Androoh

Only works during combat iirc.

Icewind Dale 2 Just completed all 10 ranks of the battle squares arena in the ice temple of chapter 2.

I'd like something cyberpunk-esque myself. Anything like Shadowrun: Dragonfall or Shadowrun: Hong Kong would be good.

I quite liked the concept of awakened souls (souls that can recall past lives). In the case of Aloth, I always felt more should have been explored with Iselmyr to make her presence within him a platform to explore Watcher powers etc. Perhaps like in Mask of the Betrayer where you can enter peoples dreams with Gan, perhaps the Watcher can do this too? Would be good if the Watcher could solve some quest by entering scenes from a past life - perhaps a quest for Aloth could be resolved this way - with the Watcher getting to see what Iselmyr looks like.

I went and saw The Hand Maiden. Was decent.

I still wish they'd give us a dwarf companion to round off the companion roster.

A ship upgrade might be cool - like a crow's nest or sail made of rare, magic cloth or flag that improves speed or serves as some kind of talisman/ward against sea monsters.

For priest + mage, I quite like Hierophant or Theurgist.

Currently enjoying X-Com 2. Think I prefer the soundtrack of the first game though. Particularly this battle music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTkkysQPGhM

Naval combat/exploration music like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKmw9oS__MM Would be ace :D

I think it would give the world more depth if you show areas where there might have different intepretations of a faith or god. I like the fact that Xoti is more devoted to an aspect of Eothas in the form of Gaun for instance. But yeah, if for instance there were pockets within the Dyrwood of groups having more paganistic/animistic/ancestor worship styled faiths, perhaps showing how widespread worship of Engwithan faiths has seen these die or largely dwindle would be interesting. Galawain might have been taken up by indigenous druidic sects for instance who initially revered nature and it's forces, but then adopted worship of Galawain given his ties to beasts and the natural world for instance via influence of Engwithan missionaries. You could show this with the Huana in the new game. Perhaps they're clinging on to their old faiths, or they've a unique take on the worship of Ondra? Call her by a different name? In Icewind Dale Heart of Winter, your party of adventurers is sent to treat with a group of Uthgardt barbarians. During the proceedings, you can mention that the barbarians and the town you're representing have the worship of the god, Tempus in common. However, the barbarian chieftain mentions that they worship Tempos not Tempus and they're not that similar after all. Something simple as that is good writing and shows the diversity and depth to how religion has affected a game world.

I think a chanter is meant more to resemble a Viking era skald. That is to say less a singer (as per what one thinks of a bard, singing a song and strumming a lute) and more a story-teller or orator performing a spoken poem.

Baldurs Gate 2. Dragon Age: Origins. Skyrim. Honourable mention would be the NWN series. I pumped many hours into 1 & 2, but mainly into it's persistant world scene. The campaigns they were sold with were okay. Hordes of the Underdark & Mask of the Betrayer being the stand out examples.

Bad naming choice in your view? I tend to pronounce it with a hard 'J'.

Jarek - Meadow Human Rogue, Deadfire Archipelago, Raider background. As a young man, Jarek sought to rise above his impoverished origins by any means available, initially as a way to support his widowed mother and younger brother. He was eventually recruited by a bandit gang ran by a brutish Aumaua known as Mahaka, operating out of the troubled town of Lachan. Developing a skill for murder through the gangs' increasingly ambitious smuggling operations, he gained enough notoriety to earn the moniker of 'Iron Heart', becoming one of Arawa's most feared enforcers. With his mother becoming increasingly suspicious of her sons new-found wealth and her family's changed fortunes, Jarek struggled to conceal his associations with Arawa's gang and it's shady activities. Eventually learning of her son's brutal streak, Jarek was ultimately ostracised. Despite this, he would continue to provide for his family by giving portions of his ill-gotten spoils to his brother so that the family would never again struggle financially. With the guilt of his actions now weighing on him heavily, Jarek became aimless and disenfranchised with Arawa's gang and their brutality. A run-in with Lachan's Executioners saw the gangs numbers halved in a bloody showdown and Jarek used the chaos to escape, finding himself aboard a vessel headed for the Dyrwood.

I hope the same goes for my raider/highwayman. My character left the Deadfire to leave behind a murderous past of robbing people before becoming a watcher. Some kind of encounter with a group of bandits he/she once ran with would be ace.

Thinking more about a potential dwarf companion. A guy with a prosthetic limb powered via animancy. Has to drink ale to dull the phantom limb sensation maybe?

Wouldn't Goldpact paladins be more likely to be followers of Abydon, given he's about the preservation of culture, industry & trades etc?

I like this. Purely for conversations. Preserve the portraits for the main UI and it's various elements, with some combination on both with a 'paper doll' (character sheet, inventory etc).

Backer NPC's with daft non-lore friendly names.

Horses, chariots and other mounts.

Well, I say I like her. Really though, I'm indifferent to her as a character. I agree on your observation that she's a duty first type character. That was my view of her too. The fact that she blended into the background didn't really irritate me. I don't need or want every NPC to be an all singing, all dancing extrovert with a turbulent or troubled back story. It was refreshing to me that she didn't. It's all subjective though... Your view that she's uninteresting is equivalent to my indifference / lack of irritation about her.

Actually it's Mountain Dwarfs that are explorers, not Boreal* Dwarfs. *On a side note, isn't the homeland of the Boreal Dwarfs in the south? As such they are rather misnamed. They should be Austalian Dwarfs. From http://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Dwarf Like their northern cousins, Enutanik share an instinctive drive to explore and cover long distances in spite of their small stature.

I liked Sagani. I also didn't find the whole 'different for sake of different' criticism of her was done too heavily handed. Not every NPC in my mind has to be larger than life and slightly overly exaggerated in their personality, à la Durance. I liked that Sagani was this no-nonsense, sane and low-key hunter on a mission, much as I liked Edér being a straight-forward, down to earth and normal dude. Some people find these types of characters boring, I say there's room for all types. Plus, the lore sets out that dwarves are explorers, so Sagani being a ranger isn't that much of a stretch in my mind. Personally... I'd like to see another dwarf who is slightly different or at least has some extra depth or dimension to them assuming they fit the stereotypical mould of drunk, axe-wielding warrior with Scottish accent.

I always saw it as a sub-set of magic with a blend of primitive science in the lore (allowing for the use of machines etc). Much like transmutation or necromancy in DnD magic system. Would prefer it as background/profession check in dialogue - perhaps mentioned if you chose scientist or scholar. E.g. NPC: "What brings you to Deadfire?" Player: "I am exploring cross-over areas of knowledge between alchemy and animancy and my my studies have brought me here."