Death Machine Miyagi

My experience has been that fan VOs are almost universally horrible and actually make things significantly worse than if you're just allowed to imagine for yourself what the character sounds like.

How is this still a thing?

Hey, it's your money. If an enormous sprawling RPG, the product of years of work, is soiled forever for you and every product of the company that made it tainted from here on out because one piece of dialogue was changed to something more PC, then go ahead and seek a refund and move on with your life Obsidian-free. I just reserve the right to think of this as utterly ridiculous.

If the point is 'we don't care how many thousands of man-hours you poured into this game or how much people seem to love the work you've done otherwise, if you alter a piece of irrelevant flavor text for reasons perceived to be catering to the Tumblr crowd your company has jumped the shark and should give us all our money back', then yes, a striking point. I can't imagine how people working at Obsidian couldn't take that approach seriously. Why is it so hard for people to find middle ground here? Like, 'Hey, Obsidian, this was a sh*tty move, we love ya and PoE is otherwise great but please don't do it again' rather than 'you've ruined Pillars of Eternity forever!' It's as if the hyper-sensitivity and crazed over-reaction of the SJW community is contagious.

What's funny is that these same people are perfectly fine with nonsense like this: Which puts the memorials at just slightly better than Sonic The Hedgehog furry fanfic but you know outrage and boycotts... In general, I went in expecting any backer contributions to be on the low end of the writing scale. Plunking down a wad of cash doesn't make you a competent fantasy writer, shockingly enough, and fantasy is one of those genres where the depths of suck people are capable of can be truly awe-inspiring. That was kind of one of the things that unnerved me about the whole 'backer participation' thing. That said, if bad writing were a big enough thing for large numbers of people to boycott games, then the games industry in general would be in deep trouble.

Does anyone else spot the irony in some people reacting to Obsidian caving in to people who are too easily offended by irrelevant things by announcing they'll never buy an Obsidian game again until Obsidian changes back a few lines of text? Seriously, how are some of you any better than the SJWs you're whining about?

