TheTeaMustFlow

First up, the use of dual wielding is `realistic` even in a purely western context: for example, the Florentine style using a broadsword and a main-gauche (I think that is the correct term) mostly for defence. I think this style actually fits PE given that it emerged in the late middle ages/renaissance period. Using two weapons is difficult, but far from impossible: I'd make it like that in game - you need to dedicate more feats/perks/ability points/whatever towards it to make it effective than more conventional close combat styles, but after that effort is put in it becomes very effective against those styles (as it is exotic and harder to predict) but remains vulnerable to longer-distance attacks like polearms or projectiles. Secondly, while I would agree that more excessive styles of dual wielding, such as two longswords, are unrealistic, what's important is that they are not implausible. I can see someone use two longswords and not know that that's impossible - particularly when both magic and the Charles Atlas Superpower that hero-types tend to possess are bought into play. Willing Suspension of Disbelief is what matters, not realism: and when the fireballs are flying, the chappy doing a Miyamoto Musashi impression doesn't seem to present a problem.

I definitely don't think the game would be at all better off with only sad endings or without closure. Remember that, according to some polls, 98% of players disliked the original ME3 ending. I like having a feeling of `winning` and I like to see the characters I follow in a story accomplish something. And knowing Obsidian, I don't think we're in any danger of some kind of `happily ever after` ending. The happiest we'll probably get is something along the lines of `We won, and things should be better from here on out... but we lost a lot doing it`. Also, bear in mind that our speculation is before we know pretty much anything about the plot.

The only opinion I have is that we should be able to use the `High-Strung Evangelist` soundset from NWN. `Attack, AAH SAAAAY, Attack!` Also, the difference between how each game does soundsets confuses and eludes my tiny technophobic brain.

What you're desicribing sounds more like Dwarves, to me. Since Dwarves are confirmed in the game, I feel confident they will fill this niche. With Orcs, there's an opportunity to present true nastiness, and I'd like to see that. Really though, most of it comes down to setting. Do the developers want Project Eternity's gameworld to be characterized by huge, multicultural cities like Baldur's Gate 2, or do they want more racial separation like Lord of the Rings? I don't prefer one over the other, but the decision affects the way you design the races. D&D Orcs can't realistically exist in a diverse city because they're always chaotic evil. They have to be a NPC race that exists outside the borders of the playable races' domains. Elder Scrolls' Orcs can coexist with other races because they're not particularly violent, just dumb and strong. If you want evil Orcs in a multiculturally harmonistic setting, you could portray them as trying (and often failing) to repress their innately chaotic evil nature in order to survive and thrive in their more civilized environment. The elephant in the room is that everyone knows Orcs are evil and that they would, if only given the chance, enslave the entire free world and rule as merciless tyrants. But the Orcs know they'll never survive if they carry that attitude openly. So they adapt as best they can. Some genuinely try to supress it, causing a great deal of inner turmoil; others merely try to hide it, holding shady occupations and secretly plotting/hoping for a day when they no longer have to tolerate their non-Orcish neighbors and their loathsome ideals. I guess I didn't make this clear in my post (often a problem I have), but something a bit like that was my idea, except more lawful evil - stylisticly closer to the uruk-hai than tolkeinian orcs. Evil though they were, there was something to admire in the uruks with their dedication to duty and sheer refusal to give up - honour of a sort, you might say. I can see honourable mooks betraying a dishonourable leader for moral reasons. But even then, even if the orcs actually do turn good, they are still naturally evil and default to evil. Every orc is a battleground between their good culture and evil nature. The orcs that become good mostly do so by strict self-discipline, resulting in lawful tendencies. Even then though, there's still the voice in the back of their head telling them to be evil, so people don't trust them as much. While it's a good point that they might seem to similar to dwarves (I'm kicking myself for not making the connection), I still think there can be enough difference to keep them, um, different. e.g. Since all good orcs remain so by iron-self control, they have an utterly unforgiving attitude to those who cannot meet those standards - so, if a drunk hits a man out of anger, a dwarf would slug him in the face, and maybe chuck him in the dungeon for a couple of days to think about what he did, while an orc puts a sword through him, either because he's angry or because he despises the man for letting himself go. Note to self: Try and remember the whole idea in first post....

Jim Butcher. I think his books have about the right balance of `light` and `dark` PE should have. I also enjoy Pratchett, like any sane man, but I don't think his silly style is right for PE.

