Least Liked Companions

[Zwiebelchen]

I don't agree that Sagani should have an accent. Actually, I think she's kind of special in the way that she doesn't have an accent or a weird way of talking, as all the other characters have.

 

And what accent would suit someone who comes from the Eora equivalent of the north pole? Skandinavian accent? Well, duh, skandinavians aren't particulary known for actually having an accent that carries over to the english language.

Scottish? Sorry, but I'm sick of all the scottish accents in games and movies. Heavily overused.

Canadian? I couldn't take her seriously then.

Russian? Sorry, again, overused. Especially in the BG games. And it would feel weird to get reminded of Minsc and Edwin when talking to Sagani.

British? I beg your pardon?

 

There is not really any popular accent in this world that just oozes that "north pole" vibe and is destinct enough. And you might have some trouble finding a voice actor that can do the inuit accent.

 

 

Maybe that's just me, but for me, inuit or north/south pole people don't really have any accent that would work well with the english language. Also, since when does a character desperately need an accent to be likeable? I know I liked Katara and Sokka in The Last Airbender. Both fully accent-free. Both from the south pole.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Crucis]

I don't agree that Sagani should have an accent. Actually, I think she's kind of special in the way that she doesn't have an accent or a weird way of talking, as all the other characters have.

 

And what accent would suit someone who comes from the Eora equivalent of the north pole? Skandinavian accent? Well, duh, skandinavians aren't particulary known for actually having an accent that carries over to the english language.

Scottish? Sorry, but I'm sick of all the scottish accents in games and movies. Heavily overused.

Canadian? I couldn't take her seriously then.

Russian? Sorry, again, overused. Especially in the BG games. And it would feel weird to get reminded of Minsc and Edwin when talking to Sagani.

British? I beg your pardon?

 

There is not really any popular accent in this world that just oozes that "north pole" vibe and is destinct enough. And you might have some trouble finding a voice actor that can do the inuit accent.

 

 

Maybe that's just me, but for me, inuit or north/south pole people don't really have any accent that would work well with the english language. Also, since when does a character desperately need an accent to be likeable? I know I liked Katara and Sokka in The Last Airbender. Both fully accent-free. Both from the south pole.

 

Inuit would be nice, but as you point out, finding one might be tricky.  That said, good voice actors don't necessarily need to be of a certain ethnicity to be able to speak with that accent.  All it'd seem to take is a little time to learn the accent.

 

Some sort of central European/Balkans accent might work.  Think of Mira Furlan (?) who played D'lenn on Babylon 5, for an example of what this could sound like.

 

I agree that Scottish and Russian accents are probably overused.  And there's a lot of variations of British accents.  Besides, the most familiar Brit accent seems too urbane an accent for people from an isolated region like Nassitaq.  A Brit accent would seem more appropriate for an old, established areas like urban areas of, say, Valia or Aedyr.  Seems to me that what one would need is an accent that seems more back woodsey for a back woodsey, isolated place like Nassitaq.

 

But Sagani's utterly bland as vanilla "accent" just doesn't cut it for someone from an isolated region.

[Zwiebelchen]

 

Some sort of central European/Balkans accent might work.  Think of Mira Furlan (?) who played D'lenn on Babylon 5, for an example of what this could sound like.

 

I agree that Scottish and Russian accents are probably overused.  And there's a lot of variations of British accents.  Besides, the most familiar Brit accent seems too urbane an accent for people from an isolated region like Nassitaq.  A Brit accent would seem more appropriate for an old, established areas like urban areas of, say, Valia or Aedyr.  Seems to me that what one would need is an accent that seems more back woodsey for a back woodsey, isolated place like Nassitaq.

 

But Sagani's utterly bland as vanilla "accent" just doesn't cut it for someone from an isolated region.

 

 

Central european? What does that even mean? German accent? Swiss accent? As a german, I can tell you that germans talking english sound just horrible.

And if you go farther east, poland, czech, then you'll instantly go back to russian language territory. Most people won't be able to tell the difference between polish and russian accent.

Balkan accents don't have that north pole vibe either.

