Which character archetypes would you like to see as companions?

[Stun]

I'll give this one some more thought then I'll vote. But in the meantime, there is one archtype I most definitely *don't* wanna see: The red-headed female rogue.

 

Seriously, do you know how over-used that one is?

 

BG1 had a red-headed female rogue (Imoen)

BG2 had 2 red-headed female rogues (Imoen, Nalia)

Planescape: Torment had a red-headed female rogue (Annah)

Neverwinter Nights had a red-headed female rogue (Sharwin)

Neverwinter Nights 2 had a red-headed female rogue (Neeshka)

Dragon Age: Origins had a red-headed female rogue (Lelianna)

 

Please Obsidian, buck this trend with Project Eternity.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited September 16, 2012 by Stun

[Nakia]

My favorite party in BG/ToB was when I played smart evil. Edwin, the Dwarf Krogan, Sarevok, Jan Jensen. I like characters with a twist to their nature.

The mysterious old lady appeals to me since that is what I am or would like to think I am. :D

[The Sharmat]

I'll give this one some more thought then I'll vote. But in the meantime, there is one archtype I most definitely *don't* wanna see: The red-headed female rogue.

 

Seriously, do you know how over-used that one is?

You forgot Mira in KOTOR 2. Ok, not a rogue, but bounty hunter is pretty close.

[Maddas]

What about a slave that absolutely hates you and everything about you yet is forced to serve you becasue of some reason?

 

And I know there was Dak'kon but he didn't seem to have as much pure loathing as I imagine this character to have.

 

 

Or better yet no type at all but everything has basically been done before.

I could see a character like that having a drastic event to their story line where they purposely try to cause a party wipe by stealing or attacking someone in a very powerful friendly or neutral area.

 

Yes and then they could succed if you are really underleveled or you have to kill them or if you are more corrupt break their spirit even further and re-enslave them to their core.

 

With souls being a big part of this game you could do some really dark stuff

 

Yeah, you could probably have some really dark magic (and characters) based on the whole 'soul magic' concept, depending on where it goes.

 

I'll give this one some more thought then I'll vote. But in the meantime, there is one archtype I most definitely *don't* wanna see: The red-headed female rogue.

 

Seriously, do you know how over-used that one is?

 

BG1 had a red-headed female rogue (Imoen)

BG2 had 2 red-headed female rogues (Imoen, Nalia)

Planescape: Torment had a red-headed female rogue (Annah)

Neverwinter Nights had a red-headed female rogue (Sharwin)

Neverwinter Nights 2 had a red-headed female rogue (Neeshka)

Dragon Age: Origins had a red-headed female rogue (Lelianna)

 

Please Obsidian, buck this trend with Project Eternity.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Definitely agree. If there's gonna have to be a female rogue, maybe one with less memorable hair-color -- or hell, maybe a character like Inara from Firefly.

 

My favorite party in BG/ToB was when I played smart evil. Edwin, the Dwarf Krogan, Sarevok, Jan Jensen. I like characters with a twist to their nature.

The mysterious old lady appeals to me since that is what I am or would like to think I am. :D

 

I hope the way characters interact with the main / player will expand on how RPG games have evolved over the years... I mean, beyond the Fallout 1/2x and P:T style -- to how characters worked in KOTOR2 and Dragon Age: Origins. So playing evil or goody-goody could have [substantial] effects (including negative) on your party members.

[Shaewaros]

Archetypes are powerful tool for bringing something familiar for an otherwise unfamiliar world. In a game such as this one there has to be at least some archetypal characters and motifs so that the players won't feel like they don't have any point of reference in the game world that would connect it to their experiences in the real world. Archetypes don't have to be cardboard characters, they can and should have unique features, but their motif and functionality should be based on familiar principles.

[Chaos Theory]

Hmm... No love for Paladins. Says a lot about the world, I think. Or at least the gaming world. I almost always play them.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Chaos Theory

[Bos_hybrid]

I don't like this poll. Every arch type is a good guy, or grey.

 

Where are the Narcissist, Power hungry, uncaring, brutal, psychotic. I don't want a care bear party. Give me some villains.

[Longknife]

I don't like this poll. Every arch type is a good guy, or grey.

