Characters from games that you HATE and don't whanna see in PE (or even be inspired)

[TrashMan]

Hi

 

Im curius about wat type of characters you hate in games (we have alredy love ones)

 

And here goes one that i simply hated Elanee (she was simply the worst character in this game)

 

 

She was damp boring and over moralised

 

And here goes another well done character

 

Cassavir

 

 

He is also boring like rotting wood nut he at least has excuse his fanatic paladin

 

I wound disagree with you there.

 

Elanee was not a bad character. Greately misunderstood, yes.

So many people got hanged up on one of her lines, branding her a creepy stalker.... it's sad really

 

[TrashMan]

I'm not fond of generic mumzy or housewifey kinds, like the Human Noble's mother Eleanor in Dragon Age: Origins ("T'was the gentler arts that landed me a husband," even though she used to be an amazing fighter, indeed) and especially Hawke's mother Leandra Amell from Dragon Age 2. ("My children deserve to be among nobility!" Well, you should have thought of that before you abandoned your noble lifestyle to marry a vagabond apostate and only returned decades later to call on said wealth when your new life wasn't working for you, shouldn't you?)

 

I get that not every player is not going to like every character. I understand that the developers are working hard to make sure every companion is optional so we don't have to be around characters we don't like, so I'm not worried about companions... but for crying out loud, if we get saddled with some useless, simpering, whining, nagging, fussing, self-entitled little housewifey-poo who can't function without her husband or a mumzy that has no life outside of her children, my character will seriously attempt (if not commit) matricide. 

 

I don't know if our characters are going to have parents in the game, but if we do, I implore the creators of Project Eternity to please not give us generic mumzy types like Eleanor from DA:O or Leandra from DA2. I'd prefer a baddass like Adaia, I'll take an abusive drunk like Kala, I'll accept an emotionally distant and neglectful foster father like Daeghun, and I'll even take the cliche dead or missing parents; but for crying out loud, please not the mumzy type! D:

 

 

So every archetype is OK except that one?

 

If this is supposed to be a roleplaying game and you don't get to choose who your parents are, then I don't see why you should get to choose their personality. You can only react to it.

Not every parent can be an abusive bastard ya know? There has to be some more normal, "boring" parents out there too. Does every character have to be some extreeme?

 

I wonder - does life de-sensitizes us to that extent?

[TrashMan]

I have the idea for the most original companion ever.....
 a wall.

 

You never had a companion like that? He's always giving you the silent treatment and is not afraid to get in your way.

[Ulquiorra]

 

Hi

 

Im curius about wat type of characters you hate in games (we have alredy love ones)

 

And here goes one that i simply hated Elanee (she was simply the worst character in this game)

 

 

She was damp boring and over moralised

 

And here goes another well done character

 

Cassavir

 

 

He is also boring like rotting wood nut he at least has excuse his fanatic paladin

 

I wound disagree with you there.

 

Elanee was not a bad character. Greately misunderstood, yes.

So many people got hanged up on one of her lines, branding her a creepy stalker.... it's sad really

 

 

And u got something sepcific for protecting her ?

 

Or you just no becouse no !

 

She tells almost nothing, she moralise, shes jesous like child, she is boring always serius character that has only demands also ... she is creepe .. sorry but character that pumps out of shadow to say "HAY i help ya but don't ask me who i'am and why i wanna help you becouse you will have -2 influence on me and also always lisen to me and agree in everything becouse you will have -2 influence and for the last ... don't make painting for shardra becouse im jealous but i pretend that don't realy like so play my childish games or you will have... -4 to influence" is just creapy ... expecialy as fanatic driud...

 

There realy were moment i what tu put my axe in her head .... just to make world better place ..

Edited January 28, 2013 by Ulquiorra

[Naurgalen]

1) Anders from DA2 or 2) Kaidan Alenko from ME1 (he didnt survived muahahaha!!!). Ashly 2, but Kaidan was just sooo worse that I dont ever had a doubt who to sacrifice.

[Valsuelm]

While there are characters from games I don't like, I'm not against having them in the game.

 

We all have the option of bringing or not bringing NPC X with us.

 

ie: I never really liked Edwin in BG (I preferred Xzar as my evil wizard), yet a lot of people liked him. I don't begrudge them their having Edwin in the game, and it never really bothered me that he was in the game.

