The Companion Conundrum.

[The Observer]

Edit 2/11/2021:

With the opening of Khor'minos, companion submissions or prospects are officially closed. No companion submissions are allowed under any circumstances, unless Savin changes his mind for some reason.

***

So, you've just played the initial release and are feeling mighty excited. CoC2 is a reality now, and with a party-based system! It's time for you to inject your lovely waifu/husbando into-

No.

Stop.

The temptation to write a companion is there, I know. I experienced it back in my days of writing for FoE - while it was still active, everyone and their mother wanted to write a companion, half the ideas on the old forums were for companions. The allure is simple to understand, as the people who follow the champion around are the top-tier NPCs, and having your self-insert be played by so many other people feels good, doesn't it?

That's the problem.

A companion is a massive investment of time, effort and dedication. Savin has made it clear in his design docs that he's going to be no-fun Hitler about this, because of so many problems which have cropped up in previous FenCo games, the main ones being:

-We don't want bubble people. No camps and spaceships full of waifus and husbandos who never interact with one another. No planets full of people who never interact with one another. Quality over quantity. If you write a companion, you're expected to keep abreast of what other people are doing, especially other companion writers. You're expected to communicate with other writers about how your characters would interact. You'll be expected to work with other people on their docs, and help people figure out what your character would say. You'll be expected to learn the ins and outs of other writers' companions.

-We don't want people who will flake. Everyone remembers the ton of unfinished content in the original CoC. We want to avoid that, and so will only take people who we know will commit. Sometimes the unavoidable happens, and we get a JimThermic (who we will all miss) and there are systems in place to help future-proof against that, but ideally there will be nil cases of this. This won't just take months, it's likely to take years, and your companion is going to be hanging out there with the champion all this while. No one likes writing for other peoples' shit - just look at people trying to continue Jim's work. If you flake, that means Savin or someone else is going to have to write crap for you, because as I said, companions are bloody involved.

-We want people who will be responsive and on the ball. If a major plot scene requires your input as a writer because of something your companion might do, you're expected to be relatively prompt about it. Otherwise, people are going to write for you, and as above, it's irritating for everyone involved. Keep in communication.

So what are we going to do about it?

-Firstly, only established writers with a track record get to write companions, people whom have proven themselves to be reliable and who won't flake at the drop of a pin. Savin has his own criteria, but I personally think someone who has established projects implemented in FenCo games and who has been writing for over a year would be eligible.

-Everyone who gets the green light to write a companion gets only ONE. Quality over quantity. Judging by the amount of time I've burned on my particular project, it's going to be massively time-consuming to keep up with all everything needed to keep one companion at the standard which we'd like to set. More than that, and you might as well make writing smut your full-time job.

-You're going to be expected to be easily available to the other writers at reasonably short notice. Fenchat Discord is a good venue; most of the dev discussion takes place there.

-You're going to be expected to keep up with the lore, what's going on, and who's developing what. Then, you get to work with other writers to flesh out interactions with each others' plotlines and the main story.

No, it's not fair, for whatever meaning of fair you choose at the moment. No, we don't care. The purpose of this exercise is to learn from previous mistakes and move forward. If you can't commit the time, refrain from flaking and be social with the other writers, then a plain old NPC might be more your thing.

 

[Savin]

To expand on what Observer said above, note that "Companion" refers to the people that follow the Champion around and fight beside him in combat.

Writers can make as many normal NPCs, enemy encounters, and the like that they want. Indeed, enemy encounters are probably the most productive thing you can write.

 

[The Observer]

Companion Conundrum, part the second:

Great, so you've read through all of the above, and you still want to do this. You have a portfolio, a reputation, and you're willing to spend the time and effort in what's likely to be a grueling, years-long task.

Fine. Here're a few tips to help you with getting your character concept greenlighted.

-Understand the lore, and keep to it. You should be doing this anyway if you're going to write for the game, but since companions are much more visible, that extra level of stringency is going to matter. Keeping within the boundaries of what's already established is much better - "my OC is a centaur from Harvest Valley" is going to be much better than "my OC is a sparklewolf from a magical place no one has ever heard of before". Half the things in the CoC mods don't follow the theme or tone of the original game. You're much more likely to get a rubber stamp if we're not shaking our heads at yet another special snowflake who defies all established lore.

