Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear RELEASED

[213374U]

Wake me up when a game has Julius Caesar-level writing.

[ShadySands]

.

Edited April 28, 2016 by ShadySands

[Gromnir]

Wake me up when a game has Julius Caesar-level writing.

but based on your expectations, why shouldn't we have julius caesar writing at this point?  if elapsed time is a relevant factor and you see parallels 'tween special effects improvement and writing improvement, then why doesn't Gromnir get his blissgasm?  have another 500 years go by and we expect folks will still be impressed with shakespeare.  

 

narrative quality depends on skills and imaginations o' the writer.  there is no technical limits to imagination. has there been a fundamental improvement in the human species in 500 yearss... much less 16? written storytelling has not marked improved as a whole in hundreds o' years, but #s expects game writing to marked improve since 2000?  why?  

 

individual writers can improve technical aspects o' their writing over time, though is actual rare that an author's greatest work is his final opus.  is individual improvement.  there has been no generational advancement in storytelling.  so, the beamdog writerS, face new and more significant obstacles than bioware encountered w/o the benefit o' any kinda fundamental improvement in written storytelling for hundreds o' years and yet #s expected sod writing to be better than bg2 writing?  'cause technical aspects o' games has improved? 'cause... why?  

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited April 28, 2016 by Gromnir

[213374U]

 

Wake me up when a game has Julius Caesar-level writing.

but based on your expectations, why shouldn't we have julius caesar writing at this point? 

 

Nah, those aren't my expectations, they are just some weird reinterpretation of yours based on a hilariously inappropriate parallel between Shakespeare and... James Ohlen? David Gaider?

 

Haha...

 

edit: what are these "significant obstacles" BD have encountered, that you keep referring to, to excuse mediocre writing? It costs the same to write a crappy character than it does to write a good one.

Edited April 28, 2016 by 213374U

[Gromnir]

obstacles other than what we already referenced?  we are talking 'bout an expansion of limited scope shoehorned in between two existing stories.  golly, what obstacles could we be referencing?

 

 

"I don't know about edgy, but it's accurate. Baldur's Gate was released in 1998, though. SoD is a 2016 game, so while chronologically it goes right before BG2, I would expect have liked the writing to be, I don't know, better than BG2?"

 

and

 

"So yeah, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more experienced developers to improve on it. Arguably they have done so in the gameplay and tech aspects, so I don't see what's so esoteric about writing that BG2 simply cannot be topped in that regard.

 

 

you brought up the ridiculous time aspect, not Gromnir.  you made perplexing comparison 'tween writing and tech advancements. Gromnir ain't the one who compared gaider and ohlen to shakespeare.  duh.  you is the guy who expected improvement o' writing based on passage o' time.  is Gromnir who observed that it is asinine to expect shakespeare quality from beamdog writers simple 'cause 500 years has elapsed.

 

another swing and miss for #s.

 

*shrug*

 

who the hell expects superiority o' later incarnations o' story w/i a franchise, regardless o' time and resource limitations, and regardless o' the writers contributing?  is very few examples wherein writing gets better for a franchise that has existed 15 or more years.  battlestar galactica would be a good example, but then we would needs use such an example to refute those who is complaining 'bout writers making fundamental changes in an effort to stay relevant.

 

HA! Good Fun! 

[213374U]

Gromnir ain't the one who compared gaider and ohlen to shakespeare.

So confused already that you can't remember what you posted just a few hours ago? Some weird comment about you going to the theatre and not getting a boner or something:

 

it's been more than 500 years since shakespeare's last play, so why is it that when Gromnir watches a play, sees a movie or plays a story-driven game, we ain't experiencing an hours long blissgasm o' pure epiphany?

 

If you weren't making a ridiculous parallel between Shakespeare and Gaider, as the ultimate masters of their respective media whose works are universally lauded and thus far unsurpassed, what was that, just another of your mildly heartwarming yet completely irrelevant ramblings?

 

 

who the hell expects superiority o' later incarnations o' story w/i a franchise, regardless o' time and resource limitations, and regardless o' the writers contributing?

 

Oh, I don't know, maybe somebody who recognizes that the earlier incarnations of said story within a franchise aren't absolute timeless masterpieces that can very well be improved upon?

