Storm of Zehir Party

[santino27]

OMG SPOLITHERZ

In case anyone cares, you get cohorts throughout the game - some you encounter easily, but others you need to go a bit further afield for. The first two you can pick up really simply in Samargol (ranger and druid), the swashbuckler is an easy side-quest away (connects to crit path, so you're not going too far away there). The others you'll run into a little bit further along, but in terms of "I want to replace my party members with cohorts," you're looking at a ranger and a druid right off the bat, FYI. They're awesome, though - druid haters will see the light when Umoja comes along! :twisted:

Good info.. thanks.

The 'problem' to me is that I want my party leader (on the overland map) to have as many usable skills as possible. Thus, the idea of rogue/ranger. I suppose one could pick up the ranger cohort, but... with only two potential cohort slots allowed, you end up locked into keeping that character.

I've been thinking about my party a bit more...


Ranger/Rogue > focus on overland skills, (ignore disable device, open lock, etc.)
Swash/Rogue > focus on dungeon skills
Cleric or Cleric / Fighter
Wizard

Then, potentially pick up the druid for a secondary healer/damage spell caster, and a plate tank (I know we get a paladin cohort?) to get hurt a lot.

 

[Darth Roxor]

(you get 1-4 PCs + 1 slot for a cohort, (2 with the leadership feat))

reaaaaaaaaaally?

This puts a new light on some things then.

 

[Texas Red]

Clear something up for me. Can you control what cohorts say in dialog?

 

[PrzeSzkoda]

Yes, you can control your cohorts' dialogue. You just select them from your party roster as if they were one of your own characters.

My planned partay:

- Swashbuckler going into Duelist - mebbe other fighting builds might be more powerful, I don't give a single whizz-shizz (although I'd most probably beat the hell out of any other fighting build in a one-on-one fight). Duelists are cool. In NWN2 and MotB my favourite build was a rouge-turned-duelist + a level or two of Shadowdancer and some levels of mebbe Shadow Thief of Amn, for the sake of lulz. Had another one, starting with bard and going about the whole levelling business a bit cluelessly in my first playthrough, but in the end, a Bard/Duelist/Wizard/Eldritch knight build was unstoppable in MotB.
- A ranger of some sort, possibly a dual-wielding dude.
- Probably a wizard, better than a sorcerer for crafting purposes.
- A spirit shaman? Prolly.

 

[Texas Red]

But can you have dialog with cohorts or are they just premade mindless NPCs?

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

You can talk to cohorts - when they're in your party, they occasionally pipe up with things you let them say (and in key situations when they're riled about something they'll cut in and yelp on their own - like when someone insults Finch, he defends himself without letting you shut him up), but I will admit that is a more rare occurence. Despite that, I worked VERY hard on giving them a lot of personality, and piping up as often as possible without being pushy or annoying.

...and OK, since Tony gave away this example, I'll add to it. Septimund as a cohort you can have along to confront Nya, an ex-flame. If you have him diss her and go straight-up cold, you can imagine other cohorts will have something to say about it (good ones will call him a dick, basically, while evil ones are all YEAAAAH you tell that bitch what for). Basically, in big occasions when you expect them to react, they will.

 

[Texas Red]

Hey Annie, how about some inside scoop on Mysteries of Westgate?

And who is the actress who did Kaelyn?

Did divus Avellone have a hand in ZoS?

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

Wish I could tell you more about MoW - I'm a bit in the dark on it myself. It seems like there's a lot going on with the authentication process that's in programmer territory, where most designers (myself included) fear to tread. Obsidian folks want to see it come out as much as anyone, if that's any clarity. Sorry

Kaelyn's VO actress was the talented Cat O'Connor. She's auditioned for parts in Obsidian games previously, and I've always been a fan of her work - she actually, I believe, REPLACED an actress who was going to do the part previously, and did an amazing job. It's really hard to get subtlety across well in VO - ESPECIALLY in game VO - and I was really impressed with her performance.

MCA was NOT involved with SoZ at all, except as being the overall Creative Director for Obsidian. The writing was done by myself, Nathaniel Chapman, Jeff Husges, Bobby Null, Tony Evans, and Paul Streifel, and I had the pleasure of editing their work. I did the bulk of the writing, but the other designers did a truly awesome job, and most of the time my "editing" boiled down to little tweaking of punctuation and pruning - it's really top-shelf stuff, trust me

 

[Volourn]

If the punctuation in SOZ is wrong, we all know who to flame now! :twisted:

 

[Texas Red]

I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing. David Gaider, I think, left because of the way Dragon Age was "criticized"(it didn't deserve it at all). A lot of dumb anger around these parts and many good games(including MotB) get sometimes a beating.

