If PoE2 had returning companions

[Adahnon]

Who would you want to make a return?

Let's assume that at least 1 companion will return, who would you choose?

[Cantousent]

Probably Eder.  It's all about the bro code.  Just seems a lot more mellow than Aloth and I don't feel like poking him in the eye all the time like I do Durance.  I guess Sagani would be second.  Not only does she seem like someone who knows how to kick back and enjoy a brew, I like her pet fox also.

[evilcat]

Pellegina i suppose, maybe this time we could deal with her being a choosen one of godness, and get meaningful personal quest.

I hope Obsidian is making notes. )

[Kriber22]

I'll go with Eder, Sagani and Pallegina. Because they're people I'd like to hang out with in real life.

[Strange_Trees]

Edér for sure. Maybe also Hiravias and Kana. I love Sagani and Pallegina as well, but I think with their stories it doesn't really make sense for them to make another appearance.

[farleybear]

Can we have an option for 'none'? All new companions for me please.

[TheisEjsing]

I went with all of them. A few returning team members always brings some familiarity to a sequel, and cetainly have worked well in games before. Maybe just quick cameos for others. Or even just a mention of a companion, a funny story or his/hers impact on the world.

If the sequel is years laters, it would be cool to meet children or friends of old companions aswell. Ofc not the child of the old protagonist, since there was no romance thou. ; )

Edited August 24, 2015 by TheisEjsing

[Adahnon]

Can we have an option for 'none'? All new companions for me please.

No companions returning may very well be what happens in PoE2, but I would just like to know who you would choose to return if 1 companion has to come back.

[Spirtikus]

Eder, Sagani and Aloth! These guys were awesome. But If I had to chose just one from these three, I would chose Sagani probably.

[Lord_Mord]

If PoE ever gets that epic (Which I hope, it does not), I want to help Durance kill his goddess.

[gkathellar]

Pallegina and Kana Rua are the only ones who would make sense, lore-wise.

[Gunnar.Maluf]

All of them except for Sagani. Not usefull or interesting. She's the worst companion by far.

*Must* return for me:

Aloth

Eder

Pallegina

Durance 

Kana

 

 

But that they add another 8 companions  

[hamskii]

I'd like to see them all return in some capacity in future games, if not as companions. It very much depends on how Obsidian wants to approach sequels. JES has said the following:
 

We'd very much like that. People like the idea of taking their characters on a long, epic journey. Even going back to the classic RPGs, it was nice to bring your character in and keep going with it.

Contrary to what someone interpreted what our CEO said, we're not working on a sequel at all yet. We're not even really talking about it except to say "That'd be cool. Hope people like this game." But we do think about, if we were to make a sequel we do want the player to be able to bring their character from this game, come over into the next game, and of course reflect the choices they made in the previous game.

Let's have a look at the sequel potential for all the companions, in light of the game's multiple endings. We'll assume that future installments take place outside the Dyrwood (MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW)

If Pallegina is disgraced, depending on the choices made she travels north of the Eastern Reach and either tries to find work as a caravan guard or joins the Kind Wayfarers. Otherwise, she can become ducess Spireno's personal guard, or remain a rank-and-file member of her Brotherhood. She could appear in an expansion set in either the Vailian Republics or Ixamitl/Rauatai, although probably not as a companion (it'd be a lot of effort creating questlines for a character who will not appear for many players - not to mention the possibility that she died in PoE 1).

If Hiravias survives, he leaves his tribe to wander the world. In one ending he becomes famous as the "Autumn Druid". Since his destination is never specified, imo this leaves a strong possibility he could return as a companion.

Edér stays in the Dyrwood in two of his endings - in one, he becomes mayor of Dyrford, and in the other, he joins the Night Market. He returns to Aedyr only if he survives and you do not complete his quest. If there were a sequel set in Aedyr, he could appear, but probably only as a cameo.

Aloth can become grandmaster of the Leaden Key or set about dismantling it. Alternatively, he will sacrifice himself to one of the Engwithan machines if banished from the party. In both of the former two cases, Aloth has the potential to play a major role in the story of future games, but since they are so different from one another, he would probably not appear as a companion.

Kana has an ending where he descends into the Endless Paths and does not return, an ending where he sails the world looking for adventure, and several endings where he returns to Tâkowa. I think he could potentially be a companion in a sequel set in Rauatai, but since there is only one ending where he wanders the world, he would probably only appear as a cameo in any other installments.

In both of Grieving Mother's endings, she remains in the Dyrwood. In one, she returns to Dyrford to become a midwife, and in the other, she returns to the Birthing Bell as a zombie. Because of this, coupled with the fact that only Watchers can see her, I think we are unlikely to see her again.

Durance, imo, has some of the greatest potential for returning in a sequel. The revelation that the gods are not real at the end of PoE 1 sets up a conflict between Woedica and the gods. The Watcher can also express contempt for the gods, and if the player double-crosses any of the gods, they launch an attack on the Dyrwood. I believe that a war between the gods, or even against the gods, will be a storyline in future games, and I believe that Durance (assuming he survives PoE 1) would play a key role, given that he's the only living kith to have killed a god. If Durance returned as a companion, he'd be very different - if the player convinces him that Magran conspired with Woedica, he swears to no longer use his priest powers, and becomes silent and contemplative. I don't know what class he'd be - paladin maybe, fanatically devoted to the destruction of his former god?

