Tsuga C

Mmmm, bet you ladies out there can't wait to tongue the Tootsie Roll of lint out of the navel of this hunk of burning love...

No pressure. Hey, without the interference of publishers, this is the opportunity to genuinely do things right.

In addition to the group tactics, combat techniques such as tripping and disarming make for entertaining melee. Anything that helps to break up the routine of stand and hack 'n' slash until the opposition drops dead is a good thing in my book.

I don't mind them, so long as they're temporary additions to the party--a guide, a translator, etc. If they displace one or more of the companions I've chosen, then I'd hope that they have generally similar classes and skills/feats to those of the displaced companion(s). It'd be highly aggravating to lose my best healer or trap handler for an extended period of time. When I build a party, I'm not doing so at random. Every person is there for a reason, so let's not upset things, hmm?

I'm with PsychoBlonde on this one. The NWN1 updater was wonderfully convenient and made keeping my game up to date as simple a a couple of points and clicks. Anything that eliminates frustration and drudge work, thus giving me more time for roleplaying, is a very good thing in my book.

Consider your information disputed. Properly trained archers were more accurate until the advent of rifled barrels, a platoon of arquebusiers being essentially a multi-soldier shotgun. Archers took far longer to train to their optimal level of efficiency, though, so there was a strong impetus to switch over to firearms.

And a big thank you to you, Justin. If P:E is set up for 5.1 sound and an emphasis is placed upon high-quality sound then everything will be peachy for me. No matter how "Gee whiz!" the graphics become, I'm still looking at a screen atop a desk. Properly done sound, however, can truly transport one to the world in question. Just close your eyes or allow them to become unfocused and the sound can wash over you and touch your mind at a very primal level. That's when you know you've gotten it right.

My enemy, he had a lot of heart; and still he fights on; upsetting my tummy and making me fart. Many of the First Nations peoples customarily ate the heart of particularly brave warriors they'd managed to kill in order to add a measure of his strength to their own. It was based upon both a desire for power and a sign of respect. I could envision this sort of thing as an integral part of a campaign set in a Stone Age world, but I wonder how well it would play in the late Medieval/early Renaissance setting of P:E. If there are truly primative areas, perhaps this has a place--doubly so if there exists a truly "orc-like" race. It'd be a no-brainer for them.

Sometimes; choose the party member but not necessarily always be able to choose the most advantageous dialogue for them (they're independent minded and will sometimes assert themselves); and no timed dialogues. We'll have "pause 'n' play", so timing would be pointless. If I get called away from the computer for some reason, I expect that the game will wait patiently in "paused mode" for me to return.

I'm generally not in favor of any sort of attack that instantly kills without a save of some sort unless it's a matter of raw damage (e.g. fighter with heavy flail smacks simple kobold for 18hp, cave collapses and squishes party, etc.). Assassinations in AD&D bypass hit points and go straight to a percentage chance of outright killing the victim that varies depending on the level of the assassin and the level of the victim. Even if the assassination attempt fails, backstabbing damage still acrues and the victim might die anyway. Also, some poisons in AD&D are, indeed, save or die. This ability came at significant cost, so assassins weren't an "end-all-be-all" or "ne plus ultra" class. One of my favorite characters from my tabletop days was an assassin, so insta-kill mechanics, so long as they're tested and balanced, don't bother me.

My definition of fun doesn't include spending 30+ minutes grinding down an opponent with a bazillion hit points for the 3rd time because it's killed my protagonist twice before. Sometimes I do want to throw a Power Word: Kill at an opponent and other times I'll want to try the assassination. Of course, the latter is predicated upon having a skilled assassin in my party. Some parties might not tolerate such an NPC in their midst. Bottom line, I want the option to use Harm (with a save), Power Word: Kill (with a save), assassination (with a save), and I also want you to be able to sit there for half the night chipping away at Mr. Mega Hitpoints if that's your desire. I'd rather go to bed on time, thanks.

No, that's what they wrote/said. I don't imagine that wheel locks will be quick to re-load or very precise instruments of battle, but up close and personal they'll be a very effective hammer against damage-resistant targets like shielded mages.

Would it be equally poor gameplay if one of your party members (rogue/assassin) snuck up behind an annoyingly difficult to overcome opponent and put a poisoned blade into his heart and thus assassinated the problematic opponent?

With the heavy emphasis on souls and the spiritual, I don't think that this class is a "natural" fit for P:E.

Perhaps we'll have the opportunity to temporarily team up with such a beast for a single sidequest in P:E and the Tailswat of Doom will be on our side for once. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Woof! With a party of up to six characters, I imagine that this would quickly get on my nerves and I'd do as I often did with NWN1: use the slider to lower the volume setting for my party members. Battle cries or battle barks--too much, too often and I'll tune them out, too.

I have few issues with any sort of "instant death" or "instant, total incapacitation" spells and/or abilities being included in the game so long as: they allow a saving throw; such abilities are available for use by the opposition and our party (reciprocity is important); they are high-level abilities and are thus not terribly common; any potential assassin class or kit that focuses on delivering instantaneous death does not find this focus negated by 95%+ of high-level opponents through immunities or a simple 1st level spell (NWN1 assassin Death Attack was negated by Protection from Evil); repeating for emphasis, these sorts of insta-kill spells and abilities are not common as it's not very sporting to disallow players to extricate themselves from sticky situations by dropping some sort of nuke on them without warning. Let properly balanced assassins do their dastardly deeds with lethal grace, let rare and expensive poisons fell party members with a single dose + failed save, and let a Great Wyrm like Smaug splatter foes like so much roadkill with a thunderous tail swipe...so long as our party is operating under the same rules and has the opportunity to pay them back in spades.

Charisma is considered a composite of attractiveness, presence, and persuasiveness, yes.

Optional reality, brought to you by roleplaying games since, well...since roleplaying games have existed.

Random encounters while travelling cross-country or in an alley of a big city wouldn't be bad at all, but the key is to make sure that there's plenty of variety in the potential random encounters. Facing the same roving flock of stirges or the same pressgang down by the docks for the fourth time would quickly become tiresome and pointless.

Put in my vote for Planescape: Torment, but I'd be very happy with the BGs, too.

Perceptive! Volourn is a very dedicated defender of certain companies and decisions by those companies that many of the rest of us...find questionable, at best. Regardless, if romances are to be included, I do hope that at least one of them works its way through the emotional rollercoaster ride to a positive and uplifting ending. If I wanted rancor, heartbreak, and bitterness, I'd volunteer for jury duty in divorce court.

To the extent that the powergamers and respec-ers return to the forums after having de facto neutered the difficulty of the game and attempt to influence the developers to jack the difficulty level of the expansion packs through the roof, I object to respec-ing and powergaming. If they wish to ruin their own experience, fine. Just don't attempt to cajole the developers into accommodating such inane behavior and we'll all get along just fine.

Those who can't do, mock. That was quite the ever-flowing font of bitterness from Mr. Avellone...

Bingo!