SXIII said:
Considering one could exploit the bug where you can ''clone'' one of your companions (who itself is a bug - he's supposed to be a lord and never a companion) we don't really need new companions
Berserker Pride said:
You won't be able to garrison any of your companions in a future patch. That should fix cloning.
HA ! You got served
Just kidding of course. But I doubt that any true player exploited the bug intentionally. Nevertheless, that patch will be certainly welcome for the sake of balance
Now, here's my new character suggestion. It's just one char (...yet), but a detailed one at that:
Jeremiah / Jarvis
„Couldn’t people just live in peace and understanding ?”
„Look ****, if everyone is an asshat why couldn’t I be one as well ?!”
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Nationality: Midland-Kushan (mixed)
Appearence: a young, somewhat thin but muscular boy of average height and brownish skin (not as dark as „pure” Kushans, but notably darker than average Midlandians). His left eye is blue while the right eye is green. His hair is black and cut short, plus there’s a very little beard-hair at the end of his chin. He wears a sort of studded leather armor reinforced by a couple of metal plates here and there, plus red shirt and black trousers.
Background: Jeremiah was born in a small Midland town next to Kushan borders as the son of a Holy See pastor and a converted Kushan woman. While the pastor’s good reputation prevented persecutions from adults in his environment, he was practically an outcast by other children because of his mixed blood. The teachings of his parents („be a good child”) were continuously confronted by the challenges of everyday life, especially later when boys of his age were mostly all getting married already while he was always rejected by girls. He was considering suicide but fate interfered in the form of a Kushan raid, his hometown getting burned down - but the raiders spared the local Kushan populace (mostly merchants). For a moment he was overjoyed over the cruel death of his oppressors, but soon after he beheld the decapitation of his father which caused him a breakdown. The Kushan spared him, but because he was not of pure Kushan blood he was taken slave. During one night, one of the slave drivers dragged him out of his cage and raped him. That event, combined with all his past experiences led to a breaking point - and a split personality, one half being that of a murderous psychopath. When it took control, he not only killed the rapist, but several other slaves and slave drivers as well amd broke free. For the next few weeks the two new personality halves struggled for dominance, eating and drinking little whatsoever, until eventually he (or they ?) met with a bandit who attempted to rob him. The violent half (calling himself Jarvis) beated the bandit senseless with bare hands but before he could have killed the guy, Jeremiah managed to take over and decided tp tend his wounds. When the bandit regained consciousness, it turned out he wasn’t entirely without honor, thanking him and said Jeremiah should join his gang, namely the Black Bastard Bandits (who were actually both brigands and mercenaries, depending on their situation). He escorted the boy back to his gang where the lesser-ranking members accepted him without question but the boss himself rejected him („We don’t need pussies !”). Jarvis took over again, brawling with the boss. Since he was in a pretty bad shape, the boss beated him to discipline but noted his potential (getting his own right arm broken during the short fight). He became member of the Black Bastard Bandits and soon after the two personalities came to a „compromise”: Jeremiah takes the lead, but Jarvis comes forth every time Jeremiah feels very offended or threatened. He travels with the Black Bastard Bandits ever since as a healer and warrior, hoping to find his place in the world.
Personality: since he has a split personality, it can be hard to get along with this boy. His peaceful half (the original Jeremiah) is calm, friendly and helpful, though pretty sensitive to a lot of things, ranging from his family background to social injustice. Ironically enough, he considers the gang of criminals he works with more sensible than „high society” in general. He despises bloodshed, though accepts it if it’s about defending the innocent. Jarvis is his complete opposite: he was a crazed psychopath to begin with, though since he got his behind kicked by the bandit boss and served in the gang for a while he learned some discipline and how to get along (more or less). Nevertheless, he’s a sarcastic, cynical and violent *******, critical towards the entire world. However, one who spends some longer time with Jarvis might notices desperation behind his endless anger, a hidden longing for peace perhaps. Ever since they both work for the Black Bastard Bandits, the two personalities made a compromise - Jarvis takes control only when Jeremiah feels very offended or threatened (usually prior to a battle). The reaction can be especially severe when it is caused by females. The two personalities are fully aware of each other and sometimes „debate” over things (swithing dominance suddenly several times in close succession and arguing with each other). These debates take place usually in an unconscious state (sleeping).
Combat style: Jeremiah rarely fights as this sort of thing is usually up to Jarvis, not to mention he acts as a medic for the gang by profession. On rare occasions, he hits or kicks people as a „warning”, but nothing else. Jarvis is an entirely other matter. He has a natural sense for combat in general, both armed and unarmed, so it didn’t take a long time for him to learn the basics or fighting after joining the Black Bastard Bandits. He’s skilled in the use of lots of weapons, including polearms, swords, maces and throwing axes and javelins, preferring to take multiple weapons with him to the battlefield to deal with different situations (he always takes a spear and a bastard sword, the rest is optional), along with a wide round shield and a nasal or „nordic” helmet (the sort with the eye-plates which give the helm a mask-like appearence). He isn’t actually much stronger than any experienced soldier, but he reached this level by a very young age and is only improving; God knows how capable he will be in a matter of a few years...
NOTES:
- a split personality offers lots of twists and philosophical themes to exploit. I never really understood why Kentaro Miura never attempted to use such a character in his stories. If you think about it, lots of authors "misuse" this mental illness: in the far-east, it is often reserved for comic relief, while in the west it's taken as something entirely dark and vile. I came across very few writings which tried to approach it with a realistic, medically professional attitude. My own attempt, while not professional (as I'm not a doctor), was based on actual research so it's not just mere rambling.
- in-game, the Player should have the chance to alter his personality. If he/she always goes soft on him, Jeremiah will be dominant (reduces fighting skills but boosts leading/healer skills), and might chickens out of fighting (refuses to go to battle, etc). If he/she acts always rudely, Jarvis will be dominant (not quite the best leader, but will get a freakin' high bonus to fighting stats) and eventually rebels. If he/she takes the middle path, Jeremiah and Jarvis eventually compromise and form a balanced personality together (no effect on stats, but afterwards he'll be completely loyal to the Player).
...so ?