ddillon

The Caste system ion the Indian Subcontinent evolved from the concept of Varna or color (which in turn cane from the concept of Jati which were related to occupation or tribal affiliation) which served as a way for the Aryan invading peoples into the sub-continent to keep separated from the darker Dravidian indigenous peoples. The castes were also more flexible in the origination and became more rigid over time. Much of this change, again had more to do with population segregation than any religious doctrine. ...snip... That is a probable origin of the system, but it does not change that religion was later used to justify the system. However, bear in mind that my intent was not to insult or lay blame solely upon the religions in question (just as I don't hold the whole of Christianity responsible for the witch hunts I referenced in that post). I hold *people* accountable for evil, not the excuses under which they perpetrate their evil.

Sagani.

@nikolokolus: Welcome to the Internet. Pass the vodka plz.

Darth Trethon is on target here. Let me rephrase part of what he seems to me to be saying: If your soul isn't you, then why should you care about its eventual fate? --- Also, reincarnation is something of an affront to the uniqueness and individuality of each person. The concept of reincarnation has historically been used to justify awful things like caste systems, but then so has the concept of the immortal individual soul (God will save your soul if you're innocent, etc). I hope that the writers leave much of specific concerning the reality of souls, the afterlife, and reincarnation ambiguous and mysterious (tho exploring the particulars of the beliefs of the inhabitants of the world is welcome). The concept of the soul as the source of magic does not require an explicit explanation of these things. I hope that direct "divine intervention" is rare and the "gods" are distant (which seemed to be the general concept put forth in at least one of the updates).

I'd like to see killing blows or "finishers" or whatever-you-want-to-call-them as in DA:O.

Voted for "fully playable race". I liked the Orcs in Morrowind. I'd likely be more interested in playing a race like that than Elf or Dwarf. I don't want "Half-Orc" or "Half-Ogre" races unless they're subrace options. I'd prefer a "full" Orc race.

I posted the following yesterday but deleted it (by editing the post) because I decided it best not to get involved in this thread. Also, I tend towards preferring that romances *not* be included in PE. However, this thread is *still* raging, so I'll offer the suggestion again: Would companion questlines that accommodate both friendship and romance suffice? If the player initiates a romance by flirting, further romance options could be offered during the course of the story (flirting, kiss, invitation to tent/room, etc), and dialogue could differ when appropriate, but the events and content (major conversations, quests, etc) of each path would otherwise be the same whether the PC is a close friend or a romantic partner. Perhaps after the completion of the character's questline, the PC could have repeatable basic romance options (flirt, kiss, invite to tent/room, etc) when speaking to the character if romance was chosen. The idea here is to minimize resources spent on romances and maximize access to companion content.

Romances aren't necessary imo, but if there are to be romances, then I'd like that, too. There should *not* be an option to "redeem" her.

I don't have time to write much now, but: Bump. Can we get some developer feedback on this, plz? I did skim the thread, and lots of interesting things have been said. IndiraLightfoot & Rabain: Thank you for taking up the cause. I needed sleep.

From the recent GameBanshee interview with Josh Sawyer: The Adventurer's Hall should not be a "money sink"!!! First and foremost, we shouldn't be penalized for wanting to create a custom party. If the developers are looking for a way to limit the number of companions created in the early game, they should limit the number by PC level or story progress (or something else). Second, adventurers want to adventure, right? Not sit around on their butts in the Hall. Why should they demand vast sums of money to join an adventuring party? And if the story is such that the Hall is more-or-less mercenary recruitment (a concept that I don't like), then it should be a small payment with the idea being that the mercenary would share in the spoils (perhaps simply requiring a payment of a certain percentage of the party's gold if and only if removed from the party). Really, we just want to be able to make custom parties without strings attached, plz! Perhaps I'm overreacting, but I consider this *very* important. (I will say that it is getting close to the end of my day, so perhaps I'm more irritable than I should be... but still... grrr...).

Lol. RoboCop ftw.

@Atro22 (OP): I'd like that, too. About necromancy in general: I'd prefer that slain enemies could be reanimated as undead minions rather than the usual "Poof! Instant skeleton from nowhere!" I'd also like for players to be able to become vampires and werewolves. I recall one of the developers indicating that there wouldn't be presige classes in PE (tho I could be mistaken), but perhaps vampirism and lycanthropy could be special cases that function in a fashion similar to prestige classes: When infected/embraced/turned/etc, one would become a Lv1 Vampire or Werewolf. The player could then be able to select gaining either a level of his normal class or a level of the Vampire/Werewolf class at each level up. The ability to become a lich, vampire, or werewolf in PE is desirable but not paramount to me, but I absolutely do not want to want to encounter them only to be forced to slay them because they're unconditionally "evil". I'll kill 'em if they're trying to eat me, but otherwise I'd need a damn good reason. I'd prefer that such beings be neutral (not hostile) unless they perceive my actions as threatening. Perhaps the best way to put it is: Make them characters instead of creatures.

