Tagaziel

Consider that the Rauataians are descended from Huana who fled the archipelago in the wake of Ondra's... Erasure of Engwith, so it makes sense the device would also try to target them. Or the descendants fled with a bit of tech they tried to use, only it went sideways and once the storms started, it did the same to Rauatai.

iirc, the RDC didn't tear down anything. there was some kind of disaster (storm, tsunami or something) that leveled most of their huts. and instead of rebuilding the village to the huana's satisfaction, the rdc built them the longhouse instead. perhaps it was just a more rational use of resources? build a single large building, instead of a village of smaller ones? I'll make a point of covering it today for the wiki and get at THE TRUTH. But yeah, that's likely what Rauatai did (bonus points for putting Mataru and Roparu together, to spite the former).

He ever does anything else?

That would be awesome! Given the amount of data etc., I was thinking about spinning the ability data into separate pages (Ranger abilities and Ranger abilities (Deadfire) for example), to avoid having a huge single page absolutely slathered in data. It'd be easier to navigate that way, methinks.

Come now, it's a fun game that gets a lot of crap merely for not being HoMM3.

So basically a regular historical process we have been always observing since the dawn of time? You're basically describing what happened over the past one hundred years to our civilization, together with a tremendous shift in ethics and morals. Barring reactionary margins, nobody is really bothered by the loss of eugenics, rise of feminism, or vaccines, to name a few.

The guidebook, which gives the total number of Huana scattered across the Archipelago at ten million - and even at that figure, a fraction of the archipelago is settled. The assumption that the archipelago, which spans a thousand miles according to lore, likely more once I finish calculating the size based on data and coordinates on the world map, can be settled practically overnight strains credibility. Which is a military outpost housing the empire's top-secret research. If I walked into Andrews AFB, would I be correct in judging America to be a militarized junta where everyone lives in barracks? They don't abolish it by force - they simply allow Huana to choose a different life, which is far more effective than blowing **** up and forcing social change at gunpoint.

The wiki data is taken directly from the game, so it seems "No" is the answer.

Nowhere does it specify that the Huana have nowhere else to go - and unless you're cartoonishly portraying Rauatai as deliberately encircling entire islands to cut off Huana from the water while cackling maniacally, I don't see how you can assume they can instantly displace ten million people at a flick of a wrist. Or why you're assuming every Huana is suddenly herded into longhouses. Or why Rauatai magically dumps finished fortresses from the sky. Rauatai is expanding like any empire in history - and given that their victory also fundamentally changes the culture of the home islands, I don't see why this wouldn't also result in long-term changes to their relations with the Huana. Except the system won't change except by force. It's something that's endured for centuries, if not thousands of years. Barring some major shock to the system that dismantles the existing order, the Huana will keep on screwing their own people over. You keep arguing that Huana could change without explaining how they could change. Hell, the game shows that given the choice, they will perpetuate the old ways, except worse. In Neketaka, which alone is seen by conservative Huana as a radical departure from their old way of life (so much for Rauatai destroying it, when the Kahanga are already wrecking it), you still have stark caste divisions, except the Roparu now get to feed on literal trash, instead of actual food. I can do better. You can check the entire file at PillarsOfEternityII_Data\exported\localized\en\text\conversations\15_rdc_port. Look for 15_cv_greeter_and_undersecretary.stringtable (the file can be opened with notepad). One quote comes to mind: I don't think "RDC officer" means "Huana forcibly conscripted to do stuff".

I've checked her dialogue and she's working for the RDC, while taking pleasure in mocking the undersecretary and constantly joking at his expense. It's glorious. If that's an example of Rauatai's ruthless assimilation of the Huana... Yeah, I'm pretty sure the non-****ty parts of their culture are safe.

Where's the brainwashing? Which ending slides? Here's a few I found: It doesn't mention any actual, concerted effort to eradicate the Huana way of life - in fact, ten million people share that culture, so it would mean outright war. Rauatai simply offers an alternative way of life, one that doesn't consign millions of people to suffering in destitute hopelessness. You're keen on defending some strange concept of cultural purity, repeatedly failing to address the fact that Huana culture is founded on social stratification and ruthless exploitation of the Roparu with no social mobility.

It's kind of hard for me to list every game where GG had a non-impact, since it's pretty much every game released since.

Yes, and I've just double-checked the orlan peddler's dialogue and it's a lot more nuanced: 1. She mentions the older generations still telling stories about pre-Empire times and more than a few waxing romantic about it, which shows that Rauatai has no problems with people keeping history and culture alive. 2. She also mentions greatly improved infrastructure - granted, much of it is focused on Takowa, but that's to be expected. 3. She also emphasizes that she doesn't much care, because she's preoccupied with making sure she has enough cash to get by, which is the point I'm making - we are generally rich societies that can afford to worry about culture and history; much of Eora doesn't give two ****s because they're too focused on survival. 4. But still, she says that she's from Rauatai. Rauataian and Huana language are basically the same language. As for Sayuka, I have yet to explore it (sometimes documenting stuff goes slow), but it's a militarized outpost focusing on top secret research for the Empire, so it's a special case. Plus, I fail to see how that shows that Rauatai intends to destroy a culture maintained by ten million people. If a culture was predicated on condemning a broad segment of its population to ruthless exploitation, state murder, mass starvation, and only fed them scraps from the table in return - and as we see in Neketaka, it's sometimes not even scraps, but literal rotting trash - I'd have a hard time seeing them as ethically equal. But I guess I can't view ethically compromised practices endemic to a culture as bad because reasons ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Am I the only one who preferred to stare Benweth down, so that he knows who screwed him over big-time and have him sing Korezak's praises every time a Principi ship sailed into port?

