NerdBoner

i think what pissed me off most about Paladins was the alignment restriction...Lawful f*cking good, the alignment that causes facepalms around the world. How does LG make ANY sense? especially if the patron deity doesn't even have a "good" alignment, as in the case of Helm? Terrible class concept that was half-assed by WotC...hopefully Obsidian can update and fix the many things wrong with it.

wearing crap like that needs to come with extreme fatigue penalties... full plate armors are ridiculous for anything outside of jousting or melees; definitely not for an adventurer who spends weeks on end crossing swamps, forests, mountains and spelunking in caves and ancient ruins.

Re-read those links... Well that was exactly the thing I was worried about. It could replace wizard and cleric in most important their fields (damage dealing, buffing, cleaning negative statuses, resurrecting), has different, much less rest-dependent mechanics, avoids common save throws and resistances (ability to add more power for higher saving throws, or no throw at all, pure and energy damage), has many non-standard (exploitable) crippling effects... More so, in non-combat situations also: environment awareness, any interaction with living creatures, transportation, lore checks, stealth even. So, psionic could not only substitute both wizard and cleric but excel them in most situations. Not to forget, that sole counter for psionic is another psionic. So he is the deadliest and the most useful member of party, others are mere shades on his greatness. And the most effective team is the team of psionics. Don't want a class "more and better of everything" to be in PE, I'd want to vague on who I want to play, not to be forced to choose the overpowered one to be effective. But cant tell how exactly to cripple the psionic for it stays itself and not stays OP. More restrictive cast mechanic and less psi-kinetic manifestations mb? you're over thinking it... A Psion doesn't get all these powers and *poof* is suddenly better than all the other character classes. The Psion is empowered and limited by which discipline(s) it specializes in. In essence having all those disciplines and powers available to the Psion class only means he has the option to develop along one or 2 of those paths, not all of them. TL;DR - having more options as a class doesn't mean you GET all options as the class.

Only at mid-high levels. At low levels, a 5 mage party was lunacy. And I've always preferred low-level gameplay. I really enjoy playing AD&D mages at level 2. It's a shame no one else seems to. a lone adventuring wizard is pretty questionable at such low levels to begin with (from an RP perspective) simply because he doesn't know anything, let alone how to combat that menacing squirrel that wants to eat him... what would justify 5 frail nerds who don't know anything about the world to leave the protective bosom of their masters blouse?

hey man, whatever floats your life raft... I just hope that its possible to strike a build balance between some stick figure who couln't stand up to a gust of wind (let alone the rigors of adventuring) and a wannabe warrior wearing full plate.

DnD Paladins? *yawn*... then kill with fire. worst rpg class/concept ever created...a much better way to go about this Fighter sub-class is call it a Knight or a Champion which means that not only can you play it as some brain dead religious zealot (what Paladins were created for), but you can also rp it as a Knight in service to a king or an order, a champion of the weak and the innocent or a heroic leader of men etc. bleh, even the name Paladin pisses me off...they changed Bard to Chanter but not Paladin? come now...

guys it's the age of the popamole-watch-a-movie-and-occasionally-press-a-button game...there is no chance in hell Bethesdurr is gonna make a game outside of their usual formula....or give up their second biggest IP as of now.

Rly? Epic lvl warrior with 10 attacks per round? Nearly invincible monks or unhittable and shadow-dancing rogues, using any magic protection from items? More dependent on loot - yes. Much weaker? - hardly so. hell in BG even with 10 attacks per round with whirlwind attack the fighter was still severely underpowered compared to a mage/sorc... there is a mid level spell called immunity to magic weapons that shuts down anything a fighter can dish out...after that its all about time stop, improved alactrity, Wish, horrid wilting, imprison, maze...the list goes on and on. fighters, plain and simply suck against mages in BG. The true mage killers are rogues, especially at higher levels. One backstab from a hidden rogue can typically end a mage in one hit before he gets a single spell off, more so if his weapon is poisoned...if that fails just lure him into preset traps and he's toast. once rogues get epic level traps EVERY class is f*cked...time trap, assassination (preferably with dual wielding) and a haste potion is all that's needed. The rogue may be all about micro-management, but if done correctly he is unstoppable. I freaking solo'd the ToB ascension mod on highest difficulty with an assassin, was easy peezy.

cipher and rogue are first choices depending on how Obsi handles them....a distant 3rd would be mages as long as they aren't the cliche frail nerd in a dress or a dextrous and charismatic fighter. will likely never play a Paladin or a priest because lol c'mon...

rogue is my favored of the core 4 because it is typically the most underestimated...yes it requires a lot of micromanagement, but when used correctly and with the proper equipment none of the other classes can stand up to it. a thing i'd like to see though is greater inter party co-op from the classes. For example say your group is being surrounded by a large attack force: the enemy sends in rogues to poison, trap and backstab the party before warriors and mages move in for the kill...if your party rogue is higher in level and within sight of his party members (as he would be because they're surrounded) he could "warn" his party to watch their backs and not to set off traps by his mere presence. Essentially this would mean immunity to backstab damage and traps if the rogue can make the spot checkand obviously this would benefit enemies as well making combat even more tactical. These bonuses would only work if the rogue was close by and higher level however. it would essentially boil down to a "rogues awareness" mode that benefits party members in combat. I'm sure similar inter party co-op mechanics could be thought of for each class but this one was just off the top of my head.