Sounds cool to me.

Well, yeah, there'll be portrait selection at character creation (PC, Adventurer's Hall) at least. And the IE games do allow tweaking game files such as companion portraits using the override directory as I describe above. But it'd be nice if we could change portraits in-game at any time (see previous posts).

Me! I want to ride a triceratops into battle while wearing nothing but a loincloth, screaming at the top of my lungs, alternating between flinging fireballs at my enemies and using the beast's massive head plate as a shield! Too much to ask? Mega-flora could be cool... but only if there's a hot Poison Ivy lookalike, too...

I see what you did there, and I am amused. I would love to see dinosaurs or dinosaur-like creatures in PE. Some could be aggressive carnivores, but I'd want some to be passive herbivores (that just lumber about the forest unless you threaten them... in which case they could either be angry or frightened).

Really? You're not just saying that to get me to play the game? Cuz I *hate* Virgil... What makes the situation even worse is that (I've been told) you miss a large portion of the story if you ditch (or kill... ) him. Might give the game another chance if what you say is true.

Played BG2 with Fade? --- Nothing in particular comes to mind in regards to Obsidian staples that I want to see in PE, but there is something that I don't want to see: A bumbling, stuttering idiot like Virgil from Arcanum as a companion (have never played past the first town... Virgil and the broken mechanics were too much for me). Even Minsc in BG2 was too much (tho I used him in BG). So... yeah... no Jar Jar Binks type sidekicks, plz.

Yep, that's more-or-less what I'm asking for in this thread. Companion portraits could be changed for the IE games by placing files of the appropriate format and name in the override folder. We need at least that much, and it'd be great if we were able to change portraits for the PC and companions in-game at any time from the character or inventory screen/menu. Basic IE-style: Place files of appropriate format and name in override folder; only one portrait per character can be installed at a time; PC portrait cannot be changed after character creation. Preferred: Files of appropriate format placed in appropriate folder, selectable from in-game interface; multiple portraits per character can be installed; all portraits can be changed at any time.

I love themed playing cards! Good idea. Added to my pledge. The documentary is cool, too.

Cool, good to know that. Now... Of course we want to be able to change companion portraits, too. Haven't you ever sexed up Aerie a bit in BG2? (Portrait manip by Enkida: http://enkida.devian...Aerie-267772926) At the least, we need to be able to override the companion portraits as in the IE games, and it would be great if we were able to change portraits for the PC and companions (whether Obsidian, custom, or mod-added) in-game at any time from the character or inventory screen/menu (as described in my posts above).

I'd guess that at the least we'll be able to add and override portraits as in the IE games. What I'm asking for here is to be able to change portraits at will from the in-game interface.

Instead of questioning your reading comprehension skills, let me quote myself:

So... there is some discussion here about the possibility of Justin Sweet joining Project Eternity, and some of the things we've mentioned in that thread have sparked an idea. First, the relevant posts: That portrait, at least to me, looks slightly inspired by the Icewind Dale style. I like it. Sure, and that supports the idea that we could have multiple artists creating portraits that share a basic style or feel to provide more variety and choice without things seeming too mix-n-matched. Indeed, as was the case with IWD I and II portraits, they were different, but shared a somewhat similar style. The idea: Have multiple portraits for each companion by different artists and build the capability to change portraits directly into the character or inventory screen. For example, after we recruit Sagani, we would be able to open the character or inventory screen and choose between the portrait released in Update 3, Kieran Yanner's take on Sagani, Justin Sweet's take on Sagani, etc. Each character could have a folder within the portrait directory where alternate player-added portraits could be placed to be selectable from the interface. To allow the player character, custom characters created at the Adventurer's Hall, and mod-added characters the same functionality, the feature could be programmed to check the portrait directory for a folder named after the currently selected character. If one is not found, it could default to the portraits available in the main portrait directory. If it would prohibitively expensive to create multiple portraits for each companion (or if funds are simply better spent on something else), would it be feasible to implement this feature but not the additional portraits (so that we can add custom portraits and be able to switch between them in-game)? The IE games allowed portrait additions and overrides, and this doesn't seem as if it would be much more complex... ? Thoughts?

I would increase my pledge for a (Thunder)Cat race. And because this has become a pic thread, have some pure win in photo form: