Expeditions: Rome - Dev Diary #15 - Companions

daveyd said:

@purpleblob1; @Redglyph; I found this explanation of combat death from a LA developer on their discord:

"Characters that go down to 0 hp will bleed out if you have Combat Death enabled. After 3 turns they will die if they are not stabilized by a skill (such as Aid, Cure, Bandage). If the character is a companion or the player character; it will prompt a game over.

However after Lesbos; Injury system gets enabled, which means getting damaged/downed can trigger injuries that needs to be treated."

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Hmm, it's still somewhat unclear for the injury system, could companions die that way without the Combat Death option? Or do you only have to treat them so they can fight again?

They seem to be smart, I doubt they'd end up with an incoherent system, so I think that if you don't select that option, you're safe and there's no game over because of combats or their consequences.

Anyway, the best option is to save regularly, we'll see how this all works in due time.

EDIT:

"We don't have that many quests in the game where you have to bring the companions - and we have lines written for the hired praetorians if you bring them instead."

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That's nice.

Redglyph said:

Hmm, it's still somewhat unclear for the injury system, could companions die that way without the Combat Death option? Or do you only have to treat them so they can fight again?

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I just asked and Jonas said yes companions can still die from untreated injuries. They may go into more detail during today's stream.

Expeditions: Rome - Companion Trailer: Bestia

It's companion trailer time!

Meet Bestia Tabat, the Gladiator.

After a long and illustrious career in the arenas of Rome, this fighter of beasts finally earned his freedom. But what is a free man to do when all he knows is combat?

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And it's stream day, too. Actually it just started.

daveyd said:

I just asked and Jonas said yes companions can still die from untreated injuries. They may go into more detail during today's stream.

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Thanks! Jonas elaborated a little during the stream:
Combat Death is recommended, it's more compelling
- if it is ON and a character goes down in a fight, there's a bleed out timer. When it reaches 0, the character is killed permanently (as mentioned before)
=> if they're not story companions, they'll just be gone and will have to be replaced
=> if they're companions (or MC), game over

- if Combat Death is OFF, they'll just be incapacitated and back on their feet after the combat. If they get an injury when going down, that will have to be treated, otherwise it will deteriorate and ultimately the character will die, with the same consequences as above.

- it's also possible to die with some choices in the story

Fun stream. A few tidbits:
- there's apparently a nice depth to the companions' story; they said so in the dev diary but repeated it a few times in the stream
- it is possible to have a romance with any companion except Syneros; romance is part of the game but not a big feature (don't expect moving cut scenes for ex), yet it can still have an influence on endings or some of the gameplay.
- there is a lot of banter in different situations, sometimes it reveals important plot points. They can talk together in the camp, but also make comments while you walk around in areas.
- same system of personality traits as in Viking
- morale system as in Viking
- each character has a unique unarmed sills, otherwise the class skills will be the same for all

Expeditions: Rome - Companion Trailer: Syneros

Today's companion and why he can do more than just healing (and teaching) people

Meet Syneros, the Mentor.

Your personal servant and teacher, the Greek philosopher has known you since you were a child. But the old man is surprisingly deadly in a fight. What hidden secrets lie buried in his past?

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Expeditions: Rome - Companion Trailer: Deianeira

And here is the last addition to the companions.

Meet Deianeira, the Amazon.

This proud warrior woman of Scythia was enslaved and sold to be trained as a gladiator. She will join you in exchange for her freedom – but she has unfinished business with her captors…

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purpleblob1 said:

I thought I read that we can't hire mercs but maybe it was incorrect info then

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Yes, incorrect. You can hire generic centurions as your praetorians.

purpleblob1 said:

Gotta admit, I really like female companion portraits. They look feminine and strong/built at the same time

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Yes, they nailed it. The portraits are gorgeous in this game.