NPC Interaction guide (v 1.00 +)

kaeldragor said:

I've gathered starting information for every NPC in the game and will post them here.  For now, here are the general tips and my next reply will give the rundown on each NPC.

TIP 1 - One argument/discussion will occur after each battle (if there are NPCs that like/dislike each other that haven't told you about it yet).  Otherwise, they may be several days apart.  Also, it seems that once you have gotten a reaction on something from an NPC, they will not tell you the same thing again, though it is possible that it keeps affecting their relationship with you.

TIP 2 - Looting is the only Party Skill that no NPC starts with.  As such, I suggest investing.

TIP 3 - Note that until they complain about someone they dislike, their satisfaction with "your choice of companions" will not decrease, so far as I can tell.

TIP 4 - Dislikes outrank Likes, so even if some are getting along, they won't tell you until everyone has had a chance to complain.

TIP 5 - Every NPC likes one other NPC.  Every NPC hates (and is hated by) two others.  Matheld seems to dislike three, but I am second-guessing myself on that since it breaks the pattern and it is possible I messed up my notes on her.


Please feel free to send me any likes/dislikes you encounter or other general information, and I'll include it in the list.  One of the goals of this list is also to come up with groups of NPCs that will get along and be manageable.

Suggested Config (1)
Artmimenner
Deshavi
Marnid
Ymira
Bunduk
Katrin
Nizar

"Old School" Config (2)
Artmimenner
Borcha
Marnid
Lezalit
Rolf
Matheld
Nizar
Katrin
  -This one has lower skill numbers in a couple spots and spreads out the coverage of skills (rather than having A medic, you have two, etc.), but more people get along with each other in this one, which will be a pleasant change from the bickering.

Artimenner is the real problem, since he's the only Engineer.  If you opt to handle engineering yourself, then Jeremus can be your medic.

Jeremus Config (3)
Jeremus
Bunduk
Deshavi
Klethi
Ymira
Alayen
Firentis
Baheshtur

Down a couple posts I'll break down each individual NPC Hero.  For a rundown on the pairs of NPCs that get along (courtesy of pearcer), see http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,35706.msg932048.html#msg932048

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pearcer said:

Hello everybody I looked over the info on this post thus far (ONLY the 1st page ) and well I noticed the npcs work in pairs i.e. YMIRA and ALAYEN, ARTIMENNER and LEZALIT and so on. Below is some notes i made earlier and am now posting:

Pair 1:
YMIRA and ALAYEN
works with pairs 3, 6, 7 and 8
Trade: 3
First Aid: 3
Wound Treatment: 1
Surgery: 1
Tactics: 1
cost: 300
-----------
Pair 2:
ARTIMENNER and LEZALIT
works with pairs 3, 4 and 5
Engineer: 4
Trade: 3
Tactics: 2
Tracking: 1
Spotting: 1
Trainer: 4
cost: 700
-----------
Pair 3:
BAHESHTUR and ROLF
works with pairs 1, 2, 4 and 8
First Aid: 1
Surgery: 1
cost: 700
-----------
Pair 4:
NIZAR and MATHELD
works with pairs 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7
Tactics: 1
cost: 800
-----------
Pair 5:
MARNID and BORCHA
works with pairs 2, 4, 7 and 8
Trade: 3
First Aid: 1
Wound Treatment: 1
Tracking: 3
Pathfinding: 3
Spotting: 2
cost: 300
-----------
Pair 6:
KLETHI and DESHAVI
works with pairs 1, 4, 7 and 8
Pathfinding: 3
Spotting: 3
Tracking: 2
cost: 500
-----------
Pair 7:
BUNDUK and KATRIN
works with pairs 1, 4, 5 and 6
Trainer: 2
First Aid: 2
Tactics: 1
Trade: 3
First Aid: 1
cost: 300
-----------
Pair 8:
FIRENTIS and JEREMUS
works with pairs 1, 3, 5 and 6
Wound Treatment: 4
Trade: 3
First Aid: 3
Surgery: 3
Trainer: 1
cost: FREE

and there you go, the cost is the grand total for getting both people in the pair and you can deviate from the pairs BUT be careful as you may get conflict in your group and a knife in your back  . I know I may of made some mistakes. Oh yes here are some basic combo before I go:

6 People:
Pairs: 1, 3 and 8
Pairs: 1, 6 and 7
Pairs: 1, 6 and 8
Pairs: 2, 3 and 4
Pairs: 2, 4 and 5
Pairs: 4, 5 and 7
Pairs: 4, 6 and 7
4 people:
.... too many and too lazy

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kaeldragor said:

If you have preferences for sorting other than alphabetical, let me know.  Bold indicates that the NPC has the highest level for that skill (or ties for it).
Also, if someone can help me create a table, it may be easier to read (and I could then include more information such as top combat-related skills.)

