Shadowstrider

I'd be surprised if it was someone that made games that did the website though. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It was Feargus's sister if I am not mistaken who made the last incarnation of the BIS website. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Exactly. Unless she's a designer on the side as well. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I believe Krazikatt handled the last design, because Jessica left prior. Not that it matters, in either case no one on the design side handled the web development. The exception being Sawyer, who was promoted out of web design to game design.

In order to be a chosen one, you must be chosen. The sword being in you, as I undestand it, was an accident. Thus, you're not chosen.

Would you like to try my wii? THESE ALMOST WRITE THEMSELVES!

Why am I called Shadowfax, again? Oh and I'll probably end up buying one, but not immediately. It depends on what is released and when. I demand the kart.

You'd get it disgustingly drunk and fruitlessly try feel it up while it's barfing in your face? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm glad I didn't go to your prom.

It will never, ever get old. Ever.

If Nival made a post-apoc game using the Silent Storm engine I'd treat it like my prom date.

I've been putting together a semi-professional mod team for sometime, but our focus isn't graphics. In fact, the only artist we have doing any work for us was a concept artist, and I haven't spoken to him in a bit. Alanschu has recently graced us with his presense. The team will be putting together a PW and I'll probably be doing a series of SP modules that run along side the PW. I come from a strong belief that we didn't need haks in NWN1 to make almost anything, whether it be complex underground Dwarven compounds or treetop Elven villages. The exception being specific models, but even then there are ways around such with scripting.

You shouldn't get an entire PC off of Newegg. You order parts from Newegg and assemble them. Newegg is just a distributer, what you're looking at was made somwhere else and Newegg sold it, unless Newegg is suddenly in the PC assembly business.

I would not buy that system. Quite a bit of negatives. Angshuman pointed most of 'em out. Personally, I'd go with a socket 939 motherboard (PCI-E of course). If you're deadset against building your own, I can recommend abspc.com to pick up a good PC for the money. I ordered a few from there afew years back. In fact, I'm still using the power supply, HDD and RAM, and DVD-R burner I got from the PC. Otherwise, good ole' newegg.com will have you covered.

...but...but... the chosen one MUST CHOOSE!

I wish I were more in touch with your female side...

Where is the weeping Laurence of Arabia picture when we need it most?

The closer to deadline you file the longer it takes to get a refund, for the sole fact that there are more and more incoming tax filings.

I never said I don't want them to have any supernatural ability or bonus, and I didn't say I don't want them to rise to power without author's intervention. I was attributing author's intervention to the supernatural. The closest I said to no supernatural is having them follow the same rules as the player. Who said the player won't have supernatural abilities or bonuses?

Don't see any reason they need to. You just need a rules set designed for the type of playing you want to conduct. If you want drama, then you need a drama driving mechanic. A system that only has rules for stuff like how to hit opponents and skills checks will bring about drama only accidentally. In other words, very rarely. D&D 3E is designed to do this. Secondary attacks wouldn't make much sense unless it became alot easier to hit opponents. I'd say high level characters rely more on HP though, as that keeps going up more than melee damage (spells are another thing, though...). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Absolutely, to both points. However, on point 2, (D&D's intentional design), I'd call it poor design to essentially weed out 1 statistic in favor of 2 others. It seems ridicuous.

What, you just described illustrates my point, chuckles. Seemingly ordinary orc is chased off and vanishes from the plot for an unknown time. Some time later he comes back bigger and better than ever. Unexplained to the players, he just appears as a threat. the only difference is they thought X, and it was actually U. OH TEH TWISTS THAY R A TURNIN! Your so-called BB doesn't have a believeable backstory, but let's disregard that and go on just what the players know. ..."Okay... so you now recognize the face of your enemy. It's the orc you chased off awhile back. Yeah, I know he hasn't been present in the story much, and there is no build-up, explanation, or delivery regarding why he is back, bigger and stronger than ever. He is, though." Thanks for, once again, disagreeing with me just because, yet actually illustrating my point. What was going on in between this orc running off and his sudden, mysterious reappearance? I'm still waiting for you to make a case for this UBB to be believeable, either in the back story or in the face-value... oh but there is another paragraph, so let's see. So, basically, the "heroes" fought through these orcs having no idea who the UBB was, and it was revealed just prior to their defeating him? Okay. It isn't a terrible concept, and I can see why you didn't want them to know what was going on in the background; it made very little sense. Not a campaign I would consider particularly memorable, or fulfilling, and I doubt any of the guys I play with would continue playing through a game that seemed like "the orcs are attacking and you must stop them." For someone who bashes IWD2, you sure do seem to use it as a base for your campaigns. As usual, you make no sense, where did I say it was the first? Read then reply, it'll help, really.

Uh... relevence? Who cares if they know what they rolled, so long as they don't know why they're rolling. If they rol a 20, the outcome is the same as if you had. The difference is you add a level of transparency and give players less bitching room.

So basically you're saying you like your villains served generic, and in the dark? Not like any of the people I play with, and I'd bet if you were ACTUALLY playing in the campaign it wouldn't make sense either. "Okay... so you now recognize the face of your enemy. It's the orc you chased off awhile back. Yeah, I know he hasn't been present in the story much, and there is no build-up, explanation, or delivery regarding why he is back, bigger and stronger than ever. He is, though." The concept of a beaten shaman rising to power and returning for revenge, A.OKAY. Is Volourn's believable or convincing? Not as he is presenting it here.

Yes. They don't know what they're rolling for. I simply say "roll d20." They make the roll, but have no idea what it is for. Could be a perception roll, a stealth roll, tons of things. I fail to see how that gives anyone an advantage.

Who said it was a problem? We uncovered that Volourn fails at character development, which is the discussion currently at hand, rather than the original topic. You're willing to take steps I am not. I find it very hard to believe that Volourn's players simply smiled at this villain and were enraptured by this epic tale... because this villain sounds like a lacky, not a BB. Now, to the issue at hand: I never make rolls for PCs. In my experience they don't like it. If a player commits an act, they make the roll. I do allow "freebie" benefits, as you outlined, but they roll it themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Soth Good day, Sir.

YOU LOSE! Good day, sir!

What is it that you're always saying... rofl? Ahhhh yes, R00fles, that's it. Volourn, you have proven my point. BB's who have very little concept need some sort of seemingly supernatural support to be a) enjoyable, b) credible. Your villain, as I said before, is not believable as a character or a BB. I thank you. Now, continue to disagree with me just because, using your less-than-specious reasoning.

There are several issues. 1) The orc manages to escape the PC. 2) Defeated, this orc returns to his tribe (no matter how long he waited), strolls into the camp and immediately begins spouting off lines to make a play for power. 3) None of the orcs seem to question either the delay in the orc's return, nor his defeat. 4) The tribe more or less rolls over for a shaman who was not only defeated by a bunch of weak humans (an affront to Gruumsh), but then fled and hid (and even larger affront to Gruumsh). It's all very convenient, and hardly convincing. Especially on the player's end where, as you said, the PC's didn't know much about it. As a player this orc wouldn't seem like a big bad, at all, and more of the comedic relief with 9-lives.