How often does your backstory come into play?

[Aron Times]

I'm talking about race, class, culture, and background. In my first and second runs, I played an island armada fighter from the Deadfire Archipelago who used to be a merchant. Not including the prologue, here's how often my backstory elements came into play.

 

1. Island Aumaua - Lots of references to me being a big, tough guy who wasn't from around these parts. No mention of my subrace, though.

 

2. Fighter - I remember it coming up exactly once, in the quest where you have to get a bear and a lion to fight each other.

 

3. Deadfire Archipelago - Never came up, not even with Kana and other aumaua. There were several dialogue options for Ruatai, though, which I didn't have access to.

 

4. Merchant - Never came up directly as a dialogue option, but was commented on by the shady Vaillian merchant who crossed the Doemenels, as well as the goddess Ondra herself.

 

The personal and faction reputations came into play a lot more often that I lost count.

[Peanuckle]

I played as a Mercenary, and IIRC Magran made an offer based on that when I spoke to her at Twin Elms.

[Lillyhime]

I've played through the first town on my moon godlike wizard, former slave from old Vaillian.

 

So far no one mentioned her godlike status. No one has mentioned her elven subrace.

Slave background is brought up later, in the area that the beta took place in. I'm not there yet.

Durance brought up her being a wizard when talking about firearms and stuff.

[Starwars]

I played an Orlan Cipher from the Ixamitl Plains on my first playthrough. Chose the Philosopher background that pissed of the priesthood.

 

Being an Orlan came up a few times, mostly minor stuff. Durance said I deserved being a slave at one point.

 

Being a Cipher also came up a few times here and there.

 

Ixamitl Plains? Once or twice I think, can't really remember.

 

Philosopher background, again, once or twice as I recall. It did however give me a fantastic option when the elf woman tells you that the gods aren't real near the end of the game. Based on the background, my character said "I KNEW IT!" which I thought was hilarious.

[JNinness]

Deadfire Archipelago actually did come up once for me with Kana. Not as a separate dialogue option, but in his response to the line about him not looking like he's from Rauatai.

[Christliar]

I was a moon godlike priest of Berath with artist background from Vailia

Priest - It came up once after the fight with the first bear in the cave after the tutorial. I could "ease" the dead trapper's spirit. It never mattered that I worshiped Berath.

Moon godlike - Maybe once when a person told me "you aren't from around here." It also came up when I tried to put on the Woedica hood and it told me it doesn't quite fit right. Nothing with Pallegina which is strange.

Artist - 2 times, once in the tutorial and once with Hylea (I think)

Vailia - Once or twice. I remember clearly that I could understand what the spider-thing in the Endless Paths was telling me. I just remarked  that it was a very old dialect. Pallegina was glad to meet a countryfellow.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Christliar

[Bluthtonite]

On my first playthrough, I went with a Fire Godlike Monk, a Dissident from the Ixamitl Plains.

 

Fire Godlike came up, if I recall correctly, twice: once in the beginning, when you can use your fiery head to light those braziers, and again in Defiance Bay when that boy that offers to show you something secret reacted to the unusual appearance;

 

Monk: once, when I had the option to react to a threat by taking up a fighting stance.

 

Dissident: My memory's a bit hazy, but I believe this was brought up by both Skaen and Thaos.

 

Ixamitl: never.

 

To be fair, once I got to Act 3 I really rushed to the end. I just got impatient. So I know I missed a ton of stuff.

[Gallenger]

I was a pale elf paladin mystic

 

- The pale elfness came up a few times, particularly with Sagani and the Pale elves in Twin Elms at Rymrgand's temple. 

 

- The Paladinialness came up 3-4 times, particularly in gilded vale and the crucible keep, where my choice of order was belittled openly, it lead to certain "misunderstandings" lol

 

- My being a mystic came in several times with the watcher dialogues - because the "visions" you have are often explained by the PC in a religious context instead of simply having watcher abilities.  He also got to question Rymrgand and Gallawain a *little* more deeply about the visions they give you. 

[Yria]

- The pale elfness came up a few times, particularly with Sagani and the Pale elves in Twin Elms at Rymrgand's temple. 

- My being a mystic came in several times with the watcher dialogues - because the "visions" you have are often explained by the PC in a religious context instead of simply having watcher abilities.  He also got to question Rymrgand and Gallawain a *little* more deeply about the visions they give you. 

Whoa, that's nice, I was planning to try a Pale elf mystic myself. Thanks for the info. 

 

For my first character, nature godlike-philosopher from Ixamitl, nobody ever refered to her country of origin, but being a philosopher got a couple of mentions. One was from the noble's bodyguard ('Blood Legacy' quest), another in a random dialogue with Kana, when he asked my opinion about animancy. I don't remember the "I KNEW IT' option in the final conversation with Iovara, though   Would've been great to say that, but alas.

 

Being a godlike brought me only one unique interaction, the one that was already mentioned: my character had problems with a hood in the Woedica temple, and the Acolyte noticed that there was something off with the way she weared it. I found it quite funny. 

[phimseto]

It hasn't proven to be a major factor (coastal aumana, white that wends, fighter, mercenary), but manifests here and there in interesting places. A conversation with Sagani about interesting sights led to a cute aside about how nothing looks as good as the borealis in the White that Wends, a guy vetted me for a job because I had a merc background, being an aumana comes up here and there, and all the various backgrounds have occasionally offered up dialogue options. 

 

It is done well, and certainly more often than I would expect and sometimes in unusual, but surprising and welcome, spots (like the conversation with Sagani).