....additional romance options once rigor mortis sets in...

and at higher levels they can't die unless you destroy their phylactery

^ my impression is that Cipher's are born not made since they are considered outsiders by society...most people wouldn't want to live like that if they had a choice. so all in all a Cipher is born with potential but must train that potential to be strong. Other classes choose to be what they are (or its chosen for them by culture or upbringing e.g perhaps priests, monks and barbarians)

I didn't say i wanted ciphers to be sh*t at combat...on the contrary I think it might even be a great candidate class for the "final Villain", given there is one. Imagine a charismatic villain who can subtly manipulate the minds of kings and enemies alike to achieve his ends...sounds like a force to be reckoned with, especially if the manipulated don't even realize it's happening. ~~ all things considered i'd like them to discard the DnD notions of Psioniscists in favor of a more traditional psychic powers approach... Combat cipher's could specialize in telekinesis or pyrokinesis etc etc while more investigative or social oriented players could focus on Psychometry or telepathic powers. I really think the sky is the limit when it comes to this class and hope they don't just try to imitate DnD stuff

Illithids? Githzerai? *Btw could be good examples of two paths for cipher. Manipulate other's will or form the world with your's. Imo, what's difficult about psyonics and ciphers - they are too specialized by theirs nature. So to be equally useful with other classes they had to be either made generally same as others (just another kind of mages) or based on completely another options and still viable somehow against any opponent. Either way - it becomes a class exceptionally suitable for munchkins (as myself). it's tough to balance completely new mechanics and foresee every exploit and cheesy way for character to become unstoppable killing/dominating machine (well, more so than others), without trimming most of skill applications and mechanics. So, on my experience, most of the time, such "special mage" classes are approached extremely carefully, not allowing them any really outstanding differences, but still becoming the most abusive and overpowered class. I'd like if it were in mind when the class would be designed so it would be not another all-around with unintentionally broken abilities, but really different class with it's pros and cons, not derived from mage class. Personally I don't mind if they don't do as well as others in straight fights if there is something to make such choice worth it. mages in DnD were anything but balanced and at higher levels were close to demi-gods compared to other classes...balance was never even a factor unless you consider that they sucked during their early levels. I don't expect Obsidian to overly concern themselves with making each class "equal" or as viable during combat as all the others. Ciphers may well excel in combat compared to other classes...or may just as likely suck. Likewise they may be supreme in non-combat social scenarios while being fragile in a tight spot. I'd like for every class to be, to FEEL, different and this means some will end up being more powerful than others.

They didn't have one (...) Of course they did, at least BG1. Whole Candlekep area was one big tutorial. but the tutorial parts were completely optional which is how it should be.

gotta tell you i'd really like to see a nomadic tribal society of chimeric humans. for examble: they are born as normal men and women, but upon reaching puberty they must go on some kind of rite of passage "spirit quest" to find their totemic animal or monster, the one they will bond with for life through some esoteric or alchemical means. Thereafter the tribals become chimera and fully accepted members of their society, an amalgam of their totemic animal and a human...kind of like Lycanthropes but with full cognitive ability. in this way you could have wolfmen, hawkwomen, minotaurs etc etc all part of a distinct culture without actually being monsters you need to kill....(unless you deem them in need of killing of course)