 

Where are the Narcissist, Power hungry, uncaring, brutal, psychotic. I don't want a care bear party. Give me some villains.

 

Sympathetic villains > cartoonishly evil ones.

[Shadenuat]

It's really just a matter of taste. Obsidian writing is good.

 

I would ask for middle-aged and old companions though, because they seem to be rare in games. A battle-hardened landknecht in his 40ies, an old hag of magical powers, something alike.

 

Anyone thinks we will see blind old lady who would give mystique advice on our party's future again? :3

Edited September 19, 2012 by Shadenuat

[GhostofAnakin]

This is actually a difficult poll to vote on. I was going to, but then I found myself checking each box in the options above.

 

I guess for me it depends on the setting and the story. Some of those archetypes work better if the story of the PC is more light-hearted, some work better if the PC's story is about redemption, etc.

 

A couple of characters I'd like to see in either case are the mentor type (Kreia has made me a fan of this type) and some kind of rogue/shady type who we, the player, don't quite know if we can trust his/her motives.

[Bos_hybrid]

I don't like this poll. Every arch type is a good guy, or grey.

 

Where are the Narcissist, Power hungry, uncaring, brutal, psychotic. I don't want a care bear party. Give me some villains.

 

Sympathetic villains > cartoonishly evil ones.

 

Play some Obs games, Bishop, Ammon Jerro, One of Many, Steven Heck and Henry Leland. These are good villainous characters. None of those poll archetype go anywhere near them.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Bos_hybrid

[Monte Carlo]

* A hopelessly drunk wizard with a terminal illness

 

* A deserter from a defeated army with a penchant for looting and narcotics

 

* A female priest searching for the illegitimate daughter taken from her by the church

 

* A master-thief / forger / safe-breaker, a gentleman of breeding and manners, obsessed with gadgets and explosives

 

* A tribal kid kidnapped by gangsters and trained from birth to be a deadly marksman / assassin and master of firearms

 

* An unrepentant war criminal, a powerful swordsman, looking for a new cause to rally around and a new master to serve

[Luckmann]

All of them and more.

 

But more than anything, I demand the return of Kivan and Xan.

 

Preferably as non-elves, non-dwarves.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Luckmann

[Phekdra]

No archetypes please - I'd like every companion to be crafted with care and originality.

[Lucas]

An adequate mix of most of them would be great, as long as they make sense; also, their motivation about joining you should be convincing enough.

 

Personally, I like a mix of "mentor", storyteller/scholars and crazy lunatics (but with a humor edge) that the other companions (and maybe the PC him/herself) just can't stand. Makes for some good bantering

[TCJ]

Mentor: Every game always has one of these types anyway.

 

Cynic: What fun is it if everyone agrees with you? You need the person to be cynical about your decisions and also to be there to say "I told you so" after you did something stupid.

 

Trickster: I think of a trickster as not someone who plays useless pranks all the time (though pranks could be included) but also someone who uses his imagination to pull of unusual tactics against his enemies. Someone who doesn't think sword and magic all the time.

[Elerond]

I don't like this poll. Every arch type is a good guy, or grey.

 

Where are the Narcissist, Power hungry, uncaring, brutal, psychotic. I don't want a care bear party. Give me some villains.

 

Sympathetic villains > cartoonishly evil ones.

 

Play some Obs games, Bishop, Ammon Jerro, One of Many, Steven Heck and Henry Leland. These are good villainous characters. None of those poll archetype go anywhere near them.

 

I also would like see one evil class like Witch Hunter or Inquisitor.

[DAWUSS]

But should characters only be one archetype? I think a combination of 3 archetypes can make for a good character.

[pipboy2000]

To be honest, I don't really care that much about an archetype.

 

The only thing, that really matters (and is hard to accomplish), is, that the companion acts authentically, not superficial (shallow?) and has a really, REALLY believable reason to leave everything behind to join your PC on his journey.

 

My personal (I am aware that this topic is highly arguable) favorite companion of all time was Morrigan in Dragon Age. She was loyal to the party in her way, but also clearly wasn't fully integrated (at the campsite, her place was aside the others, etc.). You could feel, that she had built up a very hard shell but there was always a glimpse of a softer core. Even if you romanced her, it was still obvious, that she was, in some way, too insecure to trust you completely. And, above all, there were some ingenious conversations, mainly between her and Alistair, where she mocked him in such an intelligent, sarcastic way, that I laughed until I had tears in my eyes!