 

Maybe some icelandic accent could do ... fits the theme, at least:

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/icelandic_accent_sound

[Nexus0]

One person didn't like Eder? That person hates freedom.

[Gromnir]

One person didn't like Eder? That person hates freedom.

am not a huge fan o' eder, but we like his resolution.  with some o' the other companions we need to actual check our journal to convince us that the companion quest is indeed finished.  eder has a clear resolution, but it ain't some kinda ridiculous epiphany  reached after a half-dozen dialogue encounters with the protagonist.  eder doesn't get his questions answered. on the negative side, am not a fan o' how eder, and most o' the companions, is utilized as info-dumps for setting details.  

 

our least favorite companion is aloth.  the mpd stuff is actual kinda fun/funny, but his big reveal regarding his initial allegiances is handled with a clumsy brevity that makes us hope that material were cut. otherwise it is near criminal for us have so little opportunity respond to aloth's reveal.  

 

1) the mage blurts out his reveal

 

2) the mage shares a brief explanation as to his motivations

 

3) the protagonist is given a choice to hug-it-out or part ways with the mage

 

4) the end

 

...

 

...

 

Gromnir checks journal to see if we missed something.  nope.

 

perhaps a reload?  maybe we missed some important dialogue option? nope.

 

terrible.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Crucis]

 

 

Some sort of central European/Balkans accent might work.  Think of Mira Furlan (?) who played D'lenn on Babylon 5, for an example of what this could sound like.

 

I agree that Scottish and Russian accents are probably overused.  And there's a lot of variations of British accents.  Besides, the most familiar Brit accent seems too urbane an accent for people from an isolated region like Nassitaq.  A Brit accent would seem more appropriate for an old, established areas like urban areas of, say, Valia or Aedyr.  Seems to me that what one would need is an accent that seems more back woodsey for a back woodsey, isolated place like Nassitaq.

 

But Sagani's utterly bland as vanilla "accent" just doesn't cut it for someone from an isolated region.

 

 

Central european? What does that even mean? German accent? Swiss accent? As a german, I can tell you that germans talking english sound just horrible.

And if you go farther east, poland, czech, then you'll instantly go back to russian language territory. Most people won't be able to tell the difference between polish and russian accent.

Balkan accents don't have that north pole vibe either.

 

Maybe some icelandic accent could do ... fits the theme, at least:

http://www.soundboard.com/sb/icelandic_accent_sound

 

 

Germany isn't "central" european to me.  When I hear "central european", I'm thinking the balkans, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, or Poland for the most party.

 

Icelandic could do the trick, I suppose.

 

 

[Clicks]

Sagani. Just can't stand her comments.

[Varana]

Germany isn't "central" european to me.  When I hear "central european", I'm thinking the balkans, Romania... Bulgaria...

 

May I ask where you're from? I feel that that's an interesting notion of Central Europe.

 

---

Even if the voice actor did an Inuit accent, I seriously doubt that more than a tiny percentage of people would recognise it as such. It also wouldn't evoke any specifically north-pole-y feeling, if no one knew what it was. They could have used someone with a Maya or Ethiopian accent, and very few people would know the difference to Inuit. It wouldn't matter what specific accent it is, only that it's distinct from any of the well-known ones.

[Faerunner]

I'm not terribly bothered by Sagani's accent. While Boreal dwarves are Inuit-inspired, they aren't strictly Inuit copy-and-pasted. Pillars is still (at the end of the day) a fictional fantasy setting with fictional fantasy locations, so they can pick and choose which real-world inspiration to draw from and which to leave alone.

 

Besides, I felt the voice actress they picked for her was just so great and portrayed her so well that that supersedes a "foreign-sounding accent." If they happen to find actors or actresses to portray Boreal dwarves in the future with Inuit-sounding accents and portray the individual character very well, I'm all for it. For the mean time, I'd rather an actress who portrays Sagani perfectly without the accent than an actress who portrays her so-so but in an Inuit (or generic "foreign/Native American-sounding") accent. 

[Crucis]

 

Germany isn't "central" european to me.  When I hear "central european", I'm thinking the balkans, Romania... Bulgaria...

 

May I ask where you're from? I feel that that's an interesting notion of Central Europe.

