Azrayel

Thinking about the unanswered question we've been pitched as important to the early lore, the nature of the soul, I run into a conundrum. There are gods. These gods occasionally intervene\fere with mortal affairs according to the devs. Religions and cultures have their own ideas about the cycle of souls and, presumably, worship their own god(s). Why can't a god just tell them how it is? Obviously they're going to want to spin it their way or maybe even outright lie, but wouldn't the cosmic being that came out with "the truth" be the most popular? I can think of lots of ways to write around that, but in brain storming I came up with one particularly appealing idea. Re-wind from the Age of Sail P:E is geared up to be in, take us to the days where men and mer were in loincloths and bludgeoned to death what they ate. As they transition from this to agricultural river valley societies, gods are developed without concrete "proof" of existence like we find in many fantasy RPGs for the same sociological reasons they appeared on Earth (the exacts of which are up for debate and I don't want to light that fire here, not the point). They worship, build altars\temples/mazes, and perhaps even sacrifice for them. When these followers die, their souls enter this soul cycle and their soul is a reflection of their beliefs. Everyone who worshiped that same god in life's soul conglomerates and melds, some to a great metaphysical degree and some only tangentially, and then that's when the fantasy RPG gods come in-- they remember to a degree where their living selves had been, and the god is connected to those places and more highly aware and powerful in them. But souls don't stay out of bodies forever in P:E; they come back. Eventually, parts of the god will fall away and return to the cycle-- perhaps as their own worshipers if they have some control over the process or perhaps not. New souls will come in, and the old ones may leave residue or splinters of themselves behind that bolster the power of the god a slight bit and leave a reminder of that worshiper who was greatly attached to this meta-god. Here having worshipers whose souls stay out of the living realm is an advantage, but may also be disadvantageous. The god might be able to send out Godlike races with a powerful soul of one of the devote (now de-individuated as part of the god and re-individuated when born into a body) as prophets to spread their religion where ever they are born, creating the stereotype of Godlike as prophets or holy peoples. But over time, souls will filter in and out and the people worshiping will change with the ebb and flow of ideas through generations: one example could be a fertility goddess. The fertility goddess starts out in the early days as someone invoked for crops to grow and children and mothers to survive child birth in a dangerous time. This goddess is a protective, agricultural figure and her representation and worship would reflect this. Perhaps live stock are sacrificed to her. Could be animal or have animal traits. Hundreds of years pass, and leaders become concerned with producing copious competent issue, perhaps of a particular gender. Here the fertility goddess becomes less about the good of an entire society and more about the good of a ruler. They'd still be invoked for childbirth and harvests, certainly, but gradually their focus would broaden or shift greatly towards this other idea. The souls that die and go to join the meta-god hold these concepts in their consciousnesses and it becomes an element of the celestial being more and more over time. Perhaps the goddess is even perceived as or obtains a male persona, a figure whose seed insures strong children. Probably more human than the original incarnation, but whatever the goddess was before is still a part of him\her now-- those shards of souls left behind are still there, melded together, although slowly over thousands of years they may blend with the others not exactly the same but similar to them. Hundreds of more years pass, and the time's a bit more Elizabethan or perhaps Victorian. The fertility goddess has become a sex symbol in an increasingly radical and free thinking society; concepts of having strong young and marriage, while still present and unmoving parts of society, are not as fervently felt as lust and desire. Agriculture is an after thought or perhaps gone from the mortal perception of the goddess while still a part of her repertoire and to some degree under her power. People now implore her for virility and stamina in less-than-living room appropriate ways, and prayers that they might seduce or be seduced become more commonplace (although to say they had not always existed and been a part of some of the souls going to the goddess would be silly). By the period P:E starts, the goddess would have become a sex symbol to some degree but still associated with children having/rearing-- which could create different sects or separate places of worship to celebrate the different "aspects" of this god, who could have two personas or fill her own pantheon depending on which way the society trended. This goddess would likely co-exist in a society with others, so the souls going just to her in the aforementioned period would likely be very interested in the sexual side of things. Rites of the flesh and acts of sodomy could be used to revere her in cults that members of the upper echelon discretely participate in while hymns and donations to hospitals might be the public, more popular and cross-class form of celebrating this deity. Conversing and interacting with this goddess would be something else entirely-- a composite being of all these ideas and desires, who perhaps the PC themselves was once a part of, with many interlaced agendas and worshipers spread throughout their decision making process on what to tell the PC and what to ask of them. One interesting idea could be a quest to gain an audience with a high ranking member of this goddess's following. One route could be just making their way into the temple through sneaking, breaking-and-entering, or teleportation magic-- but each of these would be icky and they're not likely to remember a PC who did this fondly or offer them much in the way of help. Another route would be gaining favor with the goddess. There could be three routes: helping discreetly deliver an "enhancement" to a ruler to help them impregnate (or be impregnated by) their spouse, either of which is a devotee of the goddess. Another would be aiding the priest/esses of the goddess in a way not necessarily related to the goddess but which would help further the goal of spreading the faith or maintaining the faithful's position in society. Lastly, you could gain entrance by some means into the secluded soirees of the rich and influential persons who are devoted to the goddess. I'm not saying get yourself involved in an orgy, but perhaps deliver the "enhancement" to them instead of the ruler to win you the affection of some of her most carnal worshipers rather than an under-performing ruler. Also: that horrible supernatural event? What about the PC witnessing the death of a god? Imagine in ethereal cries of pain as a hundred thousand souls implode and then rip outwards with the very fabric of their celestial being dismembered and scattered across the world and possibly various planes. Seems to me like a Watcher might be someone who a god/council of gods deputized, who'd seen this and was privy to their nature, to safeguard that knowledge and chase after the Godkiller or Godkilling utility-- knowledge, weapon, rite, whatever. In conclusion, I think interweaving the concept of gods and souls should be very important regardless of religion's role in the game ((which I think should be significant but isn't absolutely necessary for this idea to be present, it just seems like something that's worth persuing)). [so please don't merge this thread, it's different]. If this were how they did it, how do you think the particulars with souls/splinting c\should work out? Should the player ever really know, should there be context clues that they can extrapolate arguments from but which in the end leave the argument largely in the air?

