38 replies to this topic

[berelinde]

There's been some talk about the NPCs we hate, but how about a word or two about the ones we love?

[Tempest]

BG1: Dynaheir. If only she made it into BG2...

BG2: Mazzy, full stop. If there was a list of the most likely party members to directly lead to the death of Charname, Mazzy would be near the top of the list for any non-good Charnames.

Also, bonus points for Anomen for being far and away the most human and sympathetic npc in the game to me-he's a very flawed individual, he's suffered blow after blow to his esteem and ambitions, including the potentially catastrophic death of his sister, and he's still pursuing his dream. The sheer tenacity and belief in his dream Anomen displays puts other characters with unfortunate backgrounds to shame (specifically thinking Aerie and Viconia here).

Mass Effect: Garrus deserves a strong mention here-he's the turian equivalent of a cowboy cop, which for a race that prides itself on discipline above all else, is pretty striking, and while he honestly struck me as being way out of his depth as the story progresses, he continues to man it up and do the right thing, incomprehensible evil be damned.

NWN2: Um, pass.

MotB: Okku. Seriously, it's a rainbow bear god. What's not to love?

KotOR: I may get crucified for this, but... Bastila. She's a lot like Anomen-does not have a happy past, hides deep insecurities about herself and her beliefs, has extreme family issues, and is pretty much alone in the universe... and she still tries to do the right thing. Doesn't always succeed, but she does try, which is more than you can say for some *coughcarthcough*.

KotOR2: T3. Is it wrong when the droid has more personality than the rest of the party combined?

[Scipio]

BG1, after being humanised/elfised(?) with Level1NPCs:
EDIT: or whatever the NPC pack for BG1 is called.

Imoen, brave little girl who'll follow her brother anywhere to "protect" me and who is a lot of fun to be with; Minsc, the loony tank -- point him at the enemy and he becomes General Patton; Dynaheir, whose L1NPCs romance is so good that we need a mod to keep her alive in BG2 -- imagine if we could have her instead of Nalia.

BG2: Imeon and Minsc again; Aerie, because I'm a soppy and grandfatherly old fart and I love her voice (pity Lunisia isn't romanceable -- same voice!); Jaheira, as complex as the more interesting half-elves I know in real life; Viconia, because we soppy and grandfatherly old farts are suckers for vamps; and Yoshimo, who tragically is the nicest guy in either game.

Diablo II: My Amazon archer, the character I played the most. Send in the Valkyrie and pick off the baddies from long range.

IWD/2, NWN... bleh....

And of the mods, my favourites are Yasraena and Fade.

Edited by Scipio, 13 September 2008 - 06:08 PM.

[SaintZenn]

BG1: Edwin, Montaron and Xzar. I loved these three. Edwin is like the male version of me. Monty and Xzar are awesomeness. I'm still waiting for Mod for the Wicked to have Monty back. I hate letting Xzar die.

BG2: Haer'Dalis is funny and he amuses me. Plus I love his voice. (Dude Michael Bell is Raziel!)

Kotor: I like Carth. I like having a guy I can help. Of course in my evil mood, I like fixing then breaking him. Bastila is fun to tease as a male. She has more depth to her if you play as a male.

Kotor 2: HK-47. He lets me be evil and not feel bad about it.


NWN: Deekin. He's so cute.

NWN 2: Grobnar. I don't understand why people in game and players hate him and yet they liked Jan.

MoTB: One Of Many. Another character that lets me be evil.

Mass Effect: Kaiden. I love the voice and he's pretty, well prettier than Liara. He's a lot less racist than Ash, he's kind of like the middle ground type of guy.

Planespace Torment: Nordom. He's just so cute!

Portal: GLaDOS. That machine is awesome.

[Gabrielle]

BG1: Dynaheir, Minsc, Alora.
BG2: Aerie , Minsc, Mazzy and Viconia.
NWN2: Kelgar is awesome. Usually I'm not a fan of dwarves, but he is cool. Neeshka and Shandra.
VtM: Bloodlines. Jeanette Oh my she is hot.
Kotor 1: Bastila is hot. HK-47 is awesome.
Kotor2: HK-47 is awesome. Bao-Dur and Visas.
Fallout 2: Marcus. You awesome mutie. Voiced by that hot Michael Dorn. Sulik and Cassidy.
Fallout 1: Dogmeat.