 

---

Even if the voice actor did an Inuit accent, I seriously doubt that more than a tiny percentage of people would recognise it as such. It also wouldn't evoke any specifically north-pole-y feeling, if no one knew what it was. They could have used someone with a Maya or Ethiopian accent, and very few people would know the difference to Inuit. It wouldn't matter what specific accent it is, only that it's distinct from any of the well-known ones.

 

 

To me, "western Europe" is the area comprising the old Cold War era NATO countries.  And "eastern Europe" is the portion of the old Soviet Union that is west of the Urals.  (That seems like a pretty text book definition, since the eastern edge of the continent of Europe ends at the Urals, IIRC.)  And that leaves what's in between those two as "central" Europe.

 

 

As for the accent of Sagani, it doesn't much matter to me what her accent was so long as it was NOT a bland Dyrwoodan (aka bland American) accent.  It just bugs the heck out of me that her accent (or lack thereof) is as bland as bland can be, and sounded like she was a local Dyrwoodan, not a foreigner from a remote land and an isolated culture.  Hey, if the local Dyrwoodan accent had been exotic, then having a bland Nassituq accent would have been different, but that wasn't the case.

 

 

 

 

[Crucis]

I'm not terribly bothered by Sagani's accent. While Boreal dwarves are Inuit-inspired, they aren't strictly Inuit copy-and-pasted. Pillars is still (at the end of the day) a fictional fantasy setting with fictional fantasy locations, so they can pick and choose which real-world inspiration to draw from and which to leave alone.

 

Besides, I felt the voice actress they picked for her was just so great and portrayed her so well that that supersedes a "foreign-sounding accent." If they happen to find actors or actresses to portray Boreal dwarves in the future with Inuit-sounding accents and portray the individual character very well, I'm all for it. For the mean time, I'd rather an actress who portrays Sagani perfectly without the accent than an actress who portrays her so-so but in an Inuit (or generic "foreign/Native American-sounding") accent. 

 

Fae, I guess to me, it's the reverse.  Without the accent, all the rest falls flat on its face.  It's like having an excellent actor in a movie who generally does a good job of portraying the character well and delivers the lines skillfully, but has to work with otherwise bad material.

 

The voice actress who did Sagani may have done her job in a professional manner and delivered the lines well.  But without the accent, it's maybe like a really profession actor delivering lines well but is in really bad costumes.  (I'm sorry if my attempts at analogies may not be working, but I hope you get the point I'm trying to make.)  Or put another way, one might have thought that Kevin Costner when he played Robin Hood back in the 90's delivered his lines professionally.  But without a good english accent, to many people Costner seemed utterly out of place as Robin Hood, no matter how well (or not) he might have done otherwise.

[Zwiebelchen]

 

 

Germany isn't "central" european to me.  When I hear "central european", I'm thinking the balkans, Romania... Bulgaria...

 

May I ask where you're from? I feel that that's an interesting notion of Central Europe.

 

---

Even if the voice actor did an Inuit accent, I seriously doubt that more than a tiny percentage of people would recognise it as such. It also wouldn't evoke any specifically north-pole-y feeling, if no one knew what it was. They could have used someone with a Maya or Ethiopian accent, and very few people would know the difference to Inuit. It wouldn't matter what specific accent it is, only that it's distinct from any of the well-known ones.

 

 

To me, "western Europe" is the area comprising the old Cold War era NATO countries.  And "eastern Europe" is the portion of the old Soviet Union that is west of the Urals.  (That seems like a pretty text book definition, since the eastern edge of the continent of Europe ends at the Urals, IIRC.)  And that leaves what's in between those two as "central" Europe.

 

In this case, you are contradicting yourself, as germany was devided between the NATO states and the soviet union until 1989. So it's pretty much the definition of central europe.

 

 

An accent that I forgot about that could fit the Boreal Dwarf theme could be tibetan accent. While it doesn't exactly fit the culture (monks and chastes vs. mostly free living tribes), I think at least the language and accent would easily invoke that "snowy tundra" feel.

[Krajzen]

Okay, so I have finished the game.

