I’m brand new to these forums, so if there’s a mega discussion on this topic please feel free to point me there.
When I first started BG3 and made my Tav, I was surprised and delighted when Lae’zel and Shadowheart squabbled right away on the nautiloid. I was excited to see that these two characters seemingly would have their own relationship to one another, and reacted to one another so strongly. For that reason I was happy when Shadowheart tried to fight Lae’zel — Shadowheart had her own opinions of Lae’zel and took her own action independent of anything that I’d done. Sure, my Tav was able to step in and cool the tension, but the fact it happened at all was something I was so excited about.
But, now that I’m starting Act 3, I’m equally disappointed to see that that was kind of the beginning and end of those fully independent companion moments (at least with what I’ve seen so far). If those moments had been leaned into a lot more that’s where BG3 could have gone from a good game to the premier title in a modern NPC companion RPG in my eyes. I honestly would have preferred to not have the companions be Origin options and to only have Custom and Durge Tav if it meant those resources could have been used to flesh them out within Tav’s origin.
I would have loved to see the companions talking to each other at camp, milling around doing different activities to pass the down time — forming relationships with one another and having lives within the group but regardless of Tav and the players choices. Especially in a game based on DND where the group as a whole is the ‘main character’, there’s no reason for them to basically only come alive when Tav talks to them or for Tav to be the decision maker with very rare party input. I so strongly wanted to be able to cultivate a feeling of a cohesive and bonded party of friends or allys fighting along side one another, each with their own sense of life outside of the main PC.
Little things would have gone a long way to achieving this feeling for me. I want to see dexterous Astarion trying to teach bull in a China shop Karlach to pick a lock, or Wyll and Gale comparing Warlock vs Wizard spell theory. I want to listen in as Jaheira and Halsin share stories of their lives as old druids, or maybe learn that Gale is shockingly good at Faerun blackjack because his high INT lets him count cards. When they’re not interacting with a fellow party member their idle animations could be so much richer and more varied — Astarion could sit in the sun and drink wine, or Shadowheart could be tending to her plants or sitting on her pillow writing with the quill and ink.
The blue dots in the mini map could have been permanent mini portraits that track the companions as they move around to show their location, and when the player needs someone they can find them hanging around wherever they are. The ambient banter or animation could turn into a small cut scene where Tav interrupts whatever they’re doing with a ‘Can I talk to you for a second?’ and then pull that companion away to talk. What goes on behind the scenes when Tav isn’t paying attention? Who’s really bad at their turn on dinner duty? Does someone snore, or does one of the non elves think it’s a little weird how the elves meditate instead of sleep? These are the kinds of fleshed out character moments I would have loved to see, but instead the companions mostly stand or sit in one spot and do basically one idle animation.
In the same vein, the dial on party banter while out and about and party comments during cut scenes needs to be fixed or turned up by at least half. It’s extremely awkward to carry on a conversation with an NPC while 3 other people stand dead silent and staring behind you, giving basically no comments or input. If these things are supposed to be there the triggers aren’t firing in my game.
Some people may find my feedback the exact opposite of what they want, but personally I play these types of RPGs for the companions. Often their stories and personalities are what keep me playing, often times over the bigger plot line. I was really hoping that Larian would really give it all they had in an game based on a TTRPG that can be so character focused.