[GeN1e]

BG1 - Imoen, Coran
BG2 - Imoen, Viconia, Sarevok
NWN - Aribeth
NWN HOTU - Nathirra
KOTOR1 - Bastila, Canderous
KOTOR2 - Mira
Fallouts, NWN SOU - none
All the others - have yet to play them.

PS Diablo? Well, then...
Diablo2 - Assasin, Sorceress
Sacred - Seraphim

Warcraft3 - Illidan

PPS
Dungeon Siege 2 - Eva

Edited by GeN1e, 13 September 2008 - 07:46 PM.

[princesspurpleblob]

BG2 - Anomen Jaheira, Minsc, Imoen, Keldorn, Cespanar, Boo! EDIT: mod NPCs I love: Kulyok's Xan, Tsujatha and Kelsey!
NWN1 - Deekin
NWN2 - Bishop Khelgar
MotB - Okku

Edited by princesspurpleblob, 14 September 2008 - 04:11 PM.

[Eleima]

BG1: Xan , Ajantis , Dynaheir & Minsc & Boo!!, Alora... (especially for BG1NPCs, that makes o so much more enjoyable!)

BG2: Minsc, Anomen , Kulyok's Xan , Mazzy, Valygar... Sarevok's fun too, if only because he startles everyone else (what? this guy's still alive?).

Planescape: Torment: Morte. Hands down, he's the most fun *and* he's vioced by Rob Paulsen (who also voiced Anomen ).

[Michael]

BG1: Gorion.
BG2: Aerie.
Portal: GLaDOS.
StarCraft: Raynor.
The Elder Scrolls III - Morrowind: Mistress Therana.
The Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion: Sheogorath.
Vampire, The Masquerade - Bloodlines: Jack!

[berelinde]

BG1: Dynaheir ("For the right! And I always am!"), Ajantis (paladin, does the right thing, all the time), Minsc, Kivan, Xzar, Montaron, Imoen (gotta love my sis)

BG2:Anomen (flawed, but earnest), Imoen (less than BG1, though), Mazzy, Keldorn (mentor and friend), Valygar (doesn't say much, but he cares, he really does), Yoshimo (he never meant to do it)

IWD2: Jaemal (survivor, strong, caring)

NWN2: Khelgar (amusing and loyal... what's not to like?), Neeshka (adorable, really, and she really values the friendship), Grobnar (such a goof!), Sand (makes me laugh), Bishop (want to help, don't know how), Casavir (don't know where to start... doesn't want therapy, just wants to protect the PC, cares about real things, real people, still vulnerable, and still human)

Edited by berelinde, 14 September 2008 - 07:32 AM.

[Grunker]

BG1: Jaheira. I always admired her courage, albeit was derived from her arrogance. That arrogance didn't bother me much though, as I saw that as one of her many layers. Imoen was always my favourite. On one hand, she was incredibly innocent, but on the other hand she had no qualms about stealing and looking through Gorion's stuff.

BG2: Jaheira, as the development continued, and definetely Viconia. I hate it when evil characters are "maul-and-destroy"-kind of evil, like Korgan. Viconia was twisted in the cool way. I lost something for Imoen in #2, mainly because I would have liked to see some anger where there was only EMO (what's up with that, her taint of Bhaal is nowhere?).

Planescape: Torment: Definetely Morte, no question. Not what he seems to be, interesting personality and hilarious.

KotOR I: Carth. Never understood the people who questioned this guy. It seems that people dislike him being shut-in, but I thought this was cool. On the other hand some people hate his rants about what happened, but he wont say anything unless you specifically ask him, so what's the big deal? Besides Carth, Jolee Bindo.

KotOR II: Atton, Handmaiden, Hanharr. Handmaiden mostly for shinyness, but the two others for various reasons. Atton is more than meets the eye, and whoever designed him is very original. Can't remember any type like him. Hanharr because I was getting dead tired of wookies like Zaalbar, which seems to be everywhere.

Edited by Grunker, 14 September 2008 - 09:31 PM.

[Lysan Lurraxol]

- imagine if we could have her instead of Nalia.

Or Aerie?

