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Epixia

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Everything posted by Epixia

  1. He’s really not too hard to please. I’ve had far worse a time getting Pallegina to 2 and keeping Xoti at 2 then getting/keeping Aloth there. He’s into dutiful responses big time and these tend to be hidden behind responses that help others, self sacrifice/defense of crew/companions, and classic “hero” responses. He’s not completely averse to joking/clever responses. It’s very dependent on context. My Watcher is full clever and only loses rep occasionally because of it. He hates Serafen and Takehu. That’ll never change, though he can be called out on it, which was nice. Irresponsible dialogue and pride are his biggest pet peeves. So overconfidence, anything to do with brothels and prostitutes, and bragging of any sort really.
  2. If I've learned nothing else from my more rural family members, it's that you can make wine from almost anything. I believe they have a bottle of homemade wine from every fruit and berry in existence (locally that is) and often will experiment with something new to make it from every year. I also want to say I've heard mead referred to as honey-wine before, but that's something I'm a little less familiar with. Anyway, Eora's lack of grapes certainly wouldn't limit it's potential booze variety.
  3. Out of the those three choices, I think 2 & 3 would offer the most entertaining RP experiences and really fit with the pirate theme. Perhaps for the 1st one, it might add some spice playing him with the addition of the cruel disposition. Sorta a Blackbeard or notorious pirate type. That would also make the 1st character mix well with Aeldys / New Blood faction.
  4. Maybe its just a mechanics case. Having a full blown Fampyr in the party would probably be OP. I always took her being a cipher as their compromise for not being able to give her full Fampyr abilities. She could probably get pretty close as a Mindstalker though. At least as far as cool Fampyr-ey abilities. Can you imagine if they actually gave her the full Fampyr immunities and everything though? She'd be ridiculously OP.
  5. ...wut? A fampyr is a kind of undead. Ydwin is not dead. Even if she had turned herself into a fampyr by severing her soul from the Wheel (which I don't think is true), she'd still become a fampyr only after her death I want to say that this is actually addressed in her recruitment dialogue...please stand by... Ydwin facts: + Bleeds + Can feel pain + She requires essence to survive + Her soul is disconnected from not only the wheel, but also her own body Somewhat facts: + Live people and animal essence are tastier than luminous adra Dialogue: [Metaphysics 6*] Watcher: "How do you intend to manage the decay of your flesh and escalating desire for soul essence?" *Insert sarcastic Aloth and Ydwin banter* Theeeen... - Ydwin: "I am concerned by neither. I will sate my appetite with the souls of animals, just as I sated my appetite with their flesh while - while - in my previous life." - Ydwin: "In the absence of live animals, luminous adra has proven sufficient to sustain me. " A slight grimace crosses her features like a shadow.
  6. Well they’re darned if they do and darned if they don’t. If the elves are tall and slim then they are copying Tolkien and if they are short and slim then they are copying D&D. Elves are just so common in fantasy that there isn’t a way to include them that doesn’t copy someone. If they change them too much then they become elves in name only.
  7. I love love LOVED this quest. Modwyr is a follower/companion in every respect, often even more so than the sidekicks, and her “personal quest” was heartbreaking. The choice of what to do with her has been one of the hardest quest choices so far.
  8. I stand witness to this true fact of Eoran history. Everyone killed everyone and no was sober ever.
  9. The races of Eora are pretty homogenized overall, but maybe the cultures of individual races will be explored more over time? Or maybe the racial traditions were destroyed or replaced by Engwithans during their era of dominance. After all, everything has to be their fault. As far as the longevity of elves, I do like the idea that was mentioned that they may just take things slower. It could also be a case where, like old people, they just become set in their ways. They may become easily averse to change and prefer things to stay comfortable and predictable. Which brings a point to mind, do cultures in Eora that value tradition and predictability over innovation and risk have higher elven populations?
  10. If nothing else, we should be able to purchase him as a permanent addition to the ship. He could keep the Steward company.