 

Pallagina, Kana Rua and Sagani are the least favourite of companions for me. They all aren't very bad when compared with usual roleplays because they all have not-so-usual quite cool design (bird-like black-skinned paladin woman from Italian-style city states! big, jovial, orc-like, yet intellectual bard! inut-polar dwarf woman archer with white fox!) but compared with the rest of a team they seem so... Disconnected from the main story and concentrated on their own matters.

 

Not sure if companions' fates differ for various people (I finished all their quests, to be clear) but for me they looked like this: 

>Pallagina sits bored in Defiance Bay, goes to negotiate some stuff, doesn't agrees with overlord, leaves him, walks alone 

>Sagani: does a quest for her native village, finishes her personal quest, goes back home, the end.

>Kana Rua: seeks stuff for his pals, (doesn't) find it, goes back home.

 

-------------------

Compare that with other teammates - Eder, Aloth, Grieving Mother and especially Durance are linked with the main story and are, in fact, quite important pieces in the setting. Hiravias' background is less connected with main theme but it still touches spiritual and divine issues.

 

Meanwhile Kana Rua and Sagani are just on their personal quests and I have hardly seen emotional attachment in them. Pallagina doesn't have such particular quest as them but I haven't detected any personality in her, and neither my sympathy for her - super bland character. 'Paladin idealist at conflict with her cynic master'.

[Gromnir]

Okay, so I have finished the game.

 

Pallagina, Kana Rua and Sagani are the least favourite of companions for me. They all aren't very bad when compared with usual roleplays because they all have not-so-usual quite cool design (bird-like black-skinned paladin woman from Italian-style city states! big, jovial, orc-like, yet intellectual bard! inut-polar dwarf woman archer with white fox!) but compared with the rest of a team they seem so... Disconnected from the main story and concentrated on their own matters.

 

Not sure if companions' fates differ for various people (I finished all their quests, to be clear) but for me they looked like this: 

>Pallagina sits bored in Defiance Bay, goes to negotiate some stuff, doesn't agrees with overlord, leaves him, walks alone 

>Sagani: does a quest for her native village, finishes her personal quest, goes back home, the end.

>Kana Rua: seeks stuff for his pals, (doesn't) find it, goes back home.

 

-------------------

Compare that with other teammates - Eder, Aloth, Grieving Mother and especially Durance are linked with the main story and are, in fact, quite important pieces in the setting. Hiravias' background is less connected with main theme but it still touches spiritual and divine issues.

 

Meanwhile Kana Rua and Sagani are just on their personal quests and I have hardly seen emotional attachment in them. Pallagina doesn't have such particular quest as them but I haven't detected any personality in her, and neither my sympathy for her - super bland character. 'Paladin idealist at conflict with her cynic master'.

the companions, none o' them, is required to advance the main Plot.  in terms o' Story, all the companions contribute to the core theme(s) o' the game.  kana rua, sagani and pallegina all got insular side-quests, just as does the rest o' the companions, but the real key for Gromnir is what those companions  contribute to the Story as 'posed to simple the setting or plot. 

 

*shrug*

 

sagani were a bit heavy on the info-drop exposition, but we were satisfied with her thematic contributions.  the traditions o' her people required sagani to sacrifice years o' her life for a goal she were ambivalent 'bout.  why?  why did she sacrifice?  were there value in such sacrifice?  

 

kana were exploring a different kinda faith.  what happens when the intellectual makes a discovery such as the one kana made during his trip through the endless paths?  

 

am not saying sagani or kana were great companions, but they most certainly had quests that contributed to the Story o' poe.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Fardragon]

There is also the issue of contrivance, when dealing with characters who are to closely tied to the main story. In a world where it is established that the gods aren't real, and hence, NOT manipulating events, it's an awfully big coincidence to meet up with the likes of Aloth, Durence and Grieving Mother, whereas meeting someone like Pallagina is quite probable, the world being full of disgruntled employees.

[Nakia]

Eder, Sagani, Kana and Pallagina feel the most natural to me.  Aloth is alright because awakened souls are not that unusual in the game.

[Faerunner]

Okay, so I have finished the game.

