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rjshae

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Everything posted by rjshae

  1. rjshae
    That's one thing that DA:O got right: unsheathing weapons at the start of combat then sheathing them when it was over.
  2. rjshae
    Funded! With 69 hours to go. Now if only Ghost of a Tale would make it...
  3. rjshae
    Something they could do with the Stronghold is give it one or more reputation scores; the choices you make in building up various elements of the stronghold would modify some of your reputations with different factions. For example, adding a library and a mage tower would improve your rep. with the imperial wizardry guild. You could also get visits from guests based upon your highest reputation scores.
  4. rjshae
    I do like the variety and creativity in the variants illustration. It's tempting to think, "Can we have all of them?" Agreed. That update was phoned in. At the start it read as if we were going to get some info about the monster but instead we got half a pipeline, vague information and told about a lot of cool concet art not show. I sense a growing feel of entitlement among certain readers... and it's not a healthy trend. But then again we get a certain proportion of ungracious grumblers in every update, so perhaps it's just the law of averages at work.
  5. rjshae
    Thanks for the update. Unfortunately the comments didn't map to the image locations. I guess the first image is for #7 and the second for #5? Otherwise, I like the high-level goals you have listed for monster creation; there's plenty of miles left in even some of the early D&D archetypical monsters and I like to see a good mix. Hopefully even the familiar monsters will be different enough to break the expectations of us old-time gamers.
  6. rjshae
    Dragon Age? You mean the game where the party would scatter all over the map, you couldn't block a gap, and tactics were hardly worth a damn? Yeah, sure.
  7. rjshae
  8. rjshae
    Dragons are a trope. The cliche, if any, lies in their stereotypical use. A creative writer can make just about any trope interesting, while a poor writer can turn the most creative idea into something trite. Given suitable character development, a decent plot line, and proper scene setting, then a dragon should prove to be engaging story element.
  9. rjshae
    History shows that human beings are very capable of justifying the most vile and reprehensible behavior conceivable. We're flexible that way.
  10. rjshae
    Among the Sleep is at 90% with 4 days to go. In their updates, they announced Oculus Rift support.
  11. rjshae
    More fun things to do on a slow weekend...
  12. rjshae
    Oops, wrong forum... (walks out quickly).
  13. rjshae
    A thought along these lines: give each magic item the equivalent of a "skills tree" called soul bindings.The branches define the capabilities of the item when wielded by that character. Each branch along the tree has some prerequisites, which can include class levels, ability scores, skill ranks, and possibly material components (such as a type of gem stone). The player can select one branch each time they satisfy the prerequisites.
  14. rjshae
    No.
  15. rjshae
    Isn't that true for ANY group? Extermist and negative and loud people stick out more. Preconceptions exist and are everywhere. Mmm... no. Members of the Society of Actuaries don't go on about prying pension reports from their cold, dead hands.
  16. rjshae
    I suspect that players may game this system by having their monk character don armor in the middle of the battle, once the wounds limit is reached. I seem to recall you could do that in the IE games--albeit with the loss of a round. No inventory access during combat. Edit: Ah I see Josh already answered. Not completely true: you can still access your 'equipment' inventory, since you can swap between weapon sets. I'm assuming that includes shields, so possibly the Monk can switch to using a shield upon reaching the wounds limit. Does shield use inhibit some of the Monk's unarmed attacks? Presumably it does.
  17. rjshae
    The NRA should be concerned about their image; for a group that claims to represent responsible gun owners, they're coming across like crackpot central. My guess is the current generation of 3D guns will prove to be a gimmick; plastic junk that won't hold up next to properly manufactured weapons.
  18. rjshae
    Providing the player with familiar motifs is not necessarily a bad thing for a fantasy setting; it should make the unusual stand out more.
  19. rjshae
    Revolution has finally... finally, almost become interesting. Zzz... Still enjoying Orphan Black quite a bit; even more than Arrow. I hope they pick it up for a second season. Fringe was great, even when watching a replay. I really miss that show. Defiance doesn't really fill the void. Probably the Walking Dead comes closest. Vikings, on the history channel, is like a drug fix. Can't stop watching it.
  20. rjshae
    I think JES answered that rather nicely. Using your soul's powers takes a lot of dedication and training. A wizard's training is not like a monk's or a cleric's. A monk can't suddenly start using a wizard's skills any more than a martial arts master can suddenly start using a master watchmaker's skills. It takes a half a lifetime to become a master watchmaker or a martial arts master, even if both skillsets are "powered" by the same thing. (I'm liking monks a lot more after that explanation BTW.) Exactly. I suppose one philosophy might be to think of the soul as the "energy source" and the different character classes as the energy transfer mechanisms. Just as in the physical world there are different forms of energy storage and application, so too are there different means of wielding the energy of the soul. Perhaps the Monks are the "fly-wheels" (prayer wheels?) of soul energy; the more you strike it in the right way, the faster the wheel is spun up and the more soul energy it can release.
  21. rjshae
    The mind of an engineer: In the right half, nothing is left In the left half, nothing is right
  22. rjshae
    See above and SOULS! Answer to everything in PE. Yes, but "souls" is a rather shallow explanation, isn't it? I'm sure they can come up with something better and more specific. For example, Monks and Clerics (and I guess everyone else) use the power of souls, but in which ways are their usages different? How is the Monk and Cleric training different? Why can't a powerful cleric suddenly use Monk abilities? Why not something in between? The existence of classes would imply that the different powers of the soul are discrete(-ish). There has got to be a something which explains this (although hopefully people in the game world won't know much about it). Yes they could... but should they? Magic is more interesting when it is a little bit mysterious. You've then got schools of philosophical thought on the topic, but no exact science.
  23. rjshae
    "Middle Kingdom" would work. As for what to do about the cyber espionage... my perspective is that western businesses are currently in the position of having to individually defend their information against an entire nation-state. Each firm is left to figure it out on there own because there is very little 'concentration of force'; i.e. IT talent. A more unified approach may be efficacious, but that would likely require a different approach to network communication and IT collaboration.
  24. rjshae
    I suspect that players may game this system by having their monk character don armor in the middle of the battle, once the wounds limit is reached. I seem to recall you could do that in the IE games--albeit with the loss of a round.
  25. rjshae
    It all looks and sounds great. The Monk is a real departure from the old D&D class and it sounds much more like something I'd actually want to play: living damage capacitors. As for the culture concepts... I can see what was meant by a subdued palette. I like the clear differentiation in the styles, and the Vailian attire certainly has that Renaissance look; albeit with less modest dresses. Most of the hair styles and colors look very similar--are there going to be cultural differences there as well? Thank you for the update.
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