Companion Alignments?

[Omnicron]

Hi everyone

 

I am still not very far into the game, but it i pretty clear Defiance Bay is evil since anything good I do (except Heritage Hill stuff) seems to lose me reputation with the city. So not sure if there is an alternative way to get the records Edér is looking for since the scribe tell me I need a good rep with the city first and that is not going to happen with the RP of this character.

 

This got me thinking about the idea of creating a Bleak Walker for a PoTD play-through and see how my alternate actions will impact the game. I plan on hiring one adventurer to help out (Monk or Barb) but I am unsure about my party with regards to a cruel attitude. I do want to the party members with me, because I like the NPC interaction but I am unsure about whether there is an alignment system in this game in terms of NPC responses. 

 

In BG games your choices impacted on whether people wanted to stay with you and Hiravias got somewhat upset with me when I was doing the quest to get the breastplate from the guy in the Crucible Knights, because i said something cruel. Now will that eventually push one of your party members to leave you? It happened in BG, but there are no evil party member for an evil play-through. No Aggressive Korgan, or Manipulative Edwin. I have no clue where Aloth and Grieving mother would stand, but the others seem to be on the Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Good, and maybe Chaotic Good side of things. 

 

So basic question: Does your choices impact on party members staying with you & it therefore feasible to do an evil play-through with NPCs who all seem good.    

[RevBlue]

what do you mean everything good you do loses you reputation? I'm playing an all good playthrough and i get nothing but positive rep

[Omnicron]

Well, things I consider somewhat good. I realise it might have more to do with personal interests perhaps, but I am thinking about its connections to Raedric's hold, and the fact that I just freed a woman from her uncle who impregnated her for his own benefit and also lost rep, and then there was that guy who set me into the catacombs and I recovered his lover in a medallion. I asked her what she wanted and it was to be free, and he selfishly wanted to hold on to her, but when I broke the amulet (which I considered good and merciful, the guy has to mourn and get on with life and not be so selfish) I got bad rep with defiance bay. 

[dukefx]

If it comes to dealing with nobles then gaining their favor will increase your reputation with DB. Crossing them might earn you reputation with other regions, like Guilded Vale if you take Raedric for example. The amulet... well, unfortunately there is only one living being able to tell others about your "good" deed. The girl imprisoned in the amulet can't spread the word.

Edited April 18, 2015 by dukefx

[RevBlue]

It depends on how you deal with the end result.

With the uncle and the girl, what did you do with the uncle?

And with the couple with the amulet, did you break it against his will, or convince him it was the right move?

 

This could have big consequences on how you're actions are perceived

[Rosveen]

The Grieving Mother is adamant about protecting children and will leave if she sees you hurting them. There are a few quests when it can happen.

[Omnicron]

Thanks for the replies, and thanks Rosveen for beginning to answer my main question

 

I probably did not have a high enough Int or something with the amulet thing to convince him, because I tried. With the nobles, yeah well, my character is a rouge, so while good I am going to extort evil nobles where I see them. Bye, bye DB rep

 

So it seems like people will leave your party if you are evil in a way that offends them. So no way to build an evil party without making your own chars?

Edited April 19, 2015 by Omnicron

[Lord Vicious]

So no way to build an evil party without making your own chars?

 

Yet another reason (apart from bad stats, bland writing, annoying personalities and lack of romance) why PoE companions are not that great.

 

Personally, I prefer sacrificing most them to the Blood Pool in return for attribute bonuses.

 

However, I've been getting along rather decently with Durence and Aloth, despite all my "cruel" and "aggressive" deeds (right up to slaughtering villages etc.).

 

You've got to do their personal quests, though. Or not... depending how you like your endgame to be.

[carlos2000]

I was playing a self-centered greedy lying bastard (deceptive, cruel, aggressive all on 4) and nobody complained a bit.
Pity I wasn't able to use my Doemel house 'membership' or  my torture skills  on the record keeper to persuade him. 
He just laugh to my mighty face when I  tried physical intimidation.
Also no chance to hire any really bad guys as NPC compantions  or influence/turn the current ones. 

pity

[Slapstick87]

I find the lack of clear-cut "good vs. evil" alignment system great. It provides (maybe I should say allows. Hopefully PoE2 will have a bit more reactivity) for a more nuanced world and character relations. What nobles and the common folk consider "good" might not be the same. What people consider "good" and what they want you to do (hence reputation with that faction) might also not be the same. Some companions might be fine with you being selfish, as long as it doesn't directly hurt anyone, etc.

 

All-in-all the lack of "good powers as an actual thing" and "evil is a specific trait, personified in gods and demons" gives you more shades of grey. Which also allows for a more dark, grimy and realistic world.

 

Your companions don't have alignments. They have personalities. You have to work them out, rather than just reading label saying "chaotic good".

Edited May 12, 2015 by Slapstick87

[paralistalon]

I played a Bleak Walker through the game and didn't have anyone leave my party (although I didn't stumble upon GM until I already cleared most of Act 2!).  For the most part, your companions seem to follow your lead even if you are cruel/aggressive, although honestly, most of the cruel dialogue options were just from throwing insults around rather than actually doing anything "cruel," with a couple of notable exceptions.  You said you're only at the beginning, so as you uncover your companions' pasts, you will learn that half of them are guilty of some pretty horrible things on their own. 