 

Pallagina, Kana Rua and Sagani are the least favourite of companions for me. They all aren't very bad when compared with usual roleplays because they all have not-so-usual quite cool design (bird-like black-skinned paladin woman from Italian-style city states! big, jovial, orc-like, yet intellectual bard! inut-polar dwarf woman archer with white fox!) but compared with the rest of a team they seem so... Disconnected from the main story and concentrated on their own matters.

 

How dare they. 

 

So you dislike them because their entire stories and personal quests aren't intricately tied to the main character's main story and quest?

 

Does every companion have to be intricately tied to the main plot? It's not possible to encounter other people in the setting who have their own goals and affairs, but who team up with you because traveling together would be mutually beneficial and/or it would help further each other's goal even if you and they don't have the same common goal? It's "personally tied to the main quest" or bust?

 

First, I think that would be a bit contrived. Second, from what I've read from Obsidian staff regarding the Pillars of Eternity game (and BioWare for the Dragon Age franchise), companions are a good way to showcase different in-universe races, cultures, classes, and factions. Each companion "represents" their respective people. For example, Aloth represents the Aedyr culture and high-class upbringing (especially given various Dyrwoodans' reactions to him), as well as the wizard class's intellectual bend. Pallegina represents the Valian Republic since that's her culture, and she shows a bit of what it's like being a paladin (how one's duty can conflict with one's convictions), and shows a glimpse of what some godlike go through in their day-to-day lives (like getting into a male organization by being an infertile godlike and thus "not legally a woman," and often getting cheeky remarks for her godlike features). Sagani "represents" the boreal dwarf culture and the ranger's (in-universe) bond with their animal companion (due to her bond with Itumaak). Hiravias "represents" the Glanfathan and druid culture, as well as the orlans and the discrimination they go through.

 

I personally see all of the characters as "representatives" of different races, cultures, classes, and factions within the game. Sure, we get text descriptions of each one and encounter NPCs that give their sob stories, but companions we spend a lot of time traveling with, getting to know, possibly forming deeper bonds with, and learning about their backgrounds and upbringings and feelings about their culture/people. We get much more detail than we could just talking to an unnamed villager who basically goes "Help me with X!" "Here you go!" "Oh, thank you! *rewards with gold/gift/xp*"

 

So, I don't think being disconnected from the story is a bad thing. I think it adds a touch of realism (since I still think it would be a bit contrived if all our companions came with us only because they all had personal business with the main plot, begging the question of "Isn't there anyone who wants to tag along just because we happen to be going the same direction?" as is the case with most RPGs), and they can still enrich the lore and setting of the game in other ways without being personally tied to the main story.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Faerunner

[Silent Winter]

^Agreed.  BG companions were the same:
Imoen tags along coz she's your buddy, Minsc tags along to save Dynaheir, who in turn tags along because you saved her,

Quayle tags along because you're heading East....or West, or North, or South,

Etc.

 

BG2: Pretty much only Jaheira, Minsc, Yoshimo and Imoen have a plot inticately tied to finding Irenicus.

Viconia joins you because you save her, Edwin to find a scroll, Korgan because you buy him a drink...and are willing to find that book, Aerie because she wants to see the world

Etc.

They all have their own unrelated side-quests and then carry on with you and yours.

I'd like the same from PoE expansion and Sequel companions.

It's fine to have someone like Aloth, who's related to the Leaden Key, and Kana, who's pursued by them because he's looking for 'forbidden' knowledge, or Durance, who's related to the godhammer bomb - but too many like that (without a PS:T reason for it) would be silly.

[Rosveen]

nvm

Edited June 21, 2015 by Rosveen

[Zwiebelchen]

 

Okay, so I have finished the game.

 

Pallagina, Kana Rua and Sagani are the least favourite of companions for me. They all aren't very bad when compared with usual roleplays because they all have not-so-usual quite cool design (bird-like black-skinned paladin woman from Italian-style city states! big, jovial, orc-like, yet intellectual bard! inut-polar dwarf woman archer with white fox!) but compared with the rest of a team they seem so... Disconnected from the main story and concentrated on their own matters.

 

How dare they. 

 

So you dislike them because their entire stories and personal quests aren't intricately tied to the main character's main story and quest?