  --Note that some reactions (such as those to not being paid, heavy casualties or going hungry), may be universal, but a random member of the group comes forward to complain.  Since these affect general morale anyway, it is probably best to just avoid either one.

ALAYEN
Likes: Ymira
Dislikes: Marnid, Nizar failing quests
Costs: 300
Tactics: 1

ARTIMENNER - no one else has any engineering skill
Likes: Lezalit
Dislikes: Jeremus, Klethi, failing quests, being hungry, heavy casualties
Costs: 300
Engineer: 4
Trade: 3
Tactics: 2
Tracking: 1
Spotting: 1

BAHESHTUR
Likes: Rolf
Dislikes: Katrin, Marnid, being hungry, not being paid, fleeing battle?, heavy casualties
Costs: 400
No Party Skills

BORCHA
Likes: Marnid
Dislikes: Deshavi, Kelthi, heavy losses in battle
Costs: 300
Tracking: 3
Pathfinding: 3
Spotting: 2

BUNDUK
Likes: Katrin
Dislikes: Lezalit, Rolf, taking from villagers, heavy casualties
Costs: 200
Trainer: 2
First Aid: 2
Tactics: 1

DESHAVI
Likes: Klethi
Dislikes: Borcha, Rolf, being hungry, heavy casualties
Costs: 300
Pathfinding: 3
Spotting: 3
Tracking: 2

FIRENTIS
Likes: Jeremus
Dislikes: Nizar, Katrin, taking from villagers, too much fighting, failing quests
Costs: N/A
Trainer: 1

JEREMUS
Likes: Firentis
Dislikes: Artimenner, Matheld, taking from villagers, too much fighting
Costs: N/A
Wound Treatment: 4
Trade: 3
First Aid: 3
Surgery: 3

KATRIN
Likes: Bunduk
Dislikes: Firentis, Baheshtur, being hungry,  not being paid
Costs: 100
Trade: 3
First Aid: 1

KLETHI
Likes: Deshavi
Dislikes: Borcha, Artimenner, fleeing from battle
Costs: 200
Tracking: 2
Pathfinding: 2
Spotting: 2

LEZALIT
Likes: Artimenner
Dislikes: Ymira, Bunduk, being hungry
Costs: 400
Trainer: 4

MARNID
Likes:Borcha
Dislikes: Alayen, Baheshtur, failing quests, taking from villagers
Costs: N/A
Trade: 3
First Aid: 1
Wound Treatment: 1

MATHELD
Likes: Nizar
Dislikes: Ymira, Jeremus, fleeing battle
Costs: 500
Tactics: 1

NIZAR
Likes: Matheld, winning against tough odds
Dislikes: Firentis, Alayen
Costs: 300
No Party Skills

ROLF
Likes: Baheshtur, failing quests (I know it is weird, I'm just the messenger.)
Dislikes: Deshavi, Bunduk
Costs: 300
Tactics: 2
First Aid: 1
Surgery: 1

YMIRA
Likes: Alayen, leaving troops to cover retreat
Dislikes: Matheld, Lezalit, taking from villagers
Trade: 3
First Aid: 3
Wound Treatment: 1
Surgery: 1

Check out this link for the strength, dexterity, intelligence and charisma of each NPC. (Without a table option, It'd spread this entry too long).  Credit goes to LordObsidian: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,35706.msg941765.html#msg941765

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Durandal said:

Graph of NPC interactions below, for those of us who prefer the visual...

The blue lines indicate a friendship, red lines indicate a conflict. As far as I have seen, a person will stay if they have a conflict if they also have a friend and you don't let your party morale drop through the floor.

The largest party you can make without a conflict is 8 NPCs (for those of you with a computer science background, you can actually prove this... translate to the independent set/vertex cover problem). The two configurations, which are inverses of each other, are listed below:

No conflict configuration 1:
Nizar
Matheld
Artimenner
Lezalit
Katrin
Rolf
Borcha
Marnid

No conflict configuration 2:
Firentis
Jeremus
Alayen
Ymira
Bunduk
Baheshtur
Klethi
Deshavi

I also found two stable 9 NPC configurations. Every NPC has either no conflicts, or a conflict and a friend:

Configuration 1:
Matheld
Nizar
Firentis
Jeremus
Lezalit
Klethi
Deshavi
Rolf
Baheshtur

Configuration 2:
Matheld
Nizar
Alayen
Ymira
Artimenner
Deshavi
Marnid
Bunduk
Katrin

Personally, I like huge NPC parties because when they're all juiced up, they're more valuable than any individual grunt unit. I usually go with the first 9 NPC configuration. What do you think?

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