POLL: Should NPC alignments be visible?

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Keldor_, I had Keldorn in my party with Kurgan, and they actually got along quite well: Keldorn was both amused by Kurgan, and impressed by his homocidal skills. Was this out of character? Of course, he wasn't so happy with Viconia, but then again, look how he treated his family, the racist misogynist bastard... Which is all to say: I wondered in the game whether Black Isle had a thing against being Lawful, treating them as rigid and hypocritical. I mean, look at Anomen's many personality crises; he thinks he's a paladin, but then if he doesn't become a knight he turns CN and tries to kill LG Aerie of all people. And if he becomes a knight, and hangs around with Keldorn enough, he turns LG. He's like a sponge. Let him hang with Minsc enough and he probably buys a hamster...

 

The game is certainly very lenient towards Paladin behaviour. It's also not beyond possibility that the BG2 writers didn't have as full an understanding of alignment as they might. Clearly according to the P&P AD&D rules, paladins aren't even allowed to adventure with evil characters. They will bearly tolerate thieves. As it stands, you can kill innocents and not lose your status - not something that matches the 'proper' rules. Gamers who hadn't come from a P&P background would just feel non-plussed if the rules of BG2 were as strict on paladins as they are meant to be.
I certainly don't agree that keldorn should get along with Korgan. Since I play BG2 true to the spirit of P&P AD&D I have never mixed Keldorn with evil characters, so I don't know if what you describe is accurate, but it disappoints me to hear this. I would have thought more of the writers.
I certainly don't think the writers are in the least bit against LG characters. I don't see them as hypocrites myself. I don't see they way Anomen is written as wrong either. Indeed, having examined his entire game dialogues using Infinity Explorer (I'll go and check on Korgan - Keldorn next!) I think they arguably dealt with his personality more carefully and in greater depth, than any other. N.B. He doesn't think himself a paladin - he refers to himself as a knight.
Anomen's starting alignment (lawful neutral) is accurate for someone who is lawful enough, but not good enough, to be a paladin (lawful good). This is why he is capable of evil if he fails his test - his struggle to convert himself to goodness has failed, so he stops ceases it and gives himself over to his natural neutral tendancies which enable him to swing to evil now and again. A 'naturally' good character would never commit evil.

 

I agree with the people saying that we should not be able to see their alignment, and judge them by their actions - which would mean that they would have to have more things for them to do that is out of the player's control.

And it would be amazing and brilliant story wise if Imoen had have been able to fall from grace depending on what you asked of her to do or some such, or some quest.