Originally Posted by snowram
Originally Posted by Llengrath
Larian writers don't seem to like using tropes commonly used in similar games, perhaps because they think they know better. As a result the whole party feels like a DnD table where everyone has main character syndrome.
I don't feel that way, I even feel like most CRPGs out there have the opposite syndrome, being the "side character" syndrome. They are most often there just to be a prop for the player, to conform to their cliché and they barely feel like character with a motivation. Their goal is the player goal and they show pretty much no sign of sentience when presented with any situation.

I agree completely.

Someone said these companions have main character syndrome. They literally are main characters! If they didn't have these other things, there would be no reason to play them over a Tav. I mean, surely this is obvious?

It's fair to ask whether the origin system ends up a hindrance to the experience of playing as a Tav, of course. But it was a design choice. They didn't do it to be edgy or subversive, they did it to add a way to entice people to want to replay the game as much as possible. Who the hell wants to play an origin character that doesn't have an extra layer of drama to entice them? People are so focused on their own intended playthrough experience they have allowed themselves to be blind to the other options available. You can certainly have an opinion on whether this whole idea was a good one or not, but use a bit of logical thinking when you're trying to grasp why they did it.

(And btw Game of Thrones is full of 'special snowflake' characters, albeit in a low magic fantasy setting. I could outline the three main Stark pov characters alone to prove this point. Drama makes a good story, lack of it often makes a boring one)