Originally Posted by robertthebard
Who is the story about then? Which of the Origin characters do you believe has sufficient ties to the story to be the "main character" no matter who you decide to play as? All of them can die. You can wind up in possession of Shadowheart's box. So, none of them seem to be "main character" material. Which RPGs are you playing, or have you played, where the main character was something/someone other than the character you rolled up, or the party, in the case of IWD/Solasta? If we're going to run with logic, which NPC is it that can take all the agency away from the player? What is it that defines "main character" if it's not the character you're playing as? Even in games like the WH example, you're still playing the main character, because if you wait around for the bosses to do the game, you'll be waiting a long time, and since a "main character" is the driving force behind gameplay, I'm left a bit puzzled by who you think that is. Or, I was.

I think the thing you're missing is that you're equating the mechanical main character with the narrative main character. Mechanically our custom character is the main character in that they're the character we the players embody, and they're the vessel through which we effect the story. But narratively, they're not the main character. The story isn't about them anymore or any less than it's about Gale or shadowheart or Wyll. If we assume that the origin system is gonna work basically the same as in D:OS2, then any of the origins can step into the mechanical main character spot. If we pick them at the start of the game, they'll be mechanically our main character. It's going to be their choices that propel the story forward. They'll be able to do everything Tav does, and Tav's absence won't makea substantive difference, since Tav doesn't have any deeper connections to the plot. Our Tav doesn't have any special skills that make them a unique asset to the group, they just happen to be the character chosen by the player. Any other companion could step into Tav's place if they're chosen at the start of the game.

If you think about it narratively, the actual story makes a bit more sense. Not the plot ncessarily, but the story. Wyll is a character that has to struggle with his morality as he not only seeks to free himself from the mindflayers, but from his contract with the devil tht the mindflayers also captured. Shadowheart stole an artefact that has a direct, significant tie to the parasite and keeping people safe from it. Lae'zel is a githyanki, raised from birth to fight this enemy. Now she's found herself alone on an unfamiliar world, forced to work with those she deemed lesser in order to survive and perhaps prove herself worthy in the process. Astarion has to struggle with whether he wants to risk finding a way to subdue the tadpole in order to maintain his newfound freedom from the master who tortured and enslaved him. Gale is the only one whose side plot really is (so far) entirely divorced from the tadpole plot. But you have all those, with plots and pathos built in, that the game will actually react to. And then we have Tav. An entirely empty shell that can be removed from the story without anything being lost.