rjshae
Members
-
Joined
-
Last visited
Everything posted by rjshae
-
The tl;dr version: -
Multi-classing in D&D seemed like a cludge designed to allow the type of flexibility that later became more readily available with a skills-based system. The problem is that multi-classing hard to balance well. An improperly balanced multi-classing system favors a min-maxing approach, making it more of a zero-sum game than is preferable for the role-playing experience. (I.e. it encourages munchkinism.) To me, as long as there is sufficient flexibility of design in the system, then the multi-classing cludge isn't really necessary. Of course, that approach introduces a whole new set of balancing issues.
-
-
...proofreading.
I could imagine the Vithrack being able to command herds of insects with their minds. Perhaps they have even domesticated and selectively bred some, so that they start to resemble the insect form of farm animals. Giant bovine-spiders could produce non-sticky silk that can be woven into tough fabrics. Giant beetles repeatedly shed their shells, producing tough materials that can be chemically reshaped into bowls, cups, and so forth. Giant canine-wasps round up the bovine-spiders and serve as watchdogs.
rjshae replied to Death Machine Miyagi's topic in Pillars of Eternity: General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)For Epic levels, the average exploration and encounter approach isn't going to cut it. Your power levels are beyond nearly everything you're going to face in a typical location. I think you need to travel to where the challenges are, which may mean moving to distant locations around the globe, or leaving the globe altogether and going to another plane or realm.Perhaps elevated souls are directly tasked by the gods to accomplish great things, meaning you'll become an agent of a deity and be sent against the greatest perceived threats? If you succeed, then your soul will ascend to wherever it is elevated souls go.
They just keep on coming. Nothing really grabs me in this group, but tastes vary so here you go: Dragon Kings -- A rules agnostic fantasy game world, with PDF rules supplements for Savage Worlds and Pathfinder. Currently at $20,226/$29,000 with 40 days to go. Darklands: First Edition -- A skirmish miniatures wargame in a fantasy setting. Not really a RPG as such. Succeeding at £77,020 with 12 days to go. Aeon Wave - A Cyberpunk Scenario for Fate Core -- Pretty much what the title says: a single-shot or short run cyberpunk scenario for the Fate Core game system. Includes a downloadable sample. At $833/$1,000 with 27 days to go. Amethyst - Fantasy & Technology Collide -- Reboot of the setting for Pathfinder and D&D 4e. At $1,540/$8,000 with 27 days to go. CBL: Characters-By-Level for Pathfinder RPG -- "Pathfinder compatible pre-generated NPCs that come with Hero Lab portfolios and high quality character art files." This is a monthly subscription. At $681/$13,000 with 27 days to go. The Unhallowed Horror Fantasy Roleplaying Adventure Path -- "A three part horror fantasy adventure path for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!" At $2,021/$5,000 with 27 days to go. Kromore 2145 RPG -- "A new Space/Steam RPG Tabletop Game." Failing at $10,700/$20,000 with 3 hours to go... March Against Darkness -- "A gritty medieval roleplaying game with an easy to learn and play system, and a richly detailed world." Succeeding at $4,320. Josiender Rulebook and The First Saga -- "a fantasy Tabletop RPG featuring multilayer puzzles, rich ecosystems, ever-progressing timelines, and the Discipline System." At $1,127/$9,000 with 25 days to go.
I just wish they'd do something about the cr.ap still cluttering up the inventory window in BG:EE. I know they added a "save note" function, which helps a little, but all of the other sundry quest items still take up space and you never quite know when to dump it.
I have mixed feelings about this, so I'm undecided whether to support. I enjoy the Sci-Fi genre in general and CRPG, but I'm not sure whether I'd enjoy this particular mix as a JRPG-like game. Anyway, they posted this in an update:
On a second thought, yes, a bit more subtlety would immensely benefit the flavor of the class. But that would limit its tactical versatility, I guess, so... meh. Along these lines, one thought that springs to mind is that the ciphers could have invasive powers that don't always trigger combat. I.e. you can see where an arcane missile is coming from so you know who to attack, but if a mental thrust invades your mind you might not know the source. It may make a target more watchful, but he wouldn't necessarily go after the party (unless they are the obvious source). Likewise, the same powers could be used against the party to soften them up before they even know where the attack is coming from.
