Companions class on story

[mihanu]

Keep restarting the game and only made past act 1 once. Just want to make sure on how many companions class are related to their respective story. For example, Wyll being a warlock helps with his whole story and dialogue. Just want to make sure on how many other companions are like that as well.

[Versi]

Everyone is like that, but the game doesn't make players keep the default classes if they want to mix things up. Certain race and class compositions can be fun with the origin characters. Same goes with everyone's backgrounds. Ex: Wyll has the Folk Hero background, which people can see him display based on his introduction to the party at the Emerald Grove. He was ready to defend innocent people who couldn't protect themselves.

If you're talking about subclasses—then you don't need to really worry too much about that. The game doesn't get into subclass particulars (unless you, as a Tav, play a Paladin and break your Oath).

[Mojo]

All the companions stories are based on what Larian set them as by default. But it doesn't "penalize" you if you change them up. Worst thing is if you are into immersion it can break that. Like for example if you changed Lae'Zel to a mage, her cut scene dialogs she will talk as if she is still a fighter. Like striking people down with her sword etc...

[ahsanford]

My take, in order of 'their class matters a ton' to 'doesn't matter as much':

Wyll -- being a Warlock is absolutely central to his character and his story, wouldn't really make sense if we was a non-caster or Warlock.

Gale -- his ability to work with magic (so Sorc or Wiz) greatly identifies his story

Halsin -- being a druid greatly informs his character's story

Shad -- either her class matters intensely or not so much at all depending on how you interpret the word 'worship'. You can read that as '100% cleric' or you could read that as 'follower/believer', which is way more open-ended.

Laez -- could be any martial class, but she's fond of gith swords. But Gith are totes down with battlemages and sword-swinging casters, so have you some latitude here.

Minthara -- she's vengeful and has a huge bone to pick with someone, but that doesn't mean she has to be an Oath of Vengeance paladin. You could have fun and pick something else and it would work just fine.

Karlach -- Barbarian certainly lines up with her temper, but no, she could be something else and the story would still make sense (I would still think she's a warrior in general for two important portions of her life that comes up during her playthrough, but you have options there)

Minsc -- He always plays a general brute and is historically a Ranger, but any martial class would make sense with him. He's a natural low intelligence Knight Errant Don Quixote sort of figure as well -- Pally actually works for him well.

Jaheira -- Fighter + Druid is her OG background, but a lot of 5e has nature-adjacent subclasses. That said, her BG3 story is much less about being a druid than a Harper. I think in BG3 you could make her whatever you want.

Astarion -- his class does not matter whatsoever to his story

- A

[seeker1]

This is just my personal preference, and as always, people should play the game the way they like. I DO change the companions' subclasses, even sometimes when that might not necessarily make RP sense. (i.e. changing SH's domain). I don't tend to touch their classes, just because it makes their dialogue seem weird.

Wyll's interactions with Mizora only make sense because she is his Warlock patron.
It seems weird for Halsin the PALADIN (or whatever) talking about being Archdruid.
Shadowheart talks about being a priestess of Shar ... not a bard for Shar (etc.)
Gale giving you a lesson on using the Weave doesn't make much sense if you make him a fighter.

Nothing will break if you change their classes. Do as you like. Make Wyll a monk or whatever. But Mizora will keep referring to him as a Warlock. As will others.

And, of course, you can always multi-class him to a Sorlock ... warlock/sorceror ... or any mutli-class combo with his original class. Which maintains the dialogue consistency.

[ahsanford]

Originally posted by seeker1:

This is just my personal preference, and as always, people should play the game the way they like. I DO change the companions' subclasses, even sometimes when that might not necessarily make RP sense. (i.e. changing SH's domain). I don't tend to touch their classes, just because it makes their dialogue seem weird.

100% I respec Shad's subclass if keeping her as a cleric makes sense vs. my main's class (often Life Cleric / Lore Bard = no practical reason for her to stay as a cleric).