[Editor's note: For the sake of brevity, I have omitted Lady Perrini's long-winded and absurd stories of her background and origin prior to arriving in the Dyrwood. Suffice to say, though she puts it more delicately, she is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who used his money and connections to purchase a title of nobility. Her upbringing was filled with the finer things, but the nobles of the old class looked down on her family as up-jumped pretenders, as they are wont to do with anyone who cannot trace their noble status back to the Grand Empire. Resentful at this treatment and filled with a desire to prove herself, Lady Perinni left the warring remnants of the Vailian Empire to seek her own fortune elsewhere in her mid-teens. The stories here becomes farcical. At the age of 16, she claims to have signed on to a privateer. A year later, after growing tired of the harsh discipline and conditions of the naval life, she has abandoned her comrades in the port of Selona and supposedly been taken under the wing of a dashing rogue of high station among the thieves of that city. The adventures recounted afterward are the stuff of children's fantasies, not history, and scarcely worth recounting. All that is worth noting from this matter is that, at the age of 23, she fled Selona due to complications she is strangely evasive about putting to paper. As she fled, she received word of an offer from a Lord Raedric of Gilded Vale, offering land to anyone bold enough to claim it. Missing the luxuries of her old life, and seeing the chance to forge a position among the landed gentry in those territories, she paid for passage on a caravan to Gilded Vale. And it is on that caravan the story begins.] Chapter 8 Wherein is related the journey to Gilded Vale and the great misfortunes that befell Petrona's caravan owing to the zealousness of the Glanfathans Having found passage on a caravan, despite all obstacles, I braced myself for a long and dull trip. The majority of the other travelers, though pleasant enough, were unlearned peasants and merchants with little to offer in the way of conversation. I passed the time reading and enjoying the beauty of the Glanfathan countryside, which must be seen to be truly appreciated. Unfortunately, as we were well into the journey, I fell ill. This was hardly a surprise. My constitution has never been strong and the Glanfathan climate doesn't agree with me to this day. I spent several hours of misery in the back of the wagons before the caravan master, Odema, called for a halt. Our caravan sat before the entrance of an ancient ruin, surrounded by glowing crystals. A marvelous view which did little to ease my discomfort at the ill news I was given. Apparently I had a touch of the 'Rumbling Rot', contracted from a local beetle of some sort. The caravan master, his face white with fear for my safety, told me in no uncertain terms that I would be dead within the day without the proper cure. He told me I must take what the locals call a 'springberry' to ease my pain, a small pink berry that grows on some of the local bushes. Setting aside the agony tearing through my guts, and to the astonishment of everyone, I rose from my sickbed and set off into the wilderness to find this elusive 'springberry', perhaps the only hope I had left. [Editor's Note: A number of things to be said here. To begin with, the 'Rumbling Rot' is nowhere near as dangerous as Lady Perinni claims. Drink enough water and it's little more than a stomach illness, gone within the day. As such, I must conclude that she is exaggerating her peril for effect. Certainly the sickness mentioned is nothing that requires an ill woman to be driven from her sickbed seeking berries in the wilderness. If Lady Perinni indeed ever even had the 'Rumbling Rot', then I have no doubt she had many chances to become acquainted with many bushes along the way to Gilded Vale, but not for the berries that grow on them, if my meaning is understood.] Yet even as I insisted I be the one to find the springberry, 'lest anyone else in the caravan come to harm for my sake, Odema would not let me go alone. I was given the help of one of our guides, Calisca. She seemed capable enough, a warrior of few words and simple needs. Not wanting to be impolite, I accepted the offer and did my best to ensure she returned alive. Prior to heading into the wilderness, I sought answers from the other members of the caravan. Most of them were decidedly unhelpful, simply remarking upon the obvious fact that caravan life didn't agree with me. Odema himself had much of interest to say, however, telling me of what locals call the 'Biawacs', storms that tear loose your very soul, and of the local barbarians who attack any they perceive as violating the sanctity of the Engwithan ruins. Note to future adventurers No matter how backward and absurd their beliefs and behavior, respect the customs of the locals. Laughing at their barbaric customs gains you nothing but enemies, and you won't be changing behavior which has remained fixed for centuries with a bit of conversation or ridicule. Pretending to understand why they believe the things they believe often leaves the savages absurdly grateful, which in turns makes them far easier to control. A merchant by the name of Heodan from the Aedyr Empire was the only other traveler of note who would tell me much of himself. We struck up a brief conversation, and he offered to sell me some of his goods, but as always I had already come prepared and didn't need his help. Nevertheless, with a bit of charm I was able to win the beginnings of a friendship with him, listening to his story of expanding his family's merchant business into the Dyrwood. Thus prepared, Calisca and I ventured forth, little knowing what awaited us beyond the campfires... [Editor's Note: Some wolves await them. How much excitement can be milked from armed warriors slaughtering starving wolves, Lady Drama Queen?]

I pledged a really low amount because I'm poor. So saying that it was worth my pledge doesn't mean much.

Preface and editorial commentary by Verzano Bufó, renowned scholar and historian of the Eastern Reach and noted critic of the Petrona Perini series of adventure stories which have of recent won such popularity amongst the moneyed classes of Old Vailia and the Vailian Republics It is scarcely surprising that tales so rich with action and excitement as those spread by the famed Lady Perini should have won so many admirers. To folk of wealth and breeding, with scarce more of interest in their lives than the balancing of ledgers and the tawdry gossip of the local nobility, the appeal of an educated woman of pure Vailian descent braving dangers at every turn and pursuing adventures they can scarce imagine should be self-evident. If they are to be believed, Lady Perini's tales offer us the life of adventure so many of us dream of leading, but which must forever remain outside of our reach due to the burdens of duty and family, even setting aside the near suicidal nature of the challenges Lady Perini claims to face on a near daily basis. Yet it is the unhappy task of the scholar to stem his enthusiasm for a good tale and pour the cold water of truth upon such fantasies, 'lest the swindlers and the charlatans of the world be left to reign unchallenged. The scholar must remain above all a lover of the truth, and it thus the regrettable burden of this humble scholar to reveal that Petrona Perini is little more than a highly adept fraud, neither as well bred nor as well traveled as she would have her readers believe. The stories she has written are riddled with factual inaccuracies and blatant exaggerations which are obvious enough to the critic of sufficient education, but which have been skillfully disguised to hide their true nature from the unwary layman. As such, in the course of this document, I have set myself the task of countering the danger posed to the greater public by the wild popularity of Lady Perini's work, offering both the original account and the critical commentary necessary to differentiate truth from falsehood. While her story is perhaps not fabricated from whole cloth, without careful guidance utter nonsense can all too easily be passed off as fact. It is my hope that this account will save many an unknowing reader from falling prey to just such a fate. With that aside, let us begin.