 

I didn't expect superiority in the scope (i.e. a bigger game, more plot branches, different systems etc.) and I dare you to find a quote where I said that. I expected better writing within the scope of the game because one does not need to be Shakespeare or be working on something the size of War and Peace to write a main antagonist that isn't an insane, childish mary sue. The game falls short in this regard for the reasons I've been explaining in the last few pages. Again, you are just making general, off-base statements that simply do not apply to the game because you are arguing for the sake of argument and without an iota of actual knowledge. Not only you insist on swinging blindly, you're also convinced that you hit a home run. Wish I could say I'm surprised or disappointed or something equally pompous... but we've both been around the block.

 

You're welcome to try again when you have actually played the game and have something of substance to add to the discussion, though. Until then, trading barbs with you is a waste of time that even I have trouble justifying.

Edited April 28, 2016 by 213374U

[Junai]

 

It's preposterous to complain about criticism, if you cackle in the face of devoted fans. The criticism is not.. unfair.

 

If it's your own art, you're free to express yourself in any way you want. If you're writing a sequel, you shouldn't stray too far from the source material and the style of the established title. The fans are fully within their rights to whine. If Peter Jackson turned Gandalf into a transsexual, it wouldn't matter if Gandalf spoke about it just a few times. It wouldn't be The Lord of the Rings anymore. Even if Jackson decided to do a sequel, where Gandalf delves into the nature of his sexuality, and shares his childhood problems with his travel companions..  Would be hilarious, but I'm not I'd buy the gift wrapped extended edition. And PJ would probably be busy in court for a couple of decades.

 

I haven't played SoD yet, is the transexual NPC in question one of the established NPC's from BG1 and BG2? Or a wholly new character?

 

 

 

It's a new smile painted on Mona Lisa's face.

It's Han Solo not firing first.

It's a poorly written character, and an insult to transsexuals.

It's Amber Scott's arrogant cackle.

 

 

 

J.

Edited April 29, 2016 by Junai

[BruceVC]

 

 

You're welcome to try again when you have actually played the game and have something of substance to add to the discussion, though. Until then, trading barbs with you is a waste of time that even I have trouble justifying.

 

I don't know 2133 you say don't care about this topic or trading barbs is a waste of time yet you do seem to spend lots of time engaging in  these types of debates....so it doesn't seem to be a waste of time for you   

 

I like to always say " a debate is an exchange of intelligence, an argument is an exchange of ignorance " 

 

 

I see what you doing as a  debate, its interesting 

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

 

It's preposterous to complain about criticism, if you cackle in the face of devoted fans. The criticism is not.. unfair.

 

If it's your own art, you're free to express yourself in any way you want. If you're writing a sequel, you shouldn't stray too far from the source material and the style of the established title. The fans are fully within their rights to whine. If Peter Jackson turned Gandalf into a transsexual, it wouldn't matter if Gandalf spoke about it just a few times. It wouldn't be The Lord of the Rings anymore. Even if Jackson decided to do a sequel, where Gandalf delves into the nature of his sexuality, and shares his childhood problems with his travel companions..  Would be hilarious, but I'm not I'd buy the gift wrapped extended edition. And PJ would probably be busy in court for a couple of decades.

 

I haven't played SoD yet, is the transexual NPC in question one of the established NPC's from BG1 and BG2? Or a wholly new character?

 

 

It's a new smile painted on Mona Lisa's face.

It's Han Solo not firing first.

It's a poorly written character, and an insult to transsexuals.

It's Amber Scott's arrogant cackle.

 

 

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

[Gromnir]

confused rambling

am not sure if you are being obtuse on purpose or for fun.  

 

again, Gromnir ain't the one who made the parallel 'tween gaider and sheakespeare.  YOU are the guy who claimed that time should improve writing as time has improved special effects and tech aspects.  at that point, Gromnir observed that using YOUR reasoning, Gromnir should be experiencing blissgasms when watching any movie, reading any book or playing any game as it has been 500 years since shakespeare's last play and your expected incremental improvement should result in divine writings from storytellers. we didn't make parallels.  we contrast.  is Gromnir who were observing that there has Not been general improvement in storytelling in a long time, and we wouldn't expect such improvement.  

 

duh.

