Regarding Companions:
-There are 11 Companions total including Nok-Nok. They are all confirmed: Amiri, Ekundayo, Harrim, Jubilost, Nok-Nok, Octavia, Regongar, Valerie, Tristian, Linzi, and Jaethal.
There will also be Custom Companions (which will not be voiced or have a real backstory but which you will be able to build from the ground up).
-Companion characters are a mix of New characters, iconic Pathfinder characters, and characters already existing in the AP.
-Custom Companions (like in Pillars of Eternity) are being implemented. They will be introduced by a Pathfinder Society Venture Captain.
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Amiri, the Iconic Barbarian, is a companion with a lot of backstory and events happening around her throughout the game. Amiri is the only Iconic Companion. Amiri will have her iconic weapon available and viable even for later parts of the game. Amiri is a Gorumite and she can be heard crying out "For Gorum!" as she rushes her foes.
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Jubilost Narthropple is a companion. He a cantankerous gnome, is kind of a jerk, and you can fail to recruit him if you screw up your attempt to help him out with his wagon (though you'll get a chance to try again later). He's also a character from the original AP. He is an alchemist now and uses a Heavy Crossbow by default. Chris Avellone really wants to work on him because Jubilost is a gigantic dick.
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Valerie is a blonde haired Human Woman from Brevoy. She is a Fighter, and a failed Paladin of Shelyn. Valerie's relationship with religion is complicated. When you meet her she is an atheist.
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Octavia is a female Half-Elf wizard/rogue/arcane trickster. She was once a "Bonded Servant" to Numeria's Technic League. She is friends with the Half-Orc companion Regongar.
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Regongar is a Half-Orc Magus who is also Octavia's Friend. He seems to be either Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Evil. He escaped (possibly with octavia) from the clutched of Numeria's Technic League. he likes using intimidate. Regongar was originally statted as a Sorcerer, but since the Magus was unlocked, he is now an
Eldritch Scion Magus.
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Ekundayo, is a Thuvian Ranger from Absolom. He is Lawful neutral, has a Hound Animal Companion, and uses a Bow.
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Nok-Nok is a Goblin Companion who is probably a Rogue. He believes he is on his way to becoming a god. He is super loyal (for a Goblin) and was unlocked in the final hours of the Kickstarter campaign.
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Harrim is a Dwarven Cleric of Groetus. He has a Mohawk looking hairdo. He is a confirmed companion.
-Linzi is Halfling Bard. She decides to join you because she wants to record your story..
-Tristian is a Blonde Human Cleric of Sarenrae who can be seen in this image alongside Amiri, Octavia, Valerie and Regongar. He is a companion.
-Jaethal is a Elven Inquisitor of Urgathoa. Jaethal is Evil, and Undead.
-Companions can disagree with you, leave you, and even turn on you if they don't like you. They do NOT need to be in your party for this to happen. Companions are living people and don't stop existing just because you leave them home.
-The story can change considerably depending on your party composition.
-Each companion has an expandable novel style bio that expands as you learn more about them and progress in the game.
-You can take 5 Companions with you in a party at one time, for a total of 6 characters.
-You can level up your companions based on your own preferences, even changing their classes if you wish, there is however a suggested path, and you can have them auto-level if you wish instead.
-You will also be able to choose from several AI behaviors for your party members, allowing them to use spells and abilities or spend resources on their own. You can switch AI on and off for each character separately, there will be various options for AI. Currently there are fairly simple options for the AI (switched off, using attacks that do not spend anything, make use of everything aside from AoE and consumables, etc). This may be subject to change in the future. You can turn Companion AI on or off with the click of a button on the UI.
-Each companion will have one or several levels in a predetermined class when you meet them. You can level them any way you wish from there on out, but their "starting class" is preset.
-Chris Avellone really wants to write Amiri and Jubilost. He is definitely writing Nok-Nok.
-Companions definitely have an opinion, will act on that opinion, and will act strongly on that opinion (leaving the party is only one possible ending for companions you butt heads with). Mentions have been made of Companions turning on you as well.
-There are some companions that simply are impossible to influence with your charms, only your actions.
-Some of the companions come from as far as Absalom and even Thuvia and you will be able to talk to them about those lands.
-Companions' stories carry through (heroic and tragic, though both are not set in stone for each character) throughout the game to the very end.
-Companions have their own choices of deities. (Presumably these are pre-selected for them).
-You can of course put any gear you want on all the characters without restrictions (though this may be restricted on lower difficulties to keep newer players from doing things like putting full plate armor on the party wizard).
-You can influence companions' personality but that will rarely go as far as changing their alignment.
-Your companions can't be bribed with shiny loot to ignore your indiscretions. They can be bribed with attention, story decisions, and alignment based actions to like you more though.