Nonek

Have to ask, to anyone in the know, are Jacks the equivalent of Thieves in 2nd edition AD&D (skill monkeys with situational deadliness in combat if they are used correctly) or the modern interpretation as Assassins and Weaponsmasters?

Are there practising banks in the Dyrwood, or institutions similar to the Templars whom deal in credit for travellers, if so letters of credit would alleviate any monetary restrictions. Add to this perhaps travelling peddlers, merchant caravans, village fayres and such where one may sell to other sources than the usual shops, and one has a lot more options and availability. Of course personally i'd prefer that we had a limited, realistic inventory, loot that disappeared if left and far less reliance on the tyranny of loot as a gameplay mechanic. I'd rather that what one can carry be a strategic element, and choosing what to carry, what to leave, how to juggle inventory space being a factor and gold being a far more appropriate reward for a quest than an inventory full of scrap.

Notes of credit?

Playing Torment again with the various fan patches, tweaks and whatnots, now I distinctly remember having the option to ask Candrian Illborne (the Planewalker in the Smouldering Corpse) about the Rule of Three in previous playthroughs, this time the option does not appear. Seems very strange that a fan patch would remove content, doe anybody else remember this conversation node being present?

Sorry for being late to the party, however did anyone else notice how vibrant and responsive the fog of war shadows were when Josh was playing in the city? I'm currently re-playing Torment and watching this stream imagined the fog of war shadows stopping reacting to me, and then streaming in like thin tendrils of darkness towards the character. Are there shadow like creatures in Poe, and perhaps if so this would be an easier method of conjuring them up than the traditional pack of monsters, each animated and acting seperately? Anyway toodles.

I'm afraid I personally can't think of a thing, but the PAX south panel seemed very relaxed, enjoyable and informative so perhaps a repetition of what you did there. Good luck anyway chaps.

Infection from arrow wounds was a recognised thing, but was usually caused by the foul clothing (sweaty, filthy, lice infested gambeson or whatever,) being pushed into the wound by the arrowhead. One of the reasons Genghis Khan gave his soldiers silk shirts apparently, so that arrows may be removed cleanly and easily from the wound. Not sure of the truth of this, but that's the myth.

I've only got one thing to say about torture, it should remain a private matter in between a gentleman, his wife and the goat, and should not be discussed in public, only in a legitimate Soho nightclub that specialises in that sort of thing. I would imagine. Edit: Awful lot of fecal matter flying about tonight, I thought we were due for snow.

It would be nice to see a focus on common courtesy and manners, with the usual accussations against developers and consumers not being indulged, but unfortunately we are in an age where it is seen as perfectly fine to insult and deride people, even for their choice of passtime. Or to accuse a vast and diverse majority of others actions without any proof whatrsoever, but that is the end result of one holding everyone in contempt, one feels no hesitation in judging them. In this respect I believe the good book does have a useful lesson, tell me not of the speck in mine eye for the log in thine own. Standing in judgement and pouring out scorn and condemnation is very fashionable, but perhaps a little introspection might be warranted first as we are all equally flawed. Personally I also see this board as being full of civil, moderate and intelligent individuals with whom it is a genuine pleasure to converse. Still ones manners can always stand to be improved, I know mine are frightful. Edit: For which I apologise.

Yes i've got to admit I was thinking about that myself recently, personally I wouldn't be in your ladies and gents shoes for all the tea in China when the release day blues begin to be sung.

I unreservedly apologise for the demise of the PAX thread, I also apologise for the lateness of my response and finally I apologise for apologising too much. Well that's my craving sated for today.

Yes perhaps i'm just a little sick of the accepted opinion, the Witchers produced some masturbatory fodder such as the sex cards eight years ago (though personally I never minded them,) but also pioneered some great self motivated, powerful, clever and independent female characters. Yet these are ignored or dismissed because they happened to be sorceresses or not fitting Gamespots acceptable archetypes. Meanwhile the competition makes simpering, unmotivated, needy and incompetent slaves to the chosen one protagonist, and yet are lauded because they include the ability to sexually harass and then force yourself upon a variety of genders and sexualities. Just a little hypocritical I think.

Stopped reading, never mind gameplay, combat, narrative, plotting or themes, let's see if they adhere to what the moral minority judges to be correct because Philippa, Triss, Rayla and Marietta were such fainting violets. Morons.

I...I apologise for being a grognard?

I apologise for the romance thread existing.