Here's an idea I've had going for a while now. Orcs (or equivalent species) were once an evil servant race of some Archdemon or Dark God or such, a la Tolkien. However, when said power was weakened/destroyed, many orcs enacted a Faustian Rebellion and switched sides, effectively becoming another civilised race. They aren't stupid or evil by any means, but have a reputation for being direct, inflexible, unsubtle and harsh - but are also regarded as moral, often heroic, strong-willed and brave. Essentially, in meta terms, pluses to strength/constitution and wisdom/willpower, minuses to dexterity and charisma, tend towards fighter, paladin, barbarian, priest. They could be our `demonic` godlike race, as they maintain some abilities from their old masters. It leaves room for `orcs as mook race`, as some orcs may still serve said old masters. You could also deal with the racial issue bound to crop up in an interesting way, as much of society respects the civilised orcs for having rebelled (and may even feel indebted to them, if the orcs had a Big Damn Heroes moment) while others may still resent them for once being enemies, or suspect that any who switched sides once may do so again, particularly if the war was recent. And whatever happens, I don't want the `Orc as Noble Savage` thing. Done. To. Death.

Since there doesn't seem to be any reason for a tech v magic situation in PE, how about having the knife-ears swinging for an industrial revolution with the best of them? For once I'd like to hear about the feared magical matchlocks of the elves rather than their longbows. And maybe make them expansionistic to give them something to justify the smugness. Wait, thats it! Make the elves into the stereotypical British upper class. Ticks all the boxes: they're smug, refined, and they like nature... it gives them somewhere to hunt.

I think there should be a law stating that all medieval-ish RPGs should include some kind of Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference on pain of being taunted a second time.

How about, instead of making a moral choice out of an evil v evil or grey v grey situation, have something more rarely seen: good v good? Have two relatively nice (though not pure good) factions in opposition to each other reason. The nearest I can think of to this was, as mentioned above, New Vegas, where you had three benevolent (if maybe not actually likeable) powers against each other: The NCR, which is the last refuge of democracy and the rule of law in the wastes, but is imperialistic, and will destroy any who stand against them, Mr. House, the benevolent autocrat of Vegas who truly wants the best for the Mojave but will do anything to hold onto his power and will destroy any who stand against him, and the Wild Card Courier, who wants to free Vegas from all the power blocs, but is willing to bring anarchy to do so and will (mostly) destroy any... you get the idea. But you can make a good case for any of these being the best option. Perhaps we could have a similar plot in PE: An imperialistic nation invading a smaller independent one that just wants to be left alone. However, the empire is more modern (in a good way) and personally speaking, more free. Think late British Empire versus Westeros (with Westeros not being ruled by someone either a) utterly evil, b) utterly incompetent, or c) utterly insane.

On a similar note, this dialogue option. Villain: Any last words? PC: Just three.. Hastur Hastur Hastur! Villain: Oh SHI- Also proper arrr jimlad pirates (funky hats mandatory), theory of narrative causality, belief powered gods, a relatively nice lieutenant of the main villain working for him out of a sense of duty who can be redeemed, and incongruous oriental-ish mystical martial arts. Gimme that good ol' time weeaboo fightin' magic!

I've always liked atoners. Or at least the non-angsty, get-redemption-through-the-painful-deaths-of-your-former-masters type of atoners. Joshua Graham in New Vegas, for example, I found one of the most interesting characters in any game. Some interpretations of the PCs in both KotORs too. And, of course, characters drawing inspiration from any protagonist in any book written by Terry Pratchett. That we should have Rincewinds, Vimeses, Susans and DEATHs goes without saying.

The `mages wouldn't enchant anti-mage weapons` issue depends on whether mages are themselves a power block. There hasn't been any suggestion as far as I can see of that being the case. If it's the Arcane Alliance fighting the Technological Templars, then mages aren't going to want to see magic guns. But if it's the Kingdom of Randomia up against the Generican Empire, with both sides using magic, then the Randomian wizards are going to want to get an edge against the Generican arcanists - and what better way than giving their fellow Randomian troops enchanted guns?

To return to the subject - Let there be many guns. Let them be crazy and OTT, in the manner of Warhammer or Arcanum, only with magic as the primary reason, not SCIENCE! . Give me a musket that shoots lightning. Give me a flintlock pistol that reloads itself. Give me a holy arquebus, that can only be wielded by the pure of heart, that smites the foe with sacred fire, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it. Verily. The lore we have seen so far has some kind of fantastic nuke being used to take out St. Waidwen - So let us wield such power on a smaller scale. Also, give me an elephant gun. There shall be an elephant gun. I brook no argument. If for some unfathomable reason it does not exist within the game, it shall be modded in.

