Tsuga C

If a weapon type (i.e. bastard sword, spetum, flail, etc.) is included in the game, I do hope that there will be low-mid-high-level specimens available (drops, treasure, craft it) as being stuck with the AD&D equivalent of a +1 weapon with no additional bonuses at Level 14 because I chose an unusual weapon for my protagonist would grate on my nerves mightily. Through in-game dialogues, scripts taking note of what we use, or some other method, please ensure that the campaign allows us to actualize the vision we have for our protagonists.

I'll start off on Hard (level playing field) and I'll ignore the various modes designed to make things tough on those who make a mistake or encounter a glitch. I'm playing for entertainment and have nothing to prove to myself or others with regards to this game or any other, so the various modes hold no appeal. Bragging rights for playing a videogame? Silly.

Perhaps it's my fundamental conservatisim showing through, but what I foresee are the possibilities of overt hostilities becomming more likely as there won't be any pilots to lose (it's just a drone at risk, or a squadron of them) and hackers getting control over drones to cause them to self-destruct or attack their own forces (blue-on-blue). Manned aircraft might be more expensive and less able to withstand high-g manuvers (pilot physiology), but they don't go rogue because of a hack or malware.

STM is a mage-o-phile and very much enjoys the AD&D convention of wizards starting weak and ending up as the most powerful class in the game. Perfectly balanced classes across the "level continuum" isn't something he seeks.

Maverick and Goose, your days are numbered.

In-game money should be spent on: * consumables (potions, rations, common & uncommon [but not rare] spell components, etc.) * lodging (when appropriate) * transportation (e.g. booking passage for an ocean voyage) * luxury items (e.g. snazzy threads for the royal ball) * bribes * hiring men-at-arms, specialists, sages, outfitting militias, etc. * devotional tithes (raise a temple, maybe?) * strongholds and improvements to surrounding infrastructure (think NWN2) * charity * self-indulgence * arms & panoply purchases/upgrades that involve low-to-mid-level equipment and common & uncommon (not rare) materials One thing I'd like to request regarding crafting is that we be able to select the particulars of how the item will look. For example, if I'm crafting a sword I'd like to be able to choose the specific blade, hilt, and pommel. I'm of the neutral-negative outlook regarding crafting, but if we're going to have it then I'd like to make it both simple to do and detailed in effect. As I noted earlier, I'd like to eventually out-level the need for maintenance on my gear. At low-to-mid-levels I can understand this mechanic, but if we're able to ascend to the point of wielding near-artifact or actual artifact-type equipment, then we really shouldn't have to do much more than give it the occasional bit of oil or wax to keep everything in top condition. I will be, after all, playing P:E for its entertainment value. I have plenty of flies, lures, and broadheads to sharpen and firearms to oil if the urge strikes me, so let's not get carried away with drudgery in the name of realism. Disarming opponents and impaling them with my spetum beats working burrs out of the blade by a country mile, my friends.

Dear Obsidian, Will there be some deviant crafting recipes? For example, if we need to increase our magical prowess and elves are naturally gifted with arcane magic, will any recipes require the blood/internal organs of elves? As for the durability factor of our arms and panoplies, I would hope that that's primarily limited to low-to-mid levels. If P:E is a 30 level system, by level 20 I'd hope to have grown beyond the need to maintain the equivalent of a D&D +3/+6 Frostband. Or isn't magical enhancement all that permanent in this world?

I have to disagree. Clerics are followers and advocates for various religious systems and practices that generally assume that a deity or deities are responsible for the creation of life and the various elements. The divine powers are seen as something separate, something above and beyond the physical world and well removed from the day to day, mundane business of life. The idea of the world itself having a spirit allows for a more primal, more basic relationship that runs parallel with druidic thought. Sure, "Gaia" might manifest an anthropomorphic avatar to give neophyte druids something to latch on to when praying or meditating, but druidry wouldn't take to the idea of a distant deity creating the natural world and then detaching itself from its creation. To the druids, the divine is all around them and they are a living part of it. The ebb and flow of life and death, predator and prey, the cycles of the moon and of the seasons, the classic four elements--all are part of the spirit of the world. As the druid interacts with and comes to understand these numerous facets of creation, so their abilities and intimate connection with the spirit of the world grow.

