algroth

Nemnok or riot. (Also, what would that consist of? Every creature is oversized?)

All Obsidian isometric games already do this. They're conserving the general RTwP system but are clearly adapting it and improving on it based on the old IE games, hence the departure from a quasi-vancian system for abilities and spells, the focus on making all classes more actives-based, the transition from turns to literal time as well as how the THAC0/YdXX systems have been revamped, gameplay has moved away from pre-buff and heavy metagaming as requisites, and so on. Pillars does use the IE games as inspiration but combat-wise and heck, gameplay-wise as a whole plays very differently (see also the approach to stealth, and to dialogue and scripted encounters and the way items, attributes and skills play into these), and quite differently to the "next generation" of such games like Neverwinter Nights 2 as well even - and this is not even beginning to touch on the approach to narrative design and so on which, whilst maybe sharing several similarities to Planescape: Torment in particular, have also changed or evolved rather drastically since.

Man, everything from Ch. 6 onwards is such ****ing bull****. It's like they've taken a list of everything that was awful about the IE combat and just exacerbated them, just because, I don't know, it's a "hardcore experience" or something. I'm really close to just not bothering to complete this game.

R.I.P. Mark Hollis

And more Green Book parodies...

Many are calling it just that...

Green Book for best picture, lol. What a sham.

Now this is a pretty good opening to an awards ceremony.

You say that like it's a bad thing. I'd say it's all about context. If you were to describe any random person you met in this same fashion, then yes, it'd all be a bit too much. But this is a meeting with an avatar of the god of death in some manner of afterlife, all about a character whose appearance is utterly uncanny, and thus it makes sense to be described to this level of detail or using this particular approach and vocabulary. Per Lovecraftian terms this is a kind of encounter that would fall strictly in the realm of the supernatural, even by the setting's own standards, and thus the means of describing it should evoke such sensation. Obviously whether it does or not is up to each player, to me it does and in fact it's more of what I'd like to have seen in the other meetings we had with the gods.

I mean, it is first dialog in the game and his portrait is right here! I don't see an issue with that sentence or description. And people really ought to stop using the term "purple prose", it's becoming the new "plot hole".

It's almost like critics and audiences *gasp* DISAGREE!!! It cannot be, there must be some conspiracy behind it all!!! (For the record, I work in the film industry and know several critics personally. No one I know here were ever paid or forced by their bosses to write a "positive" or "negative" review about films they didn't feel that way about. From there, some might agree with a film's politics and be keener to them because of it, others may have contrarian tendencies and often pull off an Armond White... But that is entirely on them, and not on some external behind-the-scenes factor like some creepy cabal puppeteering the press in order to brainwash viewers into thinking X is good and Y is bad. And as someone who was not a fan of The Last Jedi, trust me, I've gotten into quite a few heated arguments over it with those same critics that gave the film glowing reviews. It just so happens that critics, and professionals in any artistic medium, have a very different understanding and appreciation of that medium than the casual viewer or layman, so opinions can greatly differ. And that's all it is, a difference in opinions. Learn to grasp that instead of assuming something sinister is at play. )

Moreover, the appearance of that particular dwarf was meant to be rather singular and eerie, and was foreshadowing who we were about to meet. I thought it was very effective myself.