I really liked the villain of Jade Empire (not least because saying who it is is a big spoiler). Managed to be very competent while not feeling `cheap` - the reasons the villain beats you sometimes are very well-thought out and don't leave you feeling cheated. You only really managed to win because of a literal, justified deus ex machina. Also managed to be, if not sympathetic, at least... somewhat understandable.

That the in-narrative power of the character may increase over the course of the story is irrelevant. What I mean is that experience points as a way of gaining and measuring power, while it works, is totally arbitrary. The story is the same whether your character finishes at level 12 or power-levels and hits level 20 by grinding. Within the storyline, people do not have levels, or experience points, and actually, the story almost always starts the character off as someone supposedly competent, whatever his in-game stats suggest. And not all RPGs are about a gain in power. One often finds oneself fighting the same kind of enemies at the end as at the start, and yet, because their arbitrary levels have increased for no apparent reason, they're just as much of a threat. Also, seriously has an L in it, and you have a spellchecker. Immersion dies another death every time one looks at ones exp total. And the companions are, as a rule, supposed to be about as good as each other, not randomly become comparatively incompetent because they haven't gutted quite as many goblins. The choice between them when they are the same level is not meaningless, because even then, as they have different classes, they have different strengths. Also, in RPGs one normally pays some small attention to personality. You may have heard of it.

Dammit, why can I only pick one option? How can you make me choose between freedom and electric shocks?

That is a plot and character aspect. We're talking here about gameplay aspects. Given that `levels` or `exp` presumably don't actually exist within the storyline (though to go off topic, a semi-serious game set in an RPG Mechanics Verse a la order of the stick might be interesting), I can't see any storyline related reason why a character who has not been travelling with the PC should have any less of these arbitrary, non-existent-within-narrative levels than someone who has. I'm confused. Would you kindly explain to me how being able to pick a wider variety of companions and retain combat effectiveness, hence, as you have said, giving me more choice, somehow gives me less choice? And would you kindly explain to me how it makes the game worse - after all, if you want to stick to the same characters all the way through, this doesn't stop you.

I really don't think this is a good idea, as I don't see that it adds much to the game except grinding. There's a reason that very few recent RPGs - including some of the best ones, like KotOR have all your party members level with you. Given that a `level` is an abstract and rather arbitrary designation of power anyway, I don't see how not giving unused party members more of these unrealistic `levels` actually makes things more realistic. Having the party stay at the same power level is certainly better for one critical cause - that is, Willing Suspension of Disbelief - than have some members of the party slowly become useless.

It could work, but it would have to be done well, and could be very easy to get wrong. And this might be just me, but I've always seen PCs as younger figures, more likely to be mentored than to mentor.

Sabre and pistol is what I'd go for. Preferably an enchanted self reloading flintlock, accompanied, naturally, by top hat and monocle for all discerning posh imperialists everywhere. An elegant fighting style, for a more civilised age. Elegant for me, anyway. Not so much for all the bloodied corpses.

Possibly we could actually have firearms technology improve during the game - maybe have the main antagonists army have it's edge by using rifled weapons, or the PC could employ some inventor a la Kang the Mad or Dworkin the... also Mad, come to think of it. It seems in gaming technological invention must come at the price of sanity. Also whatever primitive firearms we start with should be modelled on the guns from Princess Mononoke. And therefore receive massive bonuses when fighting samurai. Or uppity gods.

They shouldn't have spiders in the game. You know why? Giant spiders are really boring. There are very few times I can think of that they serve as anything more than random unexplained monster #341. Fallout lost naught from lack of spiders. Not to mention, wouldn't their exoskeleton or whatever crush them? Although, come to think of it, one of the things that did help me get over my mild arachnophobia was reducing spiders to ashes with arcane fire.

I quite liked the Whodunit quest in Oblivion - they managed to create the closed circle feeling and atmosphere really well. And of course, there was the fact that it was a dark brotherhood (assassins) quest....

No thanks. The time I spend worrying about food is the time I don't spend exploring the world, conversing with characters or exploding heretics.

That is precisely what I first thought. Perhaps the PE world is on the way to destruction because somebody set us up the bomb? And we have no chance to survive make our time? Thus I presume we are given a mighty power called ZIG at 4 million, which we use to destroy the feline menace. For Great Justice. TheTeaMustFlow - dragging out your jokes until they die horribly since 1996.