I have seen people suggest this, I have previously also suggested the idea myself but never really immersed into thinking what it would look like, until recently. Well, here is what I have in mind.
For me, 60% of my time is spent pvp-ing in Cyrodiil, however I find it better just being left alone when I'm chilling in pve areas doing quests and exploring, so the companions are great additions to the game, especially if you are a solo-quester. I remember in Skyrim that I couldn't do without the companions, but I couldn't do with the same companion for too long either as it gets boring. So I think the best next step for the companion mechanic would be increasing the variety of companions to choose from +more customization options. I really don't want to pay separately for each new companion, so I think it is best to just include them as part of new and old zones, as every zone providing one new companion would make buying a DLC a bit more tempting for me.
If you haven't finished the Balmora questline of the Morrowind DLC and the Nocturnal questline of the Summerset DLC you will see spoilers here.
Veya Releth
- Being a former Morag Tong, the companion is of Nightblade class
- Rapport increase with Blade of Woe kills, with a cooldown of 1 minute maybe. (Both Mirri and Bastian get rapport decrease with Blade of Woe)
- Rapport increase with poison brewing.
- A good chunk of Rapport increase by completing the repeatable Dark Brotherhood assassination quests (the same way as Mirri/Ashlander quests).
- Minor rapport decrease when the player is spotted by enemies in a restricted area
- Companion bonus for stealth abilities (better stamina whilst crouching, decreased distance of being spotted when sneaking, 10% chance increase for stealth actions etc.)
The list can be expanded, but the basic idea is that Veya likes most things that Bastian and Mirri don't, so you don't have to worry about sticking to a certain playstyle when you are with a companion.
Companion Personal quests
- As Morag Tong is after Veya, one of the personal quests could be related to that storyline. Defending against Morag Tong or simply running away? I don't know.
- Hunting down the remainder of her brother's killers? Or maybe trying to make up for the damage she caused in Balmora by doing good deeds, trying to fix herself? Visit Mama Releth while at it? Again, there could be a myriad of creative options when it comes to personal quests so I don't know, the quest could even be on something completely new about Veya that we didn't know before.
Is this going to break the lore?
No, as this is what happens in the original questline:
During the Family Reunion quest, you choose to either kill her or spare her.
If you spare Veya:
- You encounter her in Vivec City docks with Naryu, before she leaves for Summerset.
- She becomes the Champion of Nocturnal and appears as "Shadow Veya" in Summerset.
If you choose not to spare Veya:
- Naryu tells you that she killed Veya (then reveals that she did not kill her)
- You don't encounter her in the docks
- The Champion of Nocturnal becomes someone else, namely Shadow Tundilwen.
Hypothetically if you take her as a companion:
- You encounter her in Vivec City docks before she leaves for Summerset, have the option to have her as a companion during that last dialogue.
- The Champion of Nocturnal is Shadow Tundilwen again, just as what happens if Veya is "killed" in the original storyline.
I think it makes much more sense to team up with an NPC that you've spent a considerable amount of time questing and interacting with, in comparison to a designated random companion person pledging their allegiance to you forever after a small favour. Honestly I like Mirri and Bastian but there are some storyline NPC's that I would choose over them as a companion without a second thought. However, I also agree that this distinction must be made correctly when it comes to which NPC can be a follower and which can not be, I wouldn't like to see a Queen Ayrenn companion lurking in a delve killing scamps with a level 25 xxMemeCReaM32xx. But again, to each their own.
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