Nonek

Badges! We don't need no stinking badges!

Well hopefully some thought goes into the common folks situation, station, and predicament rather than the usual handwaving that is all too prevalant throughout CRPGs. It's all very well focusing on the elite, but food needs to be put on the table, taxes paid, trade conducted and all the real work of a civilisation be maintained by the masses as usual. Indeed I think one could make a very decent RPG out of something paralleiling Wat Tyler's revolt, and the changes that occurred after the Black Death ravaged Europe.

Fixed that for you, you're welcome.

Indeed and personally I regard exploring these settings from unusual viewpoints as a desirous thing, the only thing i'd be uncomfortable with is probably the established pederasty of the Spartan state, that would have to be handled extremely delicately and authentically to be done well. However i'd never say such a game should not be made, as i'm not a censorious person, nor do I think it will corrupt the supposedly ignorant masses. If I were too uncomfortable with it i'd simply not buy. However as I stated earlier, playing as strange and foreign, even alien characters is desirous to me personally. I still long to play an Ork RPG, from humble Boy to terrible Warlord, the dialogue itself would probably be enough to grant it a legendary status if it was on a Relic level.

I find playing a longer game simple, I play a couple of hours a night and repeat until complete. However I have found numerous short games satisfying, Fallout for instance, Alpha Protocol, Dungeon Siege 3, the Max Payne shooters, Space Marine etcetera. If a tight budget and timeframe interferes then i'd ideally want the detail and quality prioritised over larger areas replete with trash mobs, copy pasted loot and no real content.

Now that's evil!

What I think might be interesting to see would be the common folks reaction to the Evil Empire, so they have changed masters from the feudal nobles who worked them to an early grave and used divine right to secure their position, and now they are ruled by a conqueror who waded through rivers of blood (including some of their own no doubt) to claim rulership. Will they see any real difference, will their taxes change, will law and order be maintained, will they be able to make a living, will in the end tugging the forelock and lowering ones eyes to one armoured tyrant be so different from the old armoured tyrants? I would absolutely love to play the role of an administrator who is concerned with such matters, or maybe even risen from the commons and determined to give something back. Never mind the morality of the new lord, what can I do to expedite his rule, stabilise his realm, maintain peace, boost the economy and raise the standard of living for all by the quickest method possible. In other words make the realm strong and wealthy, for the sinews of warfare are wealth, but also benefit everyone at the same time. Edit: The Bastardborn sound quite interesting in the manner of the numerous Fitzwhatevers who were so influential in medieval history, to have a ruling class arise from the Bastardry sounds quite possible, and for them to glory in that name then is not so unusual. I look forward to seeing this implemented.

I've just finished the White Marches, an improvement in many ways, an acknowledgement of criticism and an unspoken promise to improve perhaps. Were all my peeves and criticism of vanilla Poe dealt with? No, but it does seem that Obsidian are aware of some of the weaknesses in the game, and trying to mitigate them. For those who were worn out by Poe i'd say wait a year and approach the expansions with fresh eyes, for those who liked it i'd say dive in.

I'd prefer GOG personally, I tend to avoid the hassles associated with logging in to Steam, having to authenticate my account, the advertisements and pop ups etc. Also I never understand why exactly they want a shipping address, even though I routinely use Sherlock Holme's residence, as I am not recieving any physical product from them. Edit: The service just seems to be overly nosy.

Runemaster has been shelved? How disappointing, still Expeditions: Vikings looks quite promising.

If hope were not the first step on the road to disappointment I would say that this may be the nearest game we'll ever get to roleplaying a W40k Inquisitor, however I wonder whether the devs or publishers will be able to push the boat out as far as i'd like it pushed? They have good form in this respect, playing a "practical" Michael Thornton was very satisfying, especially in the denouement with Leland, and their games have pulled no punches in other respects. It is a fact however that certain issues are not dealt with anymore such as were dealt with in Fallout for instance. What I found about those issues of extreme psycopathy and ruthlessness were the consequences, one is affixed with a label and hunted by a certain Mr Avellone, it allows such actions but makes no bones about what wasteland society thought of the participant. Another masterful use of choice and consequence in a game replete with it, and a brave design choice in and of itself. For instance could I roleplay as a Vlad the Impaler type of character, ruling with the necessary ruthlessness to hold his land together, while facing the backstabbing powermongers who would do anything to secure ones position. Can I impale twenty thousand and what would be the affects of this? Edit: Is anyone else reminded of the old Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings films introdcutory sequence at the beginning of the Tyranny trailer? Quite striking in my opinion.

Erm, Icewind Dale II does not have percentile strength, it uses 3rd edition rules friend. Do you mean the Heart of Winter expansion by any chance? Nice spot of necromancy by the way, six years is quite a span.

That may be the problem, i'm an older gentleman and modern collectors editions are what was standard when I was first entering into gaming, I still have a host of feelies, such as ankhs, cloth maps, artwork and whatnot. Which incidentally serve quite well as props in the pen and paper game. It is by no means my place to judge anothers purchases however, one is free to dabble in whatever they wish, and if satisfied with the purchase then it has been worth the price I suppose.

