Issues with NPC/Item Surveys

[J.E. Sawyer]

Hey Josh, thanks for all the help in this thread so far. I was wondering, are there were any guidelines you could provide as to how to name NPCs appropriately, given their race and background? I know you've done a fair amount of work on the languages in the world, but I've had a tough time tracking down all of the relevant things you've said in public. I was also hoping the text length limit on the "Backstory" box could be expanded. While I understand needing to control the time required to vet all of the submissions, 500 characters seems very restrictive.

 

With names, generally try to avoid anything that sounds contemporary -- but I think most people avoid that anyway.  Also, please don't use recognizable names from other settings (e.g. Westeros, Middle-Earth, Faerûn, the Young Kingdoms, Lankhmar, etc.).  No Eddards, Tinúviels, Jarlaxles, Elrics, or Fafhrds -- or close derivatives -- please.

 

Aedyrans, Readcerans, and Dyrwoodans used to speak a language called Eld Aedyran that is an analogue for Old English/Anglo-Saxon, Old Frisian, bits of Icelandic, and Scots (for Hylspeak, a more contemporary version).  j, q, v, and z do not appear in their words and names, though the /v/ sound is found in medial and terminal f.  E.g. "Wyflan" is pronounced "WEE-vlan".  Male names: Aldwyn, Beacwof, Ethelmoer, Furly, Hafmacg, Unfric.  Female names: Battixa, Bricanta, Esmy, Grimda, Iselmyr, Yngfrith.

 

Vailian Republicans speak Vailian, which borrows from a mix of Italian, Occitan, Catalan, and French roots, but is Italian in overall flavor.  "Romance-y", you could say.  j, y, and x are extremely rare in their words and names.  Male name: Cendo, Giandele, Liano, Randatu, Verzano.  Female names: Ancelle, Laudira, Malita, Pallegina, Salgiatte.

 

Glanfathans speak Glanfathan, which borrows elements of Cornish, Welsh, and a bit of Irish.  q, u, x, y, and z are all unused in Glanfathan.  w is both a consonant and a vowel ("uh" or "oo" if it has a circumflex).  It has the Irish-style "si" ("shih" or "shee" when there's a circumflex over the i), the Welsh "ll" (hard to explain, like an aspirated l sound), and distinguishes between an unvoiced th (like "thought") and a voiced dh (like "the").  Male names: Arthwn, Brân, Enfws, Simoc, Thristwn.  Female names:  Bledha, Iswld, Onŵen, Sîdha, Tamra

 

Those are the major definitions.  Broadly speaking, the natives of Deadfire Archipelago use a language with some Inuit/Greenlandic roots.  People in Rauatai (especially the nation of Rauatai itself) use a language with Maori roots.  People from Ixamitl speak a language with Nahuatl roots.  I have not done significant work on those, though.

[Monte Carlo]

For the love of The Gods, will one of you Gold people please invent a magic firearm of some description?

 

Don't forget THE GUNS.

[Monte Carlo]

 

Hey Josh, thanks for all the help in this thread so far. I was wondering, are there were any guidelines you could provide as to how to name NPCs appropriately, given their race and background? I know you've done a fair amount of work on the languages in the world, but I've had a tough time tracking down all of the relevant things you've said in public. I was also hoping the text length limit on the "Backstory" box could be expanded. While I understand needing to control the time required to vet all of the submissions, 500 characters seems very restrictive.

 

With names, generally try to avoid anything that sounds contemporary -- but I think most people avoid that anyway.  Also, please don't use recognizable names from other settings (e.g. Westeros, Middle-Earth, Faerûn, the Young Kingdoms, Lankhmar, etc.).  No Eddards, Tinúviels, Jarlaxles, Elrics, or Fafhrds -- or close derivatives -- please.

 

Aedyrans, Readcerans, and Dyrwoodans used to speak a language called Eld Aedyran that is an analogue for Old English/Anglo-Saxon, Old Frisian, bits of Icelandic, and Scots (for Hylspeak, a more contemporary version).  j, q, v, and z do not appear in their words and names, though the /v/ sound is found in medial and terminal f.  E.g. "Wyflan" is pronounced "WEE-vlan".  Male names: Aldwyn, Beacwof, Ethelmoer, Furly, Hafmacg, Unfric.  Female names: Battixa, Bricanta, Esmy, Grimda, Iselmyr, Yngfrith.

 

Vailian Republicans speak Vailian, which borrows from a mix of Italian, Occitan, Catalan, and French roots, but is Italian in overall flavor.  "Romance-y", you could say.  j, y, and x are extremely rare in their words and names.  Male name: Cendo, Giandele, Liano, Randatu, Verzano.  Female names: Ancelle, Laudira, Malita, Pallegina, Salgiatte.

