Calmar

Giving Forton black skin colour doesn't make him less human, actually... It seems I don't get that joke. Bah, people are people. And it wasn't a joke what if Forton could be one of the Godlike races? (Name of the attachment is Godlike ). When I choose the hue I was thinking more towards "Golem-y" rocky and rasp skin (there is only one race, humanity, brother). I see. That's an good idea. Having a godlike one look like a rickety old geezer instead of a muscular Hercules would be a nice twist.

Giving Forton black skin colour doesn't make him less human, actually... It seems I don't get that joke.

Your painting looks great! Thanks for sharing it with us. To me, your version of Cadegung looks a lot like Katee Sackhoff. That's not a bad thing, albeit it makes her not look very girlish.

That's like, your opinion man. [PICS] You might be right. But maybe it's the other way round and Sean Bean merely happens to perfectly embody the archetype of the seasoned warrior who gets stuff done. After all, his characters from Lord of the Rings, Black Death and Game of Thrones do share some similarities. Ehm, that idea isn't bad - but I backed PE to get a game that brings back the feeling of the old IE games.

I think a good example for a paladin would be Sir Bowen from Dragonoheart. What sets him apart from the thugs serving evil king Einon is his belief in the good and noble ideal of the Old Code. It's a low-fantasy world, so there are no flashy superpowers, but the Code gives him strength and focus, while doesn't turn him into a stiff jerk towards his companions.

Never. But I kinda liked the dumbed down version of Christianity in Dragon Age. Perhaps we could have a monotheistic religion? I'm kinda tired of "Godlike" figues, statue worshippers & other bizarre beliefs. I don't understand. Isn't that the same thing? PE and other fantasy settings are modeled after medieval or early Renaissance Europe and make use of various concepts thereof. Hence, it makes sense to assume that the underlying world pictures of both worlds (real and fantasy) should be similar as well. To the people of the real world Middle Ages, society was divided into three groups: laboratores (those who work; peasants, merchants, etc.), oratores (those who pray; priests, monks, etc.) and bellatores (those who fight; noblemen and, later, knights). Back in the early Middle Ages, there was no no state monopoly on legitimate violence. And at the time chivalry appeared, there was still a clear distinction between warriors and clergy. There are a few theories on the exact origin of knighthood (a scheme of the Church to turn self-serving warriors into god-fearing defenders of the church, or a way for the lower echelons of society to rise by achieving a kind of nobility of their own), but in any case the warrior elite were first and foremost men of the temporal sphere. Accordingly, role models and paragons of chivalry, like Artus' Knights of the Round Table, or Charlemagne' Paladins, are chiefly warriors (with few exceptions, such as Sir Galahad). Of course they were pious, but who wasn't and who could dare afford not appear to be? tl;dr: I say: When the concept of knight/paladin/whatchacallit appeared, there was no the slightest bit priestly about it. They originally were warriors who were devout. Later on, things become more blurred with the appearance of the crusader orders. These knights claimed to serve a religious case and are sometimes referred to as warrior monks. These are priestly warriors, but they are a) by time and ideal very far off the original archetypes of knight- or paladinhood and b) these orders (esp. the famous ones like Templars or Teutonic Knights) became powerful, self-serving political entities and were thus even father removed from chivalric ideals. tl;dr: Priests who fight are wrong on many levels and, to me, shouldn't serve as role-models for paladin-class characters. Better devote your heroic powers to an unattainable lady than to close-minded zeal.

It gets worse if you begin the game as a clueless wimp whose boots are clearly too big for him. - Lands of Lore1: you are the king's champion for no apparent reason - Wizardry 8: you're hired as bodyguards but you can't fight a rat without dying - Icewind Dale 1: you're hired as caravan guards when there are yetis and **** in the mountains who can kill you with a mean stare - practically every single Ultima This will probably not happen in PE but I just want to make sure that idea doesn't get lost along the way. I don't think it's always obvious how powerful someone is. Also, levels are just game mechanics, not a thing the characters are aware of. Even if the characters started at level 5, the challenges would be accordingly tougher and the "problem" would remain.

You tryin' to sneak Christianity into a fantasy setting?? The nature of how good deities are portrayed is not what matters. There are many goddesses and gods in our world that are depicted in statues, or armour-clad statues. That makes them no less entities of good and order. The question is: Are paladins priests who fight, or knights who are devout? I prefer the latter, but the majority of the posters in this thread seems to tend to the former.

So you are suggesting a paladin who is motivations are more personal, and altruistic as opposed to divine? Fine, but then were is he getting his powers from? I think one need not be too concerned about the underlying game mechanics, because a system with character classes never can and shouldn't attempt to be 100% realistic. The fact that, for instance, only a thief can backstab someone is just a game mechanic we chose to accept. In real world, a knight who honours chivalric virtues thus pleases his deity (that is, commonly, 'God') by protecting the divine order of the world. Of course, fantasy settings such as PE may have a different outlook on the order of the world, but fighting the wicked and repelling dragons and demons are just facettes of chivalrous duty (in the latter case mostly done in legends). Notable knights such as Charlemagne's Paladins, King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, or Sultan Saladin (in regards of their ideal legendary incarnations) were not priests or monks (let alone inquisitors) who merely happened to wear battle gear; they were warriors who followed ideals. A paladin should thus be a person who is not merely a fighting man or woman (such as a mercenary, highway robber, or thug), but one who strives to help establish or defend an ideal of order and justice beyond their personal gain. To me, a paladin shouldn't be a nice-guy and everybody's buddy, nor a raging fanatic who tries to torment and burn to death everyone who doesn't slavishly submit to his world views, but a chivalrous warrior (who gains her divine powers through the accordance of her deeds with the will of the divine).

