Larian Studios Forums Divinity General Discussion Are we going to see an Imp companion?

Just speculating/suggesting/hoping based off the Q&A from a few months ago, with this response from Adam (writing director).

"Where do you feel the writing lacked in BG3 and how do you plan to improve it for Divinity?

I'd like the companions - and other characters - to feel like a more natural part of the world. I love the BG3 companions but the nature of their story means that they're mostly displaced, strangers in a strange land (some of them are returning home, but they're in unfamiliar territory as the game begins). I'd like to see how far we can push the diversity of companions and their stories even farther."

We've seen from the trailer and comments about playable races that Orcs (or Half-Orcs, but I hope full Orcs) are very likely to be a playable race. Imps I expect will too far a stretch for a player character for a number of reasons, but companions are often an area where cRPGs can break the rules of their character creation options, and an Imp companion would be a bold choice.

Given the story will likely relate to Chaos in some significant ways an Imp companion would be an interesting option, being both a natural part of the world and the story, as well as really pushing the diversity of the companion options. Along with orcs it would really push out the racial diversity compared to the prior game.

Edit: Also players loved Shovel in BG3. So why wouldn't they expand on that!

It's possible but who really knows.

ZixZax could reappear as a companion of sorts. Possibly acting like Withers or Volo, being a source of information or utility.

Or we could get an actual companion that's an imp who can aid us in battle (Having a romance arc would probably be a bit weird... But then again, I've seen people thirsting for Sazza...)

Honestly, I could even see a potential for having imps as a playable race. If they do a sort of soft origin for races (I.e. Unique racial prologue) and some unique racial interactions with various factions and NPCs.

But it's really kind of up in the air as far as speculation goes.

Imps are generally well ostracized in Divinity. Their connection to demons, their inhabitation of Nemesis plane (As opposed to Rivellon) and their general savagery make them undesirable to interact with by most races. So it would be easy to justify not including them.

It all comes down to what Larian chooses to do.

Well, Shovel obviously has her uses, but she didnt have too much dialogue, so I'm not sure if I can reasonably agree that she's specifically beloved.

About the question if Divinity will have Imps again, well, maybe even Larian doesnt know that yet.

"It all comes down to what Larian chooses to do." "About the question if Divinity will have Imps again, well, maybe even Larian doesnt know that yet."

I can see why these forums are such a popular place to discuss stuff!

I would love to see orcs, imps, dwarves, lizards and undead as companions.

But going by BG3 we'd probably get 5 elves and a human.

I mean, what do you expect?

You ask "Are we going to see an imp companion?" and the answer is simply "It's up to Larian"

There's not much else to discuss about that. We have absolutely 0 information about the game, the setting, the story or anything to begin speculation.

Which is why this particular forum is not very active. There's just nothing to discuss besides the singular trailer and people's early wishes.

Once we get more information about the game, discussions will heat up as people will have something to base speculation off of.

Theres two possibilities.

We tell you how it is - there is very little information yet.

Or you need to find people who happily lie to you.

I mean there is a third possibility you could apply for a position at Larian and then you'll get the real deal. Also you wouldnt be allowed to talk about it.

BG3 originally had 1 female Tiefling, 1 female Githyanki, 1 female Half-Elf, 1 male Elf and 2 male Humans.

Based on reactions of their fans, they added 1 male Elf and 1 female Drow.

Jaheira and Minsc dont really count because they arent romances.

Since I havent played any Divinity game, I dont know, but my impression is that previous Divinity games did not have romances. At least nobody has mentioned that there are any.

So if they have romances again, which I dont know, yes it might be by majority races that are closer to human. Not so much dwarf, halfling, gnome.

D:OS2 had romances, including romances with undead, dwarf and lizard characters. But it wasn't a romance heavy game. The success of BG3 would probably tell them that putting romances (and sex) in the shopping window brings in a wider audience and increases community engagement. I would be very surprised if they stepped away from the formula.

But I hope that they don't strictly follow the public vote and popularity. Including some unconventional romances and characters, like an imp, would be a bit of a hail mary, but if they can write a compelling and interesting character, I think it can pay off. I think that if you write the characters and stories you feel passionate about, the popularity will follow. And if you are just throwing in characters because market research says this is the hot stuff people want, they will feel unoriginal and fall flat.

Original Sin 2 had romances. They were, however, far less graphic than BG3. No kisses and the sex scene was just a fade to black.


It's a curious thing and it will be interesting to see how they go.

BG3 very much felt like they wanted to simply get popularity. Their requesting of use of the IP despite their lack of interest in it (And the fact they immediately dropped the IP once their success was achieved. No DLC, no interest in follow up D&D titles)

Which I think played into their decision regarding companion races and concerns with sex scenes. Hence dropping Helia and just going with a bunch of humans and elves. Trying to get mainstream appeal with their popularity grab game.

With them returning to making things they actually want to make, it's quite possible they go back to their more preferred diversity.

This might come with sex too, especially given that their trailer prominently features human x lizard sex. Indicating that they're not concerned about exotic race sex scenes being a deterrent. (Probably backed up by the fact that the data shows they only need to include 1 traditionally sexy character from each gender, given the landslide popularity of Shadowheart and Astarion compared to the rest of the cast of BG3. Meaning so long as they make a new Shadowheart and Astarion, the rest of their companions can be whatever)

Possibly, but even with one Astarian and one Shadowheart, if there happens to be a non-companion/non-romancable Minthara in the game, the outcry will be loud and fierce to include her as NPC in the party and possibly in the romance crowd.