 

and recognizing that bg2 weren't some kinda masterpiece is hardly explaining your expectation for improvement.  as shady has mentioned numerous times now, at some point in sod the writers began to railroad... which should be expected.  the game fits in-between two completed stories and any number o' characters in sod has fixed histories that the beamdog writers got no choice but to accommodate as those characters exist in bg2. sod is a bg1 expansion, and the bg2ee already exists.  the protagonist o' sod can't ride off into the sunset nor can he die a hero's death.  we know where and how edwin, minsc, jaheira and a host o' other characters begin bg2, so is little room to make fundamental changes their stories.  no sod character that already exists is gonna have any appreciable growth, 'cause they didn't have such growth at start o' bg2. the freedom o' the beamdog writers were significant limited. as we noted already, bg2 also had far more resources and we able to embrace larger and more diverse storylines.  many o' those bg2 stories were little better than bg1.  a FEW o' the bg2 stories and writing were fantastic.  *chuckle*  the bg2 bard stronghold were actual fantastic and is a terrible shame that so few folks got to experience.  given the brevity o' the expansion, am doubting that the sod companions all got development on par with jaheira and keldorn.  would be UNreasonable to expect similar development in a typical expansion. in a combat-heavy expansion 'tween bg1 and bg2 with a length o' ~25 hours, the beamdog writers were hamstrung, as expected.

 

you are being obtuse on multiple levels. expect david and luke and mark from bg2 to make improvement incremental from game to game is understandable even if it ain't realistic.  use special effects and technical improvements o' the franchise since 1998 to explain and validate your expectations is utter ridiculous, but yeah, Individual writers should improve aspects o' their craft over time.  amber, liam and andrew did not write bg2.  andrew got some graphic novel experience before coming to beamdog?  saddle writers with limited resources and a defined scope and expect 'em to improve somebody else's well received bg2 characters and story is actual a daunting task.  and the degree to which technical and gameplay aspects has been improved since 2000 is a pointless observation and hardly a rationale for expecting writing improvement.

 

serious, you can't be as obtuse as you act.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Junai]

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

 

 

Sounds fitting. Let's reduce Beamdog's *exciting* non-cis experiment to exactly that.

[hamskii]

 

 

It's preposterous to complain about criticism, if you cackle in the face of devoted fans. The criticism is not.. unfair.

 

If it's your own art, you're free to express yourself in any way you want. If you're writing a sequel, you shouldn't stray too far from the source material and the style of the established title. The fans are fully within their rights to whine. If Peter Jackson turned Gandalf into a transsexual, it wouldn't matter if Gandalf spoke about it just a few times. It wouldn't be The Lord of the Rings anymore. Even if Jackson decided to do a sequel, where Gandalf delves into the nature of his sexuality, and shares his childhood problems with his travel companions..  Would be hilarious, but I'm not I'd buy the gift wrapped extended edition. And PJ would probably be busy in court for a couple of decades.

 

I haven't played SoD yet, is the transexual NPC in question one of the established NPC's from BG1 and BG2? Or a wholly new character?

 

 

 

It's a new smile painted on Mona Lisa's face.

It's Han Solo not firing first.

It's a poorly written character, and an insult to transsexuals.

It's Amber Scott's arrogant cackle.

 

 

 

J.

 

"A new smile painted on the Mona Lisa's face", give me a break. It's a new character in a new installment of an old video game franchise who represents something that makes you uncomfortable. That's all. Stop pretending that your arguments are based in some kind of deep-rooted concern for transgender people (not transsexuals), and admit that what you really want is to not have to be reminded that this group of people exists.

 

Oh wait. You already did.

 

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

 

Sounds fitting. Let's reduce Beamdog's *exciting* non-cis experiment to exactly that.

 

[Junai]

"A new smile painted on the Mona Lisa's face", give me a break. It's a new character in a new installment of an old video game franchise who represents something that makes you uncomfortable. That's all. Stop pretending that your arguments are based in some kind of deep-rooted concern for transgender people (not transsexuals), and admit that what you really want is to not have to be reminded that this group of people exists.

 

Forgotten Realms is a tongue-in-cheek fantasy world. It was never meant to be shaped into an educational setting by self-righteous middle aged women with a social agenda. What makes me uncomfortable is the condescension, the writers intention, the fact that this mediocre writer intends to use an idiotic fantasy game to preach about liberal values. What a joke. As she said in her interview with Kotaku, she hopes to write many social justice games in the future. Let's see, now we've had a gay orc, and transsex.. erm.. trans*gender* ..gnome? What's next? Maybe her anti-racist goblin will deter me from criticizing labour's immigration policies? rofl.. There is nothing about trans people, or gay people that makes me uncomfortable. Phlegmatic, slightly coprpulent, middle aged women who approach me with a condescending cackle however.. 

