Nonek

Dear Lord, i'm somewhat glad Ian Curtis's not around to see that abomination. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkZz_Jqqu9E

I thought the differing philosophies, their factions and the disparate echelons of class and abode in Torment were brilliant representations of what i'm looking for in Eternity. Much like in New Vegas, though not upon a war torn borderland where naturally the general opinion of the opposing side is excessively negative. Either of those approaches is fine, but hopefully dealt with in more detail. Baldurs Gate 2 not so much, it was a little too undefined and consequenceless, for me at least. Totally agree that the preaching and blatant moralising of Biowares approach is distasteful, but I think nobody at Obsidian would try to make such an un-subtle message, in most of their games they seem to pose the questions rather than enforce their own answers.

But W40K isn't necessarily about grimdark. Sorry didn't see this response old boy. I would agree with the article on everything but the seperation of those three forms, for instance in a good game of Dark Heresy or Rogue Trader one can find all three flavours stirred into the mix. The Imperial Guard for instance has a good level of humour and the total war themes, while the Adeptus Astartes mix bombastic total war and utter grimdark into their appearances, and even when ravaging planets and commiting atrocities there is still a certain humour to the Ork Waaagh. I would also argue that even though the 40k universe can intersperse its grimdark themes and totalitarianism with humour, it's not the Bioware form of humour, or not to my mind anyway. A very good analytical article however. Edit: The Emperors Children illustration seems a little weak for the chosen sons of Slaanesh, I always pictured them as far more deviant and disturbing than that. More like Kroenen from Hellboy perhaps, with various appendage mutations for the violating of brothers and enemies.

Wh...what the devil happened here?

Ever play D&D? It's the default assumption for how human societies are different from other races. From the pathfinder core rules book: Ah thank you, I haven't as a point of fact played any D&D (let alone Pathfinder) except in crpg's, I DM'd 1st and 2nd edition AD&D before pioneering my own ruleset free of the more irritating aspects of the TSR behemoth, but that description was non existent in my day. Once again much obliged.

Been done dozens of times and not once has it ever worked. We have so little understanding of the moving parts of the human mind and how it affects society that it's utterly impossible for anyone to make a reasonable argument as to which changes to our psychology would lead to what social consequences: It always comes down to "because the author said so." Functionally, "limited lifespans makes humans more driven and ambitious, so they win at everything" is no better for verisimilitude than "I like humans the best, so they win at everything." The real problem, as it often is in worldbuilding, is that you're starting with nonsense and trying to rationalize it. When you run into nonsense with your story, you throw that part out and start over, not cram in more nonsense to cover it up. I was unaware of other properties having dealt with this subject Ms Micamo, would you kindly point out a few for study as i'm ignorant on the subject. Personally I would think anyone wanting an idealised version of humanity would look more to the elves, pretty, conceited, preachy and self assured in their supposed intellectual and emotional dominance. Obviously yes the whole race is as you say nonsensical and over idealised and to my mind should be discarded along with all other fantastical races, but they are included here and so must have some reasoning applied to them, rather than handwaving away the impact of their existence and relationship with every other race or species. Edit: My intent is not to provide a reasoning for humanity "winning" all the time, merely to highlight a difference between the races. Centuries of extended lifespan would surely have an effect on a race, and i'd like to see that examined. I do not in particular care whom the dominant race and culture will be in Eternity, as I plan to play as a pariah uninterested in such things.

The fear of death driving us? Our limited lifespan is a boon to ambition, while the elder races have the luxury of time on their side, and thus less drive? Could be considered an interesting culture clash, in the Knight of Swords the Vadhagh are amazed that the species of Mabden have evolved so quickly from the ape like creatures they studied a few centuries passed.

Yes, a rather nice penalty to go with the obvious bonuses, and how quickly will adulation turn to hatred in the fickle hearts of the men and women who pursue the beautiful protagonist, on the strength of their looks alone. With enough charisma and cunning added to this beauty, one can imagine even crude approaches being turned to the protagonists advantage however, so that the character can play as a believable manipulator and leader of men. I forgot, didn't Josh mention the possibility of prejudice based on the strength of an individuals soul. That's a whole other aspect to this debate, when dislike and hatred goes beyond the merely physical, to embrace the metaphysical and perhaps "true" core of a person. Wonder how that could play out. Edit: Thinking about it further, if a soul is born into both female and male bodies throughout the wheel of rebirth, could this be a legitimate way of discarding sexism in the setting? Or would the flawed nature of humanity look only to the short term flesh, and what is before them?