-Please don't port in your favourite NPCs from the old CoC or TiTs, either directly or as thinly-veiled expys. Yes, there are a couple of exceptions. No, those are normal NPCs, not companions, and are being done by FenCo staff AFAIK. It's much less likely that someone else is going to be able to do it well. The more important reason is that we're in a new world with new rules and new people, and the boss-man wants to make a clean break and start with a clean slate. Please respect that.

-Know who has been done before, and tell us what your character concept brings to the table. This isn't just in terms of character archetypes and likes and fetishes catered to, but also what they're capable of combat-wise. Think about the "voice" your character would have, whether it fits the tone of the game at large, and if it's unique amongst the current lineup. If your proposed companion has an interesting backstory, caters to a new audience and fills a combat role that isn't already taken, your odds go up.

But Observer! Doesn't that mean that the people who get in early will have an advantage, that it's going to get harder over time to stand out?

Yes, that's the point. The number of new potential party members should be falling off over time as the game matures, and people don't have to go back all the time to keep rewriting old camping/item use/story/whatever scenes.

Similarly, have a good grasp of what role your companion will play in the main plot. FoE tried to do this back in the day by having companions be meaningful to the plot - e.g. Terry. When done well, it makes companions feel a lot more alive; when done badly, it's absolutely awful. Either way, take a look at Cait's blurb for an example of what i mean:

Caitriss appears in the tutorial as your first companion. Her sister Calla was dragged off by hooded men -- and Cait stumbles into Hawkethorne looking for help. The PC is the only one willing to do anything about it, and so they set off together to stop the evil cultists (or not, and the PC game overs like in FarCry). A few days after the tutorial, the huge snowstorm blows over, and the townsfolk are able to leave again; the PC meets up with Cait at the tavern, and she offers to accompany you on your adventures. She owes you, plus you're her best bet of finding out what happened to Calla.

Cait's a consummate healer/buffbot, and her presence will make the early game much easier. More importantly, despite being a pure priestess of Light, she's unwaveringly loyal to the PC despite alignment/corruption (so long as you don't abuse her too much), and you basically can't accidentally make her leave the party unless you beat her with a stick. She's also the daughter of a historian and magician, so she knows a lot about the world -- including the presence of the Sunken City, and how to get to it in the midgame.

In two paragraphs, we've encapsulated motivation, story significance, mechanical significance, and party significance. We know where she came from, who she is, and where she is going. Your pitch will be much better that way.

***

A list of current companions who have been greenlit may be found HERE.

***

The Personality Matrix: Companion Tags

One of the innovations to be introduced along with the companion system is the companion tag system. What this basically means is that companions will be assigned one or more personality tags depending on how the writer wants to portray them. This is then used in scenes by writers to cater for a specific tag and create a semi-generic response that will nevertheless seem natural - for example, you're having victory sex with a bunch of harpies; a slutty companion might just get down to it, while an aggressive companion might choose to dom one of the feathery cum-rags.

The current list of personality tags are as follows:

• Slutty
• Aggressive
• Playful
• Reserved
• Chaste

These will be explained in their own section below, so we'll keep that for later. In the meantime, note that new tags are very very unlikely to be added - I'm not going to say never as that's a decision for the boss-man to make, but adding new tags willy-nilly will defeat the point of the tag system.

So what is the POINT, anyway?

The point of the companion tag system is to future-proof work, and give characters more opportunities to interact with the world. Let's say that event X is written when companions A, B and C exist, and unique dialogue exists for them where they partake of sex scenes, or make comments on what's going on. That's cool. However, companions D and E are written at a later date, and they don't have any dialogue going on in the original event X. This seems weird, especially when A, B and C are super-chatty, or D and E would totally interject with some one-liner considering who they are.

So how is the writer of event X going to make sure everything's hunky-dory? One way is to follow CoC2's every development for the entirety of the game's lifespan and personally ensure all of one's content is up-to-date with all of its changes, and that one will go back and retroactively update one's content when said changes necessitate it. For obvious reasons, demanding this kind of commitment is rather unrealistic, if not altogether silly.