It's kind of hard to fully absorb that, in the year 2015, I'm playing what is pretty much an Infinity Engine game. Lots of text, highly detailed storyline and characters, lots of stats and character design options... Today is a good day.

Very much YMMV. I haven't noticed anything yet.

Introducing Petrona Perini, Scion of Old Vailia and seeker of fame and fortune! Mostly because daddy was, in reality, just a rich merchant who bought his titles. The stuck-up nobles of the old blood don't approve of that sort of thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5R_pS0h5Qk&ab_channel=StephK

Now stop counting down and go play the bloody thing.

It's not out yet, but the association with Paradox made me think of some of the forums filled with After Action Reports they have set up over there. For my part, I've been thinking of detailing my first playthrough from the perspective of my lovely Vailian Rogue chick, when I'm completely blind as to what's happening and what's going to happen.

If hotcakes sell so well, why doesn't everybody just sell hotcakes instead of making things that try to sell like hotcakes?

It's not so much that as that I think posters around here want people who aren't hardcore CRPG geeks to read lots of good reviews, then go buy the game. The more copies it sells, the more likely we'll have more CRPGs like it in the future. Of course, there's also the natural human instinct to respond to criticism of something you really, really like as if it were a personal insult, as well as the more modern internet backlash whenever some guy gives a less than stellar score to a game or movie everyone is gushing over and thereby knocks down its Metacritic/Rotten Tomatoes/whatever else score. Not rational, sure, but damn if it doesn't seem to be a very human thing to do.

The purple one seems custom designed for it, but apparently it's an 'official' portrait. I'll regret not having a custom one that I can semi call my own. But yeah, purple one it is.

Yep. Right now I really, really, really wish I could make an awesome portrait for a Vailian female rogue with swashbuckling tendencies. Narrowed it down to two choices from links up above. Either: or...

I'm not entirely clear. Is the fact that there is little overlap between the type of gamer who wants to discuss the games on that list and the type of gamer who wants to discuss Pillars of Eternity meant to be a bad thing?

An echo of our beginnings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYB92jGPnlg&ab_channel=Jos%C3%A9In%C3%A1cioCoelho

My nipples explode with delight!

Oh, sweet money. May it climb to #1 and stay there for a long, long time. The longer it's there, the more money there will be to make the sequel as insanely epic as Baldur's Gate 2 was compared to Baldur's Gate.

I'm sure everyone has a few. Here are mine. 1) If there is Fog of War on a given map, I will not be leaving said map until every bit of it that can possibly be revealed has been revealed. When I come to a map where there are inaccessible areas that don't allow me to unveil the fog of war, and there is no equivalent of the clairvoyance spell to uncover them, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth. 2) In the same spirit, every quest must be done, every nook and cranny investigated. Even the ones I hate doing. I will not miss out on some cool item or character, and even if I know a quest sucks and the reward for it sucks it must be done. 3) If there are plot holes induced by doing quests out of a certain order, in all subsequent playthroughs I will do my level best to only do the quests in the order that causes the story to make the most sense. 4) I'm keeping all the now-irrelevant plot material stuff I pick up. Books, scrolls, keys, whatever. I won't necessarily have them on my person, but I'll put them in a box or on a shelf somewhere in my stronghold. Just dropping them somewhere is blasphemy. 5) When PoE 2 rolls around, I will only play characters that have been imported from the original game. I'm sure there are others I can think of. I'm a neurotic person in general.

Name: Tysha Race: Human Class: Rogue Culture: Old Vailia Background: Mercenary