Hear hear, personally I plan to play as an ugly Godlike Cipher, with foul body odour, halitosis, salty language, crude mannerisms and utterly hideous facial and body deformity. I look forward to being despised and reviled in equal measures, a good disguise for my fearsome mental powers. I don't want a Dragon Age situation where everybody treats you as the second coming of Christ, no matter what you look like, such blatant power fantasies are as you say clumsy and make for a boring, lifeless setting and protagonist. As i've said before a modern day renaissance fayre, rather than a nicely fleshed out believable world. Here's a thought for those who don't want anything but adulation from all and sundry and never want to face any kind of hostility or prejudice, invest in a beauty statistic if one has it. It worked in Arcanum, get your beauty high enough and even the usual stuck up elf would adore your half orc character. Plus a lot of people always craft pretty characters for whatever reason, maybe as a break from the mediocrity of their own appearances, so reflect that in a statistical fashion. Just a thought.

Quite a few of the pre-eminent powers on Earth have been naval ones however.

One of my oldest pen and paper settings had the dwarven people, long ago having formed communities on the surface, rise up to form an empire somewhat similar to Rome. Their low birth rate also made their womenfolk extremely valuable to them, and thus the natural leaders of the empire, whom it was forbidden by tradition and law to kill or even injure. Quite an interesting setting, had humans slowly evolving in their prehistoric wald, elves were weird former celestials and orcs an experiment of theirs gone awry. Could be worse titles, I mean "honourary elf" that's war talk. I would say the verisimilitude of the setting benefits from a sysytem that identifies and reacts to your sex, race and most importantly by the sounds of Eternity culture. One imagines that the Vaillians view the residents of the Dyrwood with contempt, bordering on hatred after the Saint Waidwen incident.

Speaking as a gentleman who's fast approaching his half century, I can say with some authority that i'm much stronger than I was as an eighteen year old or at any time previously. I can lift far more at the gym, however I will admit that my agility and puff on the rugger field have begun to suffer somewhat lately. That said I rarely become sick having experienced just about every flu and cold that are apt to arise on ocassion, especially while raising my little ones. Mentally i'm not in a position to judge, though I do think my experience has given me a little more tact and a somewhat more open minded approach. The problems we associate with old age now are often synonymous with a more sedentary lifestyle, something that would not have troubled our medieval ancestors. They obviously had a poorer diet, more wear and tear on their joints and bones, and less of an immune system but sources seem to indicate that they were on average extremely good workers and tough as old boots. Studies on agricultural work from a few centuries passed paint an astounding picture of what a farmer was able to accomplish by hand, this intensive labour probably led to a rather quicker frame of dotage and death, especially when judged next to our current retirement spans. Edit: Personally I plan to play a much younger gentleman in any event, and one assumes that the game will only cover the usual brief timescale of a few weeks or months, however the thought of a Druss the Legend character is rather appealing.

It doesn't sound like the monk is going to be one of the main damage dealers, but rather have a lot of interesting effects and spectacular abilities made possible by the enemies aggression, using their own strnegth against them if you will. With barbarian I can only think of massive damage to the foe and himself, a berserk who feels no pain, while dishing out massive damage because of his undisciplined rage. The differences are subtle but there, to me anyway. I can understand how you want a different mechanic, and if you find this egregious keep campaigning for a change. It could be worse however, look at the situation in Dragon Age 2 where my warrior with an enormous sword is being out damaged by a six stone pirate stripper, weilding a pair of butter knives. Whoever thought that would be a good idea needs a lesson in basic physics, and a vigorous bout of fisticuffs to the ears.

If Icewind Dale 3 had come out i'm pretty sure Orrick the Grey would have cast a Mythal over Kuldahar, seem to be clues to that outcome all around. One assumes to save it from Belhifet or some other baneful presence.

