Keyrock

The 3 million goal is definitely reachable. 3.5 million seems HIGHLY unlikely, but stranger things have happened. Imma get my drum out and go drumming up support everywhere I can.

Holy smokes that screenshot is perrrrrrrrty!

Like others, I think this will be a screenshot of an environment. If so, that's cool, at least it will give us an idea of the art style a bit.

Contemplating dropping another $20 to get the expansion (I'm going to buy it now or later anyway). Already did $43 via PayPal (35 tier +8 ) so now all I need to do is pledge another $20 via PayPal and later on Obsidian will send me a questionnaire and I can tell them that the $63 was for the 35 tier, expansion, and 8 smackers for the Obsidian Order of Eternity, correct? I just want to have all my ducks in a row before I pull the trigger on this second PayPal pledge.

Agreed. Though I will say, it's kind of an intriguing idea. Just not within the scope of this game. Fair enough, I don't really want to take away from the production of the game. The amount of information said server would have to contain and process would be rather minuscule, akin to a save file for each character, though likely much smaller. The only information that would be needed in each file would be the stats of the mercenary (stars, skill, experience, level, picture file, bio text, etc...) and... that's it. I already thought about a snag to my own idea where a mercenary could have a powerful unique magic item then a player who had the same item could hire him and now have two of said item, so instead I would say that the gear does not get uploaded, instead when you hire a mercenary they come with stock gear depending on class and level (e.g. all 2nd level fightes start with a broadsword, kite shield, and chain hauberk, all lev 4 wizards start with a plain robe, bracers of agility +1, and a wand of fire). But yeah, maybe not for this game so it doesn't take away from any resources, maybe for the expansion, or a sequel? Then you simply do not upload the mercenary to the database. The Adventurer's Hall could have a separate section that would be characters only in that particular game. In addition, these characters could maybe be actually seen walking around inside the hall, whereas the characters in the database would simply appear via list form (it would be crazy to have 1000 mercenaries all packed in there). That's an interesting idea, and wouldn't consume any Obsidian resources. Thumbs up.

Now that the Adventurer's Hall is officially a go, let's deliberate on how it can be used. My idea is for created adventurers/mercenaries to be able to be uploaded to the "cloud". When you create a mercenary (hopefully Obsidian will provide us a with the ability to do custom portraits and a box where we can write our own bio/backstory) you can keep said mercenary only for your own use, or you could upload him or her to a database online. Now this could work one of two ways. The first was is the easiest where once that mercenary has been uploaded they can be recruited by anyone and everyone that connects to the database via the Adventurer's Hall. Potentially said mercenary could also be levelled up or down, either automatically or manually, to meet a party's needs. (A party of level 10 adventurers wouldn't want a level 2 mercenary and conversely it would be game breaking to allow a party of level 2 adventurers to hire a level 10 mercenary) The second option, which is my preference and by far the more interesting option in my opinion, is as follows. Any mercenary created can only exist in one place at any given time. If you decide to upload a mercenary to the database then he or she leaves your party. Once in the database anyone would have access to said mercenary, provided they were high enough level (again you wouldn't want to allow a level 1 character to hire a level 12 mercenary). In this scenario you would not be able to level the mercenary up or down, they would come "as is", gear included. Once someone decided to hire a mercenary he or she would disappear from the online database, so it would be first come first serve. The person who hired said mercenary could then employ them as long as they like and if they no longer had need of him or her then they could return them to the database. It would create a cool sort of multi-world where mercenaries would jump from adventure to adventure. Imagine creating Thorn Bear, a level 2 Barbarian, then adventuring with Thorn Bear until he was level 5, at which point you decide you want to take the party in a different direction so you tell Thorn Bear to leave the party and upload him to the database. Player 2 enters the Adventurer's Hall looking for a warrior type for his party. Player 2 decides to hire Thorn Bear and employs him until level 7, at which point he returns him to the database. Player 3 then hires the level 7 Thorn Bear because she is doing a nature-centric party with Druids and needs some muscle up front. She uses Thorn Bear until level 10 at which point she returns him to the database. Maybe at that point the original creator of Thorn Bear enters the Adventurer's Hall and sees his creation now far more powerful and differently equipped (provided the previous player didn't strip Thorn Bear of all belongings before uploading him). My other idea for the Adventurer's Hall is to use is as a place where players could communicate online. It could be as simple as a message board where you could leave stories and messages, possibly even hints for other players. Or it could include things such as a chat room where players could talk over a mug of mead. Also, the Adventurer's Hall would be a natural place to find player created adventures. Some adventures could physically start at the Adventurer's Hall or if not they could have a message appear at the hall advertising a quest and giving directions as to where to go. Once you installed a mod the included a new adventure said message would simply appear at the Adventurer's Hall. Thoughts?

Very well put. Evil shows up in many different forms, from the crazed psychopath randomly killing people, to the clever and greedy politician manipulating people, taking kickbacks, telling people what they want to hear, and manipulating the laws for his own gain at people's expense, unbeknownst to them, to the misguided visionary who decided some sacrifices had to be made along the way to serve a greater good and along the way got caught up in the quest for power and lost the vision of his original, and ultimately good, goal. Being able to wear the guise of righteousness and manipulate people (groups of people are notoriously easy to manipulate), bend the laws to your will, pretend to care, and pull off the long con can be just as evil as burning down a farm house with the family trapped inside.