There is a dispositions system and yet it is handled in a much subtler and malleable manner than what I've seen of Kingmaker thus far, which all points again to this being an issue that is very prevalent in Kingmaker regardless of alignment as such. I don't recall many moments at all when such disparities between what my character did and what I felt were my justifications behind the choice were incongruent, whereas it seems to describe an issue I face all too frequently with Kingmaker. I am enjoying the degree of consequence down the line behind the choices in Kingmaker at least - at least, when they're represented, which is not always the case (nor is it for Pillars but at least they often pay lip service to what you did in some fashion or other). But I disagree that Pillars is without consequence or several outcomes in its choices, and what's more, dialogue options matter not just because of what they reflect in the game but the overal *meaning* they give to the experience and the way they allow your character to formulate their personality and beliefs. This goes back to that classic Planescape: Torment example upon which Ravel asks you "what can change the nature of a man". You're given nineteen or so options, and roughly all of them lead to the same response. Speaking in pure gameplay terms, this choice is irrelevant, it affects nothing and leads to the same outcome, I'm not even sure the game bothers to remember what you chose; but that's not the value the choice provides, or why it is there in the first place. It's there for the sake of narrative, for the sake of allowing you to define who your character is (essentially, to roleplay in the purest of forms), to question the player's position regarding the themes and topics driving the story and so on. Ultimately it doesn't matter that the choice changes nothing mechanically in the rest of the game, it *does* change something for the player, as it informs the protagonist's beliefs and motivations and makes the player a participant of the discourse. A franchise like Pillars is deeply concerned with exploring themes and ideas, regarding the relationship between society and religion, and gods and men, and their evolution over a particular period of history, over cultural tensions of a time and so on - that the saga happens during a fictional Renaissance is no accident. In this sense, the choices you make, whether they lead to the same dialogue branch as others or not, is hugely relevant. Maybe the many responses you can come up with or the actions you can follow can still only lead to a few outcomes, and that's fine - but at least you had a way of engaging in them as you felt best, and in ways that made you consider where you stand in the conflicts and debates of that specific setting and story. Good writing is not about the sheer amount of branching paths and options, but what you tell through them and how, and that is where the Pillars saga as a whole - and much of Obsidian's work for that matter - really shines.

In Valerie's case she's just "the girl". Dunno about you, but if you were to call Valerie a "girl" she'd most likely bash your head in with her tower shield. You don't go referring to Ekun as "the boy", do you?

To be fair, Xoti is not innocent of such descriptors either. I recall the game being pretty insistent on her rosy cheeks when I first met her in my playthrough.

(Hiding behind a spoiler wall because there might be some slight spoilers to the early acts Kingmaker here) This is precisely one of the fields where Deadfire and its approach to choice really shines - more often than not you're given several choices for action without assuming intent, and you can *then* apply the justification you wish when the question of "why" arises separately. It leads to a much more open approach to roleplaying, and turns several options into viable ones for any one character. If you kill a party you meet outright, you can then proceed to justify it as a holy deed or as yourself being a greedy murderhobo; if you want to strive for the peaceful solution, you can then appeal to peace as an ideal or maybe see in that option the most profitable one and so on. Kingmaker doesn't really allow for this looseness, and whilst some might fault the alignment system for it, I will also add that it wasn't the case for Planescape: Torment or Mask of the Betrayer either, which also work with the same approach to alignment. Heck, Tides of Numenera and Pillars both work with their own alignment systems, however more abstract they may be, and they don't feel nearly as square about it as Kingmaker does.

Apparently he contributed to others - there's an interview where he mentions contributing to Amiri, which is bizarre as it really is one of the last characters I would have expected him to have anything to do with. That said, Nok-Nok is *fantastic*, and easily the best companion in the game. He's Morte levels of hilarious and endearing. As for the writing I don't specifically find it to be *bad* moreso than pretty patchy throughout. It *is* very pulpy but that's perfectly fine, it's clearly what the game is aiming for, and in that sense there's plenty to enjoy in some of the colourful exchanges and high octane melodrama and whatnot. I for one greatly enjoyed the writing for Vordakai, just because it was suitably campy for what is a Four Horsemen-worshipping cyclopean lich amassing an army of undead to give rise again to a long lost empire. But of course these encounters are sprinkled amidst utterly waterbrained exchanges like convincing a nereid that playing malicious jokes on others only makes them suffer, or hearing a paladin of Shelyn attack a chosen of his goddess whilst screaming, quite literally, "ONLY I KNOW THE WILL OF MY GODDESS". It's all utterly daft but much like Baldur's Gate II it can be at times played with enough wit and colour to be greatly enjoyable regardless - it's just not always the case.

I have Tsanna as an advisor, and she's great. My character is an odd one inasmuch as he's a generally good guy who just happens to be okay with Lamashtu/Mammon worshipping and accepting boons from the Four Horsemen. Besides, it all appalls Jhod, much to my own amusement.