 

As a side note, I really enjoyed a Bleak Walkers playthrough: out of all the paladin orders, for the BW, it actually makes sense why your rep is linked to your disposition- namely, the more aggressive and intimidating you come across, the more likely they are to be hesitant in battle against you, which translates to the small defense bonus. 

 

And about getting Eder's records in the archive, you must not be playing with the unqualified interactions option enabled, otherwise you would see that there is at least one way to get the records without having to build a positive rep. 

[Omnicron]

I played a Bleak Walker through the game and didn't have anyone leave my party (although I didn't stumble upon GM until I already cleared most of Act 2!).  For the most part, your companions seem to follow your lead even if you are cruel/aggressive, although honestly, most of the cruel dialogue options were just from throwing insults around rather than actually doing anything "cruel," with a couple of notable exceptions.  You said you're only at the beginning, so as you uncover your companions' pasts, you will learn that half of them are guilty of some pretty horrible things on their own. 

 

As a side note, I really enjoyed a Bleak Walkers playthrough: out of all the paladin orders, for the BW, it actually makes sense why your rep is linked to your disposition- namely, the more aggressive and intimidating you come across, the more likely they are to be hesitant in battle against you, which translates to the small defense bonus. 

 

And about getting Eder's records in the archive, you must not be playing with the unqualified interactions option enabled, otherwise you would see that there is at least one way to get the records without having to build a positive rep. 

 Finished that playthrough a week ago But thanks  Managed to get more rep with BD and sorted everything out. 

 

Grieving Mother was pretty Manipulative I guess, and Aloth got in pretty deep with the wrong crowd. Can't think of anything is Eder's past, or Durance really (he was following his God in his own understanding of Justice). Pallegina does not really feel like she has much of a past now that I think about it. 

[abaris]

 

 

As a side note, I really enjoyed a Bleak Walkers playthrough: out of all the paladin orders, for the BW, it actually makes sense why your rep is linked to your disposition- namely, the more aggressive and intimidating you come across, the more likely they are to be hesitant in battle against you, which translates to the small defense bonus. 

 

 

 

That has nothing to do with Bleak Walker and everything with maxing aggressive. It happens across the board. Other traits, such as cruel or benevolent yield the same results.

[paralistalon]

I was referring to the paladin's defensive bounus from Faith and Conviction.  I know any character can get Cruel or Aggressive to level 4 and can sometimes use those to pass dialogue checks, but only a BW paladin will get an additional defensive bonus from those dispositions. 

 

I figure a good "evil" party would include:

 

**SPOILERS**

 

Grieving Mother- as you said, she was manipulative.  Also, she is more of an "ends justify the means" person, so I don't think she would have a problem justifying harsh actions as long as it healed the hallowborn crisis. 

 

Aloth- I'm sure he did some horrible things when he was in with the Leaden Key, and in at least one ending scenario, he reactivates the machine in Defiance Bay, killing hundreds.  He also has it out for animancers. 

 

Durance- by far the darkest character, after the Saint's War, he went around burning and torturing the surviving followers of Eothas (one of the only "good" gods, next to Hylea), and he also targeted watchers and tried to murder Grieving Mother! 

 

Hiravias- a follower of Galawain, the god that created the monsters and endorses a survival of the fittest mentality. 

 

Eder- because he's by far the most likable and humorous character, you need a tank, and hey, as a follower of Eothas, he'd believe in the eventual redemption of even the most wicked player character. 

[JONNIN]

consequences for bad actions far, far outweigh the good.  I did everything to be an epic super hero of DB or whatever and had one problem: the priest did thought I stole the scroll instead of doing his diety's work ....  which was fine,  but I broke into his archives anyway because I should have been granted access, and the stupid librarians attacked me.   Time I left I was busted all the way back down to neutral rep (well, it says "mixed" instead of neutral now?)  for the ONE action.   A bit excessive for a petty theft.

[abaris]

consequences for bad actions far, far outweigh the good.  I did everything to be an epic super hero of DB or whatever and had one problem: the priest did thought I stole the scroll instead of doing his diety's work ....  which was fine,  but I broke into his archives anyway because I should have been granted access, and the stupid librarians attacked me.   Time I left I was busted all the way back down to neutral rep (well, it says "mixed" instead of neutral now?)  for the ONE action.   A bit excessive for a petty theft.

 

If they happen to attack you, you can't help to massacre a hall full of scriveners. I kinda get that this leaves a sour aftertaste for a lot of folks.

Edited May 13, 2015 by abaris

[Omnicron]

 

 

 

 

 

Aloth- I'm sure he did some horrible things when he was in with the Leaden Key, and in at least one ending scenario, he reactivates the machine in Defiance Bay, killing hundreds.  He also has it out for animancers. 

 

Durance- by far the darkest character, after the Saint's War, he went around burning and torturing the surviving followers of Eothas (one of the only "good" gods, next to Hylea), and he also targeted watchers and tried to murder Grieving Mother!

 

 

 

 I did not know that about Durance somehow. Also I had the other ending for Aloth, the exact opposite in fact, but the point is clear that he has that potential 

Edited May 13, 2015 by Omnicron