 

Besides, her using FR and BG as a soapbox for her sjw agenda is just damaging to the parties in question, as these serious real-life issues deserve a more serious platform than a silly computer game. 

 

Her character, however small and insignificant, is a "mustache on the Mona Lisa". A joke. A startrooper in Middle Earth, a Spartan soldier on a space station. It's just a nuisance. Insignificant rubbish of course, but enough to stir up some fuzz and irritate the old fans. Quite entertaining actually, since I had never heard about Gamer Gate or any of these controversies before. I don't play much games these days.

 

 

Oh wait. You already did.

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

 

Sounds fitting. Let's reduce Beamdog's *exciting* non-cis experiment to exactly that.

 

 

 

It's a rejection of said writer's rubbish, not of gays or transgender people.

 

Edited April 29, 2016 by Junai

[hamskii]

 

Oh wait. You already did.

 

 

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

 

Sounds fitting. Let's reduce Beamdog's *exciting* non-cis experiment to exactly that.

 

 

 

 

It's a rejection of said writer's rubbish, not of gays or transgender people.

 

Right. And although rejecting "said writer's rubbish" just so happens to take the form of actively removing gay or transgender characters from the game, that's just a coincidence - it's not about rejection of gay or transgender people, right?

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Forgotten Realms is a tongue-in-cheek fantasy world.

 

(...)

 

Her character, however small and insignificant, is a "mustache on the Mona Lisa". A joke. A startrooper in Middle Earth, a Spartan soldier on a space station.

 

 

Actually, FR was never meant to be particularly tongue-in-cheek, and I think exploration of what (semi-)easily available sex-change magic means for how the inhabitants of the world perceive gender isn't fundamentally at odds with the tone of the setting (therefore comparisons to "startroopers" on Middle Earth or Spartan soldiers on a space station feel uncalled for).

 

Of course, something more subtle and nuanced than "I slapped a girdle of masculinity/femininity on and feel awesome! Yay for cursed items!" would be better than what we got.

[Excalibur_2102]

Just going to post a couple of "facts" here.

 

1.  Amber Scott was not "Lead Writer" for SoD, her actual job title is more in line with marketing (hence why she has been in more interviews).  Andrew Foley was the other writer on the team that had a significant hand in the games writing.  I imagine a large portion of SoD was written before Amber even joined the team.

 

"Maybe her anti-racist goblin will deter me from criticizing labour's immigration policies?"

 

The goblin youre referring to was written by Andrew Foley, not Amber Scott

 

2.  The quote where she says she was proud to write SJW content came from a forum post back in 2015, and is not a response to the so called Dragonspear "controversy".  In fact I dont think she has responded on this matter at all since the games release.  Though of course she did still say she wanted to write "SJW" games.

 

3.  Ed Greenwood had this to say on the matter:

 

"I am saddened by what I hear of the current kerfluffle raging about Siege of Dragonspear and the trans character Amber Scott designed and included in it.

Folks, the Realms have ALWAYS had characters (mortals and deities) who crossdressed, changed gender (and not just to sneak past guards in an adventure, by way of shapeshifting magic or illusions), were actively bisexual, and openly gay. How underscored this was by TSR and later Wizards varied over time, and was always softpedaled, because D&D wasn't a sex game, and we generally don't rub the reader's nose in sex unless there's a good in-story reason for it.

But even deities have changed gender, sometimes for good, and the servants of deities (Elminster, in ELMINSTER: THE MAKING OF A MAGE) have sometimes been forced by the deity to "spend time as the other" to learn what life is like.

So it has always been there, and is an integral part of the Realms. With that said, I've never met a gamer yet who doesn't tinker with every adventure to "make it their own" at their own gaming table, so if trans, LGBT, or sexual matters at all don't suit your tastes and needs in your gaming sessions, leave it out or change it.

But D&D has half-orcs, and half-dragons, and half-elves, and has magic items that specifically change gender, right there in the rules. Surely, if you can handle the basic notion of cross-SPECIES sex, having a full variety of gender roles should be something that doesn't blow your mind. If it's not for you, that's fine. I hate wearing certain shades of yellow. But I don't scream and yell at someone I see wearing those shades of yellow, and call them names, and threaten things. My right to dislike yellow applies to me; it doesn't extend to others. Because somehow, through an incredible oversight on the part of the universe that still hasn't been rectified, no one made me a god. (I'm still crushed.)!"

