Nonek

Well it's easy to understand their viewpoint for me, play an old game like Ultima 7 and tot up everything you can do in that game and then compare it to Dragon Age : Origins. You're left with an unavoidable conclusion, except for the graphic options and how pretty you can make your avatar (and sometimes combat,) games have been devolving in almost every way since the late 90's. Too much aiming for the lowest common denominator has rendered them into simplified combat and conversation in corridor simulators, with no real life or complexity outside those two functions. Personally I feel that Metimans fear are unjustified, Mr Cain will give us a deep and strategical system as he (and Obsidian) has proved in their previous games, but I can empathise with the mans viewpoint.

To be honest I could never go back to D&D after I made my own system, too many little niggles with all manner of systems. Tried my hand at fourth edition and stopped after I could get no definitive answer from the DM as to what a "healing surge" actually was. It did seem more suited to computer play than pen and paper though, the first melee we engaged in dragged on seemingly forever, really clunky.

I've got to admit I was inspired by old Mr Tolkien, i've always dreamed of leading an adventuring party through the depths of a dwarrow such as Moria, it's enchanted me ever since I was a lad.

How the hell does all that fluff get in my navel.

I always find that the grimmer the setting, the more those little moments of fairy tale happiness stands out. Little acts of kindness and personal stories of redemption that shine through the bleak times and inspire the hero to continue his struggle.

Taxes, i'd like to see them implemented for once. We've got a little house in some city, then we're going to have to contribute to the public purse, the same as everybody else. Not only that but if we're travelling with full purses and bulging backpacks, we should expect to be taxed just as heavily as the wandering peddler who seeks entrance to a foreign city to sell his goods. Of course there's one sure way to avoid taxation, and that's to become part of the landed gentry, but that has its own drawbacks. Feudal nobility are excused taxes because they provide service to their feudal masters, in the form of military and economic aid. So if we are proud owners of that keep on the borderlands, then we can expect at some point to be called upon to serve king and country. If we fail to do so, well that's called treason and is punishable by death. This is not an option I can see many players liking, or the reality that those peasants working the fields from dawn 'til dusk are basically slaves under the protagonist armoured thumb.

Pack mule does sound like the most viable solution, best part of the Dungeon Siege game.

Always with the negative waves Metiman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuStsFW4EmQ

No potions and no scrolls preferably.

I remember having to buy furs and wrap up when you went north in the Serpent Isle, great idea.

Did you mean my old thread Osvir: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60111-rest-injuries-and-recuperation/?do=findComment&comment=1188190

Chin up old bean, he did say that nothing's finalised yet. Keep campaigning for a TOEE direction, personally I agree that it's yet to be exceeded.

I think what Mr Cain outlined was an eminently sensible compromise between vancian and modern mechanics, the small spells will I assume be trivial utilitarian things such as Ignus' basic attack, the arcane veil, knock, identify and such. The grimoires are I assume going to need preparation and memorisation, thus the draconian cooldown if you choose to switch your tome, and an emphasis on preparing the right set of spells for the enviroment you're venturing into. Personally i'd like the equivalent of D&D third level spells and onwards to be included in the grimoires, and their use to be limited by these cooldowns. The much higher level spells i'd personally prefer to be basically fire and forget, whether because of their innate complexity and soul shattering efficacy, or whatever reason sounds viable in the setting. I wonder, could there be a risk to excessive spell casting introduced? Something like the attraction of arcane predators, or maybe the creation of magical dead zones when too much energy is expanded in a single area. We're exerting our will upon reality, maybe at some point reality pushes back. Edit: The pet, one of those fluffy mutant purse dogs that bimbos carry, just in case one runs out of loo roll.

Pet peeve of mine with Dragon Age, you've got the mage faction campaigning for the freedom that nobody else in a feudal monarchy has, invalidates the entire conflict. But yes if it's set in a medieval period obviously one has to show a consistent portrait of that time, god spare us from the horrendous trope of happy peasants frollicking in the fields and forced modern sensibilities. Issues can still be dealt with, because the primary issues facing humanity never go away, but i'd like to role play as an inhabitant of Eternity not a modern Englishman/European/American what have you.

Bugger orchestra's let's get Earth, Wind and Fire!

Walking wounded, dragging the corpses of their compatriots trumps regenerating health anyday. I'd also make a ressurection a miraculous event however, that changes the character given a second chance at life. Maybe a feat unlocks for that character weakening their souls efficacy, or they find themselves beholden to the deity who granted them their twiceborn status. I wouldn't allow a second ressurection however: To lose one life may be considered to be a misfortune, to lose two must be attributed to carelessness.