 

Glanfathans speak Glanfathan, which borrows elements of Cornish, Welsh, and a bit of Irish.  q, u, x, y, and z are all unused in Glanfathan.  w is both a consonant and a vowel ("uh" or "oo" if it has a circumflex).  It has the Irish-style "si" ("shih" or "shee" when there's a circumflex over the i), the Welsh "ll" (hard to explain, like an aspirated l sound), and distinguishes between an unvoiced th (like "thought") and a voiced dh (like "the").  Male names: Arthwn, Brân, Enfws, Simoc, Thristwn.  Female names:  Bledha, Iswld, Onŵen, Sîdha, Tamra

 

Those are the major definitions.  Broadly speaking, the natives of Deadfire Archipelago use a language with some Inuit/Greenlandic roots.  People in Rauatai (especially the nation of Rauatai itself) use a language with Maori roots.  People from Ixamitl speak a language with Nahuatl roots.  I have not done significant work on those, though.

 

 

You are in fact a character in a Neal Stephenson novel and I claim my ten groats.

[J.E. Sawyer]

Regarding where everyone is in the world: are the islands visible in the upper left corner of the PoE map the Aedyr Empire or is that further away? And is every location that you described still in the southern hemisphere?

 

No, the Aedyr Empire is thousands of miles away across an ocean.  The climate there is equatorial hot/humid.  Aedyr itself sits on the equator.  Rauatai is in the northern hemisphere, as are the Living Lands.  Everything else on that list is in the southern hemisphere.

[Monte Carlo]

I want a firearm made from that metal where souls are ripped out of evil bastards and forged into a gun. Yes.

[J.E. Sawyer]

Thanks for the huge update!

 

Would it be possible to say a bit about ethnicities?

Some have been mentioned by name only, a few with general home regions, but there's not much to be found about their actual differences.

 

Was also wondering, any significant events other than the Saint's War in recent memory?

Like, how long ago did soul magic become a (renewed) area of research? 

 

The differences between Meadow Folk, Ocean Folk, and Savannah Folk (from Aedyr/Dyrwood, Old Valia/Vailian Republics, and Ixamitl) could be simplified as Euro/African/Central American, but those are just broad and superficial physical similarities.  The real differences come down to culture.  E.g. while the Vailian Republics are overwhelmingly populated by "Calbandrans" (Ocean Folk), there are Meadow Folk, Savannah Folk, and other races/ethnicities in the republics.

 

Animancy has flourished in the last hundred years or so.  It's been legal to research and practice in the Dyrwood (through omission from the law) since the revolution a few centuries ago, but it's only lately that it has received more official legal recognition and benefits from extensive interactions with the Vailian Republics.  The Dyrwood and Vailian Republics are the two leading nations in animancy research.  Notably, the Aedyr Empire and Readceras view it poorly and have legal prohibitions against it.

[Sykid]

Thanks for the info Mr Sawyer!  Epic post is epic.

 

Edit:  So we know that all classes can use all types of armor, and that for example a Wizard wearing heavy armor doesn't become a "bad" Wizard, just a different type of Wizard.  Can you provide any further explanation of that system?

Edited December 17, 2013 by Sykid

[IndiraLightfoot]

Thank you, Mr Sawyer, for all of this wonderful and exciting info!

 

This thread is hot like a furnace in purgatorio, but this also comes at a price: SPOILERS!!!

 

Anyone that starts reading Josh's replies here will be susceptible to spoiler creep. I think it's high time for some moderator to remove the "NO SPOILERS"-parentheses in the forum title ASAP.

 

EDIT: And all this sweet PoE-info should be stickied for the love of [insert deity]! Perhaps the thread title ought to be changed as well.

Edited December 17, 2013 by IndiraLightfoot

[Pidesco]

 

What about items like rings, amulets, cloaks and others? What item types are there?

 

I believe those are all listed in a drop-down on the backer survey.  Let me know if they are not.  Rings, amulets, and cloaks are all valid item types (though amulets and cloaks both take the same slot, the neck).

 

 

Are there specific materials for metal artifacts? Can the metals used for weapons be used for artifacts? What about typical precious metals and gems?

[Chaos Theory]

Josh, I envy you for leaving Wisconsin...  It's cold and ****ty here. 

 

Have all quest-specific items been designed already, or is there a possibility our items could be quest rewards?

 

Also, what's the deadline to submit our surveys? 

 

And for anyone else designing an item, if you'd be interested in getting involved in designing a piece for of an entire set of armor, please PM me.  Need 4 more folks to make it work.  I'd like it to be full plate, but other than that I'm completely open to backstory and design.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Chaos Theory

[J.E. Sawyer]

Some of the items people make will become quest rewards, some will be on enemies, and some will be placed as treasure.

[Marceror]

Oooooh. A thread full of rich people. Can I be your friend?

Yeah, I'm having problems desiging the custom trash that will litter one of the streets in Project Eternity. But I suppose that my problem will have to wait till the more important folk have been helped.

[Mannock]

Hello there everyone! Another item backer here.

 

A few questions for Josh regarding the backstory of my planned item.

 

Even though I'm creating a backstory for an item, some part of it regards the character who wielded it and therefor have questions relating to that.

 

1. Naming an orlan. I looked at your post a few pages back regarding names and they seemed to be categorized culturally (or regionally) and not racially. Does that mean an orlan could very well have the same name as a human (or did I totally missunderstand?)? And is it possible to PM the (two) names that occur in the back story of my item to see if they fit the setting at all (I think my names might be way offside)?