 

You could argue that if the creator of forgotten realms says trans characters belong in the setting, then no one else has the authority to say they don't.

 

4.  Apparently, the writers were limited on how much they could write for minor characters, hence why Mizhena had so little to her story other than what was there.

 

5.  The character says very little about her actual gender or sex, only that she was born as male.. Nothings indicates that she is or is not using magical items or potions to change her sex.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Excalibur_2102

[Mamoulian War]

 

 

Oh wait. You already did.

 

 

 

In other words: it's an optional NPC with two lines of optional dialogue.

Sounds fitting. Let's reduce Beamdog's *exciting* non-cis experiment to exactly that.

 

It's a rejection of said writer's rubbish, not of gays or transgender people.

Right. And although rejecting "said writer's rubbish" just so happens to take the form of actively removing gay or transgender characters from the game, that's just a coincidence - it's not about rejection of gay or transgender people, right?

Yes. A coincidence, nothing more, nothing less. You are raging about nothing as much as are all the 1/10 reviewers raging about nothing. Just on the opposite side. World is not black and white, and if you are not able to see that some people can have valid issues with writing, despite not crusading against gays/transgenders, then I am trully sorry for you. Black and White world must be very sad place to live, a place full of hate, where people do not even try to listen to each other. Edited April 30, 2016 by Mamoulian War

[Hiro Protagonist II]

Just going to post a couple of "facts" here.

 

1.  Amber Scott was not "Lead Writer" for SoD, her actual job title is more in line with marketing (hence why she has been in more interviews).  Andrew Foley was the other writer on the team that had a significant hand in the games writing.  I imagine a large portion of SoD was written before Amber even joined the team.

 

 

There's three issues I see with this point.

 

1. Who in this thread has said she is the 'Lead Writer"? People has said she is a writer, not the "lead writer".

 

2. You seem to be putting her in the 'marketing' role and not a 'writers' role when clearly she is in a writers role:

 

 

 

 

 

3. You say you're posting 'facts' but then go on to say: "I imagine..."

 

Which is it? Are you posting 'facts' or are you 'imagining' them?

 

 

 

2.  The quote where she says she was proud to write SJW content came from a forum post back in 2015, and is not a response to the so called Dragonspear "controversy".  In fact I dont think she has responded on this matter at all since the games release.  Though of course she did still say she wanted to write "SJW" games.

 

It's been a well established fact that this quote was made back in August 2015. The fact is it's being used by some people showing Amber Scott's intent with adding things into the game and she doesn't care if people think it's forced or fake.

 

Think about that for a second.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Excalibur_2102]

Maybe I should've been clearer with my wording with her job title.   She is obviously a writer, but she is also "publishing and marketing coordinator" (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amber-scott-286a3168).  Ive noticed when she introduces herself that's what she says as opposed to writer.   She has written a large amount of whats in SoD for sure, but then so has Andrew.  Nobody has used lead writer as a term but she is the only writer that has been mentioned, when we don't really know for sure which parts she's had a hand in.

 

The Goblin companion (that calls your character racist), for example, was definately written by Andrew.

 

The second point was just stating when it was written as some people tend to take it as a response to complaints recently, not something said in the past.  I don't dispute the reason they are using the post.

 

EDIT:  Oh and as for this part of my last post "I imagine a large portion of SoD was written before Amber even joined the team." I knew someone would try and pick that apart as soon as I wrote it, but no I'm not sure on that and that part isn't fact...  All I know is development started in 2012, and Amber joined in 2014.  So yeah, I don't know when the bulk of the writing happens, but I imagine the premise of the story was at least already confirmed.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Excalibur_2102

[aluminiumtrioxid]

 

3.  Ed Greenwood had this to say on the matter:

 

"I am saddened by what I hear of the current kerfluffle raging about Siege of Dragonspear and the trans character Amber Scott designed and included in it.

 

Folks, the Realms have ALWAYS had characters (mortals and deities) who crossdressed, changed gender (and not just to sneak past guards in an adventure, by way of shapeshifting magic or illusions), were actively bisexual, and openly gay. How underscored this was by TSR and later Wizards varied over time, and was always softpedaled, because D&D wasn't a sex game, and we generally don't rub the reader's nose in sex unless there's a good in-story reason for it.

