YMMV / World of the Five Gods

• Alternate Character Interpretation: The five gods, as a unit. Are they truly what the Quintarian faith believes them to be—Workers in mysterious ways, limited in power, but ultimately benevolent to all (Yes, even the Bastard)? Or are they selfish gods who only value the fulfillment of their well-laid plans, no matter how cruel to their "tools," us poor mortals? Of course, this doesn't have any real-world parallels at all...
• Angst? What Angst?: Penric and Nikys are remarkably chill at the end of "Demon Daughter" when it's revealed that Desdemona has been secretly using uphill magic for several years to keep Pen from aging. Which means eventually he's going to outlive both Nikys and their children.
• Catharsis Factor: After being betrayed twice in the course of The Orphans of Raspay, it's incredibly satisfying to see Penric demonstrate to an island of pirates what Beware the Nice Ones really means, as he lets Desdemona completely off the leash, burning their base to the ground and sinking their little fleet in a whirlwind of Chaos Magic.
• Complete Monster: Dondo dy Jironal from The Curse of Chalion is the evil younger brother of Martou, is a spoiled, corrupt nobleman, who has no compunction using his position to take advantage of those beneath him or to avenge slights against him. Dondo was responsible for the hero Cazaril being sold into brutal slavery, an experience that left him broken and despondent, while also taking advantage of his position to sexually abuse women. Having at one point convinced Chalion's impotent ruler to allow Dondo to try to get a child from his wife, Dondo raped her and humiliated her for a full year before she threatened suicide over the affair. When he manages to convince the ruler to betroth Dondo to his sister, Dondo gleefully describes to her how he plans to rape and abuse her all he wants.
• Moral Event Horizon: Methani and Tronio's scheme manages to be heretical to all five gods at once: its injustice offends the Father, its abuse of a mother's love offends the Mother, its threat to an innocent boy offends the Son, its extortion of Alixtra offends the Daughter, and its cruel disposal of demons offends the Bastard.
• The Woobie / Iron Woobie:
  • Cazaril, practically from page one, to the point that whenever "his ladies" fuss over him it becomes a CMOH.
  • Arhys, in Paladin. He is already dead, and doomed to possess a slowly-decaying corpse until he becomes a lost soul drifting to oblivion, and his history is one long "Well Done, Son" Guy story right up until his father was declared a traitor to cover up an attempt to break the Golden General's curse upon Chalion, killing forever any fantasies about a happy reunion and shaming the family for decades.
  • Adelis, a competent general whose loyalty to his country is repaid by being convicted of treason with no trial, being blinded by boiling vinegar (with no anesthetic), and when his sight begins to recover, thanks to Pen and Des, he finds himself on the run with his sister with their only ally being a strange sorcerer they just met. After days of being alternately stoic and cranky, when Adelis finally crosses the border to safety, he breaks down in sobs from the sheer stress and relief.

---