The only ending in which Sagani does not return to her village is the one in which Persoq is never found. She travels to Rauatai, Old Vailia, the Living Lands, and Aedyr, so she could make a cameo appearance in sequels set in any of those places. She could play a larger role in a sequel set in Naasitaq if Massuk is a location in that game, but she'd probably just be an NPC seeing as in one of her endings she actually goes missing and is presumed dead after returning.

 

[Karkarov]

I choose purely based on logic.  Pallegina is the most likely to be a returning character, no matter how the game ends for her she will still have plenty of excuses to travel the world and do her thing.  Aloth, Hiravias, and Kana Rua could all also easily make a comeback but depending on endings it could be dicey.  Eder "could" be a returning character but he has many endings that would make it highly unlikely.  Durance is in the same boat as Eder except unlike Eder he also only gives a crap about his own problems and is unlikely to be interested in really working with anyone else... so even less likely than Eder.  Sagani and Grieving Mother straight up should not return, they both should be going back to their respective things and once there no matter the ending have no reasonable reason to leave.  Sagani only has one ending where it would even be remotely possible and GM has well... no ending where her showing up again would make sense.

[Jordan Joestar]

Aloth!

[MunoValente]

I went with Eder, Hivarias and Pallegina.  Eder and Hivarias are fun and both seem like they wouldn't be in a hurry to settle down much (despite what happens in Eder's endings).  Pallegina I think needs to be fleshed out a bit and another appearance would help with that.  

 

I like Sagani, but unless the setting is Nassitaq I don't think she makes sense to come back, she had been gone a long time and really wanted to go home.

Edited August 24, 2015 by MunoValente

[Cantousent]

The job of the writers is to come up with compelling reasons for what happens.  Logical reasons extrapolated from a finished story aren't sufficient grounds for what happens because, as evidenced by the fact that there's another game, clearly the story wasn't *really* finished.  Now, I can see Sagani and GM being a tough sell.  Nevertheless, some finesse could pull off having a return of either one.  Sure, some characters make more 'sense' as the story stands, but the story is evolving.  Nothing is immutable.

 

That's why I answered the question of the character I want rather than the character I think makes the most sense.  If the writing team does a good job, any of them will make sense after the fact.  If the writing team doesn't do a good job, they've probably got bigger problems than a single NPC being in the XPac.

 

However, I also think it would be cool, and even more logical, if one or two of the NPCs ended up as an antagonist in future developments.  Durance is a prime example of someone who could end up being a great potential adversary, perhaps even the main one.

[AndreaColombo]

Edér, Aloth, Hiravias.

 

If I had to choose one, probably Aloth because it seems easier than Edér to justify and Hiravias is my third choice.

 

But I would be fine with a cast of all-new characters too. Or with other returning characters.

Edited August 24, 2015 by AndreaColombo

[Labadal]

Eder, I suppose, but I wouldn't know what his story would be going into the second game.

[PIP-Clownboy]

None of them. All very boring, forgettable companions (especially Eder with Aloth being insufferable + boring) other than Durance. With CA gone there wouldn't be much point to keep him around sadly. 

Edited August 25, 2015 by PIP-Clownboy

[hamskii]

The job of the writers is to come up with compelling reasons for what happens.  Logical reasons extrapolated from a finished story aren't sufficient grounds for what happens because, as evidenced by the fact that there's another game, clearly the story wasn't *really* finished.  Now, I can see Sagani and GM being a tough sell.  Nevertheless, some finesse could pull off having a return of either one.  Sure, some characters make more 'sense' as the story stands, but the story is evolving.  Nothing is immutable.

 

That's why I answered the question of the character I want rather than the character I think makes the most sense.  If the writing team does a good job, any of them will make sense after the fact.  If the writing team doesn't do a good job, they've probably got bigger problems than a single NPC being in the XPac.

 

However, I also think it would be cool, and even more logical, if one or two of the NPCs ended up as an antagonist in future developments.  Durance is a prime example of someone who could end up being a great potential adversary, perhaps even the main one.

I'm not sure I follow. The story is definitely finished - PoE isn't planned to be first in a trilogy or anything like that - it seems to be a self-contained story with the potential to lead into future, new stories. The ending slides weren't written as "the ending - unless we feel like changing them", they were to show how the player's choices affected the world. Changing the impact of the player's choices down the line because it helps you tell a better story is not only a retcon, but it's a little cheap imo. The writers have chosen to tie off the story in such a way that means Edér, for example, is unlikely to appear again (unless we get a prequel set during the Saint's War, or something). So we probably won't see Edér again.

 

As for which companions I'd like to see...I avoided the question a little because I like all the companions, and it's always nice seeing an old friend. I have enough faith in the writing that I don't think any would be an unwelcome sight in future games. But in terms of potential, I think Aloth and Durance have the most for impact on future storylines.

[RocketChaser]

Eder is probably the best rpg character since Minsc. Brilliant writing. I'd love the two to meet, Eder would love Boo.