NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer Interview, Part Two
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Q: How many henchmen are you adding in Mask of the Betrayer, what will each be like, and how will they be distinctive? Will the old ones still be available, and how will the new ones differ?
A: Mask of the Betrayer has five companions. Two are mutually exclusive, and all are optional. At the beginning of the project, we decided to stay away from the NWN2 companions in general. There is a cameo (or two or three...), but we wanted a fresh start. It was challenging enough for us to craft the story based upon the NWN2 character, and we decided that trying to make the old companions make sense with the Mask story would have watered it down too much.
The new companions are very distinctive and unique characters - each has an obvious "hook". Safiya is a Red Wizard of Thay, and perhaps the companion most integral to the story. Kaelyn the Dove is a half-celestial cleric of Ilmater who also has pretty deep ties with the story, depending upon your choices. Gann is an unusually charismatic hagspawn spirit shaman whose specific talents complement what's going on in spirit-rich Rashemen.
The global dialogues for all three of them are richer and longer than even the most developed NWN2 companions - our writers really outdid themselves. In Mask, the companions also have more to say throughout the general course of the game; for example, they'll comment on specific events or places you come across - without breaking the flow of action.
