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Way to come through with the goods, mon frere! I guess the vaporware talk is now put to rest. If I could arse myself, I'd resent the lack of forum love here, but I'd rather just be excited about what I'm seeing! Suhweeeeet!

I just checked it out, FLJ, and you're right. The miller believes the guards protect the village and deserve better prices. However, what's the compelling argument to make him change his pricing? A high resolve manages it by pointing out the townsfolk will assault him if he doesn't. I'm sure the imminent threat of physical violence makes Sweynur and his mob of friendly townsfolk right. As an aside, while the operation would start small, someone else would start milling grain, right? ...And the miller doesn't just get the grain. In a free market system (which isn't really what the game represents anyway), the farmers have the ability to hold that grain over the millers head. After all, the miller can't make any money off of milled grain if he never gets any raw grain. I don't have any problem suspending disbelief in order to enjoy the game, and I know anyone who actually defends the economic system that has provided us the opportunity to sit here and bash it must be inherently evil, but I wouldn't let the video game scenario dictate your understanding of how free markets (or capitalism as Marx might say) works. ...And, as a further aside, what's the alternative to the pseudo free market system (because it's not real capitalism and probably not actually definable on its face in the game) in Gilded Vale? The people take over the means of production communally? I doubt that. The alternative to capitalism in Gilded Vale is government control, and we've all seen how well the government is running things there. I think it's perfectly legit to think the miller is an ass. It's clear that the farmer is an ass also. Things are clearly broken in Gilded Vale altogether. When I go around seeing that the grain growing in the fields is in dire shape, it makes me think that the prices won't get better no matter how you cut it because the place is clearly in rapid decline. Anyhow, no hard feelings. If I get any harsh blowback from the more Socialist inclined folks here, I'll just petition the government for my beer allowance and provide a beer for them to smooth things over. After all, we all know the real importance of that grain is for brewing.

I've gotten to the point where I see criticism of the game and look to see if the poster cites IE, BG, or BG2 as a basis for the complaint and roll my eyes. It's almost disqualifies the argument. Not because there aren't valid complaints or comparisons on such a basis, but because it's become a sort of religious mantra.

I only just started a PotD run, so I might end up having other stuff that jumps out at me, but the only fight on hard that really got me was the Adra Dragon. I spared the Sky Dragon both finished runs, so I don't know how hard she'd be. That great white dragon in WM1 isn't so bad, but the Adra Dragon was a real bitch. It took me like ten tries or something to off her and then, when I did, it was because of a series of lucky rolls so I didn't even have any of my party down at the end of the battle.

I don't think it's as cut and dried as all that. Trumble is getting squeezed on two sides. The angry townsfolk and the greedy assed militia. At the point in the story, it seems he's trying to stay on the good side of the 'robber baron,' since the citizenry tends to get strung up rather hastily. The PC can convince him that maybe it might be a good idea to keep on the side of the townsfolk since things are deteriorating rapidly. None of it really matters because, if things don't improve, everyone will be as screwed as a two bit whore in a twelve dollar cat house. So, to answer the question, the first two times I convinced the ruffniks to lay off the miller. Last night, in my third run, I convinced the weasel elf bastard to cough up some grain for better prices. ...But the only hope the town has for anything other than short term is for a certain Watcher to get to Watching.

I'm with Ineth. It's not that I'd be angry if they removed resting supplies, but they do encourage the player to plan better. Anyhow, various games have tried to address these issues in different ways. I remember iron rations from Wye of the Beholder. Then iron rations were included in... IWD 2 as a joke since the IE didn't use rations. Good times. Might not work for everyone, but what does?

No, higher security should also prevent visitors from being chased away from your stronghold, bit the RNG needs to call for them to travel there in the first place. Higher prestige should make more of them come, and better quality. Security should allow them to safely arrive.