Gonna make a bit of a rundown here as to my thoughts about how likely it is to see each companion from the past games to return for the next one, based on my expectations of what a third Pillars would be tackling in terms of conflict and themes. So basically with Deadfire we're left with a major conflict at hand which is the Wheel having literally been destroyed, and kith and gods alike needing to figure out a way to rebuild it so that souls can once again pass to their next lives and so on so forth. Naturally I'd expect the third game to deal with this conflict... But from a thematic standpoint also deal with the relationship between gods and men, of the move towards a more secular and humanist society as the past connection between the aforementioned two is reexamined and reevaluated, or maybe even restated depending on the Watcher's choices leading into the creation of this new "Wheel" and so on. So, if so I expect more involvement with gods, more debates about religion, animancy and general existentialist stuff, more Watcher shenanigans and so on (though it may well be me expecting what I'd *want* to see instead, as it is what I love most about this saga... But I digress). So, with this in mind, here's the list of companions ranked from most to least likely as far as I see it, with an explanation for each... (As a small caveat I'll mention that I haven't played any of the DLCs for Deadfire yet, so I don't know Vatnir at all nor have I seen any of the new stuff for the other sidekicks and so on) Eder: He's the franchise's mascot, for better or worse, and I cannot imagine him *not* being in another game involving the Watcher. Initially I reckoned he'd have a little more at stake with the conflict of Deadfire given it's *Eothas* of all beings that we're chasing, but that was rather underused or underdeveloped... So I don't exactly see a thematic link with this third part beyond general Eothasian beliefs/faith keeping him doing what was Eothas' will, and maybe the fact that he is one of those few who knows straight from the horse's mouth what the gods truly are. Same could be said about any of the other companions, but he seemed especially affected by the revelation. Aloth: Semi-mascot status, I suppose. As a character that holds a deep relationship with the Leaden Key either way, he seems rather primed to have an investment in the events that would potentially change the relationship between gods and kith forever. The Leaden Key for one would definitely have an interest in influencing that process in some form or other. Besides, whether or not he continues his work dismantling/reforming the cult at the end of Deadfire, it still leaves him in a perfect position to pop up elsewhere in the world *or* follow the Watcher in a new adventure that may also further whatever goals he now has. Ydwin: Ever since she was announced as a potential eighth companion she's grown to be something of a fan favourite, and given that she never quite received a full companion treatment the devs could maybe fulfill that part by her inclusion in the next game. Regardless, her conflict, her interests and her profession seem especially poignant for what is going on currently in Eora. Already before Eothas did His part bringing down the Wheel, she'd found a way to remove herself of it, and this places her as both a character far more aware of the inner workings of the Wheel and reincarnation system than any of the other companions thus far, and with a pretty singular stance on the matter too. Much like Pallegina, Maia, Serafen and Tekehu were the voices of their respective factions in Deadfire she could be something of a voice for animancy or the more secular side of the argument going into the third game... Or maybe just another view within several relating to this matter. Kana: There's a pretty massive gulf between the top three, who I think are all likely or at least possible, and the rest of these who I feel are more likely *not* to appear instead. Of these I'm not sure why Kana's the most likely, but I reckon it's because he's the one with the greatest combination of autonomy and motivation to join the Watcher in a new adventure if it should so happen. As a student of lore he's likely to want to observe and record this particular historical event from as close as he possibly can, and how better than with the figure seemingly at the centre of this conflict? Add to this that he's something of a fan favorite too. Xoti: Xoti's motivations to follow the Watcher are somewhat similar to Edér's - potentially strong relationship with the Watcher (especially if they are lovers and so on), a follower of Eothas doing the last of Eothas' will, decent autonomy and so on. She could possibly take a stance rather opposite to Ydwin's own, or maybe a more positive take on the influence of religion and the freedom of belief following Eothas' own desires for kith, whilst opposing another more dogmatic or gods-fearing character and so on. My concerns about her are whether we *need* two representatives of Eothas in the first place, and whether she is liked enough by the community or is interesting enough as a character to justify a return (granted, this last bit can be applicable to Kana too). Rekke: Again, people have seemed to taken pretty closely to Rekke, and the fact that he's basically learning of the rest of Eora from the Watcher's hand places him a little closer to his adventures than the likes of other