 

But even deities have changed gender, sometimes for good, and the servants of deities (Elminster, in ELMINSTER: THE MAKING OF A MAGE) have sometimes been forced by the deity to "spend time as the other" to learn what life is like.

 

So it has always been there, and is an integral part of the Realms. With that said, I've never met a gamer yet who doesn't tinker with every adventure to "make it their own" at their own gaming table, so if trans, LGBT, or sexual matters at all don't suit your tastes and needs in your gaming sessions, leave it out or change it.

 

But D&D has half-orcs, and half-dragons, and half-elves, and has magic items that specifically change gender, right there in the rules. Surely, if you can handle the basic notion of cross-SPECIES sex, having a full variety of gender roles should be something that doesn't blow your mind. If it's not for you, that's fine. I hate wearing certain shades of yellow. But I don't scream and yell at someone I see wearing those shades of yellow, and call them names, and threaten things. My right to dislike yellow applies to me; it doesn't extend to others. Because somehow, through an incredible oversight on the part of the universe that still hasn't been rectified, no one made me a god. (I'm still crushed.)!"

 

 

 

Well that was unexpected. I guess you learn something new every day.

[Volourn]

Like a goblin would speak like a 21st century human being. LMAO

 

Unless it is used as a joke.

 

 

Also, I also find that  they  claim theya re proud of their SJW nazi content yet that content is such minimal silliness it has no real impact outside of having eveyrone on all 3 sides troll each other. If you are gonna write for your agenda at least just go straight out on it. LMAO Should have had every single character, story, and line be about SJW Nazism. That would have been beautiful. Instead they add a throwaway npc, a throw away pary member, and add some throwaway lines to existing characters. DEEP.

 

 

But, this is Beamdog. They suck. They cna't do anything right. Actually, that isn't true. they can beat a dead horse for a little extra cash. L0L Good job.

[213374U]

Like a goblin would speak like a 21st century human being. LMAO

 

That's actually... a good point?

 

Perhaps "racism" in this context doesn't even apply. Racism is not cool IRL because no useful conclusions about an individual can be drawn from their skin color. However, in D&D, races often have an assigned alignment. Goblins are "usually neutral evil", so it is perfectly justified for goblins to be generally reviled. Being accused of being prejudiced against goblins is a bit like being accused of cowardice for not being big on petting Australian tiger snakes (I just love me some National Geographic).

 

I don't really remember the goblin in question, though. Is it the new companion?

[Hiro Protagonist II]

It's one of the new companions in SoD. She's a goblin shaman (similar to a druid) and it's one of the sound sets she says when you click on her. I can understand some people getting annoyed when you click on her to issue a command and she calls you a racist.

 

The full line is: "So, all goblins look alike to you. That's what you're saying? Racist."

 

You go to heal a party member and she says that to you. You might click on her to pick something up and she says that to you. etc. The novelty gets old quickly. Probably would have been better in a dialogue with a goblin party that you meet and she says something to you.

 

I should add, that while other companions say stuff to you and break the fourth wall (eg. Tiax's 'The day will come when Tiax will point and click! and Edwin's "I do not understand this 'mouse magic' that makes me do your bidding".), those companions are responding to your actions in real life. You're using a mouse and the companions respond to you using a mouse.

 

However, M'Khiin response to you clicking on her comes out of left field and the question to you and then calling you a racist isn't a response to what you're doing in real life when playing the game. You can't even answer the question. So I find it a little different to the other companions who do break the fourth wall.
 

Edited May 2, 2016 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Tigranes]

Since my faintest hopes that this would be a good game were quickly extinguished, I don't have a shred of interest in the ensuing drama, but everything seems to point to incompetence rather than bad faith. 

 

Wait, no, that would mean I agree with Volo- no, NO! HELP ME! HELP-

[Hurlshort]

It's one of the new companions in SoD. She's a goblin shaman (similar to a druid) and it's one of the sound sets she says when you click on her. I can understand some people getting annoyed when you click on her to issue a command and she calls you a racist.

 

The full line is: "So, all goblins look alike to you. That's what you're saying? Racist."

 

You go to heal a party member and she says that to you. You might click on her to pick something up and she says that to you. etc. The novelty gets old quickly. Probably would have been better in a dialogue with a goblin party that you meet and she says something to you.

 

I can see where it would get old, but that is hardly a commentary on racism. It is a pretty standard joke.