Taevyr

Aedyr's more like a combination of real-life great britain and the feudal nations in early-modern east-europe: Britain can be seen in that they're an empire formed by the union between multiple kingdoms, with no real threats within it's sphere of influence and a large colonial empire, large parts of which were lost to rebellions. East-europe can be seen in the opposition to advancements that would upset the existing order and clash with religious dogma, and the continued feudal system. The Church of Woedica can be seen as an analogy to both the Anglican church and the lack of reformation in eastern europe. No real reference to any meso-american influences/themes are present, though the tropical location is interesting, and they likely have a similar feel as the dyrwood aside of climate, though probably more organized and rigid. I agree with Old Vailia being like the Roman/Byzantine empire, though it supposedly splintered a long time ago, and it also has hints of the Holy Roman Empire's decline and the Fourth Crusade: the Vailian republics can be seen as an equivalent to the Italian city-states gradually falling away from Imperial influence in the 15th century, and the splintering of Old Vailia by scheming merchants and local nobles is almost a carbon copy of the chaos following the fourth crusade, though without an equivalent to the seljuk and ottomans, so the fight continues. As we haven't seen anyone from Old Vailia yet, there's little to say about their aesthetics. Ixamitl is meso-american inspired, though I haven't paid that much attention to it. The rest of the eastern reach, namely readceras and the dyrwood, is clearly inspired by the north american colonial nations. Rauatai seems more like Japan: a rough land lacking natural resources that had to be unified by force (the Sengoku/warring states period), changed by the arrival of a foreign people in very early times who gradually took over, and protected from foreign powers by the fleet and storms (the "divine wind" that supposedly turned the Mongol fleets away when they invaded). They seem to be somewhat isolationist, though it's currently in the midst of changing said policy, and have a heavily stratified and militaristic society, which focuses on expansion through industrial and military means. Aesthetically, they blend this with some of the polynesian/south-east asian features prevalent in their Huana ancestors. Not to mention the importance of gunpowder and modern warfare methods for both nations The living lands seem like a version of Iceland where all the myths are true: varied ecosystems, located in the far north, and the weirdest creatures/plants one could imagine. I remember someone found a possible map of Eora in-game somewhere which fit with the known locations of the various nations/regions, but I can't find the thread. Edit: Found it

I'd say all combinations of mage slayer and subclasses focused on self-buffs, such as conjurers and Wael priests, as they'd simply be gimping themselves. Doesn't get much worse than the already mentioned ghost heart/beckoner though.

Got a good-looking pirate sharpshooter with Miscreant's Leathers, Acina's Tricorn and Blightheart. And a random cape, I guess .

It? Haven't seen any clowns running around Eora thus far, but It could still be hibernating for all we know. It'd probably get on fine with Rymrgand and Skaen though, so long as they aren't terrified of It.

Obs does pretty well with relatively unexplored RPG settings, though my favourite would be Tyranny's early Iron age setting. It's also why I fear a sequel set in Aedyr would be too bread-and-butter, considering, for example, the feudal system and ban on animancy.

It has nothing to do with "egos". You have a very strange idea about people's psychology. Flashing lights, exploding stars and other pachinko-level experiences are not comparable to following a storyline about giant statue. That's a different problem and it lies within realm of immersion and if story is good to explore it's themes correctly or not. If the idea is not to confront the antagonist but to have a revelation from the story, then story didn't do the revelation part correctly. Josh himself arrived to this point at the end of his own post: "maybe I set up story to be told in a poor manner", and is completely correct. What I said wasn't meant to be a criticism of people who think the main story in Deadfire's lacking, and I agree that it fails to connect with the PC and is rather disconnected from the rest of the game overall, especially considering the quality of the faction dynamics and quests. It was mainly aimed towards people who actually think it's reasonable for us to go and fight a god whose been sucking out souls left and right with not so much as a snap of his fingers, or who think the gods should listen to the watcher as if he were a fellow god rather than a convenient errand boy "who should just do as he's told". There's no reason for either to happen, nor is it ever presented as a reasonable possibility in the story. Berath actually remarks on the fact that you may be the only one able to convince Eothas, showing that it's a pretty big deal for someone to potentially influence a god. The other gods don't have that connection to you nor do they particularly care about you beyond a potential deal involving Thaos' souls: even that was just a fair deal. It may make them more amenable, but doesn't give them any reason to give leeway concerning their programmed beliefs and purview.

Galawain kind of ticked off my Ranger in this regard, as So much for being the god of Darwinism eh?

People don't experience stories to have their "egos" "stroked". It's actually way worse than that: some people TELL stories to stroke their ego. Yeah, plenty of people play games for instant gratification, as visible in 90% of all mobile games. In which case, they should stop playing OBS games before they ruin it for everyone. For those people, it's not about experiencing a story, it's about having a story constantly affirm and congratulate you for being such a great and important part of it. Which is bloody awful.