I have yet to see evidence that this is the end goal of Rauatai. The Huana would have to adapt, yes, but I don't see anything even remotely like a Kulturkampf you imply. Yes, because you're ignoring the realities of the setting and not looking at it from the contemporary perspective. You're basically passing judgement on the past without so much as trying to put yourself in their position. This kind of moral hardlining is indefensible - as is you assuming a position of moral superiority. In fact, it's quite ironic that you're indirectly condemning Rauatai and Vailian culture as inferior in the way they are poised to conquer the Deadfire, ignoring the possibility that the conquest of Deadfire would bring about reforms for the RDC - and the elimination of storms plaguing Rauatai would fundamentally alter the empire's culture, while exposure to ten million Huana, who are their cousins by culture and origins, would inevitably bring about further change. The conquest of Greece by Rome did not destroy Greek culture, did it? Plus, you are ignoring the fact that all cultures change and evolve constantly, sometimes through exchange, sometimes through conquest. Would you cordon off the Deadfire and turn it into a Huana reservation? Because that's the impression I get. That was exactly my point. Descending into the Gullet was gut wrenching, as was experiencing "All Aboard". The Roparu aren't just the lower class: They're the slave class, buoyed only by the promise of being reincarnated to a higher one and suppressed by the concerted efforts of the Mataru and Kuaru. They're basically 1984 proles.

How long have you been playing Black Isle/Obsidian/Troika games? Because moral grayness is the defining feature of their games, even as far back as Fallout 1 and the baby steps taken by the devs in mature storytelling. Hell, a year later they've given us Fallout 2, which focuses on the conflict between New Reno, New California Republic, and Vault City for control of Northern California, where no side is clean and righteous. Even the NCR, ostensibly the morally upstanding side, is in cahoots with the Bishops of New Reno to force Vault City into submission and coerce them into accepting NCR's military occupation, while the expansion towards Vault 15 to vindicate Tandi's policies includes the option to torture a hapless prisoner for information. So PoE2 is the usual fare for Obsidian.

Every game released since the toilet back-up called Gamergate happened? Except for Hatred, and that flared up on release and then died, because games catering to Gamergaters don't do well long-term.

Can someone please explain to this cat where in hell do they get that impression from? Because from where I'm standing, outside her accent, Xoti is a mature woman with an impossible task placed on her shoulders. Maybe it's the sense of humor?

While I generally like your posts, this stood out to me: You are adopting a very modern approach, where the study of history is popular (if underappreciated) and access to knowledge is easy, completely ignoring the fact that Eora is at a different point in time. Most people won't remember or care for what was before regardless of whose flag flies over the ramparts of the local castle, because they're preoccupied with survival: Subsistence farming, back-breaking labor, and so on and so forth. Hell, the Huana can barely cobble together a version of their history that isn't 95% myth because of a lack of written sources. Rauatai might actually reinvigorate researhc, since that's where they all originate from. The Huana caste system is certainly terrifyingly regressive and lacks anything even remotely resembling humanity, but that's just me, I guess, being condescending and conceited to a culture that arbitrarily sentences entire populations to exploitation and starvation. Rauatai is an empire like the British Empire, news at 11.

Well, that and five years isn't a short span of time. Eder's been working as a mayor/kind of drifting, Pallegina was either stuck as a drifter or doing palace duty, and Aloth was traveling far and wide. I like to think that they all get those top level skills because they're at peak performance with the Watcher and boosted by their soul. Without that, well, they lose the edge.

Protip: You can't divide your sister into percentages - and a lunch isn't actually a date. Seriously though, this is yet another in a line of cringeworthy "I can't stand wimmenz not being subservient to men" reviews here. I think it's testament to Obsidian's talent at making people think - even if much of that thought is wasted on writing reactionary rants on the forums.

I thought orlands were supposed to be cat people by design?

That's why she's a monk.

Or maybe Mirke just shaves.

As the OP shows, yes, yes they can be. There's also Gamergate, the ridiculous "uproar" over women in Battlefield, the predictable whining whenever a game doesn't cater exclusively to white boys and the constant hilariously ineffective attempts to force developers to continue developing 99% of games for that demographic, instead of spreading out and developing just 95% of them... What's even more ridiculous is that by any definition, Obsidian's games have always been SJW games. Literally none of them are reactionary in themes, writing, or other types of execution.