sidekicks, who as fun as they are don't really have much of a motivation to follow the Watcher around. But this would also assume Rekke was taken in as a sidekick and the Watcher actually took time to talk and explore Rekke's past and whatnot - which could well not be the case, and then he'd have little reason to be attached to the Watcher in the first place. Rekke's own relevance to the conflict I outlined before is negligible too, I feel, which doesn't help matters. I can actually see a scenario where he comes back as an NPC of sorts in whatever stronghold we set up this time around than an actual companion, kind of how the OP was suggesting. Hiravias: Plenty of autonomy and a connection with the overarching themes of the Pillars franchise given his faith for Wael and the way in which in the first game he was something of a voice for the debate about the *logic* of men opposed to the logic of gods and so on. Maybe his part of the dicussion is done at this point, but regardless I always found his character to have some of the most interesting and perspicacious takes in all matters religious in the first game and, indeed, the saga as a whole. On the other hand he doesn't seem someone who is awfully concerned with the "current affairs of Eora" and seems to only join you the first time around on something of a whim which happens to be convenient to him in the long run. He could appear but I don't feel like he'd have a specific motivation to be wherever the game takes place in or to actively seek out the Watcher for that matter. Pallegina: Dunno what to make of her really. She was something of a fan favorite in the first game and people looked forward to seeing (and romancing, RIP) her in Deadfire, but I for one was quite lukewarm about her treatment in the sequel and haven't seen much love elsewhere either. Regardless, by the end of Deadfire she's either pardoned by the Ducs and reinstated into the Brotherhood, or banished forever, and all that leads after seems very final and I just don't see why she'd have any reason to return, or any motivations that wouldn't simply feel tacked on. As a godlike and a hard atheist she could have some investment in the conflict in that regard, but nothing unique enough to justify her specific presence the way it would Ydwin, for example. Tekehu: He's great, but again, I don't see much reason or personal motivation for him to be in a sequel or to really leave the Deadfire Archipelago anyways. It feels like his story, and his part within the Watcher's story, is done. Maia: Maia was a mistake. Far as I'm concerned, nothing gelled about her character whatsoever, her "arc", such as there was one, went nowhere, her views seemed contradictory, she seemed to exist in Deadfire to be a voice for Rauatai and little else. Unless the followup happens in Rauatai itself I don't see her making an appearance, and even if it does I don't see why we wouldn't be better off having Kana instead. Serafen: Great, hugely likable character, but already in Deadfire his relationship to the story and conflict felt tangential at best, and was likely the loosest faction representative we had too. His character arc was satisfying within its own little microcosm but it's not something that seemed terribly interesting or relevant in the greater scheme of things, the way some others were. Much like Hiravias I also feel like he didn't have much of a personal motivation for following the Watcher in the first place (opposite to Hiravias, he was kind of forced into it), and by the end of the game he doesn't seem to have any real motivations to leave the Deadfire or the pirate's life. All in all I'm glad we had him in Deadfire but I don't see him returning nor would I miss him in a sequel either. Mirke/Fassina/Konstanten: I have very little to say about all these because I didn't invest much time with them. Based on my limited experience with them, they're all colourful enough characters with enough autonomy to follow the Watcher in a new adventure if they so wished, but with no real hook to do so off the top of my head beyond a mere "they tagged along". So, in theory there's nothing preventing them from returning, I just don't see why the devs would bother. Sagani: Like Pallegina, her arc is done. Unless the third game involved Naasitaq in some fashion I see absolutely no reason for Sagani to return. Maneha/Zahua: Grouping these two because the reasoning is pretty similar as the above - basically their arcs are done. And they don't even have a setting to justify their return either. Durance: Ignoring the obvious reason that the character was created and written by Avellone, if I'm not mistaken Eld Engrim also suggests early on that Durance died by the time of Deadfire's events. It's a shame as no doubt he was one of the richest characters in the first game in terms of both lore and relationship to the story/themes that still drive the saga to this point, but for what it's worth his arc was also pretty concluded by that point. The Grieving Mother: Everything I wrote about Durance applies to the Grieving Mother too, only that I feel her existence was way more self-contained and her arc was also given a much clearer conclusion than Durance's. If Avellone was still around I could have seen a potential return of Durance in a sequel, but never of the Grieving Mother. The Devil of Caroc: She's dead, Jim. At least she made for a good breastplate.

Also for extra nightmare points: