Nonek

DM boot camp? YOU CALL THAT AN INTRIGUING QUEST HOOK MAGGOT? DROP AND GIVE ME D20! Show me your Waaagh-face maggot. WAAAGH! Outstanding!

If not implemented in the travel system what about an annotated map in ones stronghold/house, perhaps even maintained by a well travelled cartographer? Click on the map and one may discern clues or rumours pertaining to the pertinent location, according to a skill or stat? I always liked the maps of Ultima Underworld personally.

Personally I don't particularly care what characters look like so much, more what they do and how their character is portrayed, if a character is pro-active, intelligent, self motivated and driven with an understandable and logical motive then i'm more likely to empathise with the individual. I only really object to clothing and vulgar displays of sexualisation when they ring false, for instance when the character is involved in heavy and repetitive melee they should wear armour or be dead or hideously scarred and inactive for long periods of time convalescing. Or for instance if a character wears impractical clothing in cold climates, they should obviously spend most of their time passing out from hypothermia or losing blackened body parts. For instance Marcus Fenix's bare arms have always sparked a dissonance in me, or the bare head of Captain Titus in Space Marine, though after his acquisition of the Iron Halo that is not so much of a problem. Personally i'd have just had him clip his helm on to his belt during cutscenes, or simply hold it in the crook of his arm Diablo 1 style. As for stifling the variety of protagonist's and npc's or making them adhere to a set list of commonly percieved (not correct by any means) politically correct limitations, then i'm against it. Obviously form follows function in terms of armour and armaments, but stylisation has its place as well, and what i'm more against is the vanilla, dull and tired representation of every aspect in gaming. From the dark haired and blue eyed caucasian protagonist with some amount of facial hair (always pretty) whom is simply an unquestioning unmotivated janitor for higher powers, to the blunt, crude and demeaning adulation with which he is invariably treated no matter his deeds by all and sundry.

Wonder if we'll get sneaking animations, or whether it's too late to implement. Personally I found the animations they added to NWN2 in some patch or other were quite pleasing, very atmospheric. Edit: On further reflection I suppose one could merge a pose of readiness and wariness with a sneaking animations, if these are implemented. Shield raised, sword readied along with a slow purposeful gait etcetera.

Who is Amber, and how did she hear nakedness? I've seen it but never heard it. Jokes supplied by Shoreditch Graveyard, please rebury once used.

Point of fact I don't really know, I assumed that it would be since the game is catered for the players of the IE games, but Mr Sawyer may have other plans.

I think that's fair, and certainly the enormous usefulness of web, hold person and all of the various Druid spells in Icewind Dale (for instance) is one way to go. There's an enormous amount of satisfaction in a well made plan being executed, and the success being solely down to your own tactics, though one could argue that good preparation is a valid part of those tactics. But yes such warding might be a little too easy. Edit: Perhaps this kind of warding might only be applied to the Wizards own Arcane Veil to protect himself?

Reading about the confirmed attributes and one thing struck me about spell AOE, what if the Wizard who manipulates the damage can mitigate its effects on his companions? One assumes that the Caster is in control of his creation, or else how can he shape and direct it, so why not have him proof his companions against these effects? Obviously there should be a price for this, as a matter of strategy and balance, perhaps a daily or per encounter ability is burned up in the casting of these wards. Would this totally unbalance the game, and destroy the usefulness of various protection spells, or would the fact that it is only the allied Caster's spells that are warded against and it does not affect the enemies spellcasting one jot make it more palatable? Well ladies and gentlemen, is this heretical thought crime that eliminates careful tactical play or careful preparation by wise players and blessed by He On Earth?

Rogues were introduced in 2nd edition AD&D weren't they? Or was that the group term for both Thieves and Bards, I forget.

So you can't backstab people and you can't steal from them except in scripted sequences? Great. Well, you can backstab, but you won't be stealthed while you do it. I suppose they could implement some sort of short detection delay so you can try to run in for the stab before you turn visible. Just so long as we don't have the hideous teleport behind an enemy as was used in DA2 i'll be happy, but more and more the Rogue is sounding like just another form of (albeit more skilled with weapons and armour) Fighter, I still think the chap should be renamed to reflect this.

Ah my mistake.

Godlike race and Cipher class sounds like what you're looking for, they're the Spellswords of Poe. Edit: Check out their update for yourself Mr Cybus: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/64452-update-65-ciphers/

Ah well thank you for the information Infinitron, a pity to abandon such a great mechanic from literature and film, but there you are one can't have everything.

Personally i'm in favour of fine witticisms, ribaldry and the cut and thrust of barbed and subtle wordplay. Not so much a fan of the broad squeeing humour that one finds in most games of the current period, it quickly grows tiresome. I thought the introduction of Gannayev was very well done for instance, while intensely disliking Veronica's constant cutesy cries for attention, and that painfully nasal whine. I prefer the deeper characters rather than the endless repetition of desperate one liners.

Erm, sorry to ask but how do I go about sneaking up and slitting opponents throats (cosh, hamstring, slit femoral artery etcetera) do their backs have to be turned for us to avoid their detection circles? Or do we have to use disguises and such in scripted sequences, similar to Torment's Dustmen robes and Zombie facade?

I would pick up Expeditions: Conquistador if I were you Mr Miyagi, I believe the funding lay around the eighty thousand mark and the game they've made is absolutely stunning, somewhat like King of Dragon Pass in implementation. I was very satisfied with it, though obviously opinions vary.

Is that the one where the mountainous body of a dead god divides the gameworld? Looks more Darksider's than Dark Soul's from what i've seen so far, but I agree Thomas Gop makes it worth keeping an ear open for news.

I'm happy with them, but I was happy with the older iteration as well and foresee no problems playing with either. Of course they're not ideal, but unless you design your own system nothing is, and they certainly beat 2nd edition AD&D. For instance I can't see the sense in physical might governing spell damage, but it's not something that will unduly phase me.

Given that time is linked to space and space did not start its expansion 'til the advent of the big bang, and therefore there was no time as we know it before the big bang...would you like a toasted teacake?

Great update, much appreciated ladies and gentlemen. One question springs to mind, is that pillar of rock in the midst of the Engwithan ruin one of the much discussed pillars of Adra? If so was the structure built around it, or was the pillar added later, and are there any skills that could let our characters guess at this? An archaeology skill and the character who pursues it might be extremely interesting given the complexity of the setting.

I'm all for diminishing the tyranny of loot, however I recognise that there are a lot of people raised on Diablo clones whom expect drops every five minutes, and view this as an important part of their character progression. Personally i think that it de-values any item you currently possess but i'm definitely in a minority, and there was a lot of vendor trash in the IE games, so I can see Poe having a similar amount.

Wow the narrative beats the Witcher 2's? I must get this game, very few companies providing decent writing anymore and it's something I like, thank you for the recoommendation Mr Hunter.

Ha yes I remember falling for that in Dragon's Eye, the Eldath chaps if I remember correctly.

I don't think there's anything wrong with finding somewhere to rest in an old disused and massive dungeon, similar to how the Fellowship rested on their travels through Moria, though I would take precautions such as casting illusions, locking doors, setting up traps and alarms etcetera. Or try and find some secret area thick with the dust of centuries of disuse, and close the doors behind you, making sure that any patrols are not aware of your presence. Obviously this won't work in the typical modern dungeon which is just a straight corridor to the exit, filled with monsters waiting for you to slaughter them, but from what we've seen Poe's dungeons will be a little more labyrinthine. As for loot i can see three ways out, one being an extraplanar merchant such as you have in Jade Empire, but that seems far more of a Torment-ish solution and oddly dissonant with what we've so far heard of Poe. The second being the unlimited stash that was spoken of early on in the campaign, which is not usable until you've unpacked your packs and dug it back up. The third is to simply make the player choose what he takes and have to leave the rest to disappear as we all did in BG 1&2. Edit: Nym and his backstory were one of the most interesting elements of IWD, great stuff.

Strange to mention the venom of the Wyvern as a negative factor, by that point in the game Slow Poison had become one of my most used spells and the recent addition of a Bhaalspawn power aping it was very welcome. Not because I knew of the Wyverns, but because of Hobgoblin arrows being such a lethal problem, thus when entering the Cloakwood I was unwittingly forearmed with both spells and potions. Though in truth when entering a forest I will usually memorise appropriate spells, such as Charm Animal, just like one always prepares for Graveyards and Tombs with Undead specific spells. I don't judge this as anything but sensible preparation, though it helps when there's an appropriate and logical hint given as to what you will encounter.