Monte Carlo

^ At least both options involved a little bit of fighting in tunnels. And we learn that Di is a snitch.

OK, I've played this game more or less to death, am about to finish my second full game with my rogue. My last game before I give it a rest for a bit will be on hard for everything for a challenge. I'll play a warrior, am tempted to go 2H but will I find it too frustrating? For the hard game I'm happy to re-spec some of the NPCs, for example I'm tempted to make Sten a dual-wielder or sword and board for example. I also played all the way through the mage origin... what happens if

^ Yes. In tunnels.

One of the most awesome things about the Grey Wardens, seriously, is that when it's time for them to hang up their boots they go and... fight in tunnels. :: swoon :: Although that is completely ripped off from the 'Long Walk' the Mega-City Judges took into the Cursed Earth (2000AD / Judge Dredd), 'tis still most cool.

^ Yeah, been wanting to play it for ages.

NPC Dwarf to <CHARNAME> "Welcome to the tunnels adventurer" <CHARNAME> "Why am I here?" NPC Dwarf "To fight. Lots." --- :: Wipes sweat from brow, puts down quill :: My work here is done.

Installed Titan Quest today - yeah, Diablo clone but with a really interesting skill tree. very annoying inventory (tiny) but I like the graphics and the whole mythical Greek vibe. No tutorial - but lots of in-game help and elegant GUI - I think it'll be lots of fun.

^ It would've been when we were on the old BIS boards I suppose. I am currently doing the writing (only) for a DA mod. Compartmentalising the work seems to me, as an amateur, to be a good thing. I mean, all I do is write and let the technical guys make it happen. As long as you take their criticism and advice on the chin (I can't code that... that idea would work better with this feature... let me worry about the character scripting, you just write dialogue) then it's a pretty enjoyable process. My complete lack of technical knowledge is a bonus - I don't have any strong views on the programming because I wouldn't be able to do it myself anyhow. What Volo did, like lots of modders, is do it all yourself - you lose perspective I guess. Anyhow, back to the topic and sorry for the temporary derailment down Ye Olde Time Tunnel

^ Many many moons ago Volo sent me a beta of his NWN1 mod to take a look at (remember, Vol?). I call it as I see it - it was pretty good fun. Cheers MC

^ Hey I glad you liked it, I might get the sequel but I've got too many games and not enough time.

I really wanted Titan Quest + Expansion. A download would have cost me UK

Actually got rid of it, felt guilty of bandwidth theft.

BTW, my new sig is teh awesome, coming as it does from the 1st Ed. AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. Gary Gygax had every base covered when it came to tables.

^ I'm siding with the werewolves next time - they're cooler and, despite having a genuine greivance, moan less about it.

^ Yep, our Elric-inspired Elf discovers that The Blight is actually accelerated by Elven High Blood Mages who want Utter Revenge on the teeming, fast-breeding human untermensch who so thoroughly humiliated them all those aeons ago, which in elf time is only the Friday before last. Elves as Lawful Evil Nazis is so on the money it hurts. Elric-inspired Elf falls foul of elf stuff on a mission to Ferelden and (oh the irony) is recruited into the Grey Wardens. Then he heads back to Elf Tower On an Island to lead the GreY Warden strike force to take the place down. Epic. What did we get? Some eejits sitting around a camp fire feeling sorry for themselves. Discuss.

^ Another epic fail for DA elves is their appearance. NWN2 OTOH is an epic win - you can make some seriously Area 51 looking elves, which in my mind's eye is how they should look: alien, not-human, different.

^ Yeah, agree with the Divine Divinity / Ultima comparison. FWIW, I liked DD a lot. It's charming, quirky and old-skool. I could think of far worse gaming ways of killing a cold winter evening in front of the 'puter with a bottle of claret.

:: Gives up ::

D2 is also one of my favourite games, 'tis teh awesome. Put it like this, if Bio released a special 10th anniversay BG2 patch to (a) reward the faithful and (b) publicise a forthcoming linked title I'd be extremely impressed. Blizzard are simply doing the same, Diablo is an iconic franchise and little gestures like this are super-cool as far as this call-sign is concerned. Cheers MC

Speaketh Volourn, spokesperson for the human race. Try to put aside, for a moment, your bizarro logic and answer me this: Why did Bio do such a good job of taking a staple fantasy trope (dwarves) and giving it an original twist yet fail so miserably with elves? Forget the "that's how they should be." How shouldn't they be? Please, prove me wrong that it's not worth discussing anything with you.

^ That's what I mean, I get them in airdrops for free but I'm using lots of airdrops. For 200 munitions you can do a air recce / strafing run combo that can really ruin the day of crewed enemy weapons, especially werfers. My record is a clear three crew werfer wipeout, although you don't destroy the arty piece, just the crewmen.

^ Zevran is an elf, although DA elves are just slim humans with slightly pointy ears. So you could be forgiven for not noticing.

^ I know it's pointless discussing anything with Volourn, but where do his definition of vanilla fantasy tropes actually come from? Elves were, in many cultures, fairly sinister creatures. As were most fae or nature spirits. They could curse you, steal your young, poision the water... they were the original turnip ghost in many stories along with goblins and any other number of folktale critters. Vol's elves and dwarves seem to be solely from LotR filtered through Ed Greenwood. :: shrugs :: Look at Elric of Melnibone if you want to see how a genuinely imaginative mind envisioned 'elves' .... i.e. a highly intelligent, ancient race blessed with millenia long lifespans and access to magic become amoral, cruel, introspective and insanely powerful. Not in decline, just experiencing ennui. I get it that Bio wanted and probably needed traditional fantasy races in DA. No problem. And I get it that they needed to give them a twist and with the dwarves I think by and large it worked, Orzammar and the originis / lore are a labour of love. But the elves are a genuine disappointment. They should have been extremely insular, maybe like an organised criminal group, demanded outrageous blood sacrifice for their support and dabbled in all sorts of forbidden stuff. Not sitting around in their caravans feeling sorry for themselves. Cheers MC

The para inf squad costs 375 MP. You can drop them anywhere on the map, they can be 'pumped up' a bit like rangers and they can hurl satchel charges for 50 munitions. Equipping them with RRs costs 125 munitions. Two squads will easily take out a panther quickly, especially if they immobilize it and start throwing satchel charges. They are difficult to suppress when pumped up. They ain't rangers or sumper-infantry, but they are fast, durable infantry that punch above their weight. Ostensibly the airborne look the most fragile of the three companies - no calliopes, rangers, pershings or howitzers (in fact airborne's reliance on air support late in the tech tree is a big weakness, I find myself building mortars a lot). However, used skilfully the fact is you don't really need a support company or infantry barracks and can squirt tanks out hellish quick.

1. Enoch thanks for linking to what is an extremely amusing thread. 2. Grom, interesting and it depends on where you come from but from my cultural POV I thought Dalish = Balkan disposessed. Mournful and sort of stoic... I didn't think Native American because they fought their own badass wars and stuck it to The Man a bit more. But I can easily see why North Americans see it that way. 3. Have spent the last 3/4 hour doing the Dwarf Noble origin with my new 2H warrior. It's very impressive as an opening to a game for setting the scene... and odd as a level one no-mark being grovelled to, having groupies hurl themselves at you and ordering people assassinated. Makes what happens later even more bitter and ironic. Kudos to Bioware for putting it in. 'Tis the best origin, bar none. Cheers MC