As well as the spurning of steel I wouldn't mind if the monk character had to choose between certain schools of thought, philosophical ideals that he had to uphold within a playthrough. Such as a vow of non violence where he may only defend himself and never initiate combat, poverty where he must never have more than say ten gold coins upon his person or perhaps even silence where he uses sign language like Christine in Dead Money. Yes try that persuausion check now my good man, be an accomplishment all the sweeter if successful.

Personally I wouldn't identify myself with either group of individuals, however I do support a view that many would see as typical for a grognard, however for me it's simply a matter of logic. Modern RPG's appear to me to be devolving, stripping content and features with reckless abandon until they've almost become conversation and combat simulators in dull grey corridors or vast hiking simulators set in beatiful but shallow watercolours. I see no reason to support such games, i've bought a few and more than recieved my moneys worth, but still the Ultima's of twenty years past shamed them on so many levels that it's not even funny. The only company that seems to be challenging this trend is Obsidian, just look to New Vegas and Alpha Protocol for the proof, that's why I support this kickstarter.

Personally I don't like the core attributes (strength, dexterity, constitution etcetera) to rise that much after character creation, hopefully we're playing mature characters who have reached their optimal physical and mental limits. Of course there are always weird quirks that can serve to invest a character with additional potency, but i've always felt these should be harshly limited so that the characters has a more solid and defined base upon which to build. The problem I have with system such as the newer interpretations of D&D is that the constant advancement of a stat renders the beginning choice fairly moot, my half orc barbarian who began his career with twenty strength is a weakling compared to himself at thirtieth level, how has that happened? My own role play system used scores of 2d6 plus 3, giving a range of 5-15 with an average ability score of ten. Most tasks and challenges were resolved by attribute checks on a d20, meaning that the characters attributes were intrinsically valuable. There were racial modifications, but apart from the highest levels of magical interference (which always carried some dread price) the characters were bound by the limits of their own form. One thing that was good about the system however was that every point felt like a significantly different tier, to the lucky Shay whose fifteen dexterity was boosted to sixteen through the racial modifier any normal task of agility was trivialised. Multiclassing I don't really care about, i'd rather we have a wide range of skills available for every class but with significant penalties the further one travels from ones designated role. Thus you can have the fighter who knows a bit about lockpicking, thanks to a rakish youth, but that decision to broaden his skill base will cost him. Above all I don't want to be a master of everything, I want a clear role as either an expert of a select few skills or to be of middling ability with many. Personally i'd like something like that, but I trust Obsidian to deliver the goods whatever system they use.

Depends on whether there's a history of bardic recitals in the lands of Eternity, they could still use Mnemonikos for the passing down of folk tales and mythology, or have enough magical innovation to make the calling up of ancestor spirits and phantasmal players a viable form of theatrics. Bards just might not exist in Eternity.

Both, like in the Ultimas or New Vegas, don't see why we have to prioritise one over the other.

I think that it has got to be done from a philosophical standpoint, the monk rejects weapons, he spurns armour and insists that he should suffice whatever the situation. Perhaps a seeker of physical, mental and spiritual oneness, who strives for perfection in each aspect of his being. Personally i'd liked to see him with light armour or perhaps sensible stout peasant clothing, modest and unassuming so that he might seem like an ordinary individual.

For me this sounds as exciting as hell, if a cipher chooses not to be seen can he just erase his image from those he walks past, turn any coversation down the path he desires, blind with illusions of terror or pleasure of unimaginable detail, speak with souls and minds long dead, send opponents running with fear or even trap the enemy within a prison of their own mind. That's without the ability to turn his minds power on the physical world, with telekinesis he could be an unholy terror, crushing hearts and spines with a single glare of contempt. Perhaps he could even bind old souls into the tattered remains of their bodies and make them serve him, necromantic puppets dancing on his invisible strings.

Splendid update, really got the old imaginative juices flowing. So do wizards have to actually hold their grimoires in hand mid combat, or is it a matter of attuning their minds (and souls) to the pathways of knowledge presented within? Either way, sounds good to me. The lovecraftian derring do illustration really appeals, the monk has me unfeasibly interested.

I did like the tick tock rhythm playing throughout the "road to eternity" track, lent it a very ethereal air.