Favorite Female NPC

[magerette]

I'm having serious poll withdrawal, so time for a new one, which I hope we haven't had before. We've discussed the best(or worst) villain, the best series, best general crop of NPC's, but not the female NPC most interesting, useful, or appealing.

This time I'm not making it necessary for the NPC to be able to join your party. This poll is just to pick your favorite female non-playable character created in a game world.

There's a limit of ten on poll choices so I'm picking the most well-known examples and only two per game. Please use the "Other" option for memorable female characters I've missed.

[curiously undead]

i picked other for Kaelyn the Dove from mask of the betrayer. few npcs move me to truly champion their causes, rather than as a means to fufill a string of quests.
also some other ones for me are the kreia fom kotor2, abagail from the witcher,

[magerette]

Yes, for this poll, there needs to be more options. I really wanted to put Ravel the Night Hag (PS:T) and Abigail on there as well, but two per game is limiting. :(

[blatantninja]

Viconia was in both BG's. I picked her. Granted I haven't played another of the other games on the list, so I had to choose between her and Jaheira. What can I say, I just like evil, bitchy women!

[Stanza]

Mission, precisely because she was not a romance interest (and a useful char for the sneaksie skills).

Vi is a good second -- not whiny as Mission sometimes was, but with less interactable story.

I've never liked Jaheiraibestilla in any of her iterations. Bioware has some odd notion that annoying women are romantic. No, annoying women get stripped naked and fed to the first wild animal that comes along. I may not have a clue what romance is, but Bioware has shown me what it should never be.

Edit: Honorable mention: Ahnassi in Morrowind. Nothing more than a shallow quest giver. No depth, no personality. If you have to put romances in a game, this is how it should be done -- leave off the annoying story, just tell me what my next quest is.

[DeepO]

That's pretty easily Fall-from-Grace for me.
She is a creature of many contradictions and thanks to the depth of P:T's writing she is not only a NPC, but also a philosophical statement with which I fully agree.
I am anti-determinist:). Her Brothel is probably my absolute favourite place in any computer game and that's also thanks to the great soothing Fall-from-Grace theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12lgsK63S48

It's probably not that surprising that my second favourite would be Annah. I really like her personality, development of her relationship with the Nameless and all that cool slang.

Third place goes to Vi Domina. Her "You guys are good!" always cheers me up:).

[magerette]

Viconia was in both BG's. I picked her. Granted I haven't played another of the other games on the list, so I had to choose between her and Jaheira. What can I say, I just like evil, bitchy women!

Boy I sure don't remember her being in BG1, but it's been decades since I played.

I also prefer bitchy evil women to insipid or whiny ones, and Jaheira also struck me as fairly irrational, as well. Fall from Grace, however, was my choice--she's just the most enigmatic, truly feminine NPC I've ever seen around. :)

[Prime Junta]

Fall-from-Grace every time. Sorry, but nobody else even comes close.

And no, I didn't think much of Jaheira or Viconia in BG2. I mean sure, they're much more interesting than most cRPG love interests, but from where I'm concerned they're still firmly in the "bad romance writing" bin. (I think I liked even Silk Fox from Jade Empire better; at least there was just a touch of irony in her treatment there.)

[Squeek]

Bastilla was hot in a comic-book kind of way. And she couldn't help but fall in love with me...er, um...the character I was playing (what was his name again?).

[woges]

Revan - come on!

[blatantninja]

Boy I sure don't remember her being in BG1, but it's been decades since I played.

I also prefer bitchy evil women to insipid or whiny ones, and Jaheira also struck me as fairly irrational, as well. Fall from Grace, however, was my choice--she's just the most enigmatic, truly feminine NPC I've ever seen around. :)

Decades? Did you get the pre-pre-pre release version? :D

You find her in one of the areas near the bandit camp. As usual, someone is out to kill her because they blame her drowness for all their problems. You save her, and she offers to join. I REALLY wanted to bring her along on my current go though, but since I'm playing a Ranger/Cleric myself, I didn't want another character that couldn't use a good ranged weapon or non blunt melee weapons.

I've been pleasantly surprised with the NPC project dialogue (though some of it is annoying) though, so I may play through again and have her join me. I imagine some pretty good party banter as I play my goody-two-shoes paladin with her!

