Larian Studios Forums Divinity General Discussion Honestly, I just want a companion like Minthara

I’m honestly obsessed with Minthara's vibe, and I’d love to see a companion like her in future games. There’s just something so refreshing about a character who is completely unapologetic about who they are. She’s fiercely loyal, sharp as a tack, and doesn’t change her core personality just to please the player.

What really blows me away is her unique blend of raw sexuality, ruthlessness, and dominance. She’s not just some generic, forced "tough girl" archetype that basically feels like a male character reskinned as a woman. Minthara manages to be incredibly graceful and feminine, yet terrifyingly arrogant, cruel, and powerful at the same time. She has that genuine "Domme" energy, and I am absolutely here for it.

Most games try to make evil or morally grey companions "fixable," but Minthara owns her dark side, and that’s what makes her so compelling. I really wish we got even more depth and reactivity in her relationship. We definitely need more companions with that kind of edge, layers, and ride-or-die loyalty.

Honestly, I’d love it if a future game gave us a female companion who doesn’t even respect the player—someone who just uses and manipulates you from start to finish. We’ve seen characters do that to other NPCs, but for some reason, they always end up having this underlying, hardcoded respect for the protagonist. Why is that?

I don't always want to feel special, and I don't want to be forced into being the main hero or some macho leader. Let me completely rely on the judgment of stronger companions, avoid taking responsibility, and just roleplay as an absolute loser. Literally NO game gives you that kind of freedom. It’s always the same basic binary choice: you’re either the good guy or the bad guy. That’s it. No game lets you be a coward, pathetic, and utterly worthless.

Larian games are the only exception. Only in a Larian game could I literally kiss a goblin's foot! Only here could I smear literal shit all over my face while goblins laughed at me and my companions judged me. Only here could I strip naked and get whipped by a priest of Loviatar right in front of my party. That is what true depth and freedom look like, and I want more of it! I want the option to be nothing but a shadow to a strong, feminine, and ruthlessly manipulative woman.

I would like more companions that are both intelligent and goodhearted. More like BG2 than like BG3.

BG2 had:
- Imoen who is a goody two shoes and reasonably intelligent and stays with you no matter what, except when she's forcefully taken away
- Aerie who is a goody two shoes and, initial naivity and inexperience taken into account, is quite bright. Also totally overpowered class.
- Keldron who is a goody two shoes and quite wise, though he can be judgemental. Best magekiller class in the game, except for actual mages.
- Minsc who is a goody two shoes and not very bright at all, though very funny. Totally overpowered rage ability, especially against vampires.
- Jaheira who is probably the most annoying of the standard companions and is very useful for the base game, but becomes rather useless in ToB
- Jan Jansen who is a reasonable standin for when Imoen is unavailable.
- Anomen whom I always avoided, because boy is that guy annoying. His class would be quite reasonable though (human Fighter(7)/Cleric).

- Viconia who is evil and somewhat funny and quite bright; Keldorn will kill her
- Korgan who is evil and funny, especially for a dwarf, though not as funny as Kagain in the first game, and okay bright; Aerie will make an ultimatum, either he leaves or she leaves
- Edwin who is evil and the funniest in his over the top arrogance; Minsc will fight him

- Cernd who is quite nice and reasonable, but as a pure Druid isnt too useful; Druids just dont get that many good spells in AD&D compared to Clerics.
- Nalia who is literally a lesser Imoen
- Mazzy who ... well ... I mean she's not bad, but its not clear why she's needed. Just take Keldorn instead and you can use Carsomyr.
- Valygar who ... well, exists. Just take Minsc and you can use plate armor. Really all ranger kits suck, because they cant use plate armor and their specials are all meh.
- Haer'Dalis who is horribly annoying, also utterly useless, and will steal Aerie while leaving himself as well

- Obnoxious EE trash not worth mentioning that has horrible class choices, horrible stats, unbelievably godawful lines and rather bland sidequests.

BG3 had:
- Astarion who is probably the most evil and if he likes something, you can almost guarantee its a bad idea, and getting approval with him is a pain
- Laezel who is again super evil and is also quite stupid
- Shadowheart who is kind of moderate evil and her mind doesnt match her Wisdom score
- Gale who is kind of neutral but an uber creep, but is the only companion that approaches being actually intelligent. Sometimes.
- Wyll who is goodhearted but unbelievably stupid. On the plus side, you can level his approval by just talking to him in camp.
- Karlach who is again goodhearted but again not the brightest. Though a lot more bright than Wyll.

So what you want are more low-effort underwritten characters with no story relevance who only gets a pass because people are thirsty for them?

Thanks, but I prefer properly planned out companions who are polished and finished rather than sloppy fan-service.