Which will be retconned in PoE3. This choice, by the way, is the best example of how not to give player choices. "You can destroy the world!... at the end of the game using dialogue node followed by a picture". Ending slides have nothing to do with the actual game. You can write as many as you want even for almost a linear game. They are the laziest way to add consequences to player's actions and became a crutch for designers - here, we added some slides, so your actions mattered (a-la ME3 ending). 1) While i get your meaning, I don't see how a choice as overblown as "destroy the world" could go without ending the game's timeline then and there, nor why any player would believe he can import that choice in a future installment. It'd be like continuing a PoE1 game where you died at the end of The White March, or importing an ME2 save in which Shepard died: technically possible with some tweaks, but a slap in the face of all C&C. That isn't a retcon, just a case where your in-game choices led to a timeline the designers logically can't take into account for a sequel, since it makes a sequel impossible. It's also why I don't like that people could import an unfinished white march playthrough, as they should by all accounts be dead, though I understand why Obsidian made it possible. I don't like that they retconned certain choices from PoE1, but I can see why they'd be hard to implement in an originally unplanned sequel. But considering they're likely planning a third game considering how things are set up in Deadfire, I'm loathe to see what'll be retconned to make it work, as e.g. the Berath ending leaves a very different world compared to the other ones. It's a general problem with story-design in a save-importing game series: either you give your players as much freedom as possible and retcon the inconvenient choices between games, or you restrain your players a bit for the sake of a cleanly evolving world. Neither is fulfilling for a plot-crazy guy like me, but I definitely prefer the first. 2) Almost all isometric RPG's, going back to the epilogue texts given at the end of the holy grail called Baldur's Gate 2, make use of some sort of ending compilation to provide the players with some information on what happened after their journey. I agree that it's sometimes abused as a replacement for visible in-game consequences to your actions, but it's preferable to just ending it after the final battle/cutscene/choice without any conclusion for your companions or the locales you made an impact on. Have to see some sort of reactivity to how you chose to end things, right? As for ME3, I'm not saying that ME3's contrived ending slides make up for the ridiculous ending in any way, but it's vastly preferred over the original "choose your RGB colour" lightshow ending.

There's definitely an impact with Galawain, Berath and Rymrgand. Hylea... not so much. For Skaen I've got no clue. if you angered he empowers certain enemies (dragons, the kraken if i'm not mistaken) with a buff called "X's wrath", boosting their level and stats If you angered he appears at some point to give you a debuff called "'Y's Wrath" giving - 1 to all stats, which lasts until you've killed 75 kith

Also, as much as i hate the fact that your influence on Eothas' final decision rests on a single conversation choice with no connection to the rest of the game, it's still fact that you, the player, gets to influence Eothas' final gift to kith directly before he goes on and destroys the wheel. Hell, you can have him destroy all life in said choice. It's not exactly well-developed plot-connected agency, but it's definitely a big choice you get to make directly.

Ooo! Meet Eothas at the Isle of Gratification. Recover the famed Vorpal Sword of Slaying. Kill all the NPC that didn’t have a direct hand in making you feel important in the vanilla game, which sufficiently weakens Eothas so that you can fight him. Final battle is a 10 minute cutscene which outlines all your accomplishments, culminating in something called “The Godhammer II”, a wedgie so powerful that it kills Eothas instantly. Brilliant. Does that imply the saint's war ended when Durance gave Waidwen an explosive, soul-searing wedgie? Headcanon established

Someone you knew back when you were an Inquisitor for Thaos and tracking down Iovara Huh, didn't think of that possibility. Though that'd mean you either meet their soul stuck in Rymrgand's realm for centuries, awaken their reincarnated soul from someone trapped there, or they survived alive in Rymrgand's realm for several centuries, which'd mean Kith stop aging in there. I don't see the devs returning to the well wrapped-up Thaos/Iovara plot as PoE1's finale was all about finally putting your soul's past to rest, so I wonder how they'd implement that. Funny you see that as “well wrapped up” when I was expecting to see more of it in Deadfire. You know nothing about your previous life outside of Thaos and Iovara (and relatively little about that). Waidwen was dead long before the events of P1 (both Eder and Durance help establish this) and it’s been 5 years since *then* so clearly time isn’t a big factor there. Also, I’ll be very disappointed of this king isn’t a monarch from Ukaizo The reason I see it as well wrapped up is because the whole point of the ending is freeing yourself from the burdens of said life. We could learn more about it, true, but it shouldn't be as part of/connected to the Thaos/Iovara plot. I somehow momentarily forgot about Waidwen being blown up, and have thus dishonored myself, my family and all that I love. Which indeed makes it pretty clear time isn't a factor, though I wonder why and in what manner those three'll be stuck in Rymrgand's realm. Is it just their souls, or are they actually in there bodily? How/Why did Waidwen (and the others) end up in Rymrgand's realm after their death, or is it just a way of the gods to get rid of troublemakers permanently? I also wonder what Waidwen'll be like without Eothas influencing him. Waturi being an ancient Monarch'd fit perfectly, whether it's a monarch from Ukaizo/the ancient Huana, or a leader of early Rauatai.