The other is to simply use the tag system, make a note that an aggressive companion would say or do this at this point, and both A and E will slot in when the scene is played.

Will it be perfect? Hell no. There will be some inconsistencies, perhaps E wouldn't have phrased those words in that exact manner. But if the companion writer has done their work right, then E mouthing that one-liner wouldn't be completely out of character, and we don't end up with a system that's more tedious than bodypart support in scenes. More importantly, this gives everyone, even johnny-come-latelys, a chance to interact with the world at large and not remain the terribly insulated bubble people that plagued us all in the original game.

Sounds to me that the best way is to have some "default scenes" that go for broad character personality type tags, and then (if you want to) you write character-specific ones ontop. That way, if a certain character is there (say Cait), it'll be triggered, but if that character isn't there, the default will be triggered instead
Bam, future proofed

Does this mean you HAVE to use companion tags? Well, no, in the sense that you don't even HAVE to consider the champion's companions in a scene. However, they are strongly recommended, and should by all rights be the go-to for most generic stuff. Specific companion calls should be made for bits which wouldn't make sense at all in other characters' hands.

Well, that's that. Now, how do you use one of those? Here's an example:

{if partymember has an available dick:

"Well," the leader chirps, trying not to giggle as you struggle under her sister's tremendous rump. "I'll leave you two to it. As for </i>you<i>..."


{if partymember slutty/aggressive: "Come and get it!" you hear {partymember} murmur //elseother: "H-hey!" {partymember} yelps} amid the ripping of garments. Looks like the harpy boss is going to get some dick after all... but you've got more important things to worry about right now!}

See? Simple enough. Now, let's move onto the tags:

Slutty

Slutty companions like sex, they want sex, and they'll actively go out of their way to get it. Expect slutty companions to pick up one of the fallen enemies you aren't manhandling yourself in a victory scene and go at it. Slutty companions are the makers of lewd jokes, are upfront about flaunting their sexuality, and generally are out to have a good time; put them in front of a tentacle beast and they'll be aroused rather than repulsed.

Aggressive

Aggressive companions are angry(TM). They're large and in charge, know what they like, and have no remorse in getting it. Aggressive companions tend to be more dommy and possess forceful personalities; forceful, if not openly rough sex is often found on their menus. Being on the receiving end of things may not sit as well with them, especially during random encounters.

Companions with the aggressive tag include Brint and Arona.

Playful

Playful companions tend to treat this sex thing as a game, possessing a youthful levity that may extend to other aspects of their personality. If they find it fun, they'll do it, even if it might seem a little weird to others. They'll laugh, have a sense of wonder, be generally mouthy, and be open to new things.

Companions with the playful tag include Cait and Kiyoko.

Reserved

Reserved companions won't actively go for sex, but may not necessarily resist in, say, a loss scene. They may be a little subby, a little shy; alternatively, they may have views on sexuality that don't really involve fucking around willy-nilly. Someone may need to take charge with them; romances with reserved companions tend to be of the traditional romantic sort. It's not that they won't agree to do new things, but they may need a little encouragement to get things going and try a little novelty.

Companions with the reserved tag include Etheryn and Atugia.

Chaste

Chaste companions aren't really interested in sex, and hence shouldn't come up in random victory/loss sex or the likes. Have them be the butt of sexy and stick-in-the-mud jokes. Chaste characters aren't necessarily repressed, but they probably have some kind of belief or the other that precludes them from all the sexy fun that everyone else is having.

Multiple Tags

Note that companions can have multiple tags active at once, making them eligible for a variety of scenes; Kiyoko is both playful and reserved, qualifying her for scenes for either. Similarly, companion tags are not set in stone; corrupted Brint might gain the slutty tag in addition to his aggressive, while corrupted Atugia ditches the reserved tag for playful.

 

[Noob Salad]

I thought you had to completely finish one NPC before being allowed to submit a new one.