What I'd really like to see in an epic level item is a curse. Something that grants power at a price: maybe it's just a grotesquely captivating mechanism like the fountain of youth in Pirates of the Carribean that takes years of life from one drinker and gives them to t'other. Perhaps it's a demon inside the thing taking its toll on you for using it for your own ends. Maybe it's the conduit of a dark god who draws you in and tries to seduce everyone with power like the One Ring or drive the wielded mad like Psykers-- but just being evil would be silly, because then if a character's evil what's the downside? A ring that lets you use health for mana could be one example, but a better example would be one that randomly takes twice as much health as it should have-- maybe it super charges the spell, maybe it turns the spell against you, but if you banked on using it in a pinch for a strong spell it could be enough to kill you either way. Tainted might be a good word for that, but something beyond a predictable calculation would really help make an artifact "real" to me, not just pretty gear + flavor text.

I think striking a balance is something that c/should be important. I'd say a good system would break spells into 3 catagories. Top Tier (Prepared) Most AoEs, substantial buffs/heals (resurrection), chain lightning, and suchlike should be in this catagory: you need to perform a rite or gather ingredients or carve a totem or capture a soul for a spirit bomb or what ever per cast. Just sleeping in a bed or letting time elapse is meaningless to these spells. Probably a limit of like 5-10 prepared so the gathering and crafting time can be made short without imbalancing things. Should also require mana to "activate" but it doesn't have to be a ton. Mid Tier (Combined) Things with multiple or powerful effects not quite top tier quality should go here (the rest of the AoEs, intermediate spells) and they'd be combined from… Bottom Tier (Component Spells) I never played Magicka but I have seen LPs, and in that game you cast most of your spells by combing various basic spells in different ways you memorize (what iThought of reading the subject line). Each basic spell can cost a certain amount of soul points or however using your soul for casting will work. Application of spells to whatever vessel/"weave" (WoT reference) the Top Tier spells are kept in the form of before being "activated" and producing their effect. Now that I read this over it occurs you might prep a Top Tier spell and it'll act as a buff\other passive once primed and slowly fizzle down to nothing if you don't fully detonate it, and the sooner you set it off the more powerful the spell but trade off being less time using the buff. For example if you have a Top Tier fire spell prepared and you have the vessel you're going to use to activate it on a companion priming it would give that companion's weapons fire enchants until you fired, but if you just immediately proceeded to use the big fire spell it'd be the most powerful. Maybe staffs and wands or even certain things like amulets and rings are used as Top Tier spell holders that let you have more prepared spells/special prepared spells specific to an artifact\magnify the spells power if prepared/held within that object.

