>wtf, why is there a reddit humor in my reddit crpg?!
Your fault for not playing something from an actual classic or modules for the said classic instead.

>>4003778
The White March DLC was great but I didn't really like any of the DLC companions.

>>4003778
Are you high?

>>4003778
Try doing an imitation of hm and reading Erowid posts, shits hilarious

>>4003835
>Try doing an imitation of hm
LD100

>>4003805
I never used her, but i liked DoC's storyline (albeit brief.)

Does this game use RTWP? I got turned off from this style and era of CRPGs because they all (except Fallout) use RTWP.

>>4003801
This is very much in tune with the tone of the IE games that the PoE games wants to invoke.

>>4004151
Yes, it uses RTWP and is specifically designed to do so, thus making it a lot smoother, more consistent and intentional than previous efforts within the genre. There is also a turn-based mode available as of late, but IMO it seems tacked on and is inconsistent with the core system design.

>>4004151
They just added turn based mode, 10 years after the games release. Game is still boring as shit tho.

>>4003778
Based on the comments in the quests, all party members are fucking crackheads and junkies, they each take his shit eagerly. Except Aloth who shows some restraint but takes some.
The only sober person is Devil of Caroc who says it's just unfair she can't stone herself too.

Zahua is top tier

>>4003805
Devil was okay and Zahua was great. I don't remember the barbarian's name, but she annoyed me.

>>4003778
Zahua was just le funny stoner dude then out of nowhere his backstory was the best i've ever seen in a CRPG.
And it also made me realize Budhism is anti-life garbage.

>>4004153
yeah i'm way more offended by all the tryhard longwinded drivel

>>4009251
buddhism is actually quite hopeful but you can only see it if your life is fucked or you are depressed to begin with

>>4009260
Zahua is from an order of monks that practice dettachment from the world in order to achieve a state of "enlightenment", that makes them basically invincible.

(This is analogous to Budhism. Obviously dettachment in the real world doesn't give you superpowers, but the point is that if you're completely dettached, the world cannot truly harm you.)

The point is, Zahua could not achieve this "enlightenment" and protect his people. They are brutally destroyed and enslaved and he's taken prisoner. He loses absolutely everything, until he no longer cares if he lives or dies.
In this moment, he achieves the "enlightenment" that eluded him before. He effortlessly kills his captors and escapes.
Then he realizes what he's done. And he thinks "with this power, i can free my people". And instantly, he loses it. Because he's no longer dettached.

So there is NO hope. It's the most hopeless fucking power ever because when you have hope it literally doesn't work.

>>4009268
i'm not seeing how that actually relates to buddhism thoughever

>>4009269
Because Budhism teaches dettachment as a way to avoid suffering, but that's basically giving up on life.

From the perspective of a comfortable life with more shit than you need it might seem great to be more "dettached" but to truly expect NOTHING from the world? that is utter hopelessness. You might as well be a walking corpse.

>>4003778
Zahua is the best companion of all time.

>>4009251
His religion is more aztec actually.
Can you elaborate?

>>4009277
Buddhism actually denies you even exist, they deny soul and they think everything is "empty"(doesn't exist independently)

>>4009277
That's such a level of oversimplification it borders on actual falsehood.

i'm amazed at how well the companions for the whole game were written, one of the rare instances of "modern" games where that's the case.

>>4009354
I disagree. Pillars began, in my opinion, the modern era of cRPGs where all the companions in every game are shit, and the game is more enjoyable by ignoring all of them and using a custom party of mute generics. This has continued up through the present day.

>>4009491
>cRPGs where all the companions in every game are shit, and the game is more enjoyable by ignoring all of them and using a custom party of mute generics
BG2 began that.

>>4009535
>BG2 began that
Only indirectly, in the sense that the modern games that I’m describing are aping the formula of BG2.

>>4009491
>all companions are shit
such a stupid, worthless opinion it's not worth engaging in. go ahead, go and say the writing is "reddit" too lol.

