Is it true they will adding other companions in time a 6th or maybe 7th?

I hope so, but am not holding my breath. It would be nice to have at least two companions for each basic role so that we don't have to feel like one is forced upon us if we don't want to cover that role with the custom PC.

On the other hand, with all the work that goes into creating a companion and the side stories for each, I can understand keeping the numbers low.

More companions would greatly enhance this game. So far, all the companions are great! But if this is all we have to choose from, then the game will always feel the same each time we play through it. There needs to be more options of companions to choose from, with greater diversity of personality and alignment.

At least one more female character, I hope. And also some dwarf or halfling.

I don't see why there wont be more 'non - origin' companions, ones that will be recruitable after Act 1.

It would be great to have one companion for every class!
I like them all (started out hating Astarion but came to like him once I played!) but it would be great to have more.

Pro tip - running water kills Astarion.

As far as confirmed info goes, at the bare minimum we're getting two or three more companions. At least one per class would be awesome.

They said there's a bunch of "good" companions in the wings. The Tiefling near the Paladins by the river looks to be a future companion. You have dialog to ask her to join your party (she refuses and says mee me later in Balder's Gate)

Since this is the "Evil" playthrough and the current companions are of evil and chaotic alignments then we at least need an equal number of Good companions. I mean, if I was playing a Paladin then none of these companions could work in that party.

On a side note, I would love a paladin companion who sees through Wyll’s pretense and false righteousness. I would totally travel in that party just to wait for the powder keg to go off.

Hehe. That *does* sound fun.

I liked it when feuds would boil over in time in BG1&2 but given that this game forces you to lock in companions after act 1 that would be miserable. You could use hirelings, I guess, but being down 1-2 companions in a 4 person party would still suck.

Although if we're stuck with just 1 or 2 more characters than what we've seen so far I'll be using hirelings for my party anyway.

I also love that companions could romance each other... (Well at least Haer'Dalis and Aerie could) Since I've never actually liked being in romances in video games I've never experienced the love triangle and subsequent outcome of that but that's an amazing thing to put in a game as well. I too am worried about the whole "choose your final party" thingy. The only way I can see it working is that at some point after act 1 you can make your own custom party members in case things go sideways with your current party. .. but that makes the whole point of choosing a final party kind of pointless. Well, at any rate I guess it'll be interesting to see how it all works when the game is finalized. At the moment I feel like there's going to be so many changes that it won't be anything like what we are currently playing.

God I hope so... and at least one or two of the classic characters need to make a return.

I was only commenting on the fun of what @Warlocke suggested.

I am very much in the camp of utterly disliking most of these first batch of companions. I would not want Shadowheart, Lae'zal, Astarion, or Wyll in my good-aligned party, leaving only Gale as a possible companion. And I am equally adamant about saying 'no' to generic hirelings. I want only fully fleshed-out companions. And, I fully expect there will at least be a mod to increase party size to six, and that will be a "never play without it" mod for me. So, I am currently short four companions in my party. Let's see if Larian can give me four more companions I will like, though I'm not holding my breath on this happening. As such, things are not looking fun/enjoyable--or even just viable--for me.

I must say I changed my opinion on Shadowheart, much to my own surprise. She's well fleshed out and, I suspect, redeemable.

As for Astarion, I do not know what triggers me the most, if the fact he's an evil vampire spawn, or an elf that doesn't act like an elf at all, or an evil elf vampire spawn who doesn't act like an elf.

[quote=Sechrima]More companions would greatly enhance this game. So far, all the companions are great! But if this is all we have to choose from, then the game will always feel the same each time we play through it. There needs to be more options of companions to choose from, with greater diversity of personality and alignment.[/quote]

Are you playing the same game as me sure the companion choice is limited and I wouldn't say no to more, but even using the same companions you have different builds for each one an Arcane Trickster will give a different dynamic than a Thief same applies to a Eldritch Knight vs a Battlemaster throw in feat choices and things diverge further. Chuck in the random element of dialogue persuasion checks, in my 10 or so runs through the druid grove I've only ever saved the girl twice. There is a tonne of replayability.

What I would like to see is the ability to hire NPCs into your party blank slate so you can build custom groups rather than fleshed out full blown companions.

I can't agree more. Astarion would make alot more sense based upon his personality and behavior as a half-elf or a human. Hell, Astarion would make more sense behavior-wise as a halfling than as a full-bloodied elf.

I bitched about Astarion and Shadowheart as soon a they were announced, both the elven options leaning towards evil when they should be leaning towards chaotic good. No matter, I gave them a fair chance. My party is Shadowheart, Astarion and Gale, and while I very much enjoy Shadowheart, Astarion is just a major disappointment as an elf.

I do think that the companions are all well written though, to be honest. I'm just really into elves, and in this game they seem to be nothing but another human variant.

Honest question - how are elves supposed to act? I mean tieflings are meant to be evil because of their blood, but we are being told by 5e that they are basically the product of their surroundings, i.e. will become evil if faced with distrust and racism. Wouldn't it be the same thing for elves? I haven't gotten far, but Astarion seems to have as messed up a background as everyone, plus he is a vampire spawn which is the evil creature in itself. If you go back to old games, elves in BG2 Suldanesselar were distrustful of everyone and put geas on Viconia if she was in the party, kicked you out of the city later on and were completely unapologetic for Irenicus. Those were very hypocritical and human things to do.

Your race/species doesn't determine who you are or what you do with your life except if you're a lizard you probably lay eggs. That's about all I can think of. Your actions determine who you are. Your race can certainly make particular behaviors more or less compatible with your peers but nothing's set in stone, is it?

I wonder if there will be a quest line for Astarion to cure his condition. Based on rules, you can actually kill and resurrect him as human which obviously doesn't work like it in the game. Having a +1 all throws bite is nice, but may be he is evil because he is a vampire spawn?

I have much doubt as to whether or not there will be new companions. Look at the loading screens and the like; if there were other companions it would be apparent.

Ohhh, if I was Larian I wouldn't want to spoil anything just yet because then people would be banging my door non-stop about releasing new companions - there might be more pictures that are just yet hidden...



That's my thought process as well. To me, he is first and foremost a vampire spawn. Although I'm not sure if/how he could be healed - it felt more like he just wants to be free, even if it means staying in the dark forever...

Also - isn't Shadowheart a half-elf? Anyways, I don't think just because she's half elf means she has to "behave like an elf". If she grew up around humans, she'd certainly behave more like humans do? At least that's what my experience is.

What would be great is that we could hire npcs looking for work or let us create our own hired companion if we got tired of the origin characters, like on pillars of eternity that was a great feature. It was also good for trying out different builds. I do hope they would let us recruit different companions though.

I take it you have never read a manual. One of the reasons I love Forgotten Realms so much as a setting is that they go in great detail describing what makes every folk unique (particularly so in the older editions). There are many things that set elves apart from other races, both mentally, physically and emotionally. They did a great job with Githyankis, per instance, I just wish they would have been as meticulous with every race. Granted, there are so many races, it's difficult to keep track and spend resources on everyone.
Now I am not asking that every elf behaves the same way, that would be boring. But for a world to make sense, and for fantasy races to make sense, the average NPC should behave in the ways that set them apart from humans, otherwise... What is the point, exactly? And so far, no elves have stuck me particularly elvish. The three biggest elven characters I've encountered show no signs, Halsin and Kagha don't even revere an elven deity.





Shadowheart is hands down the best written companion, she became my favourite much to my own surprise. I'm just disappointed that out of the two characters that have elven blood, be it full or mixed, none display an easily recognizable, stereotypical elven trait.