Which origin do you think is the best for a first playthrough?

[Chuddly]

I've never really played the game past the tutorial and am wondering as I consider starting anew, which origin would be best from a lore and story perspective? Does a certain character relate best to the story or more in common with more npcs or enemies in the game? Does a particular character have a great possibility to impact the world than the others?

I read on reddit, someone said Ifan has a lot in common with many NPCs and his story seems the most conducive with the overall story of the game... But I'd like to hear other opinions.

Thanks.

[DrunkPunk]

Fane is probably the most relevant to the main story focus.

I think Ifan probably has some of the more.... interesting story related encounters, especially at the beginning of Act 2, but not by much.

I probably enjoyed Lohse's story more than any of them, though.

Red Prince also has some interesting moments.

It's a hard thing to really pick because with those 4 above, I really enjoyed them all for different reasons.

[Chuddly]

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

Fane is probably the most relevant to the main story focus.

I think Ifan probably has some of the more.... interesting story related encounters, especially at the beginning of Act 2, but not by much.

I probably enjoyed Lohse's story more than any of them, though.

Red Prince also has some interesting moments.

It's a hard thing to really pick because with those 4 above, I really enjoyed them all for different reasons.

Alright, maybe I'll start with either Ifan or Fane and then try the others later.

Is there any benefit to making a custom character?

[DrunkPunk]

Nah not really, just a bit more control over your customization such as tags, and you get to choose between two source abilities instead of the ones the origin characters come with.

[Pyromus]

Ifan's is very closely tied to the main plot, but in a way that makes his story feel kind of pointless, and it doesn't really add much actual story to the base plot.

Fane's is also very closely tied, but in a way that actually feels like his current decisions matter, while Ifan's story is mostly about what he did prior to the game's start. Fane also has mechanically speaking the best unique source skill in the game, and has some options down the line for more morality based choices.

Lohse, Red, and Sebille (in that order imo) all have great personal stories that make them gret recruits to bring in your party. Of those 3, I would say Lohse gives the most unique perspective on the story. Sebille and Red have some overlap in their stories, so if you aren't creative in act 1 and save a lot, you may miss out on some early plot points. Luckily, these are not super important plot points, but if you do decide to go this route and don't want to look up how to not miss anything, I would prioritize Sebille's early game plot because you will want her attitude completely maxed later on.

Beast is a fun character, but I think most people find his personal story the least enjoyable. Not that it's awful or anything, just that the others are better. They added some stuff to his story when the definitive edition came out, and it doesn't feel as bad as it used to, but it's still probably the most boring story.

[dr.rosenrosen]

ifan made sense to me. fane and the whole bones who have bone babies thing just got too goofy. probably the same reason i like beast, red or others as well... all seemed better than bone people having bone babies being the genesis of all...

[Pyromus]

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

I think Ifan probably has some of the more.... interesting story related encounters, especially at the beginning of Act 2, but not by much.

ehhh. He has some quick interactions and knows a couple NPCs, but as my post said, it's all just things from his past. His story doesn't actually have him DOING anything within the game to affect the plot much. Sebille and Red's stories affect their respective races very significantly and Lohse's ending affects quite a massive amount of people of all races.

Again, it's all based on each player's preferences on who you like bringing along better, but from your wording in the original post, "impacting the world the most" is covered by Lohse, Sebille, and Red far more than Ifan. Ifan has one or two more interactions with NPCs than most others but they are little throw away lines that don't really add much.

[Pyromus]

Originally posted by corlandom:

ifan made sense to me. fane and the whole bones who have bone babies thing just got too goofy. probably the same reason i like beast, red or others as well... all seemed better than bone people having bone babies being the genesis of all...

Fane wasn't born a "bone person" though. He was locked up for centuries and because he is immortal, he survived his body rotting away.

[DrunkPunk]

Originally posted by Pyromus:

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

I think Ifan probably has some of the more.... interesting story related encounters, especially at the beginning of Act 2, but not by much.

ehhh. He has some quick interactions and knows a couple NPCs, but as my post said, it's all just things from his past. His story doesn't actually have him DOING anything within the game to affect the plot much. Sebille and Red's stories affect their respective races very significantly and Lohse's ending affects quite a massive amount of people of all races.