 

[BubbleLord]

I do want to point out that currently there's not a whole ton of writers who (even if they qualified) would know as to the intended storyline's direction to really do a "long term chart". Unless there's a released document to give people some idea of the story's direction (beyond you're combating whats-her-tits, I don't believe there's any way to really know currently), then there'd only be a very loose capacity to outline their story significance. That is, barring a companion designed for like... the extremely early story elements. But I can't imagine that everyone wants EVERY companion to be an unlock right out the gate. This would require those who make them early to be consistently pushing their character, whereas some may want to make a mid-game companion who isn't involved in earlier events.

This is just my two cents, especially when considering that the companion influx is intended to die down later on. It seems like it'd provide a better capacity to make companions that aren't intended to be life-long buddies and not throttle the bottleneck for someone to have to go back and make their companion fit earlier events.

Dunno if what I'm saying is clear or not, though. It's definitely not a major concern, either, as I imagine the majority of companions that end up made will be those that were approached earlier about it and/or intended to come out super early in the story/game deliberately. So I 'unno what I'm even saying, since what I'm speaking about is likely to be a niche group within the writers, which would likely be further niche via the conditions to even write companions.

 

[The Observer]

I do want to point out that currently there's not a whole ton of writers who (even if they qualified) would know as to the intended storyline's direction to really do a "long term chart". Unless there's a released document to give people some idea of the story's direction (beyond you're combating whats-her-tits, I don't believe there's any way to really know currently), then there'd only be a very loose capacity to outline their story significance. That is, barring a companion designed for like... the extremely early story elements. But I can't imagine that everyone wants EVERY companion to be an unlock right out the gate. This would require those who make them early to be consistently pushing their character, whereas some may want to make a mid-game companion who isn't involved in earlier events.

This is just my two cents, especially when considering that the companion influx is intended to die down later on. It seems like it'd provide a better capacity to make companions that aren't intended to be life-long buddies and not throttle the bottleneck for someone to have to go back and make their companion fit earlier events.

Dunno if what I'm saying is clear or not, though. It's definitely not a major concern, either, as I imagine the majority of companions that end up made will be those that were approached earlier about it and/or intended to come out super early in the story/game deliberately. So I 'unno what I'm even saying, since what I'm speaking about is likely to be a niche group within the writers, which would likely be further niche via the conditions to even write companions.

*We DO have a design document that outlines the whole storyline; the boss-man is planning for a sanitised release of a design doc for prospective writers that doesn't give the important stuff away. Don't worry about that.

*Companions are meant to be life-long buddies, yeah. They're supposed to grow and evolve with the champion and have character arcs which are just as, if not more involved; there's a reason why so many of them are available in the game's three starting zones. They're supposed to have long and interesting story arcs. I'm not going to rule out anything or speak for the boss-man, but my personal view is that by the end of the Winter City (level 5/10) all potential companions should be available by that point in the storyline.

An alternative to companions are guest characters, which are more in-line with your suggestion. These are characters which occupy the fifth and final slot of your party, characters who temporarily fight alongside you for the duration of a dungeon or event. For example, in GarretQuest, the champion encounters a druid named Hethia. If the champion talks her out of her plans instead of beating her up, she'll come back as a guest when the champion assaults the Winter City.

 

[Crinkles]

No, it's not fair, for whatever meaning of fair you choose at the moment.

As one of the perverts who will only be playing it, not writing it, that all sounded pretty fair to me. It basically just amounts to reliability and commitment, which is hardly a surprising request.

 

[Farlun]

I have to say, reading through this made me very confident in this project. Those are some very sound rules for long-range game developement and, as a full time gamedev, I have to say those aren't even that harsh ;P

 

[The Observer]

Added a list of current companions to the second post with some information.

 

[Raindrops]

What gender does "T" imply? Trap?

Also, how does the Dullahan species work? Isn't that the Headless Horsemen type person?

 

[Malpha]

Yeah T is Trap.

Pretty much except they actually have their head, it's just not attached and they kinda just, carry it around with them or whatever. Which means head borrowing shenanigans typically. I'm interested to see how that one goes.

 

[BubbleLord]

-Atugia (F)(Dullahan)(Runic Knight)(Gardeford)

Seeing that made my day, even if it is a FILTHY NORMAL FEMALE.