 

Other companions, that were, in my eyes, well written would be: Bishop in NWN2, Minsk in Baldur's Gate 1/2, Triss Merrigold from The Witcher 1/2 (even though she maybe isn't a companion in the classical RPG way) and many more who I do not remember right now...

 

Come to think of it, I remember another one: Grimgnaw in NWN1! Even though he also wasn't a companion on the "Baldur's Gate" sense, I was really fascinated about that guy!

[Ieo]

I want party members to "matter" to the dynamic world content and narrative, and I don't want any party NPC that can be so easily distilled into a 2-3 word description.

 

PS:T's characters did not feel like they could be so easily flattened (except maybe Annah, but she was clearly designed to be that way; Grace wasn't an archetype, while Trias was but nonjoinable, and yet he was still very interesting); I mean, really, what is Dak'kon as an archetype?

[SirMonkeyMonk]

I'd like to a very battle hardened tactician, who may be a bit sarcastic some times, but in general is dead serious about how to handle things. He comments if you take unnessecary risks, fail to gather some intelligence about your enemies and suggests to plan more ambushes yourself. "Why did we run out of arrows! why aren't you using scouts! why aren't you setting traps! why is that reckless brute still around!". In general I like the idea of companions commented on combat behavior. A wizard complaining someone was able to hit him with a sword, a barbarian complaining you're fighting to defensive or rogue complaining he can't use his full set of skills.

 

Priests, zealots or some kind of fanatics that actually try to convert you, I don't think I've seen that yet, while it should be pretty common.

[Meshugger]

- The flamboyant gay wizard that hysterically laughs at everything and is more feminine than every other woman in the party

- The "tough" female warrior that really just needs a real man to confide to

- A priestess that is so innocent and holy that even the gods themselves cry tears over her divinity

- The slightly handsome ranger with a five-in-the-afternoon-shave that broods a bit and has a mysterious past. But what he really needs is someone special to express his feelings to. Maybe it is you?

- A barbarian that chews charcoal and breathes smoke. Needs something to fight or he will rape you out of boredom. Has a familiar that cries for him since he cannot. A manly man-man from manland, where men are men.

- A loli

 

...

..

 

Sorry, wrong forum.

[Gromnir]

have not read any of this thread, so am hopeful we ain't the only person to observe that this is The Worst Poll... Evar. serious. not joking. writers should do their bestest to makes compelling characters. let audience pigeonhole as archetypes, but am thinking it is pure jackassery to, for even a nanosecond, consider whether a given character fulfills some audience approved list o' archetypes.

 

follows is what maybe should be prime corollary for any writing endeavor meant for popular consumption: never give people what they ask for. is no joke. you give people what they ask for and they will hate you. cliché. trite. hackneyed. derivative. DULL. what we as a group ask for is stupid and too terrible to endure. sure, meeting extreme general expectations is a safe bet for developers, but ultimately, to be good, you needs to surprise audience.

 

list of archetypes? *snort*

 

HA! Good Fun!

[ravenshrike]

I'll give this one some more thought then I'll vote. But in the meantime, there is one archtype I most definitely *don't* wanna see: The red-headed female rogue.

 

Seriously, do you know how over-used that one is?

 

BG1 had a red-headed female rogue (Imoen)

BG2 had 2 red-headed female rogues (Imoen, Nalia)

Planescape: Torment had a red-headed female rogue (Annah)

Neverwinter Nights had a red-headed female rogue (Sharwin)

Neverwinter Nights 2 had a red-headed female rogue (Neeshka)

Dragon Age: Origins had a red-headed female rogue (Lelianna)

 

Please Obsidian, buck this trend with Project Eternity.

 

Thanks in advance.

You do realize that now there will be a turquoise-headed female rogue right?

[metiman]

Good writers don't create their characters from archetypes/stereotypes. Full stop. And the cliches listed in the poll are all awful. Those stereotypes may be good for developers like Bethesda or Bioware, who don't have any writers on staff. Obsidian doesn't have that problem. Also, it's presumptuous of you to even suggest such things.