[Lucky Day]

Great Poll.

In looking up some of my facourites I've realized a problem with the term NPC. Obviously here we mean characters we can control in our party in CRPG, whereas by definition an NPC is someone we can't in an RPG.

Technically then the real NPC's are the ones we'd interact with that that don't join us.

If that were the case my favorite would be Sherry from the Ultima series. I mean..for crying out loud, the most powerful talking mouse in the history of the realms that likes to tell bedtime stories. How do you beat that?

But for companions Julia the Tinker is really interesting, especially after she confesses her unrequited love for the Avatar in U9.

Worst Ultima female was probably poor Raven who was clicheed and contradictory.

Another good character was Tandi in the Fallout series. She was interesting as a minor love interest for the Chosen one but other than the original quest to rescue her what she offered was the ability to feel like the player was cheating by not returning her. She returns as the aged mayor in Fallout 2 and her character becomes much more elaborate.

[MaskedMan]

What, no Kreia? :-/ She was basically a big "screw you" to the normal shallow moral codes of Star Wars & BioWare-RPGs, and one of the few NPC's that's actually made me *think* about my choices, and the conversations with her were great. So she might have been a little bitchy, and the last part of the game was a little odd (here's hoping Team Gizka fixes it soon), but she is still my favorite.

I voted other...

annoying women get stripped naked and fed to the first wild animal that comes along.

I fed Jaheira to the wolves so that i could keep my sex-changed Khalid and recruit Viconia:D. My BG1 party was pretty fun until they turned into werewolves..

[Prime Junta]

Yup, Kreia was another good one. KOTOR 2 wasn't by BioWare, though, it was by Obsidian.

Another strong female character is Aribeth de Tylmarande in her Hordes of the Underdark incarnation. She almost makes up for her lameness in NWN OC.

[magerette]

Decades? Did you get the pre-pre-pre release version? :D


Okay, only one decade, but at my age it feels like a century. ;)

[blatantninja]

If that were the case my favorite would be Sherry from the Ultima series. I mean..for crying out loud, the most powerful talking mouse in the history of the realms that likes to tell bedtime stories. How do you beat that?

I see your Sherry and raise you one Miniature Giant Space Hamster, Boo.

But for companions Julia the Tinker is really interesting, especially after she confesses her unrequited love for the Avatar in U9.

Worst Ultima female was probably poor Raven who was clicheed and contradictory.

I must have missed that in U9 with Julia. Maybe it was the user dialogue mod I used. I always liked Julia. And yes Raven was awful.

How about the girl in Britain in U7 (Maybe 6, I can't remember), that was all head over heals in love with you and pinched your butt on the way out?

[blatantninja]

I fed Jaheira to the wolves so that i could keep my sex-changed Khalid and recruit Viconia:D. My BG1 party was pretty fun until they turned into werewolves..


Did you use ShadowKeeper to sex-change Khalid? And werewolves?!? Is that the ToSC expansion?

I would always strip Khalid naked and send him to fight so I could keep Jaheira around. As annoying as she is, she does fight well. I would do the same to Dynaheir (sp?) to keep Minsc around. This time, I'm keeping all of them, but I'm starting to regret it. I liked Xan's school abilities much better than Dynaheir;s.

[Stanza]

Okay, only one decade, but at my age it feels like a century. ;)

I just assumed you were counting in avatars instead of years.

[Jaz]

Kreia or Scotia. Since Scotia was also the villain of LoL, she won't count, but it's a choice of 'other', anyway.

[Turjan]

Did you use ShadowKeeper to sex-change Khalid? And werewolves?!? Is that the ToSC expansion?

I would always strip Khalid naked and send him to fight so I could keep Jaheira around. As annoying as she is, she does fight well. I would do the same to Dynaheir (sp?) to keep Minsc around. This time, I'm keeping all of them, but I'm starting to regret it. I liked Xan's school abilities much better than Dynaheir;s.
One of the ogres on the second map drops a sex change belt, which would come handy in this case.

As much as I liked taking Jaheira with me in BG2, where she was very useful, I found her mostly useless in BG1. She has bad stats and is hard to keep alive. There wasn't really much a druid could do in BG1. Or do you use BG2 spells via Tutu?