What I love about these discussions is that we use conjecture to talk about what we think they should do, but I would have to believe that they've already got a plan. Don't get me wrong. In the first place, it's cool to discuss these things and all most of us have is conjecture. Anything I know comes from stuff folks post here, so assumption, extrapolation, and wild assed guessing are all I've got in my arsenal. After that disclaimer, I also think the broader battles people fight in these forums does have an impact. I've seen some folks dispute that but, if it weren't clear before the kickstarter, it's absolutely crystalline now that forum battles sway developers, even Obsidian. Not necessarily in any one forum or any particular thread, but the battle writ large over the internet. So, I think enough clamoring will have an impact, but that's not necessarily good. I disagree with Infinitron about the Watcher. I don't want the same character and I don't want to get into the uber epicness that came in the BG series by the time we got into ToB. However, where he got it right is that we should trust the team that gave us Pillars one to straighten out some of these concerns in Pillars two. I hope they pay attention to us, the ants down here battling over crumbs in the colony, but I hope they stick to their essential vision which they must have had for some time, I reckon. In the battle of ideas, I aspire to cannon fodder status, but if my fate is to rush headlong into combat only to feed the mortars, so be it. At least I can add my tiny voice to the volume of folks pushing for one opinion, and if there's one opinion and only one I could choose at this point, it would be to let the design team straighten out the narrative and trust them. That's the hill where I'd die. Of course, you don't actually die in forum battles, so I'm still going to push for a new location with a different character and paced so that the epic (whatever that is) tale can be spread out over a longer period of time and much more content. Leave room in the story so that the xpacs for Pillars two extend the story out rather than injected into the fatty tissue in the middle, and then leave the end so that the big reveal can come in Pillars 3.

Hmmm There is some merit to that argument.

*shrug* I don't know what's guaranteed. I'm not a member of the press myself. That still doesn't change the fact that the pacing is ill advised for continuing the Watcher story. I would rather they start fresh, but I'm not going to get bunched if they don't. Either way, I would argue that the best way to approach the first game wouldn't have been to have the story culminate in the manner it did. On the other hand, and I'm all about the other hand, keeping the story with the Watcher does lead me to think they really will take a few more chances on the sequel. Maybe they really will turn the story and setting on its head. That will make it much more interesting.

Yeah, I remember the ship idea and I likes it! I really don't know which one I'd rather see, a new Obsidian Fallout or the next Pillars. There's no comparison between New Vegas and Pillars. Pillars is great, but New Vegas is top tier premier game design. However, I think I'm more interested in seeing what they can do with the Pillars universe. There must be some wends and winds and tortuous trails in order for us in Pillars 2, and that appeals to me. By the monstrous souls of the Engwithan gods, it appeals to me!

If you're worried about gold at all, I'd get the joinable NPCs. They're free. Plus, they work out just fine. Not as fine tunable as an adventurer, but they provide dialogue and, if you toggle to reset them to level one when you meet them, there's plenty of room to modify them however you want. Yeah, you'll end up with skeletons with Kana, but no biggie. By late game, I was swimming in coin. Probably not an issue unless your PC enjoys a profligate lifestyle. In my latest game, I had every upgrade, all of the cool hirelings for my stronghold, and every unique item upon which I had come during the game. With a little management, it's not hard to keep your cash. However, if you're switching in adventurers, I would do it early because, as you say, they become quite expensive later on. Also, unless you've really f'd up a character or something, I wouldn't spend money retool characters at the inn. I had a few sub-optimal choices on my PC, some for RP reasons and some because of a sub-optimal mind, and it didn't really slow me down much at all.

Have you considered that Azzuro is a merchant, but what he's peddling might be rented out at an hourly rate? You might not want to purchase the rapier of Azzuro. <.< Seriously, though, I always thought that I got those messages when I was enroute somewhere and he came and went before I could buy his loot. That's irritating because one of my idiosyncracies is that I like to collect every unique item I can find and he sells unique items.

Like a bunch of folks have said up above, I just find it difficult to see how the Watcher, having faced kith, beast, and gods, defeated dragons and discovered what is clearly the most shocking secret in all the land can then go on to do... what? I'm happy for Obsidz to pull it off, but I just think they should have paced the original better if that were their intention. Forget the expansion, the Watcher did all of the things I listed above in the first game. I like the idea of hanging out as the Watcher and drinking some ale with Eder, maybe some wine with Aloth. I wouldn't even mind stepping in between Durance and a few red-necks in order to save the jackass from a beatdown. Still, I think a new game based on a new character, even if that character starts at mid level (yuck!) would be better than playing the same character again. Well, whatever they do is fine by me. Provide a good game, and all conjecture is not only obsolete, it's also forgotten.

You jest, but I would get an immense kick out of that! hehe Of course, then the devs will endure relentless griping for doing it.