(Actually the first mod I ever installed on any game was the "daughter of Lolth" mod that made Minthara a companion. Without that push, I 'd probably still not have used any mod ever)

Trying to force "diversity" on your clients or public by presenting a premade take-it-or-leave it set of choices for them has proven to be a very difficult task. Many will just "leave it". And that's only normal after all.

Though that seems unlikely given Divinity not really having any sort of "Drow".

I suppose if Malady shows up again, she might be desired (She's very much a hot mommy character)


I mean, that's kind of fine though?

Like, they're not making a Dating Simulator. So it shouldn't really be expected that everyone will have a romantic partner they wish to pursue. Nor should it be a major priority for them to pander to everyone with their characters.

Heck, if we take Mass Effect, I had no desire to romance any characters in game 1 or 2, none of them appealed to me (I only did so in a single playthrough of Legendary Edition simply to get the achievment for romancing in all 3 games). It didn't really hinder my gameplay at all to simply stay friends with the cast (Which was fine. ME2 characters were well written enough that I enjoyed them. I just didn't care for any in a way to push for a romantic relationship)

The goal should be simply to make good characters. Ideally with diversity because that allows players to explore the world more, with unique perspectives based on companions races (For example, how Lae'zel provides more of an insight into the savage ideology of the Githyanki). Not simply make the most romancable characters.

I think while sex does bring appeal to a game, it shouldn't come at the cost of the core aspects of the game and developers shouldn't have to abandon their vision to pursue sex.

Larian did a great job in Original Sin 2 by having diverse companions (Which appears to be what they want, given the quote mentioned in the OP of this thread), without the need to sexify them. I don't think it's necessary to abandon that simply to bring in people only really interested in the sex and who don't care as much about the actual characters or exploring the unique perspectives of a diverse cast.

Why do you equate someone being romancable with being a companion?

Jahiera was one of the best companions in BG3. An Imp companion not being a romance option meaning it's less likely as a companion is a really weird take. (Especially given they let you fool around with mind flayer in BG3.)

Hopefully the half baked Halsin companion addition - as well as all the stuff with Minthara as well as Karlach's endings - will remind Larian to stick to their companion choices a bit earlier and make sure they're all properly fleshed out, rather than scrambling right up to release.

I expect with their extra hiring of writers they will hopefully tie things down a bit more, and sooner, and not get big changes to scope and story that hamstrung the writing this time around.

As to the comments about "what do you expect us to say, how can we know" from my original post. Well it's s a speculative question based on a comment from a writer. I think that gives grounds to speculate as well as talk about how people might feel about the suggestion, as well as other ways people might expect or want to see diversity in companions in the new game.

Diversity in companions can come from a lot of directions, race, background, gender, motivations, etc. The comment that they think they have room to get away from the saminiess of many of the BG3 cast - who had similar backgrounds and motivations, and a bit too much overlap in race representation - is a positive one as far as I'm concerned.

I think BG3 did a decent job with a number of the companions escaping the trap some games fall into, which is that they just have minor level interactions with each other and then a rather straightforward "personal quest" which is a almost a standalone experience. I think they can do better though, with the variation in how companions react to the world being tied more directly into any area the party might go, rather than being siloed, as well as more reactive to the other companions. I'm excited to see what they can deliver on this goal.

Of which provides zero hints towards whether an imp companion would be included.

Honestly, the comment from the writer sounds more like they want to properly tie companions to the world, rather than them being essentially just PC's with a different backstory sitting around in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason (As evidenced by the numerous "Where did X companion get abducted by the Mind Flayers from?" threads and questions)


Except that the thread was based on "Are we going to see and imp companion?" not "What kind of companion diversity would you like to see?"

Discussing beyond the scope of the notion of if a singular employee's comment could suggest the inclusion of an imp companion could be seen as off-topic discussion.

Much in the same way Astarion discussions in anything tangentially related to his existence are moderated as off-topic and directed towards targeted threads specifically about discussing him.


I mean... It doesn't really mean anything. Yes, they have room to further diversify the cast. But will they? To what extent? Who's to say.

Especially this early on, when they haven't finalized much about the game. I mean, just look at Helia, the halfling werewolf companion they mostly developed and then cut from BG3.

It's interesting that diversity is a point at least this person keeps in mind. But the actual tangible effect it will have is yet to be seen.

I'm at least hopeful due to the fact that Original Sin 2 was pretty good in terms of diversity, as well as game interactions. But we'll have to see, we don't really know what direction they're wanting to move in post BG3 - Whether they still want to follow the popularity of mainstream audiences and gooners, or whether they want to go back to a more niche style where the emphasis is on a deeper and more interesting experience.


Honestly... I didn't really get the feeling of them being any different to any other game, besides the roaming banter between specific companions.

The closest they came to it was a bit of crossover in the Wyll and Karlach stories.

Meanwhile, there was a distinct lack of companion reactions to anyone you meet. There were very few times when NPC's would even notice someone in your party, despite you having some rather notable potential party members (Gith are not particularly well liked. Tieflings are hated. Wyll had freaking horns. Astarion is clearly a vampire. Shadowheart is running around with a symbol of Shar on her forehead. Does anyone care in the slightest? No)

Really, I hope we get to visit cities from different factions in Divinity, so that there is more room to implement interactions with various companions. Be it kinship or bigotry. To further flesh out their role in the world and their experiences, especially if we get companions from less liked races like Orcs or Imps.