't make it less evil.
"I've worn this darkened armor for so long now, there's no mote of light left in me. Not even... in my heart."
—Cecil to Rosa