No it is the Publishers fault, especially in the case with New Vegas. Bethesda released the game ahead of plan, that is the main reason that it was so buggy. The nickname is not derived from NV, and in my own playing of the game (I didn't get it until a month or so after it came out) it was fun and no bugs occurred. Obsidian just has a history of rushed releases, dating back to the Black Isle days, because of what you said: publishers control release schedules and part of why they did a Kickstarter is it lets them pick their own release horizon. Horribly sorry if you took the phrase to mean iDislike Obsidian, KotOR 2 and NV are mainstays of my library which iReplay with great frequence and I really agree with the opinions of their designers like Chris. That's why I'm here. OT: It would be interesting to see a "healing" class or character whose method of rejuvenating others was sacrificing their own health: something big like 10 pts healed to 1 pt lost, but it would make them more vulnerable without needlessly relegating them to robes in the back and could really make for an interesting companion-- What sort of person dedicates their life to learning how to drain their own vitality for the sake of healing others? Is it studied, are they born with it racially or otherwise, is it hoisted upon them involuntarily as part of some rite? The curse of a cruel god? What's the toll on their psych over time, and what if they decide they're actually theologically or otherwise opposed to it later in life? Could be a nice break from the typical priest type character, but then, what Obsidian character is typical?

A term of endearment for Obsidian. You could also call them "Patchsidian," because they do patch faithfully as well, but that's not nearly as cute. However, now that they're working at their own pace rather than as mercenaries they may be able to put that particular mar on their reputation to rest: I'd still like to seem them do everything they can and patch the bugs later than do something overly safe for fear of time constraints, though. Indeed, so much of this is going to be going off the lore we hardly know anything about yet it's kind of all just shots in the dark-- but then, this is a "speculation" board, so why wait? Maybe the devs will see something they like

H/T/S makes a game exponentially more real to me; lots of things on that list (locational damage a la Fallout especially) jump out at me, but I want something that gives me a functional reason to visit the tavern and rent a bed for the night besides picking up quests. T'would also make the player house much more interesting, stopping in to rest and stocking the pantry. There could even be a section where the party has encountered one of those sea creatures they've mentioned and their ship takes a walloping; waking up on a small island they need to find someplace safe to sleep, prepare some food and find fresh water (I'm not talking make it MineCraft or DayZ the whole game, but a segment where you've got to do those things in an adventure-y way) would really make for an interesting segment, though I know it's a trope most of us have seen at least once before I find them pleasant in RPGs and particularly rare in the Western variety. Could even throw an overgrown temple on said island, so the set-in-their-ways cRPGers would have a relieving crawl afterwards to soothe any discontentment at having to do real people things in a fantasy RPG? Opposite side of the spectrum: infections? That's a little Robertson's Requiem, don't you think?

Climbing as a skill? Would seem silly. Climbing as a possible route to circumvent combat\reach special areas via an "athletics" skill or dex/agi check? Would greatly enhance my experience. Unity can handle it; but they'll have to do some clever things geometrically with their pre-rendered backgrounds for it to not look like the character is just progressing in a crouch across flat ground-- which I think Obsidian can def figure out. Good topic, should be included, hope Sawyer reads this.

As someone who really enjoys playing healing classes is most class-based games, and who rather dislikes archetypal paladins, iThink some alternative approaches could be interesting. One class could be more of a herbalist/spiritual person, like a druid who can transform into animal/spirit forms and make poultices not available via normal alchemy for positive effects, less involved in directly healing allies but maybe more buffs and healing AoEs. Another might be the more traditional priest but wearing plate (wizards will be wearing it, why not?) but wade in with magic in one hand and a mace in the other-- they shouldn't just be a tank with healing, though. They should be limited in their output and healing. Perhaps with the soul system, the more they are healing and protecting others with their magic the more susceptible they'll be to direct attacks? This means they can be formidable when defending only themselves but aren't horribly menacing attacking, whereas when they're overextended covering a 6+ adventurer party they'll be at their most vulnerable and attackers might get a multiplier on all their damage? Their heals should be more direct kind of clicking another party member and selecting something to throw however many hit-points their way, as well as buffs that boost their self defense. Thirdly, I think something like Guild Wars dervish-- their "armor" is more ritual and colorful with metal for accents more than protection, and their lack of self defense is part of their faith. Their God will defend them, while they attack. In keeping with what seems to be the P:E spirit they could wear whatever kind of armor they pleased, but this would be less true to their "inner selves" or some such and thus their spiritual abilities are lacking. They would be the ones striking down lots of undead* with fast moving exotic weapons etc as well as healing others. I think they could be more about illusion, as well, with smoke screens and such enhanced by their God. Their healing would be a mix of the direct casting of the "cleric" type and the AoEs of the druid. Buffs would probably be more about making their allies faster and more agile rather than more able to take a beating. Bugsidian gets brownie bugs if they make these all one class using alternate paths to the same basic thing through different religious\cultural perspectives. *Anyone else think it's cool when healing hurts undead-- and that it would be especially interesting to then have an undead companion (not decomposing exactly, think kind of The Nameless One from P:T or perhaps Auron from FFX) whose health was significant but who couldn't be healed, or indeed revived, by normal means?