I'm currently getting absolutely slaughtered by others for re-spec-ing her subclass just to give her heavy armor and beef up her healing, because a Sharran would NEVER:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/0/4204741588974358446/

(Read on, I get absolutely battered in this thread -- and I think I actually have an RP/story case for re-spec-ing her this way!)

- A

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by ahsanford:

My take, in order of 'their class matters a ton' to 'doesn't matter as much':

Wyll -- being a Warlock is absolutely central to his character and his story, wouldn't really make sense if we was a non-caster or Warlock.

Gale -- his ability to work with magic (so Sorc or Wiz) greatly identifies his story

Halsin -- being a druid greatly informs his character's story

Shad -- either her class matters intensely or not so much at all depending on how you interpret the word 'worship'. You can read that as '100% cleric' or you could read that as 'follower/believer', which is way more open-ended.

Laez -- could be any martial class, but she's fond of gith swords. But Gith are totes down with battlemages and sword-swinging casters, so have you some latitude here.

Minthara -- she's vengeful and has a huge bone to pick with someone, but that doesn't mean she has to be an Oath of Vengeance paladin. You could have fun and pick something else and it would work just fine.

Karlach -- Barbarian certainly lines up with her temper, but no, she could be something else and the story would still make sense (I would still think she's a warrior in general for two important portions of her life that comes up during her playthrough, but you have options there)

Minsc -- He always plays a general brute and is historically a Ranger, but any martial class would make sense with him. He's a natural low intelligence Knight Errant Don Quixote sort of figure as well -- Pally actually works for him well.

Jaheira -- Fighter + Druid is her OG background, but a lot of 5e has nature-adjacent subclasses. That said, her BG3 story is much less about being a druid than a Harper. I think in BG3 you could make her whatever you want.

Astarion -- his class does not matter whatsoever to his story

- A

Disagree on Minthara. She states herself that she's a paladin and that she swore an oath of vengeance, albeit not in those exact words. I would also argue she's one of the few companions who is just fine the way she is and doesn't require tweaking.

For Astarion I would argue stealth/deception classes still fit him better simply because he's a vampire and also because his entire schtick while serving Cazador was luring people to their doom, which requires a bit of subterfuge.

Gale also doesn't work IMO because a sorcerer has innate magical talent while a wizard actively studies the arcane arts in order to master them. Gale mentions being a prodigy wizard and having to study immensely to achieve the level of power he obtained prior to the tadpole nerfing his powers. He draws a clear distinction between the two classes when talking to him as a sorcerer, as well.

[ahsanford]

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Disagree on Minthara. She states herself that she's a paladin and that she swore an oath of vengeance, albeit not in those exact words. I would also argue she's one of the few companions who is just fine the way she is and doesn't require tweaking.

For Astarion I would argue stealth/deception classes still fit him better simply because he's a vampire and also because his entire schtick while serving Cazador was luring people to their doom, which requires a bit of subterfuge.

Gale also doesn't work IMO because a sorcerer has innate magical talent while a wizard actively studies the arcane arts in order to master them. Gale mentions being a prodigy wizard and having to study immensely to achieve the level of power he obtained prior to the tadpole nerfing his powers. He draws a clear distinction between the two classes when talking to him as a sorcerer, as well.

All fair. I just find the delta between initial build and what you do with them *as* jarring as say making Wyll or Halsin something other than what they are.

Minth I never re-class. She's gold.

- A

[Pyromaiden]

Originally posted by ahsanford:

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Disagree on Minthara. She states herself that she's a paladin and that she swore an oath of vengeance, albeit not in those exact words. I would also argue she's one of the few companions who is just fine the way she is and doesn't require tweaking.

For Astarion I would argue stealth/deception classes still fit him better simply because he's a vampire and also because his entire schtick while serving Cazador was luring people to their doom, which requires a bit of subterfuge.