 

2. Military.

 

a)What can you say about the military structures in (or around) Dyrwood? Are there any armies (or perhaps slightly smaller units; regiment or brigades)?

 

b)If yes, are they structured like our armies are/were?

 

c)Are there any military forts (or equivalent) in Dyrwood?

 

d)Are the military units (regardless of size, I assume there are atleast minor units such as companies) tied to individuals (a warlord, a baron, a king, etc) or to a certain region or country?

 

3. Does lions exist in this setting?

 

That's all for now. Thanks!

[Sykid]

 

By the way, is there a tradeoff for suggesting a very powerful item over a reasonable one? Will people be much less likely to see it?

 

A very powerful item is going to be much more likely to be edited by us because we need a lot more low- and mid-power items.  Additionally, low- and mid-power items are much more likely to be found by players since they will often be placed in earlier game areas.  Even a weapon like Applebane can be fondly-remembered by players.

 

 

Not to disagree on the importance of quality low-power items, but wasn't the premise of the backer pledge that it would be an epic, high level item that would be one of the best in the game?

[Sykid]

When I think of "epic" in Obsidian games, I think of items like Leech, All-American, and Aleema Keto's Robe.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

Not to disagree on the importance of quality low-power items, but wasn't the premise of the backer pledge that it would be an epic, high level item that would be one of the best in the game?

 

I'd have to agree. Considering the cost of the pledge and how it was advertised on the Kickstarter page, it was to be an epic high level weapon, armour or artifact and one of the best in the game.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Hiro Protagonist II

[Sykid]

 

Not to disagree on the importance of quality low-power items, but wasn't the premise of the backer pledge that it would be an epic, high level item that would be one of the best in the game?

 

I'd have to agree. Considering the cost of the pledge and how it was advertised on the Kickstarter page, it was to be an epic high level weapon, armour or artifact and one of the best in the game.

 

 

I'm not really even concerned about the cost.  I wanted to contribute to a developer that I believed in for a game I was eager to see succeed. I get that +5 and Sun Blades are too powerful, but Applebane is not really an epic item even by mid-level D&D standards.

Edited December 20, 2013 by Sykid

[Hiro Protagonist II]

Applebane in IWD 1 is only a +1 dagger with no other properties. I've never recalled ever seeing it probably due to selling it with all the other +1 items.

[Marceror]

I guess I better get out of this thread before property values begin to drop. I'll just have to take my custom trash ideas elsewhere... where they'll be appreciated....

 

[Jon of the Wired]

The "Backstory" field for NPCs has been expanded from 500 to 1250 characters. I hope this proves useful to someone else in addition to me, otherwise I'm going to feel like a bit of a jerk for bugging them about it .

[Chaos Theory]

 

 

And for anyone else designing an item, if you'd be interested in getting involved in designing a piece for of an entire set of armor, please PM me.  Need 4 more folks to make it work.  I'd like it to be full plate, but other than that I'm completely open to backstory and design.

 

 

No takers, huh?  Too bad...  Would have been cool.

[Labadal]

The "Backstory" field for NPCs has been expanded from 500 to 1250 characters. I hope this proves useful to someone else in addition to me, otherwise I'm going to feel like a bit of a jerk for bugging them about it .

Very good news. I still feel that what I will come up with isn't good enough, but at least we have more space to flesh out our characters.

 

Edit:

 

My memorial text, couldn't come up with anything so I did a silly rhyme. 

 

Listen to secrets he did

For his knowledge people bid

A master spy was he

And his intel was worth the fee

Known by name but not by face

He could infiltrate any place

Edited December 23, 2013 by Labadal

[Marceror]

 

 

 

And for anyone else designing an item, if you'd be interested in getting involved in designing a piece for of an entire set of armor, please PM me.  Need 4 more folks to make it work.  I'd like it to be full plate, but other than that I'm completely open to backstory and design.

 

 

No takers, huh?  Too bad...  Would have been cool.

 

Try to design your own suit of armor then, and see if Obsidian goes for it!

 

Sorry, I'll get out of the gold peoples' thread again.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Marceror

[Bryy]

 

 

 

And for anyone else designing an item, if you'd be interested in getting involved in designing a piece for of an entire set of armor, please PM me.  Need 4 more folks to make it work.  I'd like it to be full plate, but other than that I'm completely open to backstory and design.

 

 

No takers, huh?  Too bad...  Would have been cool.

 

That's a nice idea. I hope it works out.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Bryy

[Chaos Theory]

 

 

 

 

And for anyone else designing an item, if you'd be interested in getting involved in designing a piece for of an entire set of armor, please PM me.  Need 4 more folks to make it work.  I'd like it to be full plate, but other than that I'm completely open to backstory and design.

 

 

No takers, huh?  Too bad...  Would have been cool.

 

That's a nice idea. I hope it works out.

 

I'm starting to think that it will be nearly impossible to convince 4 of the 50 or so pledgers who threw a grand at this project to get together in a team instead of designing their own ninja item.  Plus, I have no idea who the others are aside from who checks in here...

 

But until I learn of a deadline for this, I'll keep the request open.