 

One thing I would ask is that if we must have a overstereotypical character such as Khelgar from NWN2 in game that he not be found so early in the game where you're somewhat obliged to take him with you. I personally don't know if I can take yet another dwarf with a Scottish accent.

 

Save the super stereotypical NPCs that join you for later in the game. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Bartimaeus]

People who are saying that annoying characters are not necessarily bad characters, (or something similar - see above post, for example): fair enough. Difference between games like Baldur's Gate and Mass Effect/Neverwinter Nights, though, of course, is that you can horribly murder almost anyone you want in the former, and you don't have to accept nearly every potential party member you meet into your "pool" party, so to speak. Really, if I can do either of those, (not accept anyone I don't want to accept - or murder anyone I want to murder; preferably both), then I pretty much totally agree with you, as you can simply with characters you don't like if they bother you so much.

[Shadenuat]

Would be only fair to state this one on a judgement on what Obsidian provided.

 

SWTOR2

This is one where your enemies are more interesting than your own companions, for sure. It is partly because game had a lot of content cut and we could't explore characters enough, but generaly, the issue boils down to an idea that Exiles crew does not have character as itself, but just mimics players actions (Virgil type). And while this is supported by an interesting concept and plot, in the end, it does not really matter, because the idea just makes companions more forgetable. Lot of them, exept droids and Kreia (and Mandalore, I think), are gullible and are tied to the past.

You know, that thing that companions in games always live in the past will haunt Obsidian for some time, and not only them, but a lot of others. It's kinda neat once, maybe twice, but when every person you meet has some past troubles that need to be resolved you really start to wonder how the heck did they live without you all that time, if their only future is to follow you afterwards without any new agendas. Up tenfold for Bioware with it's cast of daddy/mommy/sister issues... that's why people like Mordin the most - he is the only one absolutely bound to idea, and achieves it in the end (or not, but really, you gave him that, did't you?).

So yeah. Gullible, controlled, living in the past characters. Give me a break.

 

NWN2

Oh don't even let me out here. There is a reason gals adore Bishop. And it's not just because he is a bad boy, not really. I think that's because he is the only one in the whole party who has a brain and thinks for himself, and makes decisions. And values his own life. Ammon Jero is the other passable dude there.

Everyone else, writing quality aside, follows a set of rules which for some apparent reason forbids them *thinking*. Characters as bullets, pawns of the plot, moving forward without having a second thought on the nature of what happens with them. Mostly unkillable and player dependant.

Let's do without unkillable and plot-dependant this time. And Elanee. **** Elanee. **** KnowGirl. And Grobnar, yes, can do without him too. I know it's the hardest thing, to do classic archetypes well, but these are no excuse.

 

NWN2 MotB

Damn, what happened? The gap in a writing quality between NWN2 and MotB is so enormous you'd think I am playing another studio's game. The weakest as, "overall", for me was Gannayev, although weakest here means he is better than anyone from previous campaign.

MotB has a character cast which is just absolutely reverse of KOTOR2. Which means - everyone has a clear goal, everyone is very different in what they want, approve or dissaprove, and even if somebody is living in the past, it's Planescape-deconstruction-180*-MCAdrunkExtravaganza. Some mommy issues (twice), daddy (once), but very tolerable.

The weak chain - Safiya and her over-the-top obsession with main character, almost biowarian so. Sudden, thousand years old love reveal. Cute, but cringeworthy.

 

Alpha Protocol

I remember Sie because she was so ridicilous, and Albatros and pink haired girl, because pink haired girl was tied to Albatros, and Albatros is a bird name. There were't any companions per se... Spy Movies are't my thing. I thought this game had the most forgetable and comical characters.

 

Fallout: New Vegas

So after AP, it's like they said "Okay, screw this, let's return to a way of writing where player does't actually have to mash buttons and can explore characters again". Thanks Bethesda. You are about as fun as a hiking simulator, but you once again pressed Obsidian writing into a standard dialogue-tree form, and it's...

...great! Not as great as MotB, but in the right direction. They have stories, they are acting on their own again. Veronica is my personal favorite, because she is everything I want a companion to be - a thinking person with it's own agenda and not living in a past.

