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TRX850

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Everything posted by TRX850

  1. TRX850
    Skullbriar / Grave Elemental.
  2. TRX850
    Friends, Why not list creature types, old or new, you'd like to see in P:E. Or just brainstorm some weird and wonderful creature combos as inspiration for game content. Some examples. Undead Variations - Ogre Mummy - Sand Wraith - Undead Troll - Undead Harpy - Drider Mummy Spider Variations Special Ability - Wraith Spider [Necrotic Damage | Fear] - Troll Spider [Regeneration] - Mage Spider [spellcasting | Spell Resistance] - Sand Spider [blindness] - Crypt Spider [Disease - Mummy Rot] - Festering Spider [Disease - Acid Pustules] - Werespider [Disease - Lycanthropy | Cursed] - Carrion Spider [Disease - Filth Fever | Nausea