Without commenting too heavily on the rest, I do agree that companions of this nature should be protected from permadeath in some way that also helps prevent using this in an exploitative way (as though Larian cared about that anyway...). Most other games do this by having the protected character sent back to base in some fashion, to recuperate, if they would otherwise have been killed. There are a myriad of different ways this could be explained in universe.
ps. Scratch as an Origin? I would play that one!!!
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Scratch nominated for best romance option. Far superior love interest to all other origin characters. Friendly, loyal, good-natured, good-hearted, caring, considerate, and, by his dialogue, smarter than most average barbarians.