I anticipate that Obsidian will substitute quality and depth for quantity when it comes to the number of companions available for our party. They'll cover the Core Four classes (cleric, fighter, rogue, wizard), to be certain, and then they'll add the monk (already confirmed) and perhaps one other companion outside of the Core Four for flavor. The remaining 3 or 4 companions will probably drawn from the Core Four as they are near essential when recruiting a party. Also, wasn't there an extra companion being created? This is why I wrote "3 or 4" in the previous sentence.

Playing such a character wouldn't be appealing, but I think opposing such an antagonist is the meat and drink of countless RPGs. I've tried to play an evil character any number of times in NWN and in pen 'n' paper D&D, but it's a very infrequent ocurrance that I've been able to maintain the infernal ways and mores of my character. Mindless destruction (CE), virulent nihilism (NE), and ruthless domination (LE) remind me too much of some of the more disagreeable a-holes I've encountered in my life and emulating them during my gaming sessions isn't my definition of fun.

^ I believe that last one is brigandine, not scale. Scale armor consists of overlapping metal scales attached to light leather. Those "scales" are attached to one another and do not appear to overlap.

Fun facts about silver bullets.

You must first cast a Gust of Wind spell or be in a notably windy area before calling forth an air elemental. They dance and leap as a zephyr, thus you must call them like to like from a turbulent air mass. Good enough?

This has already happened. GBLTs have sued caterers, florists, etc. who've refused to provide their services to a GBLT ceremony based upon religious grounds. GBLTs number amongst the special mascots of the anointed and this disasterous turn of events will just encourage more attacks against traditional, conservative Judeo-Christian mores and ways. Good interview with [url=http://www.wjr.com/page.php?page_id=821#] former Sen. Rick Santorum by Frank Beckmann on June 26, '13.

Give it a rest, fellows. There's precious little to be said on this topic that the two of you haven't covered in some way, so let's move on, please.

To each his own, but I've never quite understood the appeal of wanting to ignore the companions and go about your business all by yourself. It seems to me that you're missing out on much of the most meaningful aspect of a cRPG--roleplaying your character via interactions with fellow party members.

When I manage to sock away a few bucks into my "just because" envelope, I intend on buying one. They've loads of character.

So long as it's released in 2014, I'll be satisfied. I'd much rather that the good folks at Obsidian take their time and release a relatively bug-free cRPG than insist upon shoving something out the door that still needs another 10 weeks of work because of problems related to "feature bloat".

Yeah, I'm trying to avoid the MMO scene (and 4E D&D), so much of what Mr. Sawyer is saying is generating yellow cautionary flags in the back of my mind.

Brazil's been a seething mass of underclass envy and resentment for...well, for all of the previous century, at the very least. You have a European elite living in gated communities and shopping and recreating in exclusive enclaves ruling over a mestizo, mulatto, and black underclass with profoundly little access to upward mobility. Sure there's a modest middle class that includes the latter types, but despite its advances over the last three decades Brazil remains a country heavily divided by class. Situations like that are always a powder keg.

It says something about my social life, but I always tried to keep the Fringe time slot free of other activities. I miss that show like I miss Farscape and Babylon 5.

I understand the wild orlans being hirsute, but why is their skin so wrinkled, too? Did great-to-the-Nth grandma Orleanna have way too much hard cider at the harvest festival and wake up next to a Shar Pei?

Given the polytheistic nature of the world in P:E, there might be internal squabbles within this or that faith, but I doubt there'll be a hegemonic religion on the order of the Roman Catholic church of the medieval period. This precludes any world-shaking revolt or schism, but there could certainly be a smaller scale conflict or two to liven up the theological scene.

Move over 1980s power suits--now those are shoulder pads!

Major clipping isn't acceptable, but please don't forego cloaks over a few minor quibbles. They're period appropriate and, yes, they're just plain cool.