I agree with this in theory but honestly I think they've already got a "rendering method," if you'll excuse my euphemism, that'll achieve this goal-- they have high quality artists and having extremely detailed 2D and small-scale 3D art isn't a matter of raising the price really. Also, I didn't play Lionheart but from Google Imaging it the screens of a guy standing in front of a cathedral and in some sort of cell looked a bit nicer than Arcanum and waaaaay nicer than Elemental Evil where the characters are far too small for my liking and things seem a bit fuzzy. Maybe I'm wrong though, would have t'play t'game.

Everything I've heard the devs say says that more or less IS their goal, and when the first screens come out, though they are sure to be lovely, I think a lot of pledgers are going to feel awkward because they didn't really understand the kind of game they were funding.

That one's on Obby, least we forget it. But OT: I'm here because I trust Bugsidian to make the game I want to play without needing to be told how; not disparaging the thread, just saying I can't really think of anything because I don't think they'd put in something I'd really be disinclined towards.

Aaah love this; it's like the beginning of Frankenstein where Mr. Narrative Framing Device is sending letters, some short and some long but each excited and telling of great things he hopes to see realized, to his sister. I just hope he never actually meets Dr. Frankenstein in them, or gets caught in the ice. Keep it coming!

Personally, I don't like the idea of being rewarded for taking on a higher challenge tier; if I'm leveling faster it's not going to be quite as hard, is it? I guess 5% could be small enough though, honestly I'd have to play and see how it was before I think I could make a solid call on this but my inclination is no-- leave it as something to consider for Eternity 2 after we've helped make the series' starter a success and know more of the game's "character."

You have just happily ignored real facts about armor design for the idea that women with big breasts should use armors that won't really protect them. To each his own? Well, that would depend on how you take this: It seems to me he's saying that just having large breasts on the armor even if the breasts are small is more logical than trying to fit them down; most male pieces, as I said, also have breast extrusions that are quite a bit more than what they'd reasonably have for protection's sake. On second read though I'm not sure he didn't mean flatter, but I mean, I think Sawyer has had too much to do with this for the concept art we're being shown at this stage to be highly divergent from what he thinks.

For those moaning "boobplate"; As individual who is friends with women who have particularly large breasts (some to the degree they are considering boob reduction surgery/have had it suggested by their mothers), you're all being rather rude! You jump on something that you perceive wrongly to be about sexualization when this happens with men as well-- men don't all have huge pecs or moobs, but breastplates were made in this way to deflect blows and particularly to safeguard against piercing damage. That re-done picture of the breastplate breaks to an arrow or gunshot from something like what she's lugging five more times out of ten than the original artwork. Also, what if her breasts are actually too big to fit in there? Should she stay home and cook and be in lorn, because someone might get an erection and feel uncomfortable because of their own physical reaction? Sorry to explode guys, but I don't want to live in the 50s. I'm too happy I was born far later and hope to continue marching forward rather than backwards as far as equality of genders is concerned. EDIT: I'd also like to add that the artwork is great and I hope the artist isn't reading this and seeing all these people insinuating their a sexist for drawing a woman who's breasts weren't "modest" for modesty's sake, because they did a great job and perhaps understand that that's not every woman and it shouldn't preclude anyone from being a meaningful party member or other character in a cRPG or role in public iRL. EDIT #2: Saying you're all being inconsiderate sexists was quite uncalled for, your hearts are obviously in the right place, I'm sorry; but I was just talking with people about this same topic that directly effects them and when I saw this thread I kind of went full-bore and lost my cool.

