rjshae

I never quite understood that whole two-weapon specialization thing they added in D&D. The archery I understand because they're hunting-type specialist, but why would you favor dual weapons when fighting a bison or a bear? As woodsmen I think they would be more likely to specialize in agile fighting without a (cumbersome) shield, particularly with thrusting weapons.

To me, Druids are just a variant on the Animist tradition. So basically priests of an elementalist viewpoint wherein nature is composed of spirits of various stripes: fire, air, earth, water, and spirit.

I'm hoping the place won't actually be that large; it shouldn't rival the castle of a baron, for example. Perhaps a robust, non-symmetrical two story stone structure located on a rise near a dangerous wilderness area. But an extensive cellar system would be good. As my player acquires gold, a curtain wall can be added and enough serfs to build a walled village at the base. Success in clearing out the local threats would then draw in traders and artisans, plus maybe a jealous rival.

If they were to implement minimum strength requirements for weapons (with a penalty for being under), then put in a significant strength penalty for the off-hand weapon, I think that would balance things out. Things like Monkey-grip should be toned way down, such as limiting it to weapon and shield only with a penalty to attack.

It depends on whether at least five of the existing characters are ones I want to adventure with. I was able to put together a well-balanced group I enjoyed in the BG series, so I have high hopes. If not, then yes I'll go with the Adventure Hall recruits.

Does anybody know if they have an official notification mailing list set up? Thanks. Guilty.

Given the difficulty of securing digital creations and the impact of piracy upon all of the traditional media industries, you're probably right. It's going to be an interesting world.

What are the odds that your stronghold will be left in the dust with the sequel? After all, they have a big wide world for you to explore.

Yes, in a world of arcane rituals, multiple deities, vampires, healing potions, flaming swords, sprites, invisibility spells, and giant spiders, your point is well taken.

Next up? Fringe RPG.

I doubt it since this is mostly a niche market . But it's possible the industry may view this as a way to find new talent (or promising ideas) and go poaching.

So you stipulate that the only thing going on in the entire world is what the PC is doing. If they're off-camera, how do you know what they've been doing? For all you know they went and killed 4,000 dragons and they rightfully ought to be level 50 by now. To simulate that, if you remove a character from your party then after a random amount of time has passed they should disappear from your game world... then show up at some later time. There shouldn't be a guarantee that you can swap characters at a whim. It should be a game-effecting decision that impacts the player to some degree. (That might also improve replay value.)

...and bowstrings.

Why can't elves come in a greater size range than humans?

Higher level spells in D&D are so effective that I usually equip my fighters with the sword and heavy shield combo, rather than fighting with a two-handed weapon, dual weapons, or unarmed (monk). Doing so basically cut down on the post-combat healing. Perhaps it's not as fun as the other options, but it works as a gaming strategy (and as a historical strategy as well).

Plot thread: two characters are chained together and on the run from the dreaded slavers. Will they escape? Will they become inseparable brothers in arms? Stay tuned...

A nice touch would be seeing spell icons that expand and animate when you do a mouse-over, giving a better idea of their purpose. For example, a fireball icon that bursts into flame or a magic missile spell that shows glowing orbs bouncing around. Then again that might get annoying after a while. Shrug.

Repost: I would just like to see a game with a good mix, ranging from tense adventures to character development. These all make a story dramatic; conflict without the character development is just a FPS; character interplay without the conflict is a soap opera. Romance is just another element of character development and motivation. If you don't want to follow that angle, you're free to ignore it and pursue other relations. The game developers have already said they will be exploring other angles to character development, so I'm sure we'll all have something of interest.

I would just like to see a game with a good mix, ranging from tense adventures to character development. These all make a story dramatic; conflict without the character development is just a FPS; character interplay without the conflict is a soap opera. Romance is just another element of character development and motivation. If you don't want to follow that angle, you're free to ignore it and pursue other relations. The game developers have already said they will be exploring other angles to character development, so I'm sure we'll all have something of interest.

Meta-meetings are always a joy.

What brand do you use? I'd love to have some of that for some of the clunky crud software we get stuck with at the office.

The player is always free to change the difficulty setting to Casual Gamer mode if they aren't into powergaming.

There was an interesting concern raised in this article on games.on.net. Despite the QS from the Oblivion team and the beta testing we know they'll have from the higher end contributors, it seems almost inevitable that a new game will be released with at least a few high impact bugs. What I am wondering is how much post-release support we'll be able to expect in terms of addressing these issues? If the game is a financial success beyond the KS income, then such support seems likely. But I'm less sure about the case where the game experiences only light sales in the non-KS market. Will it get sidelined at that point? What do you think?

As they say, the devil is in the details.

I think you're seriously underestimating kittens.