It depends really, SoD is in a rather unique position being an expansion on a mod for a fifteen year old game, so the terminology used is up for interpretation. Then again I call Exult and Lazarus for the Ultima series mods, I call NWN2 adventures mods as well such as the remakes of Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate 2, so the term seems fitting, as they too add to a base game as well as add new content. There seems very little difference to me between them and Beamdog's games. Edit: So no, just the ones that seem to be mods. Edit #2: I have nothing against mods, I have enjoyed quite a few and admire the quality and dedication enacted, I would say that Fallout needs Fixt for a playthrough now, the Black Gate and Serpent Isle are much better with Exult etcetera. Calling the game a mod is by no means a bad thing, unless one doesn't like mods for whatever reason.

It is a modification of an old game, the title fits in my opinion. I would call Trilogy, Tutu or any one of a host of other products using the IE engine mods as well, there's nothing detrimental in that title in my eyes, and I have enjoyed quite a few.

Personally I backed Poe at a higher level of donation because I wished to see what Obsidian could do when not pressed by a publishers demands, for that I recieved a new game, two expansions and a host of extras, approximately worth it I think. However I would never pay that much for a modification of a fifteen year old game, collectors edition of that mod or not, especially when as I have said I can buy the entire catalogue of IE games on GOG for less and recieve a host of extras for free. Lazy cash grab seems positively charitable when taking into account these things, but then again there are more egregious fleecings occuring all the time, and more power to Beamdog if they can find suckers willing to pay this much for their mod.

Elemental Evil, as in the Princes and Temple of perhaps? The only thing that really springs to mind.

Much appreciated Ktchong and Hiro Protahonist II.

I recently took my Diablo CD from its case and the centre of the disc fell apart, I am incredibly bereft, hopefully Blizzard will start selling the game on GOG so that I might purchase a new edition of the first and second game. The mods really do beef up those old games. I'd ask for the online restrictions to be removed so that I might purchase the third game, but I realise that this is not going to happen.

Good Lord, I never realised that I am part of a repressed and villified minority, the follically challenged. Henceforth I shall shed any morality, make up ridiculous conspiracy theories demonising the general populace, treat any resentment to my hostility and poor behaviour as oppression and harassment, fail to take any responsibility for my own actions, leach off society and others hard work, avoid any kind of hard work or self reliance, and probably start some kind of crowdfunding project that i'll never complete despite its blatant simplicity. Can anyone help with lessons on being condescending and smug? Also I might need help in advocating for tolerance and understanding while maintaining the manners and posting style of a rude, spoiled child? * *The non Folically Challenged are not allowed to apply for this voluntary post as you're no doubt all racist, misogynistic, demonic, quixotic, myopic, biopic, and far too hirsute, over privileged, sub human scum. No offense. Donate to my Patreon. P.S. Bald is our word, you are not allowed to use it, only we are. Looking forward to season 6 however, I wonder how they will go about ressurecting a certain child of Ice and Fire.

Strange, personally playing as a character like myself is the last thing i'd want to do in a piece of roleplaying escapism, I prefer to exercise my imagination and explore a different character. No idea what darklands is, but I would play most things that got it's "mood", if not the stting, from old Warhammer source books like "Marienburg - Sold down the River" (old WHFRP) If someone made a good CRPG out of the Enemy Within campaign...well i'm not sure how i'd provide adequate recompense for that. Of course on the other hand if they ruined the game in the usual modern way, accessibility and such, then i'd call up Papa Nurgle himself to slowly rot the flesh from their bones.

Yes Wil and Amberle travelling to Safehold in the Wilderrun takes up the last two thirds of the book, it's incredibly messed up for no logical reason that I can see.

I thought that this was rather amusing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALnW8dlnee4

I nominate Mr Martin.

Finally managed to tear myself away from Babylon 5 (it's a little too enthralling) and catch another show, the Shannara Chronicles. Overall I found the first couple of episodes tolerable, however there are a host of problems to a reader of the books, and the changes made in my opinion really hurt the pacing and characters of the show. I can understand that they could not find an actor to match Allanon's stature, he is after all over seven feet tall, and the actor portraying him does a very good job in terms of the requisite intensity. However I see no reason for his sword, other than style, he has Druid fire in the books and the staff that the Elcryss grants him. His style of dress is also off, the usual fantasy style of biker/bdsm leathers, when Allanon always swathed himself in simple black robes, cloaked and hooded, more intimidating and archetypal in my opinion. The really egregious changes are to the pacing and plot however, the journey from Storlock to the Westlands is a vey good introduction to the two main characters, they have a chance to bond, to get to know each other and let us know them. Wil's cleverness in dealing with the Rovers is demonstrated, his ability is shown and the mystery and character of Amberle are hinted at as well, though her arc is far more gradual. Compared to the books the pacing is clumsy, switching back and forth relentlessly and the characters are changed for the worse, being far too fleshed out or introduced too early. We miss out on the cameo of the King of the Silver River, a classic component of the novels, and Artaq Allanon's huge black stallion is omitted entirely, which further destabilises the plot. The Rovers are now depicted as villains and thugs whereas they were simply an independent and necessarily ruthless group of people in the novels, whom Wil even admires a little. The less said about the massively changed and simplified Paranor the better. Also the Dagda Mor is not a Druid, this is an utterly pointless change, and it makes no sense for him to be held in the Forbidding with creatures that were exiled millenia before the new (or the old) world formed. In summation it is the usual problem, too much flash and fashion, too little substance.