This topic might have come up before (not from me, if it has) but I think it would be neat if we could have, in a future DLC, a customizable follower.

The basic background for this character would be the same no matter the race or gender. (Let's say he or she could be adopted to have a consistent first and last name; the first name could also be gender-neutral.) The voices could be the same for all human and elf versions; orcs, khajiit, and argonians would obviously need different voices. The character would be a follower as well as a marriage option.

The character could be included in a future quest. It could be a small but enjoyable one, perhaps a very adventure-themed journey or an already existing/in-the-works DLC. (Yes, god knows what it would take to do it, but I'm not a programmer, so...I'll just let my big mouth/typing fingers continue.)

A Scenario (no, I haven't overthought this, why?)
I like the idea of your player character joining up with this stranger on an adventure. Perhaps her birth family was murdered and she mistakes you for someone who did the deed. Then, after besting this individual in a fight, you can help her on her quest. But do you bring the murders to justice or allow your new traveling companion to take revenge to its fullest? I imagine this would have the feel of the Oblivion DB quest "Whodunit?". The stranger's birth family was killed when she was a child and years later she is tracking down those who did it. Some of them have moved on, become members of society, others have become worse...

I'm sure there are better ideas than mine; just throwing it out there as an easy conceit. I'd lke to see any scenarios anyone else would have.

Anyway, this was just a thought I had for something that I've had on my personal wishlist since followers were introduced in Skyrim.

Edited: spelling

Um, have you played DG? Other than being able to change the appearance/race, that's basically what Dawnguard IS. With quite a few "mysteries", or resolutions, added in. Skyrim isn't really conducive to mystery solving, or mystery stories, Blood on Ice is a good example of this.

I'm talking about customizing an npc, a follower, as part of the appeal. The execution of that idea (the "scenario") is just something I added in my original post for fun. It's the customizable follower part I really want.

But... why? I don't want another DLC that's useless to PC players.

I don't think this could work anyway. If they wanted to do it, they had the perfect opportunity with Hearthfire - watch your child grow up and become your follower. What Skyrim needs is more memorable characters with deep backstories and complex personality, not another generic follower. Serana is a step in the right direction, they should bring followers like her in every DLC.

For that kind of depth, it's probably too late to implement a lot of it in Skyrim. That said, I don't disagree with you. But I just don't think a Dragon Age: Origins or Mass Effect type npc is going to happen for Skyrim. A furture game? Sure.

But this customizable character wouldn't be bland. Ideally, he or she would come with a short quest (or be part of a larger DLC) and an actual personality. I just really dig the idea of a character you can customize in looks. (Maybe you end up visualizing this stranger in a dream before you meet her, and that justifies a character creator screen? )

I don't even know about future games. They COULD have created a small party system (4, including the PC) for TES V and chose not to do so. It's not part of what TES really is or has been, historically. There's a certain charm to a true single P/PC RPG that I think would be lost if you started investing in "follower" development. That's part of the reason why (I think) followers should be and remain hard-classed in TES.

I wouldn't care for a party system to be honest. But a single follower is a nice addition. I don't see anything wrong with developing followers personality-wise. (In fact, some of the more popular characters that are followers are part of a quest-line and thus have more character development, like Cicero; other characters that have been asked for as followers and/or marriage options also tend to be quest-related, like Karliah, Serana, or Brynjolf for example.)

As an aside, I don't think that my 'scenario' in the original post is the only way to implement a customizable character. Any other ideas or expansions to this subject are welcome.