[Naked Ninja]

Kreia all the way.

[blatantninja]

I'm using TuTu so that would explain some of her more usefulness!

[curiously undead]

oh crap how could i forget
rho bowman (playable)
and fatima (most adorable dead person ever)
from anachronox
stilleto anyway--no way (only partially due to the bad voice acting, similar problem i have with triss)

[HiddenX]

Jagged Alliance

http://www.ja2.de/wf/en/mercs/Meltdown.jpg

Jessop, Norma "Meltdown"
Don't mess with Meltdown. She may be smiling in her file photo, but that smile is certainly deceptive. This mercenary is legendary; an enemy once died at her feet from fear before Meltdown had even raised her weapon. As for her taste in weapons, the bigger, the better. In fact, Meltdown has a tendency for overkill in virtually every aspect of her life. Jessop is remarkably ambidextrous; she can easily fire two weapons simultaneously.

Additional Info:

* Foul-mouthed, kickass woman, who could clear a bar in no time.
* You'd shake in fear just looking at her.
* Loves violence and killing, disturbingly so.
* Has an all-around hate for humanity, in general.

http://www.ja2.de/wf/en/mercs/Fox.jpg

Guzzman, Cyntia "Fox"
Initially trained as an emergency room nurse, Fox Guzzman was recently featured in "Babes and Bullets," a prestigious monthly mercenary magazine. Her article on controlling hemorrhaging while on the battlefield was almost as highly praised as her centerfold layout.

Guzzman has recently spent a lot of time on the firing range and it has paid off handsomely.

Additional Info

* Dialogue makes reference to sexual innuendo.
* She is extremely conscious of her looks and uses it to her advantage.
* Voice is extremely sexy, with a hint of sweetness.

[Squeek]

I actually attended school with a girl named Cynthia Fox who also had an extremely sexy voice with a hint of sweetness. In fact, she became a DJ at a popular local radio station shortly after graduation.

I don't know that I ever saw her control any hemorrhaging, but she did enjoy reading poetry. I do remember that.

[Sergius64]

Viktoria from Thief series for me. Too bad she didn't make it past the Metal Age.

[woges]

I just thought Jeanette deserved a mention:

http://i.boomtown.net/pics/5/2/5/64525/292x219.jpg

[curiously undead]

don't you mean therese voerman?
the other crazy white meat

[woges]

I guess so, a concocted character of a character is still a character! At least to me, here you go:

http://www.gaminator.pl/data/character/60/60.1.jpg

[Corwin]

Well, it was a tough decision, but Annah has always been my clear favourite. Just love her dialogue and quips!!

[txa1265]

Definitely a hard choice on the list ... and agree with many of the 'off list' choices as well. I chose Bastilla, as I really liked her. FFG was another choice, and I really liked Jaheira until I played BG (I'd played BG2 first so I didn't know I wanted her dead yet).

[purpleblob]

I voted for Jaheira. I didn't like her at all in BG1 but hey... I didn't like any of the NPCs in BG1 except for Garrick.... Jaheira was plain awesome in BG2 IMO.

[Lucky Day]

I see your Sherry and raise you one Miniature Giant Space Hamster, Boo.


AFAIK Boo wasn't female and he was always staring at you (go for the eyes, boo).
--
mymy, it looks like Sherry could be a companion after all in U6

http://bloggingultima.blogspot.com/2007/04/ultma-vi-day-4.html

[Corwin]

From memory, Sherry is essential to one quest in U6 and is definitely 'in' the U6 Project!!

[Jaz]

@HiddenX: I loved Meltdown, too :D. And Florence... she was such a whiner, but still ...

[Mareus Durante]

Deidrianna from Jagged Alliance was the best. She just loved to slap that poor bastard. Hilarious :D

[Maylander]

For me, personally, there is no doubt: Kreia. It just doesn't get any better than her, male or female. She's quite annoying unless you get a high influence with her, but once you "play along" as her student, and get on her good side, she becomes very interesting.

Here is an article on the Star Wars wiki about her (chances are, even if you've played Kotor2 several times, you've missed out on much of her story. There's just so much to discover about her):
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kreia

[Remus]

... Imoen. Everyone who have played BG1 & BG2 would familiar with this name. She's little wacky; she would slap main character shoulder & smirking when he try to ask about her background, and in BG2 she didn't loss her wits when try putting her paw (stealing) on that semi-retired paladin (i can't remember his name) & got busted. And i like her favorite line that say "heya, it's just me...Imoen".