Gale also doesn't work IMO because a sorcerer has innate magical talent while a wizard actively studies the arcane arts in order to master them. Gale mentions being a prodigy wizard and having to study immensely to achieve the level of power he obtained prior to the tadpole nerfing his powers. He draws a clear distinction between the two classes when talking to him as a sorcerer, as well.

All fair. I just find the delta between initial build and what you do with them *as* jarring as say making Wyll or Halsin something other than what they are.

Minth I never re-class. She's gold.

- A

Sure, and I agree with the rest of what you said.

[Darth Cannabis]

Originally posted by Pyromania™:

Disagree on Minthara. She states herself that she's a paladin and that she swore an oath of vengeance, albeit not in those exact words. I would also argue she's one of the few companions who is just fine the way she is and doesn't require tweaking.

For Astarion I would argue stealth/deception classes still fit him better simply because he's a vampire and also because his entire schtick while serving Cazador was luring people to their doom, which requires a bit of subterfuge.

Gale also doesn't work IMO because a sorcerer has innate magical talent while a wizard actively studies the arcane arts in order to master them. Gale mentions being a prodigy wizard and having to study immensely to achieve the level of power he obtained prior to the tadpole nerfing his powers. He draws a clear distinction between the two classes when talking to him as a sorcerer, as well.

I will say that for Astarion, archfey pact warlock with the right spells picked also works really well. A lot of illusion, darkness, domination, and hypnotic spells, just all the magical things so commonly paired up with vampire powers. Its a really good alternate option, if your being a somewhat evil rogue (classic drow assassin for example), don't need a second such character, but want a caster who won't dislike your darker impulses. Also fits particularly well if your going to go thru with the ritual and make him a super vampire.

[Steffan]

Wyll as a warlock with (say) 5 levels in paladin (I went for the Path of Devotion) make great sense. If he has not killed Karlach, that is.

[AokiYakumo]

Originally posted by ahsanford:

Originally posted by seeker1:

This is just my personal preference, and as always, people should play the game the way they like. I DO change the companions' subclasses, even sometimes when that might not necessarily make RP sense. (i.e. changing SH's domain). I don't tend to touch their classes, just because it makes their dialogue seem weird.

100% I respec Shad's subclass if keeping her as a cleric makes sense vs. my main's class (often Life Cleric / Lore Bard = no practical reason for her to stay as a cleric).

I'm currently getting absolutely slaughtered by others for re-spec-ing her subclass just to give her heavy armor and beef up her healing, because a Sharran would NEVER:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/0/4204741588974358446/

(Read on, I get absolutely battered in this thread -- and I think I actually have an RP/story case for re-spec-ing her this way!)

- A

But why though? Her storyline draws a lot of parallels (at least in her good route) to Cecil Harvey in FFIV, so switching her from Trickery to either Life or Light (or some other light or holy-oriented class combination) makes total sense there.

[seeker1]

Originally posted by ahsanford:

I'm currently getting absolutely slaughtered by others for re-spec-ing her subclass just to give her heavy armor and beef up her healing, because a Sharran would

Yeah, I was with you there in the fray. Frankly, I think respeccing her to Light domain as soon as you find her is:

simply her rediscovering her Selunite nature "early" - perhaps doing it unconsciously
And from a less RP perspective, well nothing quite mows down shadows in the shadow cursed lands than a bit of Radiant Aura.

Of course, lately, I mostly respec her to Tempest, because, well, it kicks ass, and I need no other reason. I know it's not one of Shar's covered domains. But the game doesn't care, so therefore neither will I.

As for Astarion, the fact that he is a vampire, and takes such distinct interest in studying the Necromancy of Thay, suggests he would be quite the right kind of person to dip a foot or so into being, well, a Necromancer. I personally tend to keep him a rogue-assassin although lately I have experimented with making him a Pirate (appears to be a slightly homebrew 5E custom-mod rogue subclass - it was the swashbuckler I wanted, I guess).