Anyone have trouble breaking up with companions? (spoilers abound)
the_spyder
Member Posts: 5,018
So, I am currently playing a run through of BG:EE on the darker side. I left candlekeep and picked up Imoen, Xzar and Monty and jauntily headed north. I then picked up Viccy and turned around to head south. Now I am in Nashkal, having picked up Kagain in Beregost and I hit my first dilemma. I had to dump Imoen to make room for Dorn. Ok, so I got over that one. Now I have to dump Xzar and Monty to make room for Edwin (who will eventually be replaced by Baeloth) and Shar-Teel. Only I am finding it exceedingly hard to kick folks out.
Anyone else have trouble 'Breaking up' with npc companions?
Anyone else have trouble 'Breaking up' with npc companions?
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I also try to RP the comings and goings of characters. For example I tend to join up with Xzar and Montaron when I meet them as at that point I'll take all the help I can get. As a good-aligned character I'll soon realize I don't like them at all, but still feel somewhat obligated to investigate the Nashkel mines with them as I agreed to do so. We generally part ways shortly afterwards.
On occasion if I really want them gone before Nashkel I can for instance RP it as Montaron killing and robbing a civilian (usually Joia with the flamedance ring as she doesn't give a reputation penalty) and then promptly kick them out due to "irreconcilable differences".
The thing with Monty is that, in EE, he spends a lot of time quoting Alice in Wonderland and I like that a lot. Did he do that in vanilla? I don't remember. Anyway, I want to keep them all. But I also want to do Dorn's, Edwin's and Baeloth's quests and have them as companions as well. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
In BG1, it's just really hard for me to justify not taking her from a roleplaying standpoint. You've just lost your foster father, and you're going to ditch your only family left in the world (that you know of) and wander into the wilderness alone? (From a mechanics standpoint, it's also hard to pass up an opportunity to shape a thief's skills from level 1...)
In BG2 it's even harder. "Hey, I know you've just been mentally tortured and stripped of your soul, but I can't possibly have more than five people following me around at once and Nalia and I still haven't finished our debate on the merits of revolution vs. gradual social change. Think you can find your own way out of this crazy madness dungeon and back to the mainland?"
In BG2 she's probably a doppleganger, like that Jaheira and Minsc, who I distinctly remember killing myself.
Do Edwin's quest while Monty and Xzar gather information in Nashkel. Once the witch is dead, drop edwin, and repick up M&X.
Do the same with Dorn and Shar-tel. Do Dorn's quest and then go and pick up Shar-tel. Or leave Kagain behind.
I think people who play Baldur's Gate 2 first probably don't the same emotional investment as well. The opening is just yet more backstory if you're not coming from the previous game, but when I played it was like "oh no, what happened to everyone!?" Imoen was also the only character in that dungeon that I took on a regular basis in the first game. I booted Jaheira most of the time in BG1 for being annoying and Minsc took a back seat because of Edwin.
Dorn
Kagain
Safana
Edwin
Viconia
Dorn
Kagain
Montaron
Xzar
Viconia
Not including Shar-Teel in either group was painful in and of itself.
Btw, since you seem to have done it twice, how well do Blackguards work together?
I'm not dissimilar. Whenever I get rid of my NPCs, I always make sure it is at a civilized location (Nashkel, Friendly Arm etc.), none of this "alright, see ya Branwen, we're gonna take Faldorn along for this one: you can find your way back out of Cloakwood and survive potentially getting waylaid by 2 wyverns, can'tya?" crap.
BG2 makes the whole thing a lot harder. Specifically with Jaheira. It's so hard to get rid of her!! I always want to do as much of her sidequest as possible because it is so interesting and well-written, yet after I do it, I'm like "how can I justify letting her go now?!". She is easily the most artfully written NPC in.. perhaps the history of RPG, as far as I can recall.
Forever.
My good characters can only justify getting rid of Imoen by feeling responsible for her safety and valuing that above her wishes. Sometimes it just isn't a good enough reason and I sigh and take her along.
Whenever I'm about to kick someone out of the party though, I mentally brace myself just a little for the dialogue I know is coming. Some of them get downright endearing when you kick them out, Xan manages to put a wistfully positive spin on your adventures together for instance. Those are the worst, it goes something like "Hey, I understand, there's no hard feelings. We sure had some wonderful times together though, didn't we? Too bad it has to end, but if you ever change your mind I want you to know I've still got your back." Damn you, guiltmongers!
My evil characters are generally pretty heartless and mercenary about the whole affair. The lucky ones live, and the REALLY lucky ones still have some equipment left when they leave.
I also feel pretty bad when I don't let Nalia join the party. I should consequently feel the same about Aerie, but I don't. I suppose it's partly because Aerie makes less of a scene about it.
I feel wonderful - it should be a once-per-run-ceremony - every time I turn down Anomen or Jaheira!
My CN Gnome has no problem taking her as part of the all-EE (plus Safana) team, however.
Anyway, it depends how I feel about the character. I often leave Jaheira in Irenicus' dungeon. But even my evil characters sometimes take Imoen to the point of killing Bodhi.
As for roleplaying booting her - well. Just because you've known someone your whole life, it doesn't automatically mean you like that someone. My current PC never really liked her and her insentience that it was wrong leave dead rats in people's beds and burn Winthrop's accountant books to cover up some money 'mysteriously missing' from the strongbox. He also finds her clinging annoying, and he was looking forward to leaving Candlekeep, because that meant he'd never have to see or hear her again. He was rightly pissed when she followed him anyway, and as soon as he met Xzar and Montaron he tricked her into going to FAI. "Here, little one, take this letter and go meet Gorion's friends, let them know what's up, and I'll meet with you there in a couple days, honest". }:D
That said, I did to feel very guilty every time I kicked someone out of the party. I got better at this over the years, though, and now I have quite a bit of fun making up stories of why THEY leave ME. (Sometimes, of course, they DO get up and leave on their own - often at the most inopportune moments. You quickly learn to hate those tiny sidequests that unexpectedly dump a reputation points at you, causing your cleric to leave... ;P )
@DrHappyAngry You could always just kill Skie or force her into a house and upstairs and then kick her out.
Valyagar the emotionless was let go in ToB for Serevok because he had the least reaction, and then I remembered I forgot to take his stuff and I murdered him on the spot. Now there's this dead body in my pocket plane that makes me feel bad every time I look at it, and it never goes away.
Ultimately I usually bite the bullet and swap Minsc out of the party for others like Anomen or Valygar (sometimes just temporarily until I've completed their associated quests), but the others I typically have too much trouble letting go of.
On the other hand I have no trouble breaking up some companions. Khalid breaks up spectacularly when his unhelmeted head meets the thick end of an ogre's club.
Her bitchy noble dialog just makes me giggle every time I click on her. "My feet hurt." "I have a cold."
I went with Xzar and Monty this time, since they're just an amusing couple, and monty could handle the traps for me.
Minsc is another that I have trouble dumping once I get him. His addled speech and hamster references are always good for a laugh.