My Baldur's Gate folder is around 20 GB filled with mods. Just recently finished Baldur's Gate. Had to backtrack because I had prepared the wrong spells at a location and the enemies I was facing turned my Main Character to stone, go figure What I am doing here? Innovation, I thrive in innovation. Been trying to finish Baldur's Gate for a long time, but forced myself to never play Baldur's Gate 2 until I finished the first one. This took quite a while (age, experience, patience, life, time, real life travels around the world etc. etc). I talked about this the first few days I was here in the forums: Me & friend were playing Baldur's Gate, discussing ideas how to do it better, more fun, more effective, we were very into it and had a roleplaying session about it. We take a break, I google around a little bit looking and researching into old-school games BAM I hit P:E when my mind is as freshest and most eagerly in want of a new take on the IE-games and I have a ton of ideas for the genre to make it better and feel better. Coincidence? Yes, and I chose to follow it. I have played my share of older cRPG's (note: Played, not finished all of them). I haven't finished Planescape: Torment either. Gameplay Mechanics versus Story is two different things, in Baldur's Gate you've experienced most of the gameplay mechanics in the first area (Candlekeep). If you've played one of the IE games you've played all of them, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Note: Story & Gameplay, two different things. But yeah I'm on it, playing Baldur's Gate II again after your comment and I've made some progress. It's just daunting because I am doing it as a study, checking every freaking corner, nick and cranny, doing all quests, checking out all areas pfft. I've done Waukeen's Promenade, The Slums and now I'm exploring the Graveyard, yeah, I haven't gotten far enough, but far enough to understand the Mechanics (well, seeing as I have finished Baldur's Gate 1 already that's kind of a given). But if I want to understand the Story of the game, then yes, then I have to play the entire game. The story made these games. I am here to discuss mechanics, not the story, that's Obsidians job. I wouldn't mind putting out some Fan Fiction for them every now and then again to help with some material (Unless they already have a source where they get their material from). EDIT: About Chapter 1, funnily as I am in Akhathla (or whatevs I don't know how to spell it), I feel that after Irenicus dungeon you start in a Big City and to me it was quite a lot of "Woah...". A little bit too much at once. The confusion of "Which way do I go?", I am starting to dig myself into the game past that first barrier of "!?!?" and I am beginning to enjoy it much more, but that start right after Irenicus dungeon is a tad bit overwhelming in my opinion. Baldur's Gate 1 had Candlekeep and then the World, but you had a sense of a direction on where to go. Though, then again, Ath~ is a great starting location because you really are "Where the f- am I?" for Player and Character alike. I guess there could or should be "Wtf?" in the beginning but grow on you as you explore the world (<- Talking about P:E) each step in the world is a research of the world. hehe this brings back memories...I remember picking up BG2 back when it first came out (before playing BG1) and the moment I hit the promenade and saw Irenicus kill over a half dozen mages with ease i said "nope. Not ready for this ****!" I took back the game (partly because i didn't understand the DnD mechanics and was completely lost on what was going on not having played BG1) and didn't try it again until i had done the first game and its expansion. After that I fell in lve with the IE games and just about any other DnD crpg...hell i spent much of Bush's first term messing around with modded BG2 in some form or another. also, protip: It may not seem like it at first, but a rogue spec'd out and used correctly is bar none the deadliest class in the game...anything that is an instant mage killer in BG2 will give you a clear advantage. 1. find those boots of speed asap 2. dual wield and horde invisibility potions 3. work in a few fighter levels if you can, not necessary but advantageous (say dual class your BG1 fighter) 4. and backstab away! Not even final battle Irenicus can stand up to well placed rogue traps...ahh memories. Now i'm feeling all nostalgic. also, play evil! the combination of Korgan (best fighter), Viconia (best cleric), Edwin (best mage) and you (best Assassin) is the best rounded team you can get in BG2 and at higher levels are unstoppable. Not to mention the addition of a surprise returning badass in Throne of Bhaal! aww f*ck, i think i'm going to go have to play this crap again soon

wow...you haven't finished BG2?... My jaw is unable to close right now. I'd understand if you said you hadn't played a more obscure title like Divine Divinity...but BG2? C'mon man, you better get on that asap. and backtrack? unless you are in Suldanesselar there is no need for backtracking, you will eventually return to Amn and all the quests from chapter 2-3 will still be there just with higher level monsters. also, do yourself a favor and go to Gibberlings3 and Spellhold studios and download a few of their mods to polish out the rough edges of the game. edit: No seriously what are you even doing here? The BG series as a whole, especially BG2, has so much re-playability in it that it can ride you almost straight through to 2014.

its already been said by Sawyer (iirc) in an interview or update that the world map of P:E is roughly the size of Spain and that there are larger empires that border and have vested interests in this region... it is obviously part of a far larger world. The lore update even says that the current cultures of the world map are just newly emancipated territories and cultural off shoots of other nations.

for the main story not to get lost it needs to periodically come after you...this happens either through attacks, special encounters or other pressing motivations that must be attended to otherwise "bad shlt" will keep happening. there is no reason to limit side quests so that the main quest doesn't get lost. The writer/designer simply has to provide proper incentive to continue onward through the critical path with a proper application of incentives, be they great rewards or terrible consequences - or both.

that asian themed elephant samurai is giving seizures to at least 10 realism aspies at this very moment...now if you wanna make it really inflammatory put it in a chainmail bikini and say it's romanceable.

b-but guize! Think of the REALISM!!!!!

Sawyer is huddled under his desk in the fetal position rocking back and forth slightly while muttering to himself...as I type this...

i hope they have rainbow spiky armor with humongous shoulder plates and 10 ft glowing buster swords. would the realism aspies kill themselves if this happened...i wonder... no matter that every piece of concept art and dev info that has come out indicates a realistic approach, no, we need to discuss this ad nauseum just because: "It's our way or nothing at all."