 

[Raindrops]

Yeah T is Trap.

Pretty much except they actually have their head, it's just not attached and they kinda just, carry it around with them or whatever. Which means head borrowing shenanigans typically. I'm interested to see how that one goes.

... I kinda want to see a male PC use the head as a fleshlight now

 

[Alabaster Chimes]

... I kinda want to see a male PC use the head as a fleshlight now

You think that's NOT going to happen?

Not just for Male PC's either, id think for dick wielders in general.

 

[Xeivous]

You think that's NOT going to happen?

Not just for Male PC's either, id think for dick wielders in general.

those with only a cunt should be able to get in on that particular brand of fun as well.

 

[Alabaster Chimes]

those with only a cunt should be able to get in on that particular brand of fun as well.

By all means

 

[Xeivous]

Well now I want a dullahan tf to get that masturbation scene for myself. Or to be able to watch such a scene and maybe stick it in her butt while she eats herself out.

 

[Raindrops]

At first I was kinda meh about a dullahan companion, but now this is turning interesting...

 

[Harlequin]

I'm more curious if we can give her head while giving her head, aka deepthroating + fucking her puss or ass... dullahan cock sock anyone?

 

[The Observer]

Write-up on the personality matrix done.

 

[Dark67titan]

By all means

my dick's confused

 

[Raindrops]

Oh my God. One companion equals one additional scene for them. If their are more then that, then that scene is doubled by another character times what the current companion is times- (Head explodes.)

Becoming a dulliah wouldn't be a TF because your basically a decapitated zombie. Because that's what a dulliah is. While some yes can be reapers that's still what they are. And I'm pretty sure Necrofealia is banned. Unless there's a fine rule about the kinds of undead that are aloud.

Dullahan*

necrophilia*

allowed*

And there's already one confirmed dullahan companion, and if companions are allowed to be a dullahan, then so is the PC, so it sounds to me that this version of dullahans are not undead (as undead are indeed banned)

Someone also told me, and I looked up, that Dullahans are traditionally a type of fay creature, so it's super easy to just go that route and make it a type of fey rather than undead in the first place. Problem solved!

 

[Darkpheonix]

Even if becoming a Dullahan was allowed (I'm going to guess it won't) don't expect many if any scenes to really take that into account.

 

[BubbleLord]

Atugia, the Dullahan, is not an undead. It is not necrophilia. It is not a species that you can just start creating a whole species under, but a condition inflicted on Atugia (who is still a human). So stop.

Discussing it here also seems out of place, since you can make a thread under the general section to try and crack out what works. I seriously doubt anyone here will write a second Dullahan, though, so probably best to stop it.

 

[Raindrops]

Even if becoming a Dullahan was allowed (I'm going to guess it won't) don't expect many if any scenes to really take that into account.

Huh, that is a good point... it'd suffer from exactly the same problem as taurs/nagas/multiarms

 

[Alabaster Chimes]

Exotic body types in GENERAL are prohibited. (Snake,Taur,MULTI ARM, Detached Limb of any sort, possibly ghost?((ask Savin)), Feral, MEGA GIANT, Multi Head, etc, etc, ETC!!!!!!!!)

Slimes are generally always the exception to the rule, but I know we'd STILL have the same issue of ppl just ignoring the special flags you get for being a slime.

Making the writer's job easier should always be the priority, it allows them to focus and make better content and if it makes CoC2 better I dont see the problem with it.

 

[Raindrops]

Sorry just voicing my concerns is all. I didn't know dullahans where also fay creatures. Better to be safe than sorry I always say. Carry on than.
Also is there a monster monsune hentai I'm not aware of?

I just got told in the discord that apparantly the dullahans in this game are not infact fey, so I dunno how they're doing it. Just that she's not undead

 

[Xeivous]

I think the ban on undead is for the likes of skeletons and zombies. While dulahans are corporeal undead, they don't violate the spirit (heh) of the ban.

 

[Alabaster Chimes]

Shouldra exists.....

 

[BubbleLord]

Shouldra exists.....

CoC2 spirits/undead function on a different level than the original. This is outlined in the design doc.