For me, it's usually beer, but I'm cheap and definitely not choosy. Sometimes I read things I've posted here and made plans to install a breathalyzer on my keyboard. However, becauase I have this depth of experience, I can say with certainty that I greatly enjoy this game at all levels (and lack of) sobriety. In fact, someone came up with a drinking game recently which I thought was absolutely brilliant! Now, if they just sold Pillars of Eternity shot glasses and maybe even offered some Aedyr brandy or Glanfathan Scotch, that would just make the Obsidian merchandise store well worth it. We should start a petition for that!

NIce catch, but they probably should have broadcasted it a little more clearly. That description alone puts the question to bed, but it's buried in the journal. I recently started another run and I wondered about the strange illness thing, but it went away and I wasn't worried. Part of me thinks it's a flaw but I also think that we've stopped relying on our own imaginations to fill in the gaps. It used to be that you'd encounter something like this and remain unfazed because you could rationalize the issue internally after the fact with a few logical assumptions. It's kind of what Prime dude says up above, only I took his statement as somewhat critical (not to put words in your mouth) whereas I see it as a useful characteristic in order to be able to enjoy a game without getting into fights about some tiny detail destroying your 'immersion.'

I don't care about getting a new guide, but I have to agree. I've seen pics of the Prima guide and it looks like it sucks. If I had it and needed to figure out where I went wrong on something, I think I'd just ignore it and do an interwebs search. In fact, while I haven't used them for the fights (I find the people here are a pretty good resource for that) I have used the internet to figure out quests that tax my admittedly limited mental faculties. I think the last guide I bought (well, not me, a friend but I boggarted it all the time) was for Might and Magic VI, Mandate of Heaven. I lost that copy and purchased the GoG version and it turns out the 'net is actually still great for old games too and a lot easier to use in some cases. Unless you like the presentation, the pics, the writing, or some other specific non-functional feature, game guides are probably a waste of money. Not that I'm putting you down. Whenever I have money, I waste it on all sorts of silly crap, which is why I never have any.

That's a really cool way keep the protagonist and reset the levels. It also fit's really well with the setting of Eora.like the eternal champion idea?

I don't have the cash, mon frere, but I don't begrudge you folks for buying T-shirts and mouse pads and whatever they offer. Well... maybe if I could get a coffee mug.

I think the people in this thread have had way too much beer. But I love the game too.

Come now! We all know the best scene in any Zork: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=want+some+rye%3f+course+ya+do&qpvt=want+some+rye%3f+course+ya+do&view=detail&mid=0660DEF6C787484CD2E40660DEF6C787484CD2E4&FORM=VRDGAR My wife has come to loathe that phrase. I take every opportunity to say it. My favorite was when someone gave us a choice of Rye or Bourbon. Yeah, I'm that silly!

I hope the people who want the IE mod get it, but the idea that the game is unplayable without it is silly. Maybe to some people, but it seems like plenty of us are playing the game just fine without it. Some of the ideas aren't bad. I don't care about the walking, but the blue circle seems innocuous to me. A toggle for autosaves would probably be liveable if implemented, I guess. Other ideas don't seem bad, per se, but are unnecessary and a waste of resources. For example, I'm fine with the UI, so I don't want that implemented in the basic game. Not really because I couldn't live with a different UI, but because I'd rather resources go to other things. Many of the suggestions to alter the mechanics I don't want to see at all. I like the way the game plays right now. These things are always a contest and like the one guy said up above, you can't please everyone. On the other hand, I think making extensive mods that let other people get the things they'd like don't sound unreasonable. If enough people really want features that are contrary to the essential design, surely someone will work on a mod for it. Isn't there some sort of modding forum or something around here? I don't think I've been in it, but I've seen it somewhere.

Thanks, bud! I watched the first one and part of the next one. I liked the explanation of the difference between board games and RPGs. I've been playing both all my life. Well, I guess DnD didn't come out until I was seven or so, but you get what I mean. I frankly think I would rather play Dungeons and Dragons with a solid group, but I think my wife will prefer the card game by a good margin. Plus, apparently, two or three people can play the card game no problem. I'm pretty much sold on the board game, but I'm going to hold out long enough to try Obsidz adaptation. I've bookmarked the video series because the dude you linked does a great job of explaining things.

Yeah, it's like Mr. Brennecke came in and threw water on all our fun. Can we at least conjecture that Mr. Avellone gave the cover illustrator a cold in a last ditch vindictive act meant to delay the release?