Quote my own post from rpgdot years ago.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Worst Ultima female

What about a poll afterwards : "Worst female NPC" ? ;)

[blatantninja]

mymy, it looks like Sherry could be a companion after all in U6

http://bloggingultima.blogspot.com/2007/04/ultma-vi-day-4.html

I remember taking Sherry along for a couple quests in U6.

[magerette]

Apologies to the Kreia fanbase. KotOR 2 has never made it into my collection but you are getting me interested.

@Remus--I have to differ with you on Imoen--she is the one NPC I did everything in my power to avoid due to personality(including that famous line you quoted ;) ) though she did have a pretty good skill package. But then I'm kind of not drawn to most of Bioware's NPC's--that's just me. :)

Kind of surprised in a way The Witcher girls don't have any following--though there's quite a bit of translation issues I think with their personalities, they both were interesting female NPCs imo.

[Prime Junta]

I thought Abigail was more interesting than either of them.

Re KOTOR 2, the Restoration Project is currently in beta, so I'd suggest you hold off a bit longer and play it like it's supposed to be. The ending was like running off a cliff.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I don't have either of both KOTOR games, so I'll kep this in mind.

[Lucky Day]

I enjoyed Imoen but I don't think she was developed very much. It seems most of her best character traits were about before you started adventuring. Jaheira was very well developed but not too popular.

How about this poll be remade on the front page with the revisions suggested here? Then worst female companion could be next.

[zakhal]

I don't have either of both KOTOR games, so I'll kep this in mind.

I have both kotors and have played them both through - first one twice. Gonna play them again through once the restoration project finishes (thers plenty of good mods for both). If you like rpg games you really should play them (unless you really hate sw). They are easily on my top10 list.

Whats there to like with kotor? It looks good, it sounds good, it plays good, it has nice guns and weapons, interesting characters plot and dialogue, racing and spacegunnery, lots of quests of all kinds and a spaceship where you can walk inside and use to travel between multiple planets.

The only fault might be that its too easy. I recommend playing it on the hardest difficulty level.

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I simply didn't buy KOTOR this far - although I'm a Star Wars fan - because my PC couldn't run it - until my new one, which I bought last SEptember or October.

Since then, other games have been higher on my priority list.

By the way, KOTOR I is still sold for around 20-25 Euros here, which is relatively high, compared ghow "old" this game is. I think that's due to its license and popularity.

[curiously undead]

i hope abagails role is expanded in the enhanced edition, as while i loved chapter iv, they definately needed to have a quest inside that boarded up house, maybe even one which requires/invovles abagail.

also its reassuring to see so many people appreciate kreia, which on a personal level helps to validate my logic behind telling my wife that barbara walters is a 10 while so many actresses/models in the limelight are 7s at best.

[xSamhainx]

I only got about halfway thru PS:T, and it was like almost a decade ago so I cant really comment on this Fall from Grace dame. As for the Witcher gals, I did like them, but I already have begun forgetting alot about them. I'm personally starting to turn against the "love interest" thing in games, it detracts from the rest of the game, and I dont like that. I get enough romantic drama in real life, I dont need that shite.

I thought Branwen was cool ='.'=

No, when it comes to those I remember I like the "little sis" NPCs like Imoen and Mission, theyre the personalities that I tend to truly enjoy and remember. Seems most people see them as annoying, but i think theyre cute and like having them around. Maybe it's my paternal/big brother instinct, but I end up caring more for them than I do other femmes within the game. Even the little tiefling Neeshka in NWN 2 kinda endeared herself to me.

I'll stay within the confines of the stated choices and mark another one up for Mission

[Maylander]

I agree with PJ - wait for the restoration project. About 2/3s of KotOR2 is excellent already, but the ending could use improvements. Chris Avellone himself said he'd actually like to cut down on the mid-game content and focus more on depth and certain aspects.

Still, Kreia is extremely well written. No surprise though, as Avellone wrote the characters in PS:T as well.