The Beowulf recitation reminded me of Ganga Hrolf's little recitation the other day on Vikings, seems much more suited to a battlefield situation:

I've got to disagree, I think elves should be roundly chastised by all and sundry on general principle.

There are so many good and well reasoned arguments inherent in the question that I for one cannot really answer. This is escapism, and i'm sure some women wish to play strong characters who are not subjected to this kind of behaviour, as a break from their percieved gender roles. A bit of a harmless power fantasy. Then you have the verisimilitude of the setting to think of, which I for one hold to be very important lest it come across as a renaissance fayre sim, but if there are good and logical reasons for the absence of such attitudes then I don't really mind. Then again you could have such a flawed, realistic world, and the upsetting of these prejudices be an integral part of the experience, so that you are playing a Brienne of Tarth role and bucking the established roles, and also highlighting your characters uniqueness. Personally i've often liked playing an underdog, an ogre or half orc in Arcanum, a casteless Dwarf in Origins, the mutant freak Geralt in the Witcher games etcetera. Proving myself through deeds and defying the established status quo, taking a bloody minded enjoyment in my pariah position. I can however understand that a lot of people will opt for the much safer archetypes, and expect to face no challenges or any kind of negative reaction. For me that presents a rather dull and unbelievable world, but they may prefer that such issues are not included or even acknowledged as existing in a medieval fantasy. It's a thorny subject to be sure.

In the grim darkness of the near future you too will believe that a superhuman space marine can squee. Got nothing against Bioware, but they really can't do grimdark. They should stick to adolescent romances, binary moralities, playing dress up with avatars, blatant protagonist power fantasies, the hamfisted cutesy and snarky dialogue and their illogical plotlines. Like we get in the enjoyable Mass Effects, Dragon Ages and has always been in Star Wars. Silly, safe fun, with no real meaning or depth. Oh and the obligatory pandering to the LFHPRCIM community, in case of a bad reception in which case they can blame homophobes. 40k has allready got Matt Ward desperately trying to destroy it, it doesn't really need Bioware trying to do that as well.

In Divine Divinity they had a nice couple of scabbards on the hip, one for straight swords and the other for curved. Also you'd be asked to sheathe your weapon if talking to somebody, which seems sensible. Small axes and maces were carried on a belt loop, while the bigger weapons were carried on the back. Thought that was an eminently sensible way to go about it, but Lephys' suggestion is also very clever. I would argue however that when entering a dungeon I want my weapons out, shield raised, wizards grimoire hefted and all eyes peeled.

I wish I was 8 -10 years old again. Sorry my opinion riled you so Ulquiorra, I thought you were on the same page that having more control over your party and situations is a good thing. However I can see you're rather fanatical about Origins so i'll not denigrate the game any more.

I agree Ulquiorra control was far superior in the Infinity engine games, where you could quickly and efficiently manage the rag dolls yourself. Far superior to the broken threat mechanics of Origins.

I enjoyed Origins combat from an aesthetic standpoint, but the Benny Hill style chases after the undead at the Siege of Redcliffe village didn't exactly endear the broken control system to me. Nor did my allies happily jumping into the flames outside the windmill. I'll take Icewind Dales combat control scheme anytime over that. Also why did I have to buy tactics slots, surely these should have been free AI behaviours like in the Infinity Engine games.

Restarted a stalled playthrough of Icewind Dale 2, the atmosphere conjured through the graphics, music and quests is rather enchanting. I've just gotten to the watchtower area, to the west of Kuldahar, and it's rather heartening to see all of these throwbacks to the original game. Never got this far before, I quit after the endless slog through the underdark, a place i've never been particularly fond of.

I just realised where I got the name of the Null monster I designed in that thread, sorry about that. That bloody woman looks like a very strong concept, be interested to hear the lore behind her once it's worked out. Personally I don't mind if you gents release an update once every fortnight regularly, the anticipation is quite pleasant.

Yes it's more than possible that i'm asking for too much importance to be placed on the stronghold, and its implementation into the gameworld. Maybe got a touch carried away in the old stream of consciousness. Then again there might be a legitimate reason for the strongholds isolation, a secret fortress hidden away in the hinterlands, or obfuscated in even weirder circumstances. Perhaps a cipher lords long lost tower, that the passing city folk cannot see, as its masters glamour still hides it from their vision.