Nonek

What the hell is that word you all keep using?

In an old pen and paper campaign I once had a waxed parchment letter delivered to the players in an obscure tongue, they passed it around until the dwarf character (the dumbest party member) finally recognised the language as an obscure dialect of gnomish saying: "I hope the poison takes a few of you bastards." The contact poison that was smeared on the letter killed two of them and fairly much incapacitated everyone but the dwarf, because of his poison resistance. This really blew the wind out of the parties sails, and left them in no doubt that however strong they were both vulnerable and not quite as clever as they thought. I'm in favour of what you suggest along with diseases and infectious wounds, they can be as effective as the worst of monsters in the hands of a good DM. And make a truly potent, smart protagonist if a touch ruthless.

Yeah i'm in favour of content being witheld for certain actions, that way we can take those alternate routes the next game replay, something like the Roche/Iorveth routes in the Witcher 2. Where the game reacts to our choices and shuts off certain avenues because of them, aids not just replay value but a sense of non linearity as well as choice and consequence. There of course should be enough downtime periods between these pivotal moments of course, creating good pacing. It would also be interesting if say for instance we were faced with a binary choice of quest, the antagonist chose to move on the goal we choose not to pursue. Thus we get a pro active enemy, who benefits from whatever resources we chose not to and is suitably strengthened thereby.

Might it be possible for stealth to have its own routes in game? Sealed off areas that can only be accessed by a lone rogue, the thieves highway so to speak, which you must reach through climbing walls or making a sign and a donation to the local guildsman, a toothless beggar or hard eyed orphan. Say for instance your party is hoping to cross Executioners square to enter the palace of Vlad the Impotent, unfortunately the square has crossbowmen guarding it who will raise the alarm summoning a host of the royal Rottweilers. Your thief climbs a wall, thus entering the sealed off veranda where the crossbowmen idle, using stealth he could attempt to assassinate each one, but with the risk of detection and a raised alarm (but a perfect distraction for the rest of the party) inherent in the attempt. Or perhaps he could mug a servant and then bring the crossbowmen their vittles suitably disguised, spiced up with a soporific or a venon.

Yeah Mr Sweets illustrations are..well...sweet. I like their detail and especially his representation of armoured ladies, they're stunning without resorting to the Frazetta style focus on the superior genetics. That said i'm sure Obsidian got some really talented artists allready on staff.

Well in NWN2 there was a rather good explanation for your being tied in to the main plot with the shard embedded in your heart, that and it's strongly hinted that Daeghun was the original hero of NWN, thus you were trained quite thoroughly in the tough harbourman way. That said I agree that many rpg's do fall into this rut of blatantly pandering to the players power fantasies, however Obsidian don't go overboard and usually present you as being no more than the right person present at the right time. It's the more juvenile games such as Biowares that make this cliche so uncomfortable and blatant, and thus so irksome when you think about it. That said they can be very fun.

Yeah it's been twenty years or so about time for a return, those simple routines of Ultima made the world the world seem a living breathing place, and thus far more important. I agree water closets should be in as well, though greyed out when doors are closed, and with caustic remarks for those who open them. This also necessitates that we should be able to sit and lie down when using beds, there was nothing so charming as sitting in the Blue Boar in Britannia, watching the life of the place just turn around you, before wandering home for a good nights sleep.

Always liked the NWN dance of death, made it seem that you were involved, rather than stood there performing a holmgang.

Blighty. Strange to see that there are so many european players, i'd heard somewhere that Obsidian games got a much better reception in europe, think it was specifically mentioning Alpha Protocol. That may be just the press however.

Isn't the fact that the companion has agreed to accompany the player and accept their leadership a type of ego stroking, in and of itself. For instance Roche and Iorveth, may accompany the player at various points in the Witcher 2 but in now way are they subordinate to Geralt, their paths and goals have just happened to collide. In a way this is a far more realistic implementation than the traditional party mechanic. That being said the mechanic presented in both Torment, Kotor 2 and Dead Money to explain this subjugation of free will was logical and didn't diminish the companions in too great a fashion. Indeed Kreia still emerges as the most principled of individuals in the whole Star Wars universe. But looking at the characters of Dead Money for instance (especially Dean Domino) would they have ever accepted to even accompany the Courier if not for Elijahs forced co-operation.

An Obsidian one.

Few more possibilities discussed earlier: http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/60111-rest-injuries-and-recuperation/?do=findComment&comment=1188190

"We must be bound to one another then," Elric murmured despairingly. "Bound by hell-forged chains and fate-haunted circumstance. Well, then--let it be thus so--and men will have cause to tremble and flee when they hear the names of Elric of Melinbone and Stormbringer, his sword. We are two of a kind--produced by an age which has deserted us. Let us give this age cause to hate us!” With the impotance of souls in this setting such a dreadful weapon would be horror incarnate, severing the screaming essence of all it is set against, the sound of its scraping steel as it is pulled from the sheath echoing with the cry of a thousand devoured souls. To weild such a thing would invite madness or doom.

No.

Worth getting the Icewind Dale games just for the soundtracks.

TOEE did it well, in my opinion.

If it is formed of flesh then the scripture of steel mandates that my blade may master it, steel is stronger than flesh. Whether that means that I must hack away the scales of the thing to reveal the beating heart, or prioritise the creatures eyes or gaping maw to reach its brain. My steel should not be useless unless the creature is incorporeal, in which case I will need the blessings of faith, the fury of my awakened soul or the enchantments of a mage born to lay it low.

Ah thank you, that must be it.

Harsh language. What film is it where the big bads doing his expository menacing only to be blown away mid gloat by a six shooter? It's seriously swiss cheesing my noodle trying to remember.

This sounds great.

Personally i'd prefer that the art told us whether they were dangerous or not, if you see a massive Ogre ripping a knight in half, with the corpses of a dozen others around him then you don't really need any indicator of his threat level. However traits that let you gauge the danger of a monster, that sounds eminently workable, especially if you gain them through experience or a background perk.

Obviously they should be included in the setting, it would be far less rich without them. Greek culture virtually gave birth to advanced mathematics and philosophy, history would be majorly different and poorer without them. That said they should be represented equally so that along with Spartan heroics we also get a culture that performed state sponsored pederasty and slavery. There's no simplified and blatant good or bad moral lectures being performed.

Wounded and hence slower moving characters might factor into a planned escape as well, or those burdened down with the loot. Though a cutscene might be a good way to start such a scene (a thousand undead turning their unliving eyes upon you as you stumble upon their lair,) I agree that the actual act of escaping should be left as gameplay, because gameplay trumps all. If you've been smart and scouted ahead with your rogue, you should have the ability to be either forewarned or find away around the danger as well. But with the threat of it still lingering as you press on.

I'm a moderate in all things, but i've got to agree this is getting a bit much.

Ensure some funny let's plays with plenty of vented spleen.