@Maximuuus : yeah, I guess a BG1esque system, where if you don't take a companion in your adventuring party, they just continue on their own, could probably work. (Except that, instead of going to wait for you at the nearest inn or town, they should actually continue the quest and go where it makes sense, e.g. Lae'zel seeks the creche, etc. ) What could also work would be some explanation of what they do during the day. The non-party companions might join you again at camp every night, but at least they would not sit there all day doing nothing and waiting for you to return (and tell you clearly that this is what they do at camp).
@Wormerine : it makes sense for the party to undertake all quests that would help with the tadpole situation (including "merely" gaining knowledge). But as things are right now, it's very hard to justify doing any facultative, non-tadpole-related side quest. Yet I fear we'll have such opportunities when we are in Baldur's Gate.
I would welcome a (non-missable) cutscene where some characters clearly express that they no longer feel the urgency of the beginnings, or even (later) that they can now spend a whole day without thinking too much about the tadpole. Something which would clearly establish the fact that this game is now a long journey, and no longer a race against time. (Though, in such a scene, I would like my PC to be able to remind the NPCs that, while they might feel safe, there is still too much we don't know, and it's not time to slow down, if my PC is so inclined.)
Also ... there's these issue that I would have like to leave aside, but they're closely related : passage of time and camp cutscenes.
At the moment, the writers are telling me, through the information we gather, "er, hm, maybe there's a bit less urgency after all, okay ? You're still far from safe and should waste no time, but you can stress a bit less. Have some nice time when you're at camp. Talk about something else than the tadpole. Get to know your companions".
Meanwhile, the game designers are telling me "please spend a night at camp after every new combat, social encounter or the odd bit of lore that you found, if you want to get all the story content. Don't worry, time does not actually exist".
Through these two systems, the game completely undermines the urgency that the writer have set up.
