random n00b

Are you implying that more than a belief that one has internalised unto himself, faith has a specific divine element that makes it clearly distinguishable from other kinds of beliefs? If so, how would you tell? According to Christian doctrine, yes. It requires of a degree of divine intervention to attain (Divine Grace). And regarding how could you tell, well. If you have to ask, you are already doomed. No, really. Theoretically you would just know. I'm not making this up, btw. Look it up if you have to.

I would convert to that religion.

Main difference being that in Sion's case, nothing prevented him from killing himself. Sion wanted to die but didn't have the guts to do it. Is this of any relevance to the discussion or you just were looking for an excuse to throw around the words "stupid" and "ignorant"? No. It was a learned skill (according to Kreia), not something stemming from inherent strength of will, as evidenced by the fact that his will is weak enough to be weakened by mere words to a point where he gives up on life. The imaginary part of my statement was in reference to the stereotype of emo. Sion's life was the result of his choices. He could have killed himself easy enough, but chose to live as an angst-driven pain guru instead. But whatever. I'm starting to feel real silly for discussing whether or not Sion is emo, so this is the last I'm going to say about it. I'm not particularly proud of the derailment, either.

What, the guy that is sustained by pure hatred alone? The same one whose only goal is to inflict pain on others because pain is all he feels and understands? The one Sith Lord that is convinced to quit living by appealing to his own festering insecurities? Did you even *play* the game? I'm not sure how you reached the conclusion that leading a life full of imaginary suffering (by choice, no less) is the same as being a prisoner in one's own body due to multiple sclerosis or terminal cancer. That is distasteful, disrespectful, and dangerously fallacious. But yeah, when everything else fails, dump the rolleyes emoticon. There's no defense against that.

As opposed to Sweden and Finland, as you claimed. I'm not disputing any of that. HDI is an overall indicator, though. Just a heads-up for you to check your facts before going postal with the flamethrower.

Oh, okay. I guess his living in a permanent state of self-loathing and anguish (not to mention the fact that he actually *wants* the PC to convince him to die), doesn't qualify as "emo" enough for you. I've really grown to hate the way some people post before thinking. Thank you, come again.

Actually, he needn't have smoked anything. I don't know what "official lists" you checked but...

Huh? Faith is one of the three Theological Virtues, as listed in the Bible. As such, it can only be attained by means of Divine Grace. This is Roman Catholicism, btw. And I didn't make the rules for capitalisation, bub...

Unfortunately, Faith is, by definition, a God-inspired certainty that God exists. Certainty, not belief. This makes it kind of hard to be a by-the-book (read: fundie) Catholic and not think of others as heathens.

huh

Less than three Master Vrook. No matter what, he always manages to make it look like you're screwing up big time. "If we are going to have a Jedi Council at all, somebody, somewhere, is going to do what it tells them!" Nobody pulls rank like Master Vrook. Honourable mention for Sion, but mostly for the concept and voice acting. Execution was not so good. He proved to be Teh Ultimate emo kid of the Universe, in a "I'd cut myself, but it's no good" way.

Here's hoping that the game won't encourage you to be a mass murderer. The less people I can kill to accomplish a game goal, the better for me. Stealth is a spy's #1 weapon. Kill counts, as well as any bonuses associated with them, need to be implemented very carefully, if at all. Otherwise they detract from immersion and serve only to imprint a feel of "arcade-ness" that doesn't fit in an RPG. They also tend to skew game balance towards unrealism. I certainly am not watching this game for its potential to deliver several delectable ways to murder goons with your bare hands or a sharp object. But that's just me... In Hitman: Blood Money, killing dudes with a garrote was very satisfying but also potentially dangerous. It took longer to perform than other killing techniques (meaning it was more likely that you would be caught while doing it), but it left no blood and made no sound. Also, the garrote was effectively undetectable (IIRC), so you could take it into places where weapons weren't normally allowed. You could also smack guys in Blood Money and take their weapons, but overall the game wasn't oriented around melee. Yep, the fiber wire was undetectable. And given the AI model of the game, using it was pretty much the most reliable way to get a rating of SA. Funny, that. A game that featured a boatload of weapons (as well as limited customization options), and at the same time discouraged making use of them.

Yeah. Make the US Prez the #1 baddie in the game. Oh wait...

