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

[Fluffboll]

 

Yes, but since we have an adventurers hall, we could create our own, should you so desire

 

And i am sure that you will be able to talk to them and know them better, mayby some shots or beers and "Romance" status or "Brothers in amrs" completed.

If it's a character I hate why would I want to talk to them and why would I want to have a drink with them? I want to murder them and bury them in the woods not date them

[cyanidhogg]

Still, I'm hesitant to just sweepingly say, "No characters like X."

 

(...)

 

Beyond that, I suppose I'm not a big fan of tropes when it feels like they're just filling in the blanks.

This. Tropes aren't bad in and of themselves, but stereotypical characters tend to bore my pants off.

 

And if there's one stereotype I absolutely hate, it's the fantasy dwarf. Monk ambitions or no, I hated Khelgar from minute one. Dragon Age's Oghren was much, much, much worse.

[Sacred_Path]

I definitely can do without the streetwise, cheeky rogue. Especially if said rogue is an easily excitable female. I think everyone can think of 1 or 2 examples there.

[Karkarov]

So I guess I am the only person who came to this thread to say he would love if cliche Do'Urden or someone like him does not show up in this game.

[marelooke]

Any characters I am stuck with tbh. That was my main gripe with NWN2, you're stuck with your party, I *really* don't want to take people that I don't like and that don't like me to go and fight the final baddy. It makes not sense at all. I mean, I really don't want a haughty insane pyromaniac around, don't bloody force her on me.

 

There's a lot of characters I'm not too fond of,but very often it's either just my personal opinion (I can't stand zealots) or they were badly or inconsistently written. Or just too bland.

 

There is however one character who's guts I really really hate: Anders, overdoing the overdone tormented mage by massively overdoing it, and then some (did I mention they overdid it, a lot?). If anyone can think of a character I find more annoying than him I'll buy you a virtual beer (before anyone brings it up: no, I don't think Anomen is more annoying [well, he's annoying in a different way], Anomen is actually very very well written).

[FlintlockJazz]

What characters I hope they don't use for inspiration?  Gosh, where to begin?  I'm like a candy in a kid's store, wait have I got that wrong?  No matter, here's my list of characters that I despise, not for being unlikeable characters (since that would imply they were good characters) but simply being bad in some form or another (opinion of course, but mine is always right obviously):

 

Morrigan (DAO)

Qara (NWN2)

Zaeed (ME2)

Morinth (ME2)

Miranda (ME2)

Duncan (DAO guy, the one who recruits you into the wardens)

Jack (ME2)

Kratos (God of War)

Bishop (NWN2)

That guardsman who lets you walk off with the bloody amulet after the emperor dies (TES 4: Oblivion)

Thrall (Warcraft 3)

Aerie (BG2)

 

These are characters that I feel for one reason or another are badly designed, one-dimensional, cliched, forced upon you or are obviously the creators pet mary-sue, and didn't compensate for this flaw with being an enjoyable character to have around.

[Rostere]

I like annoying characters, as long as they can get into a fight with the other party members.

 

Also the ability to kill companions as any other NPC is a must.

[stkaye]

Nobody outright bland (Kaiden Alenko, I'm looking at you).

 

Nobody who whines. Actually whines. Like Carth Onasi. What a drip. (If an NPC is going to challenge us - and they should! - let it be forthright and intelligent and bold).

 

Nobody from Lord of the Rings. No archetypical wise, nature-loving, super-powered elves; no quintessentially gruff, stalwart, steadfast, stubborn dwarves.

 

No disgustingly naive female characters. These are everywhere. Aerie, Merrill, Liara in ME1, etc.

[spudud]

The duck hunt dog. 

But seriously, no Carth Onasi types or Qara(flipped out every time you said hello or something.)

[Inq]

I pretty much don't like any of the ice queen or battle obsessed brute characters.

[AGX-17]

 

 

No necromancers or anthropomorphic animals.

 

 

See what I did there?

 

Edited April 12, 2013 by AGX-17

[Aeschylus]

I like Jack from the ME series, Aerie from FF, I liked Oghren :D, Just be 'different" but not stupid, I think everyone is over the Morale Paladin or the old Gandolf like wizard.