Yes. Maybe less monetary or physical compensation, more in the way of favor or support from people, especially commoners and such. For example a group of militia may come to your aid in an important battle, or a farmer may offer you free stay at his home, or a priest offers to treat your wounds and bless the party. Yea, definitely different. More greedy type compensation, whether that's money or items of power. Also, if you gain favor with people it may be a crooked nobleman or a nefarious character such as a necromancer. Then in an important battle the necromancer tells you to lure the enemy onto a burial ground where he raises the dead to aid you. Maybe the crooked nobleman could use his influence to gain you access to certain parts of a palace that are off limits. Definitely not. It's not as simple as that. What one faction may see as good another may see as evil. There are acts that follow the laws, but are immoral in spirit. There are acts that break laws but are moral in spirit.

What could possibly be more important than a fantastic developer and creative mind? In my opinion, George is a steal at only 2.8 million.

There's enough classes as it is, but if they were to add another I'd vote for "Other" - Nightblade or Assassin.

That would be pretty hilarious.

I'll be very happy to get the Bard-like Chanters in the game. I'll definitely be having one of those in my party for multiple reasons: a) they're awesome b) Bards tend to make some of the most colorful and interesting companion characters. I don't care much for Paladins, however I know a lot of people like them so it's cool that they will be in the game if we get to that stretch goal. Most importantly, I'm super excited to see George Ziets back in the fold. We HAVE TO get to the 2.8 million goal!

Okay, just read up on the Chanter and indeed the class is very much Bard-like. Huzzah!

Yeah, I really hope Chanter is bard-ish, or at least Rogue-ish. Like Moirnelithe, I too see a definite deficiency in the stealthy/utility area and a surplus in the warrior/caster area.

Yeah, I'm not saying Elite isn't challenging, I'm just saying there should also be a difficulty level that's downright brutal and ridiculously difficult.

I just started an Embermage on Elite. Granted I'm not very far into the game, but I'm already hoping someone mods a higher difficulty setting into the game. Elite is challenging, but not as brutal as I'd like the highest difficulty setting to be. We need an Absurd difficulty or something like that.

All these new members. The Obsidian Order is going to take over the world!

Let me use the same character if I want, give me new areas to explore, bump up the level cap so I can get more powerful, and give me a plot full of intrigue and suspense.

Counting PayPal, Ciphers and Barbarians are already in.

Mega Dungeon is now 5 levels deep. Also, with PayPal, the project has now reached the 2.5 million stretch goal.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is driving me insane. It's been a long time since I played a game that I liked this much and also pissed me off so much. The problem lies with GTA's horrific combat mechanics. This wasn't as evident in earlier GTA games simply because on foot combat was a smaller part of the game. Each successive GTA game has put more and more of the focus on on foot combat with more and more and lengthier and lengthier firefights. They're crime games, so it's understandable, and it would be fine if the combat mechanics weren't so ****ing awful. It kills me too because the cutscenes and story are great, full of twists, betrayal, tragedy, colorful over the top characters, and dark humor. Pretty much everything else in the game is a blast too. While the driving mechanics aren't the greatest, you get used to them and they still make for a great time driving like a mad man through the city. Hanging out with your buddies or dating girlfriends is cool, even if some of the mini-games are a bit meh. Pushing old ladies down staircases, going on a rampage to build up a 4 or 5 star wanted level then leading the cops on a frantic chase through the city, even just listening to people talk on the street are all really fun. Unfortunately you have to wade through horrendously frustrating firefights to get to enjoy all those other fun parts of the game. I'm at a point now where I'm assuming I'm really close to the end and the majority of missions include extended firefights. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks "let's just get this crap over with" every time I have to go through a mission that involves a firefight. /bangs head against wall

I would think fractured limbs could be healed in a camp as long as at least one party member had a decent healing skill so he could set the bone correctly, and of course it would take extensive amounts of time. Other than that I agree with your list, but I'd like to make an addendum: Concussions: -have a chance to happen any time a character is knocked unconscious or takes a large amount of physical damage in a single attack (let's say 40 or 50 percent). -defensive penalty, penalties to all perception skills, spell failure chance significantly increased -will heal itself after a period of time (whether resting or not) or can be healed by potions or divine spells Another thing to maybe add. If you chose to press on when injured and got into another fight there would be the risk of aggravating any injury, making it more severe, which would increase any penalties and require more time or more powerful spells or potions to heal.

3 million is still very reachable. Most Kickstarter projects experience a push during the last 2 days or so, sort of like a lesser version of what goes on during the first couple of days.

I'm definitely pro injuries and being able to treat them while camped. Maybe make it an option for Expert Mode whereas otherwise injuries magically heal themselves after battle. Injuries would add another tactical layer to any time sensitive missions and/or if the world had time triggered player independent events like I described in another thread. This way if you were on a time sensitive quest or trying to get to a place where an event was going to trigger at a certain time and you had injured characters in your party, you would have to chose between camping to treat injuries and losing valuable time, or pressing on and trying to get through the situation while injured.

It's almost as if the game knows I want to play an Embermage for my next character as my Engineer just picked up two sweet Embermage-specific uniques. I'm up to lev 51 and am (presumably) really close to the end of the game (Broken Mines). /places items in shared stash