All you could ever possibly need is a fiber wire and some outrageous disguise, really.

I wasn't too sure about Korgan so I just checked to make sure, and both are immune to Imprisonment while enraged. Demilich Howl still kills them fairly often, tho. Maybe their rage wore off? I do have a number of mods installed (including tactics, which brings Kangaxx more in line with what's expected from a demilich), but I don't think any of them changes the properties of either rage effect (Minsc and Korgan's are different).

No, like throwing people into the dirt and not giving them any means to take it off. Also, and more commonly, restricting or denying access to letrines. It's hard to keep one's dignity when you are afforded less respect than a dog, and treated worse than one. EDIT: yeah, what Gfted1 said.

Well, Sarevok is overpowered (for a party that level, has crazy HP and THAC0), but it's more Angelo and Semaj that really ruin my day. Angelo has those insane fire arrows (that for some unexplained reason don't affect his allies that much), and Semaj is just a pain in the ass, dispelling my buffs all the time. I cannot seem to win the fight unless I resort to cheesing through (spam Chaos while outside visual range) or taking advantage of the AI shortcomings. Um. Protection from magic + ring of the ram make short work of him. Protection from Undead also makes him unable to target you. Also, you are immune to Imprisonment while in the Slayer form. Korgan and Minsc are immune while enraged, too. Cheese, but it's one of the worst designed monsters in all of the IE games. I mean, a demilich that ONLY casts Imprisonment, regardless of its efficacy? Devs please!

! Also, BGT. Am I a wimp for getting my ass handed to me by Sarevok? And some DDO.

Well. If you shout "Conspiracy!" every time, you're bound to be right eventually... And no, Chelsea won't beat Manchester.

Sensory deprivation by itself will accomplish very little. It needs to be combined with something else; the cold cell/shower, suboptimal hygiene, verbal and (limited) physical abuse, all work well together in disorienting one and inflicting the feeling of powerlessness and self-worthlessness that's intended to break a person's will. But, as has been stated before, information extracted in such a state may or may not be reliable.

I think I read somewhere that people born with extra stuff not only are more prone to health problems, but also in most cases, their "extra" whatever can't function normally because the brain isn't ready for it, therefore offering no advantage. There are exceptions however, such as people with an extra kidney, but those are rare. Since some evolution theories propose that opposable thumbs (and, more generally, the ability to control each finger individually) may have been a factor in the development of higher intellect, imagine what an extra set of (functional) arms would require. And the optic nerve is some of the most complex nerve tissue in the body... I wonder if both sets of eyes work, and how her brain interprets it. And, as a side note, "survival of the fittest" doesn't apply to the human race anymore.

Are you setting things up for a torrent of cynical and distasteful jokes revolving around "two-faced" and "politicians"?

I see. I'm not familiar with the development process at Beth, so I'll take your word for it. I do think, however, that even if they work that way, it's a long shot to assume that the setting will not be Fallout-ish enough. After all, it is post-apoc. And I can only take so many 50's references before it starts getting silly for me. I think it would be a mistake for them to try too hard to be Fallout, and end up saturating the game world with winks to the previous settings in an attempt to appease a sense of failed continuity in the fanbase. All right. I didn't play Oblivion much (my comp couldn't handle it at the time), but I didn't think Morrowind was generic, at all. From the look of the Roman... I mean, Imperial Legion armor, to the architecture of Vivec, the design of Daedra, the Ordinators, the races... well. That, if anything, was what kept me from dumping the game. Perhaps if you point to some game whose setting you don't find generic, and explain your reasons, I will be better able to understand where you're coming from.

Um, why? One of Beth's strong point *is* atmosphere. And any post-apoc setting with 50's references, mutants and blue jumpsuits would be indistinguishable from Fallout, alright. I don't think it's quite the Holy Grail of CRPG settings, really. I could understand your comment if it were about gameplay or graphics, as those are going to be completely reworked for FO3, but atmosphere?

Arbitrary, unsupported, overly generalising and fallacious. The thing with interactivity is that details aren't compulsory. It's the player's choice to be immersed in the details of the plot, or not. They are accesory, not fundamental. In RPGs, the player controls the pace. There's plenty of room for thinking. Rich narrative != convoluted narrative. At least, not in an interactive medium.