To NWN: I got to the very beginning of the first act but I get lots of use out of the Diamond Addition because of player campaigns like A Dance with Rogues (don't judge, she should design regular games). Those campaigns offer hours of fun and you can make them yourself rather easily! There's a big hole that NWN last filled which a game could really slide itself into, especially one on this, so there's lots of cry for that. But… For this team, I really just think that story needs to come first so that it can be the best it possibly can-- they WANT a series, if Eternity 1 isn't too eclectic for its little budget then number two could branch out with a bigger team and established audience.

Fallout: NV seemed to have much more general radio announcements about what happened, making it less clear cut. However, the issue with FO3 wasn't Three Dawg coming to his own erratic conclusions-- that's just being a talk show host-- it's that there really wasn't a whole lot of other feedback besides people randomly trying to give you stuff or assassinate you in the streets. I'm assuming most people in towns will reacts +/- depending on if you've done something for them, but more interesting might be if there was a slightly more ambiguous option that pushed the player's thoughts. Par example, what if the protagonist comes about a human sacrifice where someone's soul is being used to life a blood curse? The human sacrifice is wrong, but the undead will stop rising if they go through with it. An angry mob from the same town has come to confront whoever is doing this "for the Greater Good" because they don't want this townsperson dead. Let's assume there are basically three options: 1. Say it's for the Greater Good and talk down/defeat the villagers 2. Kill the bastards who did this but fail to save the sacrifice. 3. Talk down or kill the Greater do-Gooders and prevent the sacrifice. For one, those villagers and the person's friends/family will now vehemently hate you and likely at least one will try to murder you-- but others will be saved by this and a grudging respect may be held for you if you did a good job talking them down. Number two creates an interesting situation wherein the people like you for killing their tangible adversaries, the kidnappers trying to perform the sacrifice, but they also reap the rewards of the action taken for the Greater Good-- so everyone can say what a shame it was they killed her but they got what was coming to them, AND there are no longer zombies defiling their temple and preventing trade. It's hard for anyone to be mad at you for this (except for the friends and family of the Greater Goodies, who may belong to a group you'd meet later and have low rep with because of this) and the town would get the "best of both worlds." Three would probably result in a different change of opinion with the faction involved (assuming it is one) if you killed them or just talked them down, but either way you're a meddler. You have the eternal gratitude of the person who you saved (bonus points if they're a companion), and certainly their friends and family, but maybe even on the way back zombies overtake the angry mob and some innocents are killed. This foreshadows how the rest of their foreseeable future will be-- a bleak battle for existence, having saved only one person and made enemies of the one group known to them who could have stopped this terrible curse. ((For our purposes we're assuming the PC can only end the curse via the human sacrifice, which to me makes it a much more "real" decision that just jumping through some hoops to get a magical everything's-A-OK version a la DA:O and the demonchild)). Now, when someone from a town whose undead curse was just lifted sits down next to you at the bar and says "I never thought I'd see the day my people were at peace and prospered again! Shame about that human sacrifice business, though..." So do they lie, do they cover it up, do they say it was unrelated, do they get vilified? That's the exciting part! It's such a polarizing, hard to slosh through thing that you might hear dozens of different accounts of what was done and why by NPCs throughout your travels. One interesting thing DA 2 did (because referencing BioWare RPGs is sort of a trendy to-do in this sub-forum) was frame the narrative with the Paladin who had to figure out all these things about Hawke, trying to discover what kind of person they were and why they'd done what they'd one-- through a less-than-reliable dwarf narrator. Imagine if a character like that tailed the player, with maybe an inconspicuous cameo but likely no dialogue, for half or three-fourths of the game. Now imagine you've been imprisoned or immobilized and this vaguely familiar figure comes up to you and says, "I know what you did, what I want to know is-- why?" Perhaps they're someone with knowledge of the Watchers who wants to study a real one. I just think it'd make for a nice mind bender, because they'd have their own opinions from seeing the aftermath and talking to various people about you. This is the sort of thing that'd make a system better than Three Dawg, a mesh of ideas and accounts and difficult to explain and all but impossible to justify out of context decisions and situations that run together through the public conscious in ripples. THAT would make for a great "rumor" system in a game. /rant

