Theres a rather big power gap between 'cursed hedge wizard' and 'chosen of mystra'. On the same level we dont know how well the gizmo that Shadowheart has was protected. Maybe they left it in some office somewhere and she snuck in and snatched. Maybe it was under armed guard and she barged in and took it. Most of the cast so far are disengenous or coy about details at best. Not everything they say can be taken at face value, nor are we given alot of options to pry more information from them. Sometimes we can, for example sometimes we can do opposed tests or use the tadpole but at other times we cant. Its hard to get a clear image of each character and how truthfull they are overall. But all of them twist the truth or hide details. And honestly they come across as pathological liars to me...
Nalia is indeed in abit of a bind. Everyone would be if an army of trolls barged into their ancestral home, killed their family and friends and find themselves surrounded by slavers and other unsavoury types. Doesent take away that nobles have friends or aquintances that they can leverage for....stuff. We dont see alot of it ingame but the focus on the game also isent about the political intrigue of beeing a noble in Amn. Making a mockery of her power or potential power when you bring up game mechanics or things like timestop is also trivial. By the time you meet her you sure as hell and cant do that yourself and by the time you could, so could she. She can be as weak or as powerfull as you want her to be. If shes in your party and ends up weak, thats your own mis-management.
Cernd is a druid. If he wanted to he could literally walk out of that prison at any point that he wanted to. It wouldnt really help relations though and people are already on edge because of the local animal attacks so he chooses *gasp* the diplomatic route. Omg. A character whos more then just combat! Who would have thought? His personal mission beeing the one with his kid is my mixup. Its been a while since I played the game with him in my party but having a druid grove as allies has some benefits. That you dont see these benefits back in game is a shame but I dont think it takes much inmagination to see why it can be a very usefull source of allies and aid.
By the time you reach the shadow druids the party is already so powerfull that yeah, they dont pose much of a threat. Even with a PC not imported from bg1 a fresh bg2 character is like what, lvl 7? Level 9? if solo class? Most people in-universe dont even get that strong and thats the starting point for the player. The game has serious powercreep issues honestly.
Keldorn pinpointed the location where the Cult members are heading to. That by itself isent so special, alot of people can tell the player they come from the sewers so eventually you would find them on your own as well if you spend some time. Dont recall if he was waiting for backup or if you 'stumble' into him before he can run in on his own but considering the player has a party of 6 (if you got a full party anyway) and some fights can be challenging if you havent played the game before an order sending a dude off on his own is some indication that they have a decent amount of respect for him. Or maybe he ran off on his own, I dont recall. But he sure as hell isent dead when you find him and other then the Beholder itself he can give most things down there a very bad time.
Regardless. We are talking about different things. Im talking about more abstract things like political power, favours, connections and whatnot and you are talking about raw damage output as far as I can tell. Obviously the player will have the upper hand on all of the companions if they take a little time to gear up. Likewise, obviously a character made by the player will be more powerfull if they took the time to get a good stat role and stat distribution. We are however also comparing apples to oranges if we compare companions from bg 2 and bg3. Characters in bg2 arent level 1. Some come with their own unique gear and/or magical items when you find them and the game system between bg 2 and bg 3 is different. While most have more 'normal' backgrounds they are still exceptional individuals when compared to their peers.
Anyway going into details about what characters were good or bad at was completly besides the point. The questions were 'what makes their inclusion not-baldursgate.' Other then 'some of their backstories are larger then life' I dont think youve given any reasoning? A new player in a group I played in last year made a background for his level 1 barbarian. Do you know what he wrote? He was a general for his tribe. He had slain armies, conquored lands and never lost a fight in his entire life. Then before the 1st session he and a Goblin tinkerer did a little sparring and the Tinkerer got him to 1 HP. Then he punched him in the groin with fury of the small and the guy changed his background to say he only lost 1 figher ever in his life point is, new players tend to write way to elaborate and way to powerfull backgrounds for their lvl 1 toons. They all honestly come across as that.
point is, new players tend to write way to elaborate and way to powerfull backgrounds for their lvl 1 toons. They all honestly come across as that.