I love pretty much everyone in BG1 (with the NPC Project, but I have to say my absolute favourite is Dynaheir. Funny, charming, clever, sophisticated, complex and with a wonderful dry wit and fascinating relationships with characters like Viconia. Why did Bioware have to ditch her in favour of awful Aerie?
Special mentions for Viconia (she's rather haunting in BG1 when she#s still lost and confused), Xzar (why'd he have to be ditched?), Edwin, Xan, Safana, Jaheira and Khalid (their love talks are heartbreaking)

BG2- Jaheira. Bestest character evar. She's so wonderfully human, yes, she's flawed, yes, she's bossy, but she's human. The scene with Khalid in Irenicus' dungeon is heartbreaking, and the fact that she goes on living and fighting for what she believes is right, and moves on, is a testament to her strength.
Viconia and Edwin's wit and snarky commentary is also awesome. Viconia made me snort coffee over my keyboard on several occasions (most memorable being when she told Jaheira to "Resume chewing cud"). Honourable mentions to Imoen, Yoshimo, Sarevok, Mazzy, Nalia and Keldorn for also being awesome.

NWN HotU - Toss up between Aribeth and Nathyrra here. (Sharwyn was also awesome, but sadly, she can't get past chapter 1). Both were fun, and clever and added so much to the game. Valen was hot, but very dull. Carth with horns really.

NWN2 - Eh. No-one really. Sand, Elanee, Qara, Ammon, and Zhae've all had potential, but were all underdeveloped. The others were all grating stereotypes with all the depth of a puddle.

NWN2 MotB - Safiya. She was very like Dynaheir in her intelligence, wit and pathos, and her compassionate but pragmatic morality made her a very interesting and likable character. Kaelyn and Okku were both many shades of awesome. Gann was hot, hot, hot. Such a pity he was only female-romanceable.

KotOR - Juhani. Fascinating, conflicted and complex character. Sadly underdrawn in favour of sueish Bastila and horrible Mission.

KotOR II - Kreia. Frighteningly intelligent, flawed, but brilliant, utterly understandable, and so set on her course to oblivion. And she was so very, very good. Why was there not an option to side with her against the Force? She was so very manipulative and understandable, you end up wanting he to succeed.
Visas Marr a close second. She was also amazing.

JE - Again, no-one. All 2D characters. Dull, dull, dull. I might have liked Sky had he not had his stupid OMG TRAGIK!!! past. Honestly, I'm playing a gay male character- kids and dead wife are a bit off a turn-off, yes?
Dawn Star and Silk Fox were cut outs from other games. And showed that the sister/sidekick only works if she's funny or sweet, not whiny and selfish. And that the bitch characters is only likable if she's funny and is not bitchy all the time.
Oh, wait, I like the little girl.

PS:T Morte, Annah and Fall From Grace where all excellent, funny, sympathetic and bizarre.

Edited by Lysan Lurraxol, 14 September 2008 - 03:15 AM.

[Jarno Mikkola]

BGI: Dynaheir, Ajantis... Sarevok.
BGII: Aerie, Imoen...

Fallout: Dogmeat and my Power Armor.
Fallout 2: Cassidy.

MOM: Torin the Chosen. Well, I chose him, to be my dragon slayer/conqueror, because he is so god at it.

C&C ... : Kane. Kane. Kane.

KotOR: Bastila
KotOR II: Handmaiden

UFO: Afterlight: Samantha & Pauline

[Choo Choo]

Ooooh, where to start!

BG1/2:

Xan, because he's just.. lovely.

Imoen. She really gives off the whole "sister" air, and I like how she's determined to put on a brave and joking facade even when things get bad.

Minsc, of course. He's one-dimensional, but that one dimension is ridiculously hilarious. I'll always remember the first time I heard his "Stand and deliver, that my hamster might have a better look at you!"

Garrick. Idealistic, carefree and more than a little naive bard with a penchant for trouble? Gimme.

Edwin, in a sense. I love to hate him. Again, fairly one-dimensional, but amusing in his sarcasm and unwarranted superiority.

IWD2 (with Domi's project):

All save for Nikosh, especially yummy Diriel and Jaemal.

NWN1/2: Pass. And I haven't played any of the expansions.

Planescape: Torment: Morte, Nordom and Fall-From-Grace. Morte is hilarious and cheeky, Nordom is the epitome of cuteness and Fall-From-Grace is interesting and complex. But really, all the characters had such depth (the game in general had such depth. >.>)

KotOR1: I don't get people who diss Carth. Hell, if I'd lost the love of my life and my only child when a close friend and mentor betrayed everything I believed in, I wouldn't be happy either. I also find his quips amusing. And despite wanting to strangle her sometimes, I'm also fond of Bastila. She's flawed, she's aware of it and she hates it and wants to fight it, making herself even more flawed in the process and despairing over that. And then, of course, HK-47. Comic relief 2k.