As a gamer, I have trouble replaying RPGs even with lots of branching choices. One of the things that helps me get into a game again though, besides it just being excellent/made by Obsidian, is a KotOR-esque system where if you've already beaten the game nifty extra dialogue, typically of a more witty/fourth-wall-skirting nature, is thrown in-- or perhaps even a slight change to an otherwise ordinary encounter besides pre-programmed variation. Liked an example of a slightly different encounter maybe there's a side quest about two lovers and the first time one of them is cheating, but the second time they're not cheating but they're gay and societal pressure has forced them into a heterosexual relationship. You could even find a journal talking about how they can't wait for their clandestine meeting with this person of the opposite sex-- the first time they're making out or whathaveyou, but the second time through their sitting and talking. You overhear the convo and it's basically about how s/he is gay. I'd say there should only be 2-3 of things that big across the whole game; just moments that will be immediately numerous because you "know" how this side story goes and you're just doing it for the eXP, but then this moment at the climax jumps out at you. Would spice things up. I'm not saying they should rewrite the game, though, just Easter Eggs and more out-there dialogue thrown in sparsely.

That's Viconia! Which brings up a semi-serious point. Dark elves. I'd be interested to see what, if anything, Obsidian's gonna do with regards to Elves, and their lore. The "Lake of Drow Tombs" on the map really made me think Dark Elves would be included; also, there's the Elf concept art but yes I hope this doesn't become another rehash of the same old Tolkien plagiarism-- but considering this is Obsidian? AND they get to do whatever the hell they want? I mean... These are the people who rolled out the chaste succubus. I don't think they're going to disappoint on this front.

Aaaah don't I feel dumb now; sorry, should've just searched beyond t'first page. I'm obviously pro, but not in the WoW sort of way where it jus drains your money and adds another thing to do between having fun. If that's what it'd be than I'd say throw it out, but iDon't think Obsidian would do a bad job with it like that.

This is my own, very general idea of how this mechanic might be implemented in a way I'd enjoy it; everyone should feel free to post their own that we might have the broadest of all possible discussions on what could be an important nag-factor in the game. Proposition One: Looks Used Not everything pre-owned is rusted, but if I take a helmet off someone who just got their head bludgeoned I should have a dent in it-- perhaps it's even unusuable if a warhammer was employed. But leather stuff should be cut a bit and seeing wear and tear like dirt would be nifty but not a need to have. Basically if new stuff looks new and things people war in a sword fight look cut up a bit I'd be appreciative. As a side note, most plate that can withstand gunshots should have a ding somewhere on it from being hit by a bullet-- a mark any buyer looked for in the comperable Euopean/Japanese time period before purchasing armor. Proposition Two: Looted Armor You've killed someone and take their crap or found it in a chest or abandoned armory et ketra. If the place was recently vacated, particularly in a haste, or if the deceased were wealthy or well equipped by association (I.e.: soldiers and guards) it should be just about as good as of you'd bought it new (unless there's maybe some aforementioned visual marks on it. Conversely in an ancient fortress or battlefield the armor ought to be crapped up to a high degree, possibly requiring Proposition Three: Metal Armor Metal armor shouldn't lose armor value with durability. When durability hits rock bottom it should break into halves or components or some such; repairing them should require the proper facilitaties and a degree of skill at least approaching that required to make it. It shouldn't be instant, either: you should have to leave it with a smith for a day or so while you're about town. I'd think normal metal armor should start to get close to broken around two dungeons or an equivalent amount of encounters "on the road." Patching should forestall but not stop completely the degradation process. Bullets should do lots of durability damage, so even if it doesn't pierce the armor it gives much incentive to not just run at someone with a pistol. Proposition Four: Leather Armor Faster to degrade but easier to repair (and make). Maybe after being slashed it's more susceptible to piercing damage? Not sure how it'd work out. Proposition Five: Cost and "Creative Capitalism" Mining towns should have the ore cheap but refinieries elsewhere, where the armor will be a bit cheaper. Skilled smiths should make turn around time for repairs and armor creations shorter and more plentiful armor around. Slightly more expensive, but sells better elsewhere… however, if a smith was at master level of skill and s/he's relatively well known than their befalling a tragic accident might drive a spike in prices for the materials everywhere. This got a bit rambly but hopefully someone else has ideas to throw out.

Edair poses a new interesting stretch goal proposition-- $3 million and Edair will be the suave sword/buckler\whip-wielding homosexual pirate who wins over players hearts and minds by communicating mostly in iambic pentameter and who you first meet when he captures you-- you must use your none combat skills to persuade sneak, tumble, and search for hidden walls to his heart or be sold in the markets of a port city! Obsidian, you know you want to.