 

Does every companion have to be intricately tied to the main plot? It's not possible to encounter other people in the setting who have their own goals and affairs, but who team up with you because traveling together would be mutually beneficial and/or it would help further each other's goal even if you and they don't have the same common goal? It's "personally tied to the main quest" or bust?

 

First, I think that would be a bit contrived. Second, from what I've read from Obsidian staff regarding the Pillars of Eternity game (and BioWare for the Dragon Age franchise), companions are a good way to showcase different in-universe races, cultures, classes, and factions. Each companion "represents" their respective people. For example, Aloth represents the Aedyr culture and high-class upbringing (especially given various Dyrwoodans' reactions to him), as well as the wizard class's intellectual bend. Pallegina represents the Valian Republic since that's her culture, and she shows a bit of what it's like being a paladin (how one's duty can conflict with one's convictions), and shows a glimpse of what some godlike go through in their day-to-day lives (like getting into a male organization by being an infertile godlike and thus "not legally a woman," and often getting cheeky remarks for her godlike features). Sagani "represents" the boreal dwarf culture and the ranger's (in-universe) bond with their animal companion (due to her bond with Itumaak). Hiravias "represents" the Glanfathan and druid culture, as well as the orlans and the discrimination they go through.

 

I personally see all of the characters as "representatives" of different races, cultures, classes, and factions within the game. Sure, we get text descriptions of each one and encounter NPCs that give their sob stories, but companions we spend a lot of time traveling with, getting to know, possibly forming deeper bonds with, and learning about their backgrounds and upbringings and feelings about their culture/people. We get much more detail than we could just talking to an unnamed villager who basically goes "Help me with X!" "Here you go!" "Oh, thank you! *rewards with gold/gift/xp*"

 

So, I don't think being disconnected from the story is a bad thing. I think it adds a touch of realism (since I still think it would be a bit contrived if all our companions came with us only because they all had personal business with the main plot, begging the question of "Isn't there anyone who wants to tag along just because we happen to be going the same direction?" as is the case with most RPGs), and they can still enrich the lore and setting of the game in other ways without being personally tied to the main story.

 

 

I actually think that the whole "ambassador" idea of the PoE companions was one of the weakest features of the game. Companions felt extremely lore-dumpy because of this. It always felt like "look, this is my god, this is my country, this is my class ... eat it!".

 

I guess the reason why so many people like Grieving Mother is because she had the lowest amount of lore-dump to deliver. And all her lore pieces are basicly tied to the main story and the central goal (curing the Hollowborn crisis).

 

And the lore dump itself isn't even the main problem here. It's how it is presented: mostly through plain walls of text. I accept that PoE is a text-heavy game I really do, but that doesn't mean that all narrative has to be delivered by text.

 

Why not have a cutscene in game-graphics that shows some of the critical moments of a character's background as a flashback? Why not use visual elements to deliver narrative, like the scripted intermissions? PoE had so much opportunity to deliver narrative through the intermission thing, but instead dumped every element into the dialogue box. Why? Especially since the PC basicly has soul-reading super-powers, this solution was served on the silver platter!

Edited June 25, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Gromnir]

much o' Gromnir's complaints 'bout setting exposition from the companions is unfair but genuine nevertheless.  you gotta ask kana or sagani 'bout their homeland and culture to get that info-- is all optional.  developers have durance give us all kinda details o' saint's war, but am admitting we were less annoyed by his exposition 'cause the info were given more natural than did sagani or kana.  grieving mother also had info-dumpitis but it were much more limited to the hollowborn.

 

part o' the problem with the setting exposition from the joinables is that even though such stuff is optional, we don't necessarily know which bits is genuine and true optional.  gotta dig through all dialogue options regardless to make certain we didn't miss an important quest trigger.  may sound like a silly meta-game solution, but if the developers were more clear 'bout which companion dialogue options were pure setting exposition, we could then feel as if skipping such, or at least delaying, were not hampering companion quest advancement.  make us feel that delaying is not hampering companion quest advancement would actual go far in mitigating the impression that companions is in auto-exposition mode.

