Companions

[sansuni01]

What about adding some companions? Like in Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption.. Maybe a vampire companion or a  ghoul companion.. You can turn one of the random npc's into a ghoul and make it your companion and give it some weapons.. (At least for a while anyway, they die easily..)

Also, random npc's should be unique.. They should not all look alike.. (different textures for faces, clothing and other stuff along with some accessories would make all the difference.. Some npc's can wear glasses, others can wear hats for instance..)

So... what do you guys think? Wouldn't it fit into the game? I mean we already have Heather as some sort of companion, but she is not the fighting type.. (She is too fragile for that) Wouldn't it be nice?

[ivan4041]

Well it does sound cool to have companion, as long as it doesn't distract from the story and atmosphere. If it was any mortal or vampire it would look like a gimmick, though. Companions should either be vassals (servants), or friends to the character, they shouldn't feel like pets you randomly gave blood to.

Also it should be taken into account that normally a Kindred should ask the Prince for permission for keeping a ghoul, because they can be troublesome. If Heather was found out, you would've been punished.

If people really want to see the player on a mission with a companion I picture the companion in a supporting role - driver, shooter who covers you, accomplice in a con job. The game would be very different if you could get an axe wielding mortal to help you fight Sabbat. Most of the loner, flexible game style will be ruined.

[Darkfury]

Yeah Ivan4041 i do see companions same as you.

To have companion like a someone who just walks after you  is not something which i like.
But when that will be turned in to some supportive role. Like a hidden sniper when you attack Sabat or a hacker who opens door for you.
Could be fun. Anyway i do not now how that will change a balance in the game, which in these cases can be difficult to make, maybe extra enemies can sort things out.

But actually i did post some time ago in the Planet Vampire forum idea, or maybe a suggestion as in the original PnP VTM game that
companions or ghouls as You like should be done alike some extra benefits for the Vampire.

And as well as something worth fighting for . So in multiplayer ghouls can serve as someone who can help you keep maskarade.
Let's say it's a Police ghoul. Or a known Gangster who can deliver you some guns, etc.

In this case ghouls can support you and give you extra boost.

I don't see companions as only someone who follows you dumbly everywhere.
It' would be better and more accurate to make them as servants for some situations. (example of a sniper on Sabat mission)

more examples :
    he can be a driver for a sarcofagus, (BTW original game never explained where you get a truck from in Giovanii mansion.) 
    he/she can be helping you to escape Bloodhound map,
    he/she can help you to find some haven ( extra one ,)
    or just a hacking support from outside, (opens door, or calls a lift, etc, and opens extra route for you)
    he/she can be as well a someone inside some structures (like Syndicate ) and help you deliver some facts , etc.  so you can
    avoid some situations.


..............................       

And one more idea is to make let's say this ghoul/companion like someone alive with his whole life niuances.
When you turn him/her you will be as well responsible for his her familly and your actions and demands will make some horror and tragic events to her/his relatives.

You can obviously demand that he will fight for you but you as well need to keep others not interested in his night life.
That can be fun .

To keep things simply i would like if that companions part can be done using existing characters.
so maybe a Taxi driver can be one of them. Or a Heather can be made with deeper background, and more usefull.
Maybe some of thin bloods can join you.
In a game  are many nicely done characters which can be expanded.


   

[ivan4041]

more examples :
    he can be a driver for a sarcofagus, (BTW original game never explained where you get a truck from in Giovanii mansion.) 
    he/she can be helping you to escape Bloodhound map,
    he/she can help you to find some haven ( extra one ,)
    or just a hacking support from outside, (opens door, or calls a lift, etc, and opens extra route for you)
    he/she can be as well a someone inside some structures (like Syndicate ) and help you deliver some facts , etc.  so you can
    avoid some situations.

These things best describe what regular ghouls should be able to do. Otherwise it should be noted that extra helpful NPCs in the pen and paper game were part of the Kindred's Background:

Military - A mortal or a group of mortals with military experience. The only gun support that the Kindred can use.
Allies - Any NPC who is indebted to the Kindred or friendly to for some reason. He can help with anything within his power, reasonable to the Dots in the background.
Contacts - Any NPC who is in an information network - government, underworld, police force, tremere chantry etc.

If any of the NPCs can be used this way, it would be helpful if the Background was automatically added to the Character Sheet. That way the player will know what influences he has around the city and how much he can rely on these NPCs. Subsuquent quests might give more dots to those backgrounds.

[Darkfury]

Mr Ivan4041

while i do agree in most what you have stated, i do not really like a NPC's characteristics as a window with dots.
Reason for this is simple, it distracts too much from gameplay. BTW i like in Bloodlines that game concentrates on persons,
Player , npc's and enemies. Each type is presented brilliantly, and i would not try to change this by any additional characteristics. 

What i would like to see is mature approach to this  and i mean that in real life you do not know that much of a persons skills
and abilities just by knowing this person even if you try to judge your close friends by standards of any player sheet it might fail
when you confront this with reality.

so my suggestion for this will be that is more worth of a work to make Companions, (ghouls,friends,whoever) like without any
characteristics. But with some visible in game changes when you try to influence them.

Simply put: It would be nice to see how their field of possible actions grows by your actions (power,blood,or just a suggestion,advice,domination,etc)

And to make it more close to the universe and dark horrorish i would love to see some background stories and
something like a price which you companion pay just by knowing some undead, vampiric creature like player.

It is actually made in Bloodlines with Heather when you chose to keep her or to let her go.
That kind of companions but with more actions would be nice.

   

[ivan4041]

That approach sounds very cool too. It would go nicely with the theme of the world. However if we center it so much on characters in the game, there should be a lot more conversations in the game. In Bloodlines you speak with people mostly if they help you out with a quest. If we are to have a more immersive experience, quests shouldn't be so obvious and you should be able to take the time and just learn about people.

Bottom line, if interactions in game replace background statistics, that means those interaction should be diverse, detailed and compelling. More so than they were in Bloodlines, where basically nobody helped you and your choices helped you have an ally by the end.