Build or recruit a party?

[butchy]

I'm wondering if tastes have changed in the last 15 years. More games are being made where you can finally create your own party again, where at one time this was a crpg faux pas thought to be from a long lost age of troglodytes where building a party required thought, combat was challenging and actually required tactics and strategy, and games did not have to have 10 different kinds of love making options to be a hit.

Have things gone full circle or is this a passing fad?

 

[lurker3000]

I like having NPC with their own agenda in my party but it makes it hard to make sure all the bases are covered.

All I really know is that no matter if I create a party myself or use game NPCs Edwin is always my wizard.

 

[octavius]

I prefer to have both types of games available.

 

[Lilura]

I like a mix of hiring from AIM, building IMPs and chance recruitment.

 

[deuxhero]

Depends on the game. More exploration based games are better off with talking predefined characters, more numbers/tactical ones are better off with more player control over stuff.

Oh and for the love of God, avoid forcing players to recruit people early or have to deal with massively fucked up builds.

 

[Monkeyfinger]

Build is only good in sequels that re-use systems.

 

[butchy]

Depends on the game. More exploration based games are better off with talking predefined characters, more numbers/tactical ones are better off with more player control over stuff.

Oh and for the love of God, avoid forcing players to recruit people early or have to deal with massively fucked up builds.

I don't understand the logic in that. Why do traditional rpgs need talking-head companions and crappy combat? And why can't games with good combat be like traditional rpgs any more? My ideal is ToEE and hopefully WL2 after the new updated version whatever it is called. And WL2 and ToEE also had recruitable characters. One great thing about BG1 and 2 was you had a choice, you could build your own party or recruit the talking heads.

 

[laclongquan]

Depend on games.

With welldone premade NPCs, lots of specific situations for that characters, then of course it's to recruit. Say, Fallout 2, NV, BG series... Silent Storm series...

With combat centric game like Storm of Zehyrs, IWD series, or JA2, then of course build my own chars.

Although JA2 fall somewhere in the middle because it has plenty lures to use premades (like like/hate, and wide demands for manpower).

 

[Night Goat]

Full recruit, characters I create don't have any personality or backstory and as such they don't emotionally engage me the way premade characters can. All aboard the Space Asylum Normandy!

 

[butchy]

Full recruit, characters I create don't have any personality or backstory and as such they don't emotionally engage me the way premade characters can. All aboard the Space Asylum Normandy!

That is absolute crazy talk. They have all the personality and backstory you could ever imagine.

 

[butchy]

Depend on games.

With welldone premade NPCs, lots of specific situations for that characters, then of course it's to recruit. Say, Fallout 2, NV, BG series... Silent Storm series...

With combat centric game like Storm of Zehyrs, IWD series, or JA2, then of course build my own chars.

Although JA2 fall somewhere in the middle because it has plenty lures to use premades (like like/hate, and wide demands for manpower).

Fallout 2, NV, BG series... Silent Storm series...

Those are all extremely combat centric games. Almost every rpg is besides Unrest, AoD if played a certain way, and that's about it I can think of.

And you and Lilura both mention JA2...the only character you could build from scratch was the main protagonist. Is there a mod or something that is standard now that lets you make additional characters from scratch?

 

[lurker3000]

Just noticed OP put WL2 in the build your own party 5+ option. OP is gay and poll is fucked.

Also i realized I voted for the wrong option. Should have been option 3 (build + recruit).

 

[Goromorg]

Recruiting a party was done in a primitive and stupid way in pretty much every game. NPCs more often than not lack a real motive to join a party.
For this reason I prefer to create my own party in the beginning of the game.
Although in some rare games a recruiting was done in a clever way, for example - SITS, where you can bind a soul of mortal, deprieving him of free will. Pretty cool and immersive!

 

[TigerKnee]

A Half-Half split was always my favourite IMO, full party build is 2nd best.

Chronicles of Aethra had you create a "Main Character", his two most trusted companions and then 3 slots are left for hirelings from guilds which you have to compare and contrast their skill/price for your needs.

 

[Lilura]

And you and Lilura both mention JA2...the only character you could build from scratch was the main protagonist. Is there a mod or something that is standard now that lets you make additional characters from scratch?

I wouldn't say "standard", but yes, in 1.13 you can create multiple IMPs. In the umodded game you can also hire low-tier physicians who can be trained up and tailored how you like; quite quickly due to their high Wisdom stat.

 

[butchy]

Just noticed OP put WL2 in the build your own party 5+ option. OP is gay and poll is fucked.

Also i realized I voted for the wrong option. Should have been option 3 (build + recruit).

You are correct, sorry. That definitely should have been in mixed.

 

[Lilura]

You also generalized "all" the IE RPGs into the "fully recruit a party" category, which clearly isn't the case in Icewind Dale & its sequel, where all party members are built. Your poll is really quite awful, I'm afraid.

Spoiler

Oh, and at the risk of sound pedantic, it's "Zehir".

 

[mondblut]

Build a party of up to 6, throw in a pair of recruitables. Between GB, MM3 and Wiz8, nothing could go wrong.

 

[butchy]

You also generalized "all" the IE RPGs into the "fully recruit a party" category, which clearly isn't the case in Icewind Dale & its sequel, where all party members are built. Your poll is really quite awful, I'm afraid.

Spoiler

Oh, and at the risk of sound pedantic, it's "Zehir".

I don't give care how it's really spelt; I was close enough for not giving a shit. And you're awful and you smell like petri dish for thick, milky vaginal discharge testing. I made this post in like a minute. This isn't for a dissertation. Just the general vibe of what people prefer.

 

[aweigh]

butchy edgiest poster evar

 

[butchy]

butchy edgiest poster evar

Hey, how's it going aweigh?

 

[Trojan_generic]

I prefer to have both types of games available.

This, if you mean both types of options in one game.

The only problem for creating all the characters for a party in a game I play for a first time is that I just do not have any guarantee that the skill, for example "soldering" or "snuff filming" will be used at all in the game, or if it has any meaningful use in the game. Buck Rogers fucked with you nicely in this context if you did not read the manual.

 

[Invictus]

For combat centric games like the Wizardrys or more focused on exploration like Might and Magic I prefer to build my own parties since half the fun in those games is tweaking your party builds and trying out new classes. For story driven games it is best to have premade chars with their own agendas and personalities like in Baldurs Gate... But in all honestly my favorite RPGs feature building my own parties so I guess I am more of a combatfag

 

[Grimwulf]

And you and Lilura both mention JA2...the only character you could build from scratch was the main protagonist.

Laptop guy is not IMP. And yeah,

Your poll is really quite awful, I'm afraid.

 

[Courtier]

Storm of Zhephir(sp?)

Storm of Zehir

Fully recruit a party (all the IE games

You forget IWD and its sequel, which were all about building your own party