No bug, Eder just got a bit too enthusiastic trying to hug that big ol' tentacly slimeball. He's moving onto land because Eder hopes to keep it as a pet. *obligatory overpen joke*

Someone you knew back when you were an Inquisitor for Thaos and tracking down Iovara Huh, didn't think of that possibility. Though that'd mean you either meet their soul stuck in Rymrgand's realm for centuries, awaken their reincarnated soul from someone trapped there, or they survived alive in Rymrgand's realm for several centuries, which'd mean Kith stop aging in there. I don't see the devs returning to the well wrapped-up Thaos/Iovara plot as PoE1's finale was all about finally putting your soul's past to rest, so I wonder how they'd implement that.

Skyrim's a great game because of its setting, the exploration value, and the sheer freedom to do and add whatever the hell you please. It's not because of its great choices or story. TES has a pretty good overlapping storyline if some of the more believable theories are to be believed, but Skyrim isn't a good example for meaningful choices and quests unless the player adds to it himself. The Pillars gods need your help, but don't really care about you beyond doing what you're supposed to be doing: in their view, they're gods so you should just do as they say and believe. It's how they're written and characterized all the time, even in PoE1: Do what they want or have a good explanation for doing things differently, and they reward you. Don't, and they either ignore you or mess up your life. As for the "divine councils" in Deadfire: why should they who are gods, listen to a puny watcher who should just do as he's told? It's frustrating as hell, sure, but definitely fits their characterization. Galawain, Wael and Rymrgand's appearances outside of the main quest may not have been satisfying to all, but they fit perfectly with how the gods are established: trying to push their "correct" view of the world on Kith and (in Galawain's case) punishing you when you take the "wrong" decision. Ondra in PoE1's the same: you can have an entire argument trying to convince her otherwise, yet she only relents when she realizes letting the Eyeless fulfill their task would run counter to her purview, as destroying the dyrwood would hardly allow things to be forgotten. They're basically dogmatic AI's, which means any meaningful interaction would have to follow their programming or end in a tantrum as they aren't willing to follow; which really undermines the whole "meaningful" part.

Backwards? Start at level 20 and delevel? Heal on hit? The word you are looking for is "prequel" Backwards could be interesting as a weird experiment/deconstruction of classic RPG's. Imagine meeting new companions by going backwards through the encounters they died in, or changing the plot course by having them die "earlier" in the timeline. Or finding out how messed up the main character is as you go back further in his story, trying to change things for the better/worse. ....Great, now I won't be able to stop thinking about it.

The only epic things about the saint's war is that St. Waidwen led the invasion and battles personally, and was blown up with magran's help at the end. Aside from that, it was just a brutal war with very brutal consequences. I don't see how you'd build an entire game centered around it unless they let us play the whole war as a kind of grand strategy game, which isn't what Obs does. Or if we continue following Durance into the Purges afterwards, which would involve far more torture than most people'd be comfortable with. As for "Durance and his party", there were no known party adventures or travelling around. Just Durance and his fellow priests building a bomb with Magran's help, and setting it off at Halgot using their souls as fuel. Not really full-length game material. We already know what happens, who the main actors were and how the war generally developed. There's little left to uncover with a game.

For the characters named in "Decide the fate of", I think we can speculate all of them to be leaders of some import, considering there's St. Waidwen and a fellow whose a king among the three. For "Inquisitor Naxiva", considering the scepter in the achievement image and the title of "inquisitor", I imagine Naxiva'll be connected to Aedyr and a ranking member of the church of Woedica/Steel Garotte. As Aedyr's described as a feudalized country, someone ranked highly enough could control quite a bit of resources through his/her vassals. Wingauro o Waturi's obviously an aumaua name, so probably a Huana chieftain. Could be Rauataian, but the king bit basically renders that option moot. There's an arrogant Mataru fellow called Waturi on Sayuka who could be a connected to him, but it's a stretch. Waidwen doesn't need anymore introduction, though I expect some good reactivity should Eder meet him.