I would like paladins to be paragons of chivalry - brave, loyal, strong, humble and gentle knights - not religious fanatics...

Don't worry, the Dyrwood region likely has its share of darker parts. Or maybe the story is just written from the perspective of a Southerner, where the facts become a bit blurred by the distance.

That's good! Thanks for sharing the story with us, Space_Hamster!

I could swear I've seen that guy before somwhere...

Having no printing presses hasn't stopped the lands of the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series to have plenty of books, either. With all the recent discussions about PE aiming for a realistic look, many people seem to forget that it's still a fantasy RPG and not a history simulation.

You must cross the slate-grey ocean they call the At-Lan-Tik, and from there fight your way across the arid dustbowl of the Middle (Western) Earth, then onto the mighty road (I recommend the I-70 then I-44 personally). Once you cross the mighty Rok-ees head for the place they call La-La Land, and then onto the County of Orange. There you might espy the lair of the Obsidian ones, in Irvine (follow your nose). There you must leave your gold pieces on the threshold and awaiteth, approximately two years. How dare thou speak theſe words of mockery and contempt? Good Congneato here hath ſhewn nothing but loyalty and abandonment to Project Eternity, for which he deſerveth our cheerful praiſe. But alas, thou rather taunteſt him for not being wiſe in the ways of kickſtarting? I, for my humble part, bid him welcome at this lov'ly meſſage board!

This, pretty much. Empire, which is (IMO) the best movie in the series, had minimal involvement from George Lucas in the writing and directing departments -- he provided the basic story outline but the screenplay wasn't written by him and the movie was not directed by him. This change of ownership opens the door for other writers and directors to bring something fresh to the Star Wars table and that can only be a good thing. Also, after the completion of the Skywalker saga with Revenge of the Sith, the (hopefully) logical next step would be to focus on a brand new story with brand new characters, which would be very welcome. I once read that the outline for Episode 7 - 9 was that an aged Luke Skywalker fights the remnants of the Empire and establishes a new order of Jedis as an Obi-Wan - like mentor. Apparently Mark Hamill is contracted to resume his role since the seventies. Unfortunately, the flood of recent news make it really hard to find that website now. I hope I have bookmarked the evidence at home and can post it later when I've found it.

Of the original movies, Lucas had only directed Episode 4, hasn't he? I'm quite interested in what the new guys will pull off. At least something beyond the 24641984th re-release of a newly remastered special edition with seconds of previously unseen material and new CGI replacing minor features is going to happen.

Necromancy is not some tool, it is evil. There is no exception and no excuse. Just as slavery and genocide are inexcusable crimes. Degrading someone, living or death, from person to object to be used is not morally neutral, but evil. Besides, as far as necromancy and transhumanism are concerned from a mechanical perspective, smart villains combine both.

Maori are cool, but they are humans. It would be very awkward to take a living real-world culture and use them as non-human creatures. Using elements from Polynesian mythologies, on the other hand, sounds fine. After all, most Greek, Celtic, or Norse myths and creatures aren't exactly part of the European medieval cultural background the world of PE likely has.

Maybe look like people with moai faces.

I guess Obsidian has the Aumaua largely fleshed out by now, but I would really love to see such a race of river-rats in the game, if only in a minor role. That would be so cool.

My favorite computer game villain used to be Arcturus Mengsk from the original Starcraft. At first, he appears as the brave rebel leader who recruits you to join his fight against the oppressive and inhuman Confederacy that (as he makes you believe) engineered the Zerg as a super weapon gone wrong. Later, it turns out that he is a ruthless mastermind, willing to sacrifice billions of lives in order to become ruler of the remaining human worlds by successfully presenting himself as hero of mankind (remember, originally, there were only thirteen terran worlds, of which nine had been devastated by either Zerg or Protoss over the course of Act I). He is a tyrant, but he still strives to unite humanity into a common front against its new adversaries. Then, in Starcraft 2, he turns into a buffoon who spams his subjects with silly propaganda, operates a television network whose threadbarely nonsense even a five-year old alcoholic could see through and, in response to the the sudden Zerg onslaught on the Dominion, regards it as more important to blackmail Raynor than to raise the defence against the nightmarish invaders. So, I like villains like Starcraft 1 Arcturus who are despicable because they smartly fool the player, not because the game forces their supposed evilness on me.

In terms of atmosphere, I have to say the cursed Felwood in Icewind Dale II is among my favourites. I love the mysterious mood of the dark, snowy forest, navigating its twisted paths, and battling the evil will o' wisps and treemen to lift the curse that prevents you from reaching its eastern edge. Many people seem to hate that part of the game, because they think you can navigate the forest solely by trial and error - but those people don't know that a character with decent a skill in Wilderness Lore can quite easily pick up tracks, hear sounds, or see lights that allow you to find the right path into the heart of Felwood.

Of the top of my head, yuan-ti, mind flayers, umber hulks and beholders were the only monsters exlusive to D&D in the Icewind Dale games. The vast majority such as orcs and goblins, skeletons and shadows, giants and dragons can be encountered in a large variety of sources. I enjoy a mix of classic monsters and home-made ones.

Tradition demands you start with nothing but a quarterstaff and lots of adventuring spirit.