+100.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Good post.
Good points in the OP.
Larian's house rules on Backstab, Disengage, High Ground, Food etc. keep coming up again and again in feedback but unfortunately they are neither commenting nor explaining why they feel these are needed.
I don't want to change companions stats myself but I want them to be fixed to not suck as character builds, and to reflect them more accurately. E.g. Shadowheart does not have 8 Int. She speaks eloquently and seems quite knowledgeable about mind flayers and tadpoles and things. Should be 12 but even 10 would be more believable.
I was thinking the same about Shadowheart. Who rolled those stats and thought it fit her character? I also have an issue with her strength. Why do low, and she starts with melee weapon and shield with no Finesse and ranged item. Took me a bit to realize why she sucked in melee combat for awhile.
In the art of the game, she is depicted with a spear, and she seems strong. So why so weak?
And food. That bugs me. A bonus actions to eat a whole block of cheese? And food should never be for HP recovery. You get plenty of potions too, so it isn't even necessary.
And honestly, 90% of my feedback would really be unnecessary if they just stuck to 5e rules. I feel like I'm always trying to work with what they have, but the truth is the game would benefit so much if they didn't have all their strange house rules.