>>4009972
>such a stupid, worthless opinion it's not worth engaging in.
It’s not my problem if you like poorly-written companions in your single player game. I’ll continue to use my party of generics who aren’t annoying and dumb.
>go ahead, go and say the writing is "reddit" too lol.
No. I grew up on the old internet, and so I have no opinions about Reddit, other than wishing people would stop talking about it. Thank you for bringing it up, though, it really advanced the discussion here.

>>4009491
Nah, you just have bad taste.

>>4010058
>Nah, you just have bad taste.
Every big cRPG of the last ~15 years is better played with a custom party made by the player.
Pillars: shitty companions
Pillars 2: shitty companions
DOS2: shitty companions though I did like the Roderick/Scarlett duo dynamic of dos1, I think it worked a lot better with just the two of them and ignoring all the optional recruits
Kingmaker: shitty companions
WotR: shitty companions though I think one or two of them were decent in a stay-at-base/advisor role and entertaining, the majority were awful though
BG3: beyond shitty companions, RAISED THE BAR for awful
Fundamentally, the more that cRPGs tried to focus on the writing and the companions, the shittier both got. Less is more.

>>4010085
Personally, I don't think you can top Kingmaker for shitty companions

>>4009491
That’s fine, you’re allowed to be as wrong as you want.

>>4010085
Your opinions aren't fact, no matter how many of them you state or how confidently you do it.

>>4010223
>Your opinions aren't fact, no matter how many of them you state or how confidently you do it.
Go ahead and quote me using the word “fact” or claiming that an assertion is “objectively true” or similar. You won’t, because I am stating my subjective opinions for the purpose of discussing RPGs (the nominal purpose of this board). Anon offered an opinion, I politely stated that I disagreed and why, put within the historical context of the genre. Then he responded solely with ad hominem attacks and no further opinions of his own, aside from bringing up Reddit (somewhat ironically, since it appears he desires a hug box where only agreeing with him is allowed)
And now not one of you butthurt Pillars faggots even has a single constructive point to make. Why are you even here?

>>4009539
BG2: shitty companions
NWN: shitty companions
KotOR: shitty companions
Jade Empire: shitty companions
Mass Effect: shitty companions
Dragon Age: shitty companions

Face it, Bioware was the trendsetter and the genesis, they made RPGs into bad television show casts, across all styles. None of this is new.

>>4010359
The better question is why you are here, when you clearly can't even tell people apart by writing style.

>>4010386
BG1’s approach was better. I still love BG2, but in retrospect it really has harmed the genre.

>>4010085
>Less is more.
There's "less" and then there's "nothing", which is what you allege was still good had. Just say you don't give a shit about companions as an element of the story, what's with the weird framing?

>>4003778
This game was so empty and lacking that I can't even properly hate it.

>>4010556
Would you describe it as soulless, anon?

>>4004146
>>4003805
yeah DoC is amongst the best parts of the game, with the finale of the main quest and the monastery/Ondra reveal and the WM2 finale.

>>4009491
>>4009535
>>4009539
frankly, I have not seen one such RPG. YOu may be one of those faggots that finds everyone unbearable (IRL it tends to be caused by the person being colossal unbearable fag oneself)

>>4010085
is faggot & retard double deal coming-out time?

>>4010568
>>4010569
lmao, it really isn't very insulting when you can barely speak english, kiddo.

>>4010601
It was perfectly legible to me. Have you ever read anything longer than a tweet? Or without pictures?

>>4010609
what a bizarre attempt

>>4010568
>frankly, I have not seen one such RPG
You haven’t played BG3, the critically acclaimed game of the year(tm)?

>>4010929
If you hold ALT and press 0153 on the numpad, you can get ™.

>>4010929
>bg3
I never liked twitter and posting my characters there, so the game wasn't for me.

>>4010085
What about Solasta? Where you create your own companions?

Personally, I'd prefer that instead of giving me companions with backstories I don't care about, rather set the personality of one of my companions to "gloomy" and another one to "whimsy" and see them bickering with random banter about the story of the game, instead of going sideway on my quest to defeat the absolute to deal with a vampire lord and his shenaningans, bleh.

>>4010085
Companions are good for banter. I like banter, I loved watching them talk and bicker wherever I set camp on Kingmaker and WotR.
What I fucking despise is going into sidequests I don't care about because Valerie can not stop being a cunt and just apologize to the Church of Shelyn or some shit.