 

regardless, we gotta admit that is not as if the companions is forcing 'pon us ridiculous details 'bout how the coriolis effect is real in the poe world.  we gotta ask for such details 'fore they give.  however, given the gameplay aspect o' companion quests, we never feel as if companion dialogues is functional optional.  our complaints is thus unfair, but genuine.

 

as an aside, we wanted to like grieving mother, but it were hard.  well, like is wrong word as she were a deeply disturbed lady. the initial hook were sufficient.  the creepy wrist windchimes, and the mind-bending midwife angle were all working to make us want more from grieving mother.  unfortunately, she never got past the gimmick stage for us.  she had her crisis o' faith, which were overcome simple 'cause Gromnir told her that her soul were strong?   grieving mother were a particular fail for us 'cause we were initial intrigued, but became less so.

 

anybody seen the tv show called deadwood?  a character named swearengen had a fun kinda relationship with a prostitute named trixie.  

 

warning: the following is sweary and crude, but it sums up the dialogue option we wished we woulda' had available to us after the fifth or sixth time we had to deal with grieving mother's alter-state nonsense...

 

 

is sweary.

 

is extreme sweary.

 

if moderators remove, we complete understand, but am warning again, jic.

 

 

 

 

 

durance were equal as loopy as grieving mother, but he were far more real to us.  the frothing zealot ultimately learns that he is betrayed by his goddess.  his rage is believable.  as ridiculous as durance frequent is, given that he is developed as a sweaty-toothed religious maniac, his excess o' color is curiously reasonable.  his eventual choice, as played in Gromnir games, is wholly understandable given that the context that durance is a deranged fanatic who sees much o' the world as a decayed old-growth forest in need o' a firestorm cleansing and rebirth, with durance gleeful starting the blaze.

 

grieving mother and durance is both broken creatures, but we get durance's rage where we never connected with grieving mother's... loopiness.  perhaps if we had ever taken lsd, grieving mother and Gromnir woulda connected.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zwiebelchen]

perhaps if we had ever taken lsd, grieving mother and Gromnir woulda connected.

 

Wait ... what if ... the PC isn't actually a watcher that can read souls, but just high on Svef and the companions aren't companions but trip-sitters?

 

 

MIND BLOWN!

Edited June 26, 2015 by Zwiebelchen

[Viperswhip]

It appears people don't like mothers with careers lol

 

Segani was fine for me, quite well done, she kind of sucked combat wise though, so I stuck with Hiravias. Aloth underperformed as well.

 

I picked Kana in the poll though as I found his personality grating and he was pretty wimpy in the melee department. Still I did use him for some of the tougher fights as my character and a few others were ranged and he got that chant that boost their speed.

[Aea]

What I like least is bringing along a blank slate Adventurer companion because I need to crack some skill checks, even if that's all I'm bringing them for. One personality-free puppet of self-insertion per game is quite enough for me. Handy when you need a mechanics specialist on hand and don't want to tie up your actual party members with Stronghold chores though.

 

Of the actual written companions though? Eeeeeh, it seems I'm going to put myself in a minority here, but I really rather enjoyed all of them. They all had interesting bits to them in their own right, and while I can name favorites easy enough, trying to pick a worst is honestly a really tough call. If really pressed, I'd have to go with Kana. I like him well enough as a character, but aside from a scant few conversations his arc kind of begins and ends with the first few levels of Od Nua. Pallegina comes a close second for very similar reasons, but squeaks out narrowly ahead because I think there's a lot of potential to the core concept of a Paladin whose personal convictions about what's right clash with the ideals they are supposed to uphold to as a member of their order. It's just a shame that that conflict gets boiled down to you browbeating her into making a single judgement call one way or the other and after that she's just...there.

 

As said though, I find the characters all quite likable in their own ways so this is less a worst and more a most squandered potential kind of deal.

[evilmiera]

Can not believe Kana's winning. He seemed like a fun and interesting person with some depth to him. Optimistic in a dark time without being corny or goofy. Hiravias though I get why he's so high on the list, and he's the guy I voted for. There's just something about his voice acting or possibly direction that just doesn't fit the character being portrayed. Or the character portrayed just does not gel with the game, somehow.