Yria

I recall Autonomy coming up a couple of times when I told Tekehu that he shouldn't care this much about opinions of others or something like that, and Aloth was in the party. Don't think I saw a single Stewardship reaction.

And Pallegina thought she had it bad.

I think his wariness of animancy also comes from the incident in his short story. Not only had he witnessed the dangers of animancy with his own eyes, he was obviously feeling guilty because of what happened there.

I wish them luck, but his shouldn't be something us players would need to modify if you ask me. Oh well.

I know right? After seeing his 5 dispositions I went to check the other companions thinking that maybe they received some tweaks too. And then it hit me how very few dispositions Aloth has in comparison to the rest of them. It wasn't as noticeable when he also had the additional bugged one, but now it's glaringly obvious. I'm all for companions having different number of likes and dislikes as their personalities are quite different, too. But Aloth is taking it too far.

Wait, were they? Because if they were it's no surprise both of them ended up being my favorites.

Looks like Aloth's dispositions got fixed in the beta patch. He no longer gets two confilicting tags at once. This is what he has on "Destroy the Leaden Key" route: https://i.gyazo.com/82be23681a5b82a5967eddfc05cf3926.png Not sure what to think of it, though, it might be even harder to please him now as there are only two things he actually likes. Aloth, you grumpy elf

I did get this line in the game, that's how I learned Xoti is 27. But it sure was a big WTF moment for me, I'd give her 20-22 tops.

I don't know, he was also pretty rude to Hiravias and Pallegina on occasions too, without even realising that what he was saying was somehow wrong. Also, that painted chicken story from his childhood: even now as an adult he still doesn't really see that the thing they did to that farmer wasn't exactly nice. I think Eder is an interesting example of a good-natured person who at the same time seriously lacks empathy.

I agree with that, and their stats aren't displayed that much in their interactions with each other anyway. Just pointing out a funny detail. By the way, Rekke also fits in the "all male companions are careless goofs" picture (and seems to have a somewhat low opinion about Aloth who is too sour to his tastes).

I heard that Galawain buffs some of the bosses to make their fights tougher for you. I believe everyone else is covered in the opening post? Not sure if promises to Wael and Skaen/Woedica even count since Wael, at least, doesn't give you any stat bonus.

Fun fact re: goofiness and not being the sharpest knife in the drawer. If I'm not mistaken Tekehu actually has the highest intellect of all the companions stat-wise (not sure about Ydwin and Fassina, but it's def higher than Aloth's). It really caught me by surprise when I opened his character sheet.

RDC doesn't really have much to do with it. Maia shooting innocent civilians in the head for her organization does. I don't think this sort of dutifullness and unquestioning loyalty is generally viewed as a good thing. Granted, she has some second thoughts about it, but still. And Xoti isn't just devote, she is overzealous and actively attacks people who as much as voice a different opinion. She started poking me with her sickle for merely saying that Pallegina isn't entirely wrong for goodness sake. So I seriously doubt that either of them were suppoused to be taken as positive examples when it comes to being dutiful.

I wouldn't really call Maia's and Xoti's interpretation of being dutiful a positive trait.

This one: https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Until_He_Started_Screaming

I know, I'm just amused by these instances when one companion really dislikes another, but they remain blissfully ignorant of that and act like everything is great between them. It also gives a good perspective on Aloth's dislike towards animancy. Defintely worthy of reading if you like the character.

Eder isn't the only serious offender, I think Aloth also takes real issue with Serafen poking around in his head (and who wouldn't?). But his reactions to Tekehu are hilarious, mostly because Tekehu actually likes him in return and always remains cheerfully friendly in banter. This particular trait of his is actually explained in his short story. Keeping things neat and well-organized helps him repress Iselmyr, so it's a habbit he developed in his attempts to maintain control.

I don't think it's really about their gender. It's just that all our female companions are dutiful/responsible, and all the male ones are the opposite of that. How Eder manages to stay 0 and -2 after the Iselmyr disaster is beyond me though.

Problem is, he wants a very specific, settle down and have a calm life together kind of family. The Watcher's life tends to be very turbulent, they aren't really a suitable candidate for that role. You might be his closest friend but you can't give him what he is looking for when he settles down with Bearn, especially when the writers insist on pulling the "...and then the Watcher dropped everything and sailed home because reasons" card. Ok, I didn't try to romance him and never heard what he says to you when you try to press the matter, so I'm only coming from what his quest showed me. What you are describing does sound somewhat bizarre.

I think they should just give different number of approval/disapproval points for different things. Like +2 for cracking a joke and +10 for supporting their favorite faction, -5 for being a smartass in inappropriate moment and -20 for robbing the Dawnstars. Mind you, it might be already working like that, I don't know. It just seems sensible.

I don't want to shock you, but Xoti is 27. Yeah, I know. But that's what she says herself. As for Eder's personal quest, after hearing one of his banters with Pallegina about having children I don't really think it's about an old flame or Bearn's life and death. I think it's more about Eder desperately wishing for some sort of normal life and family and realising that time is ticking. Elafa and her son are just the people he happened to appoint his family substitute. Which is kind of sad, I suppose, but still not as sad and unhealthy as suddenly deciding that you have feelings for a woman you haven't seen in 20 years.

It's not that much better with other godlike types. Tekehu gets this super caring fish mommy, while I'm stuck with Berath who openly tells me "Go do this and that or I'll kill you". Or Magran who insults me the first time I try to speak to her and drops a volcano on my head. Or Galawain (I assume) who tries to feed me to a kraken because I don't agree with him betraying his own principles . Thanks a lot, moms and dad.

I liked that a lot, too, and it caught me by surprise. Him actually mentioning the whole 0 to -1 to +2 fluctuation as a real shift in his opinion about me made the relationship feel much more real (now, If I could only ignore the fact that I had to use the Dunnage conversation loop to even get him to +2...).

It's not really a Chanter option, I got it on my cipher/wizard too. Looks like there are a lot of checks that can be passed either with some skill OR with a background/class as a shortcut. My first character was a scientist from the Living Lands, and while the background checks were nothing to get really excited about, her being a scientist did get referenced from time to time and fit well with the VTC theme. Now, the Linving Lands... all I got from my culture checks was that it's an awful place with terribly dangerous people (you can even compare them to the Wahaki at some point with the Watcher saying that the tribe sounds very much like his/her own countrymen) who eat baby lagufaeth and other similar creatures for snacks.

I don't blame him either, just pointing out that with or without passing that insight check you get the same response: I'm glad to see you, but it's been a long time, we are both different people now.