[Sensuki]

To be honest I don't think we have too much to worry about, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of characters (especially the ones Josh makes) are loosely based off obscure to the general public historical figures.

[Morality Games]

This is getting mildly ridiculous. Negative reactions have ranged from "Everyone except Bishop" in NWN2 to "Only Bishshop" in NWN2 to the entire cast of Kotor II and every shade between across all Obsidian and non-Obsidian RPGs -- including popular, Award-Winning characters like Kreia and fan favorites like Alistar. 

 

[Keyrock]

I definitely agree with the OP, especially about Elanee.  I don't know if I can think of a single companion I detest more than Elanee.

[Ineth]

Aerie - most annoying NPC in BG2.

[Frenetic Pony]

Aerie - most annoying NPC in BG2.

 

I liked Aeries, always had her in my party

 

Oh, I hate gruff, rough, amoral characters that suddenly turn out to be sympathetic generic do gooders. Roland from King's the Dark Tower (he was so friggen COOL in the first book!) Or Michael Sullivan's Riyria series. Way to go from badass thieves that can at least semi legitimately joke about selling a girl into slavery to a pair of shining white generi-knights. Ugh.

 

The "transformation" of almost any character from interesting and unique to generi-hero #1114339 would probably be awfully boring. Fortunately I doubt with Avellone that's not likely. What is likely though is some inhamanly odd character from a David Lynch movie . Like his stories sometimes but man, most of the time his characters can often go off into nutter land and not in an entertaining way ala Jack Sparrow/Tyler Durden/Etc.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Frenetic Pony

[Woldan]

I have grown to dislike *extremely* stereotypical characters that come from one of the standardized RPG character molds, just like...

* Aerie
* Morrigan
* Leliana
* Zevran
* Isabella
* Oghren

* Merill

 

There is nothing inherently wrong with creating stereotypical characters for games, but some of them have been done to death (and beyond) and I hope I will not see them again for at least a decade or two, neither in TV nor in computer games or in any other kind of media. 

The witty charming over-sexualized rogue with a hidden agenda / secret
The insecure inexperienced shy pixie/elf mage
The power hungry selfish cold semi-evil mage
The typical axe swinging ale-gargling dwarf barbarian

 

...to name a few.

[Ulquiorra]

I have grown to dislike *extremely* stereotypical characters that come from one of the standardized RPG character molds, just like...

 

* Aerie

* Morrigan

* Leliana

* Zevran

* Isabella

* Oghren

* Merill

 

* Aerie - A winged elf character that is lawful good and most of the time "Nice and friendly". The only character in BG2 that has romance when some guy can still her from you ... (never seen in game romances ever after) yeah bery not-original)

 

* Morrigan - Witch that in most cases is not friendly but thinks and has more "women" side of her ... she whoud be excelent BUT she was unfinished character ... expecionaly her ending .. if biowere whoud kill that pointess lelianna and put more effotrs to Morrigan DA-O whoud be much better game.

 

* Leliana - I think that she was not so sterotypical but .... shallow, unconvincing, unlogic and stupid ... sory but if i had a dream about "Roses" i whoud never assume that i must go to a war with some mutated creatures ... sory but dump as **** !

 

* Zevran - A BISEXUAL ASSASIN ... yeah we have them in all games even in solitre ! haha ... i think that he was TO ORIGINAL ... i think that if he whoud be at least 30-40 % more stero-typical "ASSASIN" not so "ASS GIVING ASSASIN" he whoud be much better character ... expecionaly his romance option sems almost "Forced"

 

* Isabella - Dunno ... i don't play DA2 becose i knew that will be ****ty game ...

 

* Merill - the same as Isabella

 

* Oghren - Yeah he was a little bit stereotypical ... but i still like that drunkard !

Edited April 19, 2013 by Ulquiorra

[Kjaamor]

I always find threads like this interesting, because they tend to show the full range of reactions npcs provoke, and the different experiences and expectations people have.

 

Personally, a lot of the characters accused of being 'irritating' in this thread were some of my favourite npcs, because they tended to bring the party to life. When I think of my favourite pcRPG characters, I immediately think of people like Aerie, Nalia, Anomen, Xan, Bastila, Mission, even Alistair (who I regard as one of the saving graces of an otherwise profoundly mediocre game).