Again, it's all based on each player's preferences on who you like bringing along better, but from your wording in the original post, "impacting the world the most" is covered by Lohse, Sebille, and Red far more than Ifan. Ifan has one or two more interactions with NPCs than most others but they are little throw away lines that don't really add much.

yeah it's mostly the specific encounters I thought added a bit to it... for example, when you first enter Fort Joy near the guys playing cards... or when you first enter driftwood... but I agree his story ultimately doesn't feel very relevant to the endgame. It's mostly dealing with his past.

[dr.rosenrosen]

Originally posted by Pyromus:

Originally posted by corlandom:

ifan made sense to me. fane and the whole bones who have bone babies thing just got too goofy. probably the same reason i like beast, red or others as well... all seemed better than bone people having bone babies being the genesis of all...

Fane wasn't born a "bone person" though. He was locked up for centuries and because he is immortal, he survived his body rotting away.

why is the bone immortal? they're boneys... it's typical larian nuttiness. don't get me wrong i like that they are different than other classic high fantasy many times....but i just didn't get into the angry boney people genesis story.

[Chaoslink]

I generally see a good companion story being one that provides a distraction from the main story. Ifan and Fane don't do that, so I tend to see them as weaker characters unless being played as the main character. Red, Sebille and Lohse all make great characters both as mains and as companions. Beast... Better as a main I think but a bit odd overall. His story in the classic version was basically.... Meet Beast > go to act two > in act two get told to go to act four > one major plot point quest in act four. The DE added more content for him in particular, but he still lacks actual content if you ask me. Not a bad character, there's just not much to him either.

[Chuddly]

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

Nah not really, just a bit more control over your customization such as tags, and you get to choose between two source abilities instead of the ones the origin characters come with.

I see. So generally speaking it's advised to go with an origin?

[Chuddly]

Originally posted by Pyromus:

Ifan's is very closely tied to the main plot, but in a way that makes his story feel kind of pointless, and it doesn't really add much actual story to the base plot.

Fane's is also very closely tied, but in a way that actually feels like his current decisions matter, while Ifan's story is mostly about what he did prior to the game's start. Fane also has mechanically speaking the best unique source skill in the game, and has some options down the line for more morality based choices.

Lohse, Red, and Sebille (in that order imo) all have great personal stories that make them gret recruits to bring in your party. Of those 3, I would say Lohse gives the most unique perspective on the story. Sebille and Red have some overlap in their stories, so if you aren't creative in act 1 and save a lot, you may miss out on some early plot points. Luckily, these are not super important plot points, but if you do decide to go this route and don't want to look up how to not miss anything, I would prioritize Sebille's early game plot because you will want her attitude completely maxed later on.

Beast is a fun character, but I think most people find his personal story the least enjoyable. Not that it's awful or anything, just that the others are better. They added some stuff to his story when the definitive edition came out, and it doesn't feel as bad as it used to, but it's still probably the most boring story.

What do you mean by creative? This game allows for creativity?
So is it fine to have Sebille as a companion? Or to get her story, do you have play as her?

[Chaoslink]

Originally posted by SonofNicholson:

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

Nah not really, just a bit more control over your customization such as tags, and you get to choose between two source abilities instead of the ones the origin characters come with.

I see. So generally speaking it's advised to go with an origin?

Its best to go with whatever appeals to you the most. You'll probably be playing that save for 80-100 hours at least, so you don't want to regret your choice. Origin stories are nice, but if you really want to play a female lizard and try to romance a Prince or a male elf or whatever, then go with that option and don't worry about it.

[Chuddly]

Originally posted by corlandom:

ifan made sense to me. fane and the whole bones who have bone babies thing just got too goofy. probably the same reason i like beast, red or others as well... all seemed better than bone people having bone babies being the genesis of all...

I guess that's a bit spoilery but it does sound a bit silly.

[Chuddly]

Originally posted by Pyromus:

Originally posted by DrunkPunk:

I think Ifan probably has some of the more.... interesting story related encounters, especially at the beginning of Act 2, but not by much.

ehhh. He has some quick interactions and knows a couple NPCs, but as my post said, it's all just things from his past. His story doesn't actually have him DOING anything within the game to affect the plot much. Sebille and Red's stories affect their respective races very significantly and Lohse's ending affects quite a massive amount of people of all races.

Again, it's all based on each player's preferences on who you like bringing along better, but from your wording in the original post, "impacting the world the most" is covered by Lohse, Sebille, and Red far more than Ifan. Ifan has one or two more interactions with NPCs than most others but they are little throw away lines that don't really add much.

So it's good enough to simply bring those three along and choose any of the characters to be my "main" character?