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Lord Vagabob

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  1. I was thinking about some of my favourite experiences playing infinity engine games and something really sticks out: some of the most immersive experiences were those where I was able to influence the thinking and character of NPCs. Anomen from BG2 really sticks out. Your choices in the game completely determine his fate. For me, the positive outcome he experienced on my second playthrough was made all the more powerful because in a previous playthrough I allowed him to fall down a dark path. It was a well executed piece of story-work - the implications of your decisions were foreseeable but not obvious, and by the time you see the full outcome of your words, the seeds are long planted and outside of the salvation of a quick-load. I would love for this to explored more deeply in RPGs... PE seems like a great opportunity. Imagine being able to influence NPCs to change alignment. Much of George R.R. Martin's success as an author is due to the fact that his characters can be viewed in different lights, with very few of them having a true alignment as such. Classic D&D seems to veer towards a more Tolkeinian nature - your characters and their alignments are carved out according to the rules, in opposition, with polarity such as Good vs Evil, Lawful vs Chaotic generating all conflict. Before people jump up and point me to the 'No Good or Evil Choices' thread, hold up. I'm not necessarily talking about player decisions, i'm talking about the characters around them and how they might change. I would love to see a more malleable approach to NPCs in gaming. Besides immersion, such an approach allows for greater flexibiity in party formation. For e.g. Minsc is an awesome character but unfortunately incomptable with an Evil BG2 playthrough. Surerly a scheming, intelligent player should be able to turn him over to the dark side, via manipulation and taking advantage of that bump to his head?
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