Calmar

Not much is known about real-world druids, except that they probaby were the priests, law-givers and lore-keepers of the Celts. I think it's fair to say they were nature priests, whose job it was to negotiate with the dangerous gods on behalf of people who were at the mercy of the (super)natural forces surrounding them. What bothers me about druids in fantasy RPGs is that apparently most people discussing them regard druids as hippies, 'tree-huggers', vegetarians, eco-activists, or any combination thereof, whose primary goal were the eviction of loggers and the defeat of civilisation. I strongly disagree with this notion. To me, it makes no sense from both a historical and a reasonal viewpoint. When real-world druids (as in the case of Britain at the time of Boudicca) opposed civilisation, they did not do so in order to keep nature untouched by human hands, but because 'civilisation' simply meant 'Roman conquerors' intent on eradicating their culture and resistance. Druids divined nature so that their people could prosper (similar to the way Egyptian or Greek priests dealt with the dangerous and often unpredictable forces of nature surrounding them), not because 'nature' was seen as a divine being that needed to be defended against mortals and cities. So, what is your view on druids? And how would you like to see them portrayed in Project Eternity?

Just because souls are a central theme of PE, the game shouldn't revolve entirely around souls.

Such an explanation never convinces me. If individual physical strength is what determines a species' success, why aren't all the humanoid peoples subjugated by giants then? I think elves need not be arrogant jerks towards humans and dwarves, but if you include them in your world, you should let them keep their dignity (which seems to the case in PE).

Good lord you like to write... A meta-dungeon (abiding by the standard meaning of the prefix "meta-") can be either a) a dungeon composed of dungeons, or b) a dungeon inside a dungeon. It seems to me that b) is just... continuation of the same dungeon, so it obviously needs to be a), however the hell you'd actually make "a dungeon composed of dungeon" without it just being a dungeon. But I feel the OP will want me to go derper than that. If you are trapped in a dungeon within a dungeon, ?

I guess you'll actively decide to use your mind-reading powers and if you do so, the target may become aware of your intrusion and react accordingly.

I voted Icewind Dale. It's like BAldur's Gate, but has brighter and stronger colouration.

Thanks for the videos! Was Adam part of the Icewind Dale II team?

I don'tmind spiders enemies, but generally they're just so overused in RPGs. Most people find spiders at least slightly revolting or downright horrible, stirring these feelings is basically as original as using rape as fool-proof device to establish a character as terribly evil.

As long as such bagrains are rare and meaningful, I'm interested. If they'd be something like class-features, then not so much.

Yeah, this was dicsussed a few days ago. Project Eternity has become such a famous name on the internet that it is reasonable to me to keep it (at least partially as headline or subtitle).

I like Cadegund, she looks badass. I'm looking forward to new information about all of them.

If, like in Baldur's Gate II, each class gets a different stronghold, operating a business might be well suited to rogues, or crafters of magical items, but not fighters ruling an area. I would not like store ownership to be part of every stronghold.

Thinking about it, why should every opponent fight to the death? Some enemies might surrender to you and be thrown into the dungeon to be ransomed (or to rot).

Companions that are not what they seem are always exciting to me. They need not try to murder you suddenly without warning, but an unexpected revelation of a hidden agenda is nice.

I realise that I've maybe observed the matter from a wrong perspective in my previous comments. I think it's not about you versus your soul, but about individualism versus determinism. You are determined by your nature (soul) to behave in a certain way, but you may strive to chose your own path. What do you think?

Then a term like 'ancestral spirit' might be more suited to describe the phenomenon that is called 'soul'. The quality of the sentient human brain that distinguishes it from others is called personality; a soul is the essence of a person/personality.

I agree, that sounds confusing, Darth Trethon. As far as I see it, the term 'soul' is commonly regarded to be synonymous with 'personality', or 'spirit'; further, once you pass on, it is commonly assumed the spirit/soul/personality either ceases to exist, or passes on to the some kind of afterlife (sadly, there are no absolute definitions on what a person precisely is, and the same probably applies to 'soul', too). Then there are philosophers, like Gilbert Ryle, who argue that body and mind are not separate entities. Now it appears, that, in PE, a person is a single entity of body + personality that is possessed by a soul. Upon death, that soul passes on to the next vessel. I am confused, too. If you/your personality are opposite to your soul, the term soul is applied wierdly.

Real world Middle Ages towns != fantasy metropolis with 300.000 inhabitants In fact Real world != fantasy world Depends on the fantasy setting in question. If you want to emulate a medieval atmosphere, you should take medieval realities into account. If you have skyships, living automatons and flying crystal cities, on the other hand, you're not bound by reality.

That's an interesting thought. Maybe wielding weapons and wearing armour could affect the way you are treated by people you want to intimidate or talk peacefully with.

I really don't like thieves's guilds. In real-world Middle Ages, cities were among the first places to be under constant protection by the law. Citizens had to swear oaths of allegiance to the city and authorities generally had a much better idea about who was moving in their jurisdiction than rulers of rural areas. Thieves, ok; powerful individuals who employ criminals, ok; but no state within the state governing all things illegal.

Planescape is inherently wierder than more worldly settings. I don't expect the companions to be as exotic as those encountered in the planes. Generally, I'd like game to have the level of companion-wierdness Baldur's Gate I and II have.

That's interesting. It appears that both Hawaiian and Maori are related Polynesian languages. By the mere look of the word, aumaua might indeed be inspired by Polynesian.

I generally agree with you, but I think most of the time the game should not put you under time pressure.

The music is wonderful. I very much like Dwarven Dweller. Thanks for sharing it with us!

It would be nice for swords, but might be difficult to implement for your arsenal of flails, morning stars, battle axes, halberds, javelins, etc. In the end it is probably more elegant to simply have the weapons and shields disappear into your inventory.