  11. The game sets up the Watcher as having an impact by virtue of forcing them to be in the situation after Ashen Maw. At that point the gods KNOW what Eothas is planning and what he intends to do. Why have the Watcher continue to be involved? What, at that point, is the reasoning to continue to have them hound him if they have no way to influence the outcome outside of an author wanting the player to witness an event? It is implied by their continued involvement that they should be able to influence the outcome in a meaningful way. As for in-game situations that feed this illusion, how many times do companions prop up the Watcher? How many times do they encourage their involvement? How many times do they get lectured about their "duty" to the world? Aloth and Pallegina: Your power and influence require to you think of the world and to help it. It. Is. Your. Duty. Your choices matter. Your presence matters. Eder: Eothas is carving a path of destruction and must be stopped. Maia is doing time in the brig so I can't comment on her. I'm still doing Takehu's quest, but it seems to be going in a direction of should he embrace his duty to his people or to himself. Even if their conversations change from Eothas should be stopped to can he be stopped, the conversations themselves still point towards the Watcher taking some form of action. So, I can understand how many would reach the end and feel they should have been able to stop him. I don't know how to use the specific quote feature, so bear with me. "As for motivation, you're killed, brought back to life without your soul, and threatened with annihilation if you don't do the bidding of sentient machines. You want your soul back and you want to lift the threat imposed upon you. In order do to this, you have to chase down Eothas. People who are worried about anything other than this probably aren't spending much time contemplating what it would feel like to be in this situation. As one would might do in a roleplaying game." While I agree that the most passionate followers of games like this probably do put extra effort in trying to relate to their character's circumstances, I know I certainly do, I believe that the burden should rest more on the writers to evoke the necessary emotions and sense of urgency in the audience. If they are unable to accomplish that, then it speaks poorly of the writing / execution rather than of the audience and pre-conceived expectations.
  12. Ha! I agree that his fortunes are mostly a load of bull. However, I do think it would be fun if they hid an actual real one in there. As for the wooden house, maybe he saw it wrong and he meant a wooden ship. Arguably there's plenty of potential romance there.
  13. Even though I have yet to finish it, I'm savoring PoE II like it was the last twinkie on earth, I do already know it's endings and have spoiled myself to the point that the end will not be a surprise. Maybe I can offer the perspective of a player who is in the middle of the game. I can see and understand some of the reasons why there is such a dramatic difference in interpretation of the PC's effect on the story and their motivations. PoE II is a story that does not reveal what it thinks the players true motivation for following Eothas should be until at least 2/3s of the way through the game. Prior to that the player is frequently given the chance to weigh in on what their motivations for following him are. "I'm following Eothas because he destroyed my keep and stole my soul." "I'm following Eothas because he causes destruction wherever he goes and must be stopped." "I'm following Eothas against my will because Berath will kill me if I don't." "I'm following Eothas because he is my god / I love him / he is ultimately working for good." "I'm following Eothas because I want to find out what he intends/what he is doing." Out of all of those "reasons" to follow Eothas, according to the story and the author, the only valid ones are the last one or two. All of the others either prove to be impossible or are resolved before the end. Ultimately, following Eothas does not have a direct personal motivation for all Watchers that lasts to the end of the game. This has been bothering me ever since Ashen Maw and why I believe PoE I's story ultimately worked while Deadfire's doesn't. In PoE I the thread that ultimately leads the Watcher to follow Thaos to the end is the awakening. Being awakened is a universal personal problem for any type of Watcher a person would want to create. No one wants to become a raving lunatic. No Watcher would be ok with losing their sanity. The awakening storyline / threat is not resolved until Thaos and the Hollowborn crisis are resolved. It is a personal motivation that lasts till the end of the game. Now lets take Deadfire. The two most obvious universal and directly personal motivations to follow Eothas are that he has stolen your soul and that Berath is making you do it. Beyond that, any other reason either comes across as arbitrary or niche by comparison. Only those two reasons are personal enough and universal enough to apply to all Watchers. They are either acting under threat or out of desperation or, as Deadfire's story seems to prefer, both. However, the problem of the Watcher's stolen soul is resolved in Ashen Maw. One of their major motivations is negated which leaves only Berath's chime. However, the problem with Berath's chime is that they never really take advantage of the true threat the chime can be. It's essentially a device that forces the player to observe the equivalent of boring executive meetings against their will. That isn't threatening for most people. It comes across as an indulgent way to make the players interact with the gods. In fact, I'd argue the best use of the true threat of the chime is during the dock scene in Neketaka when the chime demonstrates it's true potential and threat to both the player and the Watcher. When Berath can force the Watcher to reveal the souls of the dead whether they WANT to or NOT. Only during that single scene in the game , so far, has the true threat of Berath's chime (and it's potential as a way to drive the narrative revealed). When it is shown to be capable of robbing the player/Watcher of their choice. Deadfire is a game that leads the player to believe that they can have a meaningful impact on the Eothas storyline when in reality they never were meant to and I believe that's the problem. They left too many players with the belief that they HAD a choice and the chance to genuinely affect the biggest threat in the game, the destruction of the wheel/Eothas, when in reality they never did. That was never an impression that should have been given and ultimately it was.