 

Frankly, and I know I'm opening the floodgates for a torrent of abuse here, the only active npcs I can think of who made games unpleasant for me (which is different than disliking their personality but finding it immersive - ie, Kreia) were Morte and Nordom, who to me spent far too much of the game seemingly mocking me for playing it (passively in Nordom's case).

 

I think that if this thread shows anything, it's that it's worth generally creating npcs who fill similar roles, but offer different personalities. I'm sure, as others have said, that Josh et al can do rather better than airlift characters from other games, but as an example if the cleric resembles Aerie then make the Druid resemble HK. At least that way people can have a viable choice as to the personality of their party dependant upon their personal tastes.

 

...or, of course, don't, and I will love P:E forever for making a game where I struggled with a sub-optimal party to keep around characters I liked. Alas I think I'd be in the minority enjoying that.

 

Anyway, to get back to the core of the matter, I disliked Morte and Nordom, so flame away.

[Slayen]

There is really one, and only one character from a past Obsidian game which I would kill to never see the likes of every again.

 

And that is Kreia.

 

I hate her.

 

Actually no, let me rephrase that.  I LOATH her.

 

Never in a game have I had such a powerfull urge to just flat out murder a party member.  Correction, flat out murder a character before., party member or otherwise.

 

Every single other character that has thus far been mentioned has at the absolute worst produced a "::shrug:: whatever" reaction.

 

So please Obsidian, I beg of you, don't go down this road again.  Or if you do, please let me pen her in the dead book or at least ignore her entirely.

 

Oh, and on a lesser note, try and not repeat Bao-Dur either.  I didn't hate him, but he was just so... bland.  To put it bluntly, he made Kaiden and Jacob (of the ME fame) look like wild and crazy guys in comparison.

[Crystal]

I don’t like to group with children or “child-like” characters. That counts all kind of children, since those smarter than adults to those autistic ‘special’. Either adults who act or think as children, like Leliana in Dragon Age, or those too fragile are very annoying too. Even “child-replacer races” like hobbits, or those cute little people big-headed of anime or Japanese RPG, I really don’t like them! ha!

 

[Randomthom]

Very interesting reading through this & seeing the big variance in people's preferences. Kjaamor is spot on by saying that making a good variety of characters to cover all party roles is the best way to approach this.

Maybe have an amicable albeit idealistic monk and a cruel, gruff & uncompromising barbarian. Both fill the same role of a front-line combatant but give different personalities.

 

I just hope they don't do a NWN2: MotB on us. If you choose Evil (killing Okku) & you're not a melee character then you're basically screwed for half the game. It just had far too small a companion selection. Something NWN2 OC wasn't so guilty of (though the OC lacked any evil companions except Bishop who was so horribly disney-evil) and Jerro who was only available late in the story (and was also disappointingly weak considering all the trouble he had put you through up to that point).

 

Again, this is where we have to say tat BG2 had by far the best "supporting cast" of companions.

Ones I personally didn't like were Jaheira, Anomen, Minsc (Boo is cool though) and Cernd (though I dislike Cernd based on the fact that he's a druid and Druids suck).

 

Characters I loved in there were Aerie, Haer'dalis, Keldorn& Viconia (not all together in the same party mind you!) Mazzy was kinda cool too though borderline useless.

 

The lesson to learn, make lots & make them varied. Something for everyone... yes, even make some druids if you have to!

[Micamo]

I could get behind that if the project had an utterly massive number of companions to work with, but last I checked we're only getting 8 (not counting the generic faceless ones you can build yourself). That's not enough to even have one of each class. That means the team has to be economical with what they choose to do with the companions.

 

Honestly, my only request is no token evil companions. If your character concept begins with "I'm chaotic evil" then stop, burn your character sheet, and start over. There's a reason why any sane D&D table will hang a player who tries to act like this and yet somehow every CRPG seems to have to have at least one. If P:E has one then for me it will effectively only have 7 companions instead of 8, because I refuse to interact with them in any way except what's absolutely required of me.

[Catharsis]

I don't want any characters in the game that I don't like, and if I don't get my way I'll throw a tantrum. /sarcasm

 

It's amazing how many people in this thread expect Obsidian to cater to them personally.