>>4011360
I wish there were more games like this that weren't Blobbers (sorry, just can't get into them) or Solasta.
There are only so many times that I can boot up Icewind Dale 2 again.
Fuck this "make one self-insert and have delevoper OCs rotate around his dick" standard in this genre.

>>4011360
>What about Solasta? Where you create your own companions?
I thought it was a nice idea but a bit jank in the implementation. Creating your own party and assigning them personality traits for banter is a great idea, but oftentimes, if your party had the “wrong” combination of personality traits for a certain situation, one or more characters would be forced to say very out-of-character lines, which felt very forced and unnatural.

>>4010398
>There's "less" and then there's "nothing", which is what you allege was still good had. Just say you don't give a shit about companions as an element of the story
In early cRPGs, it was expected that the player would create the party himself. This allowed tailoring the composition as desired, rather than what the devs shoved at you. And the story expected and accommodated this, the player wasn’t leaving anything on the table or missing out. It was also more grounded and cohesive to create an organic adventuring party, rather than one super special hero MC who saves the day with godlike abilities.
If the player must choose from companions, then it is preferable to have a variety to choose from (including choosing none), and to an extent having them be interchangeable and replaceable in case of Died Suddenly. Fallout 1 and Baldur’s Gate 1 are good examples of this. There are precanned characters with personality, but they’re relatively simple and in the background (by modern standards)
Modern cRPGs are all aping the BG2 formula, and as anon said, they’re trying to turn the cast into a television show (amusingly, often the reason that vidya have such shitty writers is that they weren’t good enough to write for movies or TV, and you can feel that longing). It’s how we end up with a tight knit cast of super special snowflakes where you miss major portions of the game/plot without them, partly because the devs feel resentment for players who reject their OCs after spending so much time and effort on them.
PS:T was lightning in a bottle, and no dev has ever successfully replicated it, despite decades of trying. The harder they try, the harder they fail. It’s like trying to be cool, which is inherently uncool. The more modern devs focus on trying to be witty and clever and Marvel quippy, the more they focus on OC donut steel chars and television drama, the more they stray from God’s light, which leftoid basedlennial writers have only exacerbated.

>>4011458
I'd say if you want to do characters and lots of interpersonal conflict and a strong focus on dialogue, it's better to do a solo RPG with no party. Take VtM:B for example.

>>4011360
Well Solasta is 5e.

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I made this thread and then played much, starting White March part 2. Getting back to it, and this Bleak Walker seems like kitted out. I was concerned when starting this playthrough how tanky she could become while dual-wielding sabres and being properly killy. But now are here, 21 Resolve, 104 Deflection while using two Bittercuts (Durgan-forged, of course).
I still need to kill the Alpine Dragon

>>4013496
>godlike
>wearing a helmet in the portrait
???

>>4013858
That's her head. Now idea how seeing works, but that's not an uncommon mystery with godlike. There is something in Deadfire you can buy that's basically an ion stone that occupies the head slot and it kind of annoyed me godlike can't use it though

>>4014042
>ion stone
Stopped reading here

>>4010386
Bioware was the king of RPGs. It's honestly a tragedy that they went to shit after Mass Effect 2

>>4010386
Mass Effect is when we started seeing more cinematic type of WRPG.
>>4011458
> they’re trying to turn the cast into a tv show
It centers around the characters instead of the world and it has lots of jokes, as well as many elements that feel very modern.
> writers that weren’t good enough to write for movies
Asmongold constantly mentions how there's certain people that failed to get into the film industry and now want to get the prestige in the gaming industry that they failed to obtain in film.
> PS:T was lightning in a bottle
Agreed.

>>4003801
>bg1/bg2 aren't reddit humor
cmon bro

>>4003805
I don't like any of the vanilla companions either. I just replaced everyone with mercenaries asap.

>>4018666
What actually is reddit humor? I don't use that website

>>4010085
It's easy for me to believe this because I've only played the pathfinder games and even the best companions in those are barely tolerable. Will someone say that the post-avellone obsidian games are hands down better than owlcat? I will play one if you pinky swear

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I feel honored.

