Where you're not the hero? Your not "The Chosen One"?

Would you be ok being the Sam to Frodo, the Robin to Batman?

I wondet what a game would be like to be the #2 tagging along with #1 along on their epic adventure and saving them at critical points. Albeit damn good AI would need to be a must for the Hero .

Would be interesting to play an RPG where you take the role of one of the "companions" in a typical RPG party. You don't command the group and you don't call the shots. You can weigh in with your two cents whenever a crucial decision comes up, but the leader, who has hir own personality and assumes the role usually assigned to the player in most RPGs, has the final say. And he will inevitably do a lot of things you won't agree with. So what do you do? Do you stick with hir despite those disagreements? Do you try to influence hir to see things your way more often? Or do you begin to plot against hir by forming a mutiny with the other disgruntled party members, or by even conspiring with the leader's enemies? Definitely would be a neat way to turn the usual RPG conventions on their head.

That makes it sound very intriguing.

Sadly that is a lot more complex then what we would actually get if such a game were released. We'd just be shoehorned into a pre-thought out storyline with virtually no real impact on how things turned out, and we certainly wouldn't be allowed to turn against the party leader.

in other words: Please go and design the game you just outlined, as long as it's got a decent amount of choice and the ability to make an impact(for good or bad) as "Generic party member X", I'll be quite happy.

I think Oblivion came pretty close to doing this. Martin was the real hero of that story, as far as I'm concerned. Our characters functioned as his assistant for most of the game. At the conclusion of the story he "saves the day" while we stand by idly and watch.

When I play the Vilja companion mod I sometimes set her to be the leader and my character follows along. I find this a very fun way to play, despite technological limitations occasionally getting in the way. If a game were made in which our characters were truly the side-kick of a main character NPC, I would be very interested in playing it.

I know one thing: if I never hear or see another rancid "Chosen One" story it will be too soon for me.

interesting concept. i don't have a problem with games being linear. say being watson to a sherlock holmes. could have a good storyline.

Final Fantasy XII is kinda like that, although you play as Vahn he's actually more of a regular party member that you're just controlling, the "main characters" I would be Basch and Ashe since they're more in control of party's actions and events and the rule for main characters "If a character is not in control of the events that surround them then they're not the main character of the story".

Agreed.

There is also http://store.steampowered.com/app/257970/, which seem to have this as it's big selling point. But I never played it so I don't know how it is.

Hey Sam and Robin are heroes too!

I'd prefer being just a nobody. I actually think it's lame to be the hero all the time, especially a "chosen one."

That actually looks pretty kick-ass and sixy too .

That would be a good concept, if you had that sort of input, i know P&P rpg's where one persons been the leader and been to forceful for the party and made for a very boring game, but being a Watson type character would be great and it would be something id love to try.