I loved the interactivity and sheer amount of possibilities in Original Sin combat, but eventually stopped playing due to 1) pacing issues, which caused me to lose motivation since I have other things I could be doing in my spare time 2) The fact they can't decide whether they should take their own plot seriously or not. The light narrative involving finding out who you, the star stones and the other things was a perfect fit for a not-too-serious game like OS. When the drama came in with the big bad, the inability to implement it properly showed in the writing and they didn't even manage to make it seem serious with all the humor in it. 3) the humor. It's fun, but it gets very old after a while. Can't be Serious Mcgrumpypants all the time, but can they at least take their main story a bit more seriously? It's a great game for people who don't mind that stuff, and probably the greatest turn-based combat since forever, but it isn't for me. If they make a game with similar combat, but a more serious story, I'd be hooked for sure.

Aedyr'd be an interesting location to further any woedica-related plots, but would likely end up being another classic medieval setting, seeing how they've outlawed animancy, lost both their overseas colonies and are probably not all that progressive considering their continued feudalism and government church. While those aspects could make for an interesting story, fitting with the general theme of gods, progress and kith self-reliance, it'd be very bread-and-butter in regard to fantasy settings, perhaps even more so than the eastern reach. As for other major players in Eora, we have the Vailian Republics dominating trade in the eastern reach and beyond while also pushing the boundaries on animancy research, Rauatai ruling and expanding an immense stratified society through naval power and engineering prowess, and either a resurgent Huana empire in the Deadfire, an immense growth in territory for one of the former two factions, or continued efforts by the former two to exploit the region. They'd be interesting to explore, but I don't see any immediate story hooks aside from the ending storms in Rauatai. Also, the regions seem a bit too stable for my tastes but that's just my opinion. It's also why I prefer Old Vailia: ancient shattered empire with two hundred years of ongoing wars? Sign me the hell up! To put things shortly: we've had a developed former colony in PoE1, complete with a small uncolonized area in Eir Glanfath. We've had a fresh colonial frontier in the midst of a mad scramble for territory and influence in Deadfire. Exploring one of the actual empires of Eora sounds good for the third game, whether it be Aedyr, Rauatai or Old Vailia.

Ever tried Dragon's Dogma: Dark arisen? It's a dark age setting with a heavy focus on combat, has one of the best combat systems and skill development that I've seen, and the companion AI is brilliant when set up well. Bad points would be that it isn't isometric (third-person view), and that you don't directly control your companions, though the AI is amazing with a few tweaks. No need (or even possibility) to micro companions once set up. It's a JRPG though, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. Over-the-top story and combat are included, and while the story's better than I expected, it still focuses mostly on combat and exploration, with a few role-play opportunities. Also audible in the great soundtrack. The world's interesting enough to explore it on your own, and combat's amazing. Very notable freedom of movement, including climbing large enemies to reach weak spots: no need to repeatedly stab a giant's toe to take him down, though it 's still possible. Some examples: - Climbing a landed dragon to stab his heart, and hanging on as it takes flight - Casting a literal tornado at a group of enemies (less fun when aimed at you) - Having a ranger pawn snipe a cyclops' eye from across the battlefield without player intervention, or a strider pawn climb up to its eye all on his own - getting one-hit killed by death because you were stupid enough to try and parry its scythe - generally being terrified at night at lower levels

It'd definitely be interesting to see what became of the Engwithans who didn't believe that dogmatic animancy hivesoul minds were a good idea, though that'd probably lead to an unknown region such as the living lands, where the renegades could live without too much worry about the newly-created gods. Come to think of it, continued Engwithan experimentation over a long time could reasonably explain the region's weirdness. Would be more interesting if animancy wasn't to blame though, if only to prevent it becoming a worldbuilding gimmick.

if you liked American gods, I'd recommend his "the sandman" comic series. It's 75 issues and is largely the same in concept, except expanded to include figures like Lucifer and elves as well, and has some unfortunate, editorially mandated connections to the rest of DC in the early (first 5-10 or something) issues. It focuses on Dream and in lesser degree his siblings, The Endless, who are antropomorphic representations/embodiments of certain concepts, such as dreams, death and such. Death in particular is really well done. Two of them make a stealth appearance in American Gods for half a page each or so. It's a really weird series with really weird artwork at times, but easily (one of) my favourite graphic novel(s) ever.

The living lands or the white that wends would make for interesting frontier zones to feed my love for exploration, and to get a view of a truly wild fantasy region as well; however, I wouldn't mind getting to see Old Vailia: As a shattered empire, it'd be a good introduction to a more developed and civilized region of Eora as opposed to Deadfire and the Eastern reach, as well as a region filled with upheaval, faction disputes and instability. Not to mention we have at least two existing factions, the Principi and the Republics, with a tangible connection to the region, and the fall of an empire to investigate. It'd be a plot twist if the gods weren't involved in the latter considering what we've seen in the rest of Eora. Also, a side story about Nemnok's return to the legendary realm of imps, known as the Impire, to save its people from the vile Arkemyr. Bad grammar and shinies for everyone.