  14. That’s what I suspected. Though it seems like a waste to apply the reputation system to the companions if they’re relationships are mostly predetermined.
  15. Pledging to all the gods is not peaceful and kind. They have different wills and you cannot satisfy them all. Not only is it irresponsible to make impossible promises and they will take revenge on innocents if you betray them, they also don't all want peaceful and kind things to begin with. Rymrgand, Ondra and Skaen want you to destroy the souls of the Hollowborn. Galawain, Magran and Abydon want you to feed them to the rest of the Dyrwood. Berath wants you to return them to her Wheel to be reborn (which is the most popular choice and also what normally happens to souls). Peaceful and kind would be supporting Hylea, who wants you to return the souls to their intended bodies. There is a Benevolent Soul premade history already Actually, according to poll here, the most popular choice is Hylea - which IS kind of kind (all things consider), and the second most popular Galawain (why so many people want to support Dyrwood so much is a mystery). But Benevolent Premade is truly the nicest you can get NPC-wise, just use it. I think the main difference between the Hylea ending and the Galawain one is when their effects take place. For Hylea the benevolence of that choice is immediately apparent and provides the most "warm fuzzies" while the Galawain ending is an overall future (and ultimately most fair) benefit to the Dyrwood as a whole. I find it extremely interesting that the "kidnap Vela" history is lumped into the benevolent pre-made. That would imply that the developers consider that kidnapping was ultimately the best (see as good) choice to make. That's just extremely interesting to me...
  16. If we're talking about something like this dude, then they probably have a death rate close to Skaen godlikes. (Pan's Labyrinth Dude)
  17. When I first started the game, I was under the impression that there could be a variety of combinations when it came to the companion's reputations with each other. Like one playthrough could have Aloth /Eder as friends and another as enemies. Or I suppose, to use a more extreme example, having Xoti/Pallegina as friends and another playthrough as enemies. However, as time goes on, it seems to be that their relationships with each other are mostly set in stone. There will always be a Xoti/Pallegina rivalry, Aloth will always dislike Tekehu and Serafen, etc. The only ones that seem to have a good potential of going either way so far are Eder/Aloth and Eder/Xoti. I'm curious at the amount of variations others have seen in their playthroughs with this system. So, is the game rigged?
  18. So, if this is the case, what happens if you skip directly to Ukaizo? Who do you fight? Is it explained how the other factions know where it is? I'm assuming the ending slide would be the same as the "go it alone" option.
  19. To be fair, the crew of The Defiant / Companions of the Watcher probably aren't fainting over the idea of killing, depending on the circumstances, and there are more than a few potential murderers aboard the ship. Though, it would be extremely interesting if sacrificing a party member to Skaen resulted in a mutiny event. Which reminds me, I really liked how Wael can note the Watcher "reaps on a smaller scale" during one of the god roundtable sessions. I'd say he has most Watchers pegged with that particular observation.
  20. I agree it's extremely tempting to metagame Maia's quest, but I think it's unfair to state that the Watcher would be unable to smell manipulation of their level. It would be entirely dependent on the Watcher. For instance a cipher, high intellect, high perception, or shady Watcher would most likely be able to pick up on the dissonance in Atsura's behavior and have a healthier level of skepticism regarding Maia's mission. Heck, a shady Watcher would probably be breaking the seals on those missives the moment they're out of eyesight of Maia. However, a pure honest or benevolent Watcher may be taken in MUCH easier, which is a legitimate weakness of those personality types.
  21. Ha! I was so tempted to choose that as my official answer to her, but I didn't want the cruel points. It would be nice if there was a bluff option. I like to unofficially choose conflicting disposition responses to screw with Atsura too. I might make a less morally strict character for my next play through and just really go crazy with dialogue chaos. Aloth won't be the only member of the party with multiple personalities.
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