[Lucky Day]

Oh My Gosh..I can't believe I almost forgot Sparkle in Wizardry 8.

I was hooked the minute she shouted out in her bubble gum voice, "Power, Duty, Victory!"

[Artran]

Oh My Gosh..I can't believe I almost forgot Sparkle in Wizardry 8.

I was hooked the minute she shouted out in her bubble gum voice, "Power, Duty, Victory!"

Ahh - Sparkle... I'm also her fan :-)

[Konjad]

Viconia, Baldur's Gate 2
huh? Why only BG2? I actually like her in both BG's, and I love her voice in polish version of Baldur's Gate.

Fall-from-Grace is also an interesting character and she would be my second choice.

[magerette]

Yep, Konjad, that was my bad--I forgot she was in BG1 because I've pretty much forgotten everything from BG1 except the load screens. ;)

[JemyM]

Just for fun, here's a list of the rest of the recruitable females in Bioware/Obsidian/Black Isle's games:
Imoen, Baldurs Gate Series
Alora, Baldurs Gate
Dynaheir, Baldurs Gate
Safana, Baldurs Gate
Skie, Baldurs Gate
Aerie, Baldurs Gate II
Edwin, Baldurs Gate II :)
Mazzy, Baldurs Gate II
Nalia, Baldurs Gate II
Dorna, Neverwinter Nights, Shadows over Undrentide
Linu, Neverwinter Nights
Sharwyn, Neverwinter Nights
Nathyrra, Neverwinter Nights, Hordes of the Underdark
Aribeth, Neverwinter Nights, Hordes of the Underdark
Amie Fern, Neverwinter Nights II
Elanee, Neverwinter Nights II
Neeshka, Neverwinter Nights II
Qara, Neverwinter Nights II
Shandra, Neverwinter Nights II
Zhjaeve, Neverwinter Nights II
Kaelyn, Neverwinter Nights II, Mask of the Betrayer
Safiya, Neverwinter Nights II, Mask of the Betrayer
Katja, Fallout
Tandi, Fallout
Miria, Fallout II
Dawn Star, Jade Empire
Silk Fox, Jade Empire
Wild Flower, Jade Empire
Ashley Williams, Mass Effect
Liara T'Soni, Mass Effect
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Mass Effect
Juhani, Knights of the Old Republic
Handmaiden, Knights of the Old Republic II
Kreia, Knights of the Old Republic II
Mira, Knights of the Old Republic II
Visas Marr, Knights of the Old Republic II
Beatrice the Chicken, Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader
Jeanne D'Arc, Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader

[blatantninja]

After finishing BG1Tutu, I can say that I know who my LEAST favorite female NPC is: Dynaheir. Not only did I find her annoying, but her school has the worst set of spells IMO. I should have fed her to the knolls, like I did in all my other plays and kept Xan. But NOOOOO, I wanted to be different this time!

[Maylander]

I see you remembered Edwin! I still remember the comment the PC has to him after his transformation: "Nice rack", and Edwin responds with something like: "Why you insolent.. oh, those are rather nice".

Speaking of which - Edwin is, by far, the best mage in BG1 and 2 in my opinion.

[purpleblob]

After finishing BG1Tutu, I can say that I know who my LEAST favorite female NPC is: Dynaheir. Not only did I find her annoying, but her school has the worst set of spells IMO. I should have fed her to the knolls, like I did in all my other plays and kept Xan. But NOOOOO, I wanted to be different this time!

you prefer Xan over Dynaheir??? I thought Xan is the WORST mage ever. Until I made him fighter/mage in BG2.

[JDR13]

you prefer Xan over Dynaheir??? I thought Xan is the WORST mage ever. Until I made him fighter/mage in BG2.

How did you have Xan in BG2? NPC mod?

[Ionstormsucks]

Viktoria from the Thief series wasn't too shabby either...

[JemyM]

Looks: Probably pick Jeanette or Velvet Velour from Vampire: Bloodlines.

Personality: I actually like the Jaheira/Bastilla kind, or Annah. Many call them annoying, I call them strongwilled. They remind me of my mother who is a very independent woman. Naturally, my wife is just like that as well.

Memorable, I would probably go for Norma "Meltdown" Jessop in Jagged Alliance II.

Finally, I know he's a guy, but Ignus is hot.