Not really, that was extremely thin mail, a single layer, not the usual two or three layers that are used in warfare and the gambeson seemed very thin as well, certainly not the thirty plus layers of linen that were usually used. Even so the arrows hardly penetrated those thin layers, and certainly not enough to reach vital organs. Also the range when he was shooting the armoured target was very short, and the speed was not half of what he was shown using in other parts of the video. In warfare I would want a proven weapon, a warbow rather than a 40-60lb small recurve, which against plate harness would be totally useless. Whereas we have several accounts of the efficacy of the warbow, such as at Poitiers where one French knight attests that the arrow storm was so fierce that it was punching through visors. Of course i'm not saying even an English longbow of the period is certain proof against good plate, we know it is not because of the amount of noble hostages the English would take, but it was more effective than this demonstration in these circumstances. Especially with hardened heavy type 16 arrowheads, though getting them hardened was a frustrating experience for even Henry V apparently.

Yes sorry about that, bit of a bete noire for me as i'm somewhat of an archer myself. I agree it's very impressive however.

Have a few problems with this new or re-discovered form of archery. 1. You can't draw and snap off shots with a 100lb+ pull warbow. 2. If you don't get a large pull the arrow won't penetrate armour, even the layers of linen or cloth used in a gambeson. 3. All the footage of this new shooting technique is done at extremely short range, not wise for an archer. 4. Heavy war arrows, yard long shafts with heavy heads need decently powered launchers. 5. Not good for hunting when you want one shot, one kill lest the meat be tainted by hormones. 6. Arrows have penetrating power, not stopping power, and one can take quite a few before falling as they make quite neat wounds. Something you don't want at short range when someone is trying to kill you. In summary, very impressive at rate of fire, against unarmoured foes, but probably useless against most armour, useless at long distance, warfare and hunting. The quiver on the hip however is a long established method of carrying ammunition, to which I have no objections.

I liked the idea, and have done since the beginning I have to admit. That said personally in my home brew system which is somewhat similar, I have necromantic magic limited to time consuming rituals and therefore my party must rest and conduct long and tiring magics to heal wounds, and similarly serious injuries, up to raising the recently deceased whom are not too mutilated. It also requires life or lifespan to fuel, so a Necromancer can either harvest souls from battles (or other sources,) or use the patients or his own mortal span to power healing. Obviously the soul gathering is extremely frowned upon, as is the class. Still I think Poes system is workable, and i've never played a system that pleases me entirely.

Janus springs to mind for some reason.

Conspiring with a popular narrative I suppose? Usually institutions and companies react rather than act, maintaining their public image by siding with what the media presents as the mainstream opinion. Or they are alerted to the truth by a consumer revolt, such as Gamergate.

As others have stated here one has to wonder how much training armed police recieve, specifically of heavily stressful environments, because if it is just a mandatory course once per year or so then (with a few exceptions) anybody might panic and react in a similar situation. A calm head and a professional approach in such a situation is from what I have heard, a prerequisite. One has to train weekly and preferably with a familiar, coordinated team in simulated hazardous environments to grow accustomed to such situations, or be of a naturally calm and fearless disposition, which is a rarity. With less police on the streets interacting with the public, more paperwork, an increasingly hostile attitude towards authority figures and less money for training (that should be compulsory) due to the poor economy, well I see such tragedies as being increasingly likely. The selection process for the police may also complicate matters, with individuals being chosen whom have no experience of conflict, the areas they patrol or how to deal with people. This is all speculation however.

Are rubber bullets not a thing anymore? There does seem to have been a spate of over-reaction by the police lately, a friend of mine who had just finished bitter divorce proceedings was recently ambushed at work by armed police, his ex wife said that he was carrying a "cowboy" pistol and so six cars full of armed response police turned up to arrest him. This despite him having no previous criminal record at all, and there being only one witness to him supposedly carrying this weapon, his bitter ex wife. After a full search of his property, a body search and a night in the cells he was released on bail that stopped him working for a fortnight, as he's a security consultant. He was released from bail and the charges dismissed, but one has to wonder why a local Bobby didn't just drop by and ask him a few questions, the gentleman is large and rather brutish looking but there was no cause to suspect him of any crime, and this was surely an over-reaction and definitely a waste of money and resources.

It's a little sad really how we keep seeing the same scare stories: Video nasties in the eighties, various forms of music classed as dangerous since its inception, from the fiddling of Paganini to rap lyrics, the postal service allowing mass communication, novels spreading daring ideas and offending those whom make a profession of being offended, art and science being a dangerous path to pursue because of small, regressive minds not wanting anybody but their privileged group of pseudo intellectuals to dictate what content is seen and consumed by those they judge as Untermensch. That is what it comes down to for me, the privileged few trying to dictate what the masses think and consume, because they despise the masses and hold them as dangerous when showing any independence. The pathetic attempts to blame every ill of society, while never even commiserating with the victims, on those they despise no matter the non existence of any connection, is just a symptom of their mental illness and pathological hatred and inferiority.

Each day is better than the next. I'm looking forward to hell.