 

[Volourn]

Huh? Gaider 'left'? He never posts a lot so perhaps he didn't leave just doesn't post a bunch. L0L Unless I missed the thread that announced that he left. Didn't he post when DA got its being marketing push awhile back? There hasn't been much BIO stuff since exxcept the KOTOR MMO which Gaider doesn't have much if anything to do with.

 

[Warden]

There hasn't been much BIO stuff since...

Oh my dear.. you're so very wrong. BIO shit is like a persistent aura with your 10600+ posts.

 

[Annie Mitsoda]

I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing. David Gaider, I think, left because of the way Dragon Age was "criticized"(it didn't deserve it at all). A lot of dumb anger around these parts and many good games(including MotB) get sometimes a beating.

You are kind, sir, and I thank you for the warning. Alas, I know the internets all too well. I made the mistake of hanging out on the forums for too long after NWN2 - my first game - was released, and - well - that should be all I need to say.

All the same, if I don't have a thick enough skin to deal with the slavering heathens of the interwebs and emerge with at least a moral victory, I'm not tough enough to be here. :twisted:

 

[Warden]

You are kind, sir, and I thank you for the warning. Alas, I know the internets all too well. I made the mistake of hanging out on the forums for too long after NWN2 - my first game - was released, and - well - that should be all I need to say.

All the same, if I don't have a thick enough skin to deal with the slavering heathens of the interwebs and emerge with at least a moral victory, I'm not tough enough to be here. :twisted:

I think he's totally wrong. You can't have the same fate as David Gaider. He's an arrogant bastard and you're not.

As for DA bashing. I don't know. I never bash a game before it's released saying it will be crap etc. On the other hand I can bash certain design patterns, like linearity, which permeates bw's games. Of course, in the process I can bash people who defend linearity and other crap with all their teeth (like DG does).

 

[Spectacle]

The best way to keep bashing to a minimum is to not make mediocre crap in the first place
I'm hoping we'll have no reason to bash anyone over SoZ, though I suppose no matter how good it is some people will bash it for not being MotB...

 

[deuxhero]

what part of/how was DA was bashed anyways?

 

[Mr. Wednesday]

"I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing."

This is pretty much the most white-knight post I've ever read.

 

[Spectacle]

what part of/how was DA was bashed anyways?

What we've heard of the plot makes it sound a lot like Mass Effect in fantasyland, with the player being recruited into an elite organization to fight an ancient evil. I really hope there's more too it than that. The Darker and Edgier thing they're going for also seems a bit contrived.

Some people also seem to hate bioware and everything they do, for various nebulous reasons, but particularly for making RTwP games.

 

[JrK]

"I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing."

This is pretty much the most white-knight post I've ever read.

It's the Walker trying to score some 'tang again.

 

[Texas Red]

"I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing."

This is pretty much the most white-knight post I've ever read.

It's the Walker trying to score some 'tang again.

I just hope Annie finds out of work, lifeless Eastern European losers hot.

 

[serch]

Is the random encounter with drow, Antonio D'avitzzzzz, driving a panzer in or not?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Is the random encounter with drow, Antonio D'avitzzzzz, driving a panzer in or not?

This better be in the next expansion, Obsidian, I dare, I double-dare you not to put it in. Campy dev cameos are always cool in my book.

 

[Pastel]

People bashed DA because the plot sounds like shit, the first info already brought to light horrible examples of railroading the player, and the advertising seems to be designed to appeal to 15 year old kids.

 

[Korgan]

"I don't want to be presumptuous, Annie, but you should prepare yourself for the possibility of idiotic bashing."

This is pretty much the most white-knight post I've ever read.

It's the Walker trying to score some 'tang again.

I just hope Annie finds out of work, lifeless Eastern European losers hot.

If she does, I clearly get the priority. You had a GF, remember?

 

[Solohk]

David Gaider, I think, left because of the way Dragon Age was "criticized"(it didn't deserve it at all).

I don't know about that. I was excited for Dragon Age as Bio makes entertaining enough games, and the PC focus is great too. But man, everything we've seen about DA just looks so generic. I think it's too early to tell how good the game is going to be but that doesn't change how disappointing some of the things revealed about it are.