we know little about them outside of combat, maybe that's where they're more interesting. What the heck is "standard magical fare". I have to admit I've never run across it, but perhaps I've just spent too much time in reality. AoE damage, debuffs over time, some sort of necromantic life drain spell, etc. Well, to give a mundane analogy, hand grenades, sonic projectors, artillery shells, and mini-nukes all produce AoE damage, but you'd hardly consider them the same, would you? I'd expect the different forms of soul-based magic to vary at the detailed level--in how they are powered, how often they can be used, under what conditions, their targeting methods, special effects, and so forth. What I'm wondering is in what specific manner would you expect the soul-based powers of a cipher to differ from the other classes?
Honing Our Skills, update #36: news about attributes, skills, and the pending beta release.
A primarily drama-based show like Cowboy Bebop wouldn't necessarily translate well into a computer game. The scope would likely need to be significantly modified.
According to Josh Sawyer they are. Most of the anecdotes are over at Something Awful though, but Gamebanshee's Project Eternity social round-ups catches some of the quotes usually. What I've read from Josh says rogues are better at "spike damage". High level rogues in D&D were better too, assuming they got a backstab.
How about: Soul Shield - the cipher surrounds his form with a field of parasitic energy. Whenever he is struck by a melee weapon, the field wraps itself around the weapon, drawing Focus from the soul of the attacker.It's a bit monk-like in that it would allow you to generate Focus by being struck, so some might find that objectionable. But it would be a means to regenerate Focus against a powerful opponent (assuming you survive).
I had something of a ghastly thought regarding this class: an evil-natured cipher may keep a stock of imprisoned victims handy from which he can readily draw energy for his Focus. He might establish a supposed "sanitarium for the insane", which he uses to power up his fiendish experiments. Each victim he cracks becomes another insane resident, maintaining the powers of the cipher as the older residents are burned through.
I have to wonder whether rogues are a better damage dealing class than fighters. The high damage from rogues sounds like it is based on special attacks, rather than being relatively consistent like a fighter. On average then, fighters may be the better overall damage dealing class, whereas rogues may be better in brief encounters such as an ambush. It's hard to tell though until we actually get the game.
To agree with Zeno would be splitting hairs...
It does. To me that does make a huge difference. Plus you have the fact that the Monk powers up by being hit, while the cipher powers up by doing the hitting: these call for quite different battlefield tactics. For example, you could send the cipher after wimpy opponents with poor deflection bonuses or use reach/ranged weapons, whereas you probably want the monk to mix it up in close combat with enemies who can dish it out.
A mage and a fighter walk into a fisherman's bar. The discussion turns to rods and reels...
Well hopefully their powers will work with a reach weapon, so they can poke from the second rank then weaken or damage the opponent with their soul powers. IIRC, 'adra' was an artificial material created by the progenitor race, and that is the look created in the scene: unnatural stones. Like the kind you'd put in an aquarium.
rjshae replied to I_SERVE_THE_FLAMING_FIST's topic in Pillars of Eternity: General Discussion (NO SPOILERS)For their time period, there were a lot of things to enjoy about the BG series: The sense of being to creatively control tactics at the squad level. The mood music and atmospheric sounds were almost consistently good. Some of the creative quips spoken by the NPCs helped maintain immersion. The fog of war effect provided a strong sense of exploration. The cut scenes held the plot together and provided a story for your character. A few of the things I didn't like: The cookie-cutter feel of many of the NPCs and creatures. A few of the tunes grew repetitive, such as in the taverns and inns. Poor walk-pathing in constricted areas. The unnecessary clutter of items in your inventory, such as potions and notes. The enemy A.I. can be pretty stupid at times.
I like the current approach of providing talents (feats) to create some degree of class focus, without being enough to overly blur the distinctiveness of each class. I.e. you can build a fighter character that is 15% mage, or a mage character that is 15% fighter, but neither will be fully up to the job of the other and you'll lose some alternative benefits in the process. Hence, I'm fine with not including the prestige class cludginess of D&D.