KotOR2: Atton Atton Atton. Oh, Atton, my Atton. iCuddle! Okay, I'll stop raving about Atton. Hm.. T3 is adorable with all his quirks, and Kreia is sickly fascinating and very wellwritten. I wish there had been more content for all of the party members, especially Bao-Dur who stays silent for most of the game.

Jade Empire: Wild Flower. An undead kid with two polar opposite demons locked inside her body? Sure.

There are other games and other characters, but I'm slightly too lazy.

[Aliya]

BG1 - Xan, Kivan, Imoen (Well, Alora), Alora (Happy, happy, joy, joy!), Xzar (Keep moving forward, Xzar!)

BG2 - Sarevok (Goooo, Bro!), Edwin (Three bonus spells and great (for me, of course) character ), Viconia (Goooo, drow!)

NWN - Pass .

NWN2 - Construct.

NWN2: MotB - Kaelyn (Half-celestial. I love Half-celestials ), Okku, Safiya as well!

ME - Ashley.

Diablo 2 - Izual (Nice outft!, Pity, that, he's hostile)

Unreal - Xan! He's my favourite, with great accuracy!

Edited by Aliya, 14 September 2008 - 11:03 PM.

[Leila]

Baldur's Gate 1:
-Jaheira: Mother figure, etc. I love them.
-Xan: Well, elves in general remind me of my boyfriend at his extremes. Xan is Charles' worst when it comes to the whole 'this world is pathetic and hollow and nothing really matters' facet.
-Xzar: For some reason, insanity has always looked really awesome on paper or on a screen. Xzar is no exception. I'd hate to meet him in real life though...

Baldur's Gate 2:
-Anomen: THE most believable character in any game I've played. I'm gonna save some space and pretty much just say that Tempest got what I like about him spot on.
-Mazzy: Yay, halflings. Love her voice, love her sophisticated speech, but the only thing I don't like is how she tries to deny the halfling-ness...get over it, you're cute and little, but I'll still take you seriously.

NWN2:
-Sand...once again, reminds me of the extremes. This time it's his 'I'm better than all of you and I'm going to be a lawyer when I grow up' facet, except I think he'd make a significantly better one than he did...
MOTB: Okku. Just Lawful Neutral again.

Edited by Leila, 14 September 2008 - 07:19 AM.

[Crazee]

Baldur's Gate (with the BGNPC project installed):

- Imoen: Fun, lovable, and determined to keep the party in good spirits, Imoen is just a nice person to have around. Even if she wasn't the PC's best friend/sister, she would still be a loyal, trusting and deserving friend. Her support for Charname is so unwavering, it's endearing.
- Skie: Spoiled, rich, selfish girls destined to fail at adventuring? I love it! She's a little one-dimensional, but I like her flaws, and I like her good traits, too. Plus her relationship with Eldoth always makes me hopelessly protective over her.
- Garrick: Bless him. He's just cute.
- Coran: He's the typical rogue - debonair, suave, and so, so mischievous. His general calm, laid-back attitude is refreshing next to BG?s cast of extremely uptight spoilsports.
- Dynaheir: A really refreshing character, who I always enjoy taking along, once Minsc is dead (Gods bless his soul). She?s funny and clever, and yet retains her inherent goodness. Her realistic attitude is nice, too.
- Yeslick: I love it when people are wise but stupid, or vice versa. Plus, he?s the only good dwarf in the Baldur?s Gate series. If only he didn?t talk so ? well, so dwarvish. That always bugs me.

Baldur?s Gate II:

All of them except Korgan, Haer?Dalis and Jan. With a bit of expansion, their personalities are so believable, I feel like I actually know them. Special mention to Imoen, Sarevok, Valygar, Nalia, Jaheira, Cernd, Mazzy, Aerie and Anomen.

Neverwinter Nights 2:

- Neeshka: She?s funny, exciting and with a little imagination, the bond of friendship between her and the Knight Captain is really sweet. She really does appreciate it.
- Khelgar: Again, his dedication to PC is really endearing, and I love how he matures throughout the game. Berelinde?s fan fiction really emphasises this. Check it out.
- Nevalle: What? He?s statuesque. Screw Casavir and Bishop!

Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer:

Well. I never really connected with any of these characters, though I liked them all. Safiya and Kaelyn, I guess. Especially Kaelyn, who I thought was a very interesting concept.

Jade Empire:

- Dawn Star: I don?t know. She?s sweet, I guess. Plus she makes that Princess lady look like poop.
- Henpecked Hou: He made me laugh. Simple enough.

Sky was a bit boring, to be honest.

[Anaximander]

BG1/2: Minsc! Greatest NPC ever. I've loved this guy since the first time I heard his battle cry "Go for the eyes, Boo! Go for the eyes! ARRRRGGH!!!"

KOTOR: HK-47. Eh, he made me laugh. Bastila, because her romance is pretty fun.

KOTOR2: HK-47, same reason as before.

Mass Effect: Hmmm. Tough call. As Tempest said, I think Garrus shows more depth than most of the other characters. However, I enjoyed talking to Wrex more than any other characters. His stories were interesting and at times quite amusing. He's a mercenary, but you can win his loyalty if you treat him with respect and help him with his personal quest. I really liked the confrontation with him on Virmire.

NWN2: Neeska. I found her mischievous nature to be quite endearing.

NWN 2: Grobnar. I don't understand why people in game and players hate him and yet they liked Jan.

I have nothing against Grobnar or Jan individually, but I despise gnomes in general. The entire race exists soley as comic relief. Period. If there was any variance, any depth to them at all, I would have nothing against them. Instead, we have an entire race whose reason for existence is to provide inane dialogue about irelevant topics for the sake of comic relief. I refuse to read any story that has gnomes in it, and I wish to hell I wasn't forced to have one in my party in NWN2.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: Gary. Gary is friggin' awesome, and the voice acting was superb.

Jade Empire: Sagacious Zu. He's a former assassin, responsible for who knows how many murders in his past. He knows he's done evil, and knows he's fully capable of doing it again. He's not seeking redemption or attonement for what he's done, but he just might find it anyway.

[Cal Jones]

BG1 - Kivan - I love his "Dirty Harry" soundset (which is funny since he's voiced by Rob Paulson, who also voices Anomen, whose voice I absolutely detest) and the fact he's just very low key and cool.
Coran - he's a jack the lad and unapologetic about it. Cheerful without being sickly. I don't like a lot of elves but these two don't have a superior and/or treehugger mentality and are generally fun to have around.
Imoen - I used not to like her but she grew on me. Her loyalty is touching and she's also a pretty awesome thief.

BG2 - Edwin (I like him in BG1 also, but it's only in BG2 that you see him in more depth). Just funny, snarky, and the fact he's so dignified and self-important makes the Nether Scroll incident that much funnier. The mod romance is great too, but I like him just as well without it.
Sarevok - my favourite NPC by far. I'm just bummed you can't get him until ToB, which is far too short. I love his sounds, his overall awesomeness and the fact that, despite his circumstances, he never once complains (well, if you discount his moaning about rep, until you redeem him). Even if you redeem him, his personlity remains very much Sarevok.
Valygar - A lot of people seem to think he has no personality, but I rather like his grim stoicism. He doesn't whine about his past, like other NPCs, and despite being good, he doesn't preach or act holier-than-thou. He is really the only NPC who won't act like a judgemental ass to Sarevok, so he gets the thumbs up in my book.
Yoshimo - I have a lot of sympathy for this guy (especially when playing with UB's Sarevok's Remorse installed). And, despite what happens, I almost always take him because, for the time you have him, he's fun. I was glad of Turnabout so that I could resurrect him and give him another shot at life.

PST - Dakkon - another stoic, loyal companion. I can't help but be touched by his plight.

Fallout 2 (I've mot included Fallout as the NPCs have little personality)
Cassidy - An old timer who hangs with you all the way despite a dodgy ticker.
Marcus - For a mutant, he's a good guy. It's always good fun to buy him a whore at the Cat's Paw, too...

[Vicen]

BG1 - Kivan and Coran both great archers and have really interesting chats with the bg npc project installed!

BG2 - Edwin and Anomen...Edwin is as good as a mage can get basically and Anomen can become quite the powerhouse with Crom Frayer (sp lol im sure)

NWN - I actually liked Deekin alot and Tomi oh and Xanos too!