>>4020707
I liked 1's vanilla companions for the most part. 2's companions were an absolute disaster though

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Ded.
Funnily enough, didn't kill this beast during my first playthrough. And now, with a higher difficulty setting, it went down first try (admittedly, after doing almost everything else in the DLC). The Adra dragon gave me a lot more trouble.
The White March was kino again, great content.
Zahua with anitlei is fucking insane. He has the highest number of kills and he joined my party late. Such a joy having a strong, well-build team. Except Maneha. She kills stuff, but the lack of dexterity is really noticeable.

>>4020729
>pathfinder games
even deadfire cast of companions is better IMHO and I mostly don't like deadfire companions
that being said it's a matter of taste, I've seen perfectly reasonable people praise PF companions
to each there own I guess

>>4023306
grats anon

>>4010085
>Pillars of Eternity with a full custom Dwarf party using firearms
aww shit, it's gaming time

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And finally, those.
Damn, that was fucking annoying. Cool, but annoying.
Boiled down to throwing spells out to keep them away, summon as much dumb shit as possible, throw paralyzis scrolls at them, and bombard them with spells constantly. ONLY FIGHT THEM IN MELEE IF ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
Feel like I got lucky after several tries and had both dragons and the sorceress stand relatively close to each other, so spells would always hit all of them.
Lore best skill after all.
All that's left is completely walzing over Thaos, since he will face the full might of these fucking gigadchads with busted equipment and having slain all the dragons they killed find.

>>4028367
I'll usually pick the path that gives me a cool boss fight, but when the alternative is a free stat point it's a much harder sell.

>>4028590
Hmmm, I just checked the wiki, you need to be a Wizard for that? Three attribute increases are huge, but for what purpose? I'm done with the game. Cool that the option exist, though.
But that really isn't the way my character would handle that anyway. She had some stat increases from sacrificing souls and Aloth (sorry bro), but this Bleak Walker isn't doing diplomacy.

>>4028807
I haven't played in a long time, but you definitely don't need to be a wizard to get it (as I've never played one for a main character). It might have some difficult stat check, but by that point in the game you should be able to reach most of them between resting/equipment/whatever.
I agree with you on the "for what purpose? I'm done with the game." part though. That basically is the last difficult fight. Thaos just wasn't really made with The White March levels in mind. The option might carry over to deadfire in the form of some interaction iirc, but it's not like you keep the actual bonus

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Even fucking Maneha knows that the reveal is dumb and gay.

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Hiravias continues to be great.
And that concludes this playthrough.
It was probably the most fun I had in a CRPG, believe it or not. Loved this Watcher, being evil actually having many (and worthwhile) options, loved the challenge of the higher difficulties, loved checking out Hiravias and Zahua (Maneha was alright). Zahua might be my favorite companion of any game.
The only thing I (somewhat, a bit) regret was going death godlike. Not worth it for the lack of a helmet.
/thanks for reading my blog

>>4003778
I really truly despise how every character looks in this franchise. Somehow too grey, yet too colourful - how did they manage that?

>>4032216
Are you talking about the character models? Because I really liked the portraits in Pillars 1.
For the former case I think it's because the weird contrast of the whole gritty vibe with the magic items that don't really conform to that aesthetic.

>>4028807
>from sacrificing souls and Aloth
you colossal dickhead, you had Durance right there

>>4032251
If you really want to commit the perfect crime, the Grieving Mother would be the right choice

>>4009277
>to truly expect NOTHING from the world? that is utter hopelessness. You might as well be a walking corpse.
That's not what the Buddha taught though, anon. The second reality for the spiritually ennobled teaches that craving is the condition that leads to suffering and the third teaches that suffering can be eliminated once its conditions are removed. This is not equal with
>expecting nothing from the world
and a rather wrongful interpretation of the Dhamma. The Buddhist middle-way specifically rejects absolutes such as extreme austerity and asceticism. Clearly, members of the Sangha rely on the laity and expect their support.
Also, while denying the existence of a Self (capital), Buddhism clearly recognizes the existence of the self (lower case) as a collection of the five khandas, so no: Buddhism does not deny your existence as a sensory experience, but it does deny an unchanging, eternal essence of You.