Concern that characters might feel similar and generic

[SoM]

Now, this is definitely not a criticism of the game - more of a speculation based from my experience with the game so far. We have no idea how different the two new characters will be and how the story will go, and this might just be some fatigue with playing Sal (in an incomplete campaign no less) over and over again.

So in today's patch notes I read "Foreman support gives you an opening action instead of plain damage." and realized something: Almost every NPC in the game has their own thing based on job/race/etc., except for you. Sure, the game is all about deck building and getting grafts/pets and allies to mold, but it always starts with a super generic build (this is the unfair part, because we haven't see the other characters, so the starter Sal-specific cards just feels not very unique).

We already know that most gainable cards will be universal - made apparent by the fact that all three characters feature on the card arts,(edit: this seems to be wrong - see Therlun's reply below for more info) so there's a feeling that new characters won't be very different: you will see the same selection of grafts (though if all three stories have to intertwine together in a big finale chapter, like in the 2017 trailer, you might not be able to get the same grafts in one combined "playthrough"), same selection of battle and negotiation cards, and most encounters will play out in more or less the same way. 

Of course, maybe Sal is the generic character to introduce the game to newer players and we'll see unique and more complex mechanisms in the other characters, but it's hard to believe so when there doesn't seem to be a focus on character-specific cards, items and interactions. It worries me a bit because the early game is the grindy-est and blandest part of the game, and if both new stories start with similar starter decks without much changes it will feel very generic.

I actually don't have any suggestions to address this. Maybe there should be more character-specific stuff and you get to choose a few different cards in later playthroughs? I know Fssh already gives you some random options but it doesn't feel as impactful as Neow's blessings in Slay the Spire, simply because in StS each character has their own unique card library.

[rivercityransom]

I was under the impression that each character will have their own exclusive set of cards, a la StS. If that's not the case, I'd be quite disappointed.

[mister_eugene]

The story may be completely different, the starter deck may be different, the HP/Resolve may be different, costume could have bonus and may be different, the starting zone may be different…

It MAY be different 

[Therlun]

12 hours ago, SoM said:

We already know that most gainable cards will be universal - made apparent by the fact that all three characters feature on the card arts, so there's a feeling that new characters won't be very different:

I asked about this in Klei twitch streams. The other characters in Sal's cards are included just for flavour and world coherence.
The developers said each character will have a unique set of cards, be set in different parts of the world and use individually distinct mechanics for their campaign.

[SoM]

31 minutes ago, Therlun said:

I asked about this in Klei twitch streams. The other characters in Sal's cards are included just for flavour and world coherence.
The developers said each character will have a unique set of cards, be set in different parts of the world and use individually distinct mechanics for their campaign.

That would be great, but it's a very weird flavor choice if each characters have their own cards but the cards portray other characters. Like if Sal has cards that feature the flight helmet guy but those cards aren't available to him at all.