Unlike, say, Boone or Ganon. Another goddamn revenge/suffering from years ago. Just how do these people live, really, immoveable, forgotten in their past, sitting on a chair or in a sniper nest... will they die and would not reach their goal if player won't stumble on them, forever?

I wish them all be like Veronica or Cass. Living, thinking, trying, changing.

 

Dungeon Siege 3:

Err heh... uhhu huhum... yeah, well, they are't *bad*. I just fail to remember much about them.

 

So yeah, characters I don't want to see:

- Ones who mimic player to suit him better and be useful

- Ones obsessed with the past without believeable life in the present and watching into the future

- Ones who are pawns for the plot in a sense that they never asks themselves why are they are following it and what's happening

- Ones whos family I can't meet alive and well

Edited January 28, 2013 by Shadenuat

[JFSOCC]

Would be only fair to state this one on a judgement on what Obsidian provided.

 

SWTOR2

This is one where your enemies are more interesting than your own companions, for sure. It is partly because game had a lot of content cut and we could't explore characters enough, but generaly, the issue boils down to an idea that Exiles crew does not have character as itself, but just mimics players actions (Virgil type). And while this is supported by an interesting concept and plot, in the end, it does not really matter, because the idea just makes companions more forgetable. Lot of them, exept droids and Kreia (and Mandalore, I think), are gullible and are tied to the past.

You know, that thing that companions in games always live in the past will haunt Obsidian for some time, and not only them, but a lot of others. It's kinda neat once, maybe twice, but when every person you meet has some past troubles that need to be resolved you really start to wonder how the heck did they live without you all that time, if their only future is to follow you afterwards without any new agendas. Up tenfold for Bioware with it's cast of daddy/mommy/sister issues... that's why people like Mordin the most - he is the only one absolutely bound to idea, and achieves it in the end (or not, but really, you gave him that, did't you?).

So yeah. Gullible, controlled, living in the past characters. Give me a break.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I disagree with this.

[AGX-17]

Well, there aren't going to be characters from any other game because that would be copyright infringement. Not to mention the fact that you people (we all know who I mean,) have a rather insulting expectation that Obsidian's writers need to copy bad characters from other games.

 

I don't understand where you (the ones who think P:E's characters are going to be directly lifted/plagiarized or carbon copies of characters from other games, there are multiple threads on this subject,) get this idea.

Edited January 29, 2013 by AGX-17

[Bartimaeus]

Well, there aren't going to be characters from any other game because that would be copyright infringement. Not to mention the fact that you people (we all know who I mean,) have a rather insulting expectation that Obsidian's writers need to copy bad characters from other games.

 

I don't understand where you (the ones who think P:E's characters are going to be directly lifted/plagiarized or carbon copies of characters from other games, there are multiple threads on this subject,) get this idea.

 

The OP is nearly illegible to begin with - don't think most of us were literally thinking directly from other sources. That wouldn't work, for a myriad of reasons.

[Zoraptor]

It's probably because archetypes are very prevalent in RPGs. Mainly thanks to Bioware ("Korgarous Wrexwind" "Anoarth Skyden") but Obsidian has done it previous since there are very notable similarities between- as below- the cast of PST and K2, and to a lesser extent MOTB.

 

 

Would be only fair to state this one on a judgement on what Obsidian provided.

 

SWTOR2

This is one where your enemies are more interesting than your own companions, for sure. It is partly because game had a lot of content cut and we could't explore characters enough, but generaly, the issue boils down to an idea that Exiles crew does not have character as itself, but just mimics players actions (Virgil type). And while this is supported by an interesting concept and plot, in the end, it does not really matter, because the idea just makes companions more forgetable. Lot of them, exept droids and Kreia (and Mandalore, I think), are gullible and are tied to the past.

You know, that thing that companions in games always live in the past will haunt Obsidian for some time, and not only them, but a lot of others. It's kinda neat once, maybe twice, but when every person you meet has some past troubles that need to be resolved you really start to wonder how the heck did they live without you all that time, if their only future is to follow you afterwards without any new agendas. Up tenfold for Bioware with it's cast of daddy/mommy/sister issues... that's why people like Mordin the most - he is the only one absolutely bound to idea, and achieves it in the end (or not, but really, you gave him that, did't you?).

So yeah. Gullible, controlled, living in the past characters. Give me a break.

I cannot even begin to explain how much I disagree with this.

 

 

I actually agree with it as substance, just not as criticism. The point does rather seem to have been missed though that the companions in K2 like those in PST are meant to be reflections of and bound to the PC as a fundamental part of their design and purpose. They aren't as much deconstructions as the companions in PST (might have got close if you had the intended option of Hanharr as a dark jedi) but their thematic purpose is almost identical.

[Frenetic Pony]

Bao-Dur

 

 

Perhaps the most annoying NPC I've ever been forced to have in a party. Recently played KOTOR 2 again, and I wanted to bash his head in every moment he was in the party. His voice was screetchingly painful to hear, his attitude was, agressively passive. Say something, choose something, stop... being you and die! Just fantastically grating, even more so than Elanee (NWN 2) or "The Bioware guy" (Alistair, Carth, etc.)

[Frenetic Pony]

On the other hand, I'd have to disagree with much of the bashing of NWN 2's cast.

 

I loved Qara. FIRE! Fire everywhere ahahahaaaaa! Having an actual manian on your team was fun. As was Bishop, who at least seemed intelligent, and Ammon Gero. Even Sand was good, because it was so easy and fun to dislike that prick.

 

On the other hand I don't really even remember much ABOUT KOTOR 2's crew, even though I replayed it so recently. Kreia was, sort of forgettable. I dig that she was supposed to be some nuanced, other take on the force, but I didn't see much to here besides "I'm manipulating you". Visas and etc. are ALL just, they're weird but seem odd for the sake of being odd, not memorable AND odd.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Frenetic Pony

[TRX850]

There should be an option to add custom voice sets like in IWD/IWD2.

 

So if you want Beavis and Butt-head, or Arnold Schwarzenegger, or

in your party, drag and drop. Problem solved.

[TRX850]

I loved Qara. FIRE! Fire everywhere ahahahaaaaa!

 

As a sorceress, Qara was a useful companion. But any time you have someone in your team who is not a team player, it feels more like a waste of time rather than roleplaying all the "conflict resolution". It's like watching an episode of "The Apprentice".

 

Personally, I could have done without her attitude. I remember her for all the wrong reasons, to the point where I built my own sorcerer and played the game without her, just so I didn't have to listen to her. Her voice was like a cheese grater against the side of my head. Same with Neeshka.

[Darkpriest]

Geez, I really do not get the issues that people have with some of the mentioned characters. You may _personally_ dislike them, but that does not mean they were badly written...

 

1) Do they represent the class archetypes?

2) Do they represent their assumed alignment and moral stance?

3) Do they represent their stats?

4) Do they represent their cultural background?

 

Now the things that are also important and make a mediocre character turn into a great one

 

5) The reason for joining the player's team and staying with him to the end

6) Their own story and own mission within the game that shows something slightly exceptional about that character, when comparing to more common NPCs

 

I see some whining on characters which had strong personal beliefs, such as Casavir, Carth, etc. - they are not badly written, and they would really lose a lot of their appeal, if they were different. Given points 1 to 4, they work well. In fact, if their personalities and their character coherency is what makes you annoyed, that means they work well. The worst that can happen is a character that you've played with and don't even remember it now. The ones that drive indifference car.

 

The things that make a character bad are generally ideas pulled out of the ass and not really fitting the world that's been presented around you (example - for me it was the space child and space ninja in ME3). I have to admit that most of characters in DA2 I hardly even remember, and from DA:O I need to think for a while to recall them all and their roles.

 

In BG series I'd also have problems with describing all of the potential companions, but that is just because all of them were completely optional and I have never taken some into the party (because I was full already )

[Cultist]

Elanee - was horrible, and unavoidable, which made it even more horrible.

Fenris - animu emo homo whiner. Couldn't get any worse.

Khelgar Ironfist - forced to join you no matter how you resist.

Sand - words can't express how annoying he was.

Bao-Dur- he was so....empty and shallow.

Jacob(ME) and Miranda- something makes me want to shot them.

Leliana - could be just annoying, but with BioWare's decision to retcon her she moved to the most despised in my list.

Mina Tang- she was incredibly annoying during entire Alpha Protocol and I'm thankful to Obsidian that they allowed me to kill her.

 

And the prize winner - Tallis from Dragon Age 2:MotA. She was the worst of them all combined.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Cultist

[Shadenuat]

I actually agree with it as substance, just not as criticism. The point

does rather seem to have been missed though that the companions in K2

like those in PST are meant to be reflections of and bound to the PC as a fundamental part of their design and purpose.

If companions only purpose is PC, it's hard to respect them.

It worked better in Planescape because of the novelty and how the fundamental concept of the Past had ties to everything around you there. And... Planescape cast is just better written.

 

P.S. I hope characters in P:E won't follow PC "because souls". There are already weapons and combat techniques which work better "because souls", so... yeah.

Edited January 29, 2013 by Shadenuat

[Ulquiorra]

Well, there aren't going to be characters from any other game because that would be copyright infringement. Not to mention the fact that you people (we all know who I mean,) have a rather insulting expectation that Obsidian's writers need to copy bad characters from other games.

 

I don't understand where you (the ones who think P:E's characters are going to be directly lifted/plagiarized or carbon copies of characters from other games, there are multiple threads on this subject,) get this idea.

 

 let me explain.

 

A) This is not about copy and pase but simple inspiration ---> characters that we don't whant to be inspirations gor PE becouse they are shallow

 

B) We simple say that we don't want character maked like are most hated ones,  they life only becouse someone was lasy or had low skills and er don't what some characters made the same way

 

C) Do you have to take everything literally ?

[Alexjh]

Fenris - animu emo homo whiner. Couldn't get any worse.

 

Much as Fenris very much seemed like he got lost on the way to being the protagonist of a JRPG that is not excuse for homophobia.

[moridin84]

Haha, first thing I thought when reading the title was "Elanee", second was "Cassavir". I truely loathed Elanee's character and Cassavir was really boring and shallow. 

 

Alistair (Dragon Age) could be considered to be a similar "whining" character but I liked him. Part of this was because he was funny, another part is because he did he more than just whine all the time.

 

Morrigan (Dragon Age) was a character who complained of your actions when you acted against her personal beliefs but I liked her too. Part of this is again because she was funny, another part is that she actually would argue with you (as opposed to just preaching) and had complex reasons for her opinions. Yet another reason is that she actually had a lot of conversations outside of "I believe this" and "plot".

Edited January 29, 2013 by moridin84

[Frenetic Pony]

 

I loved Qara. FIRE! Fire everywhere ahahahaaaaa!

 

As a sorceress, Qara was a useful companion. But any time you have someone in your team who is not a team player, it feels more like a waste of time rather than roleplaying all the "conflict resolution". It's like watching an episode of "The Apprentice".

 

Personally, I could have done without her attitude. I remember her for all the wrong reasons, to the point where I built my own sorcerer and played the game without her, just so I didn't have to listen to her. Her voice was like a cheese grater against the side of my head. Same with Neeshka.

Hey, I loved Neeshka as well! My NWN 2 party was usually her, Qara, me, and swapping someone.

 

At least you remember them, and could avoid them if you liked. That, I suppose, at least shows a solid character. Some NPC you remember, has a definitive personality, and can either take on or avoid as you wish. If you end up with an NPC you HAVE to have, that's bad because who's to say you enjoy them?

 

If you end up with an NPC you don't remember at all, then what was the point of them? As long as there's a wide variety of NPC's to choose from, and they're memorable, then that seems good to me.

[TRX850]

Hey, I loved Neeshka as well! My NWN 2 party was usually her, Qara, me, and swapping someone.

 

For me, it never felt right to have such young NPCs in the party. Neeshka reminded me of a cheerleader, and Qara was the highschool bully you love to hate.

 

If there was a way to turn off the voice-over, I must've missed it.

 

I prefer more mature, cynical, and politically incorrect types. Ones that have *earned* the right to be cranky.  Some of the NPCs from BG/BG2 were a bit like that.

[Umberlin]

 

I was wondering what a teenager like Mission Vao was doing on an epic quest to end a trans-galactic war.

 

I also think that she coud be a little bit older ...

 

Funny, I more often find myself wondering why characters that are older than children/teenagers in games, on these 'epic' quests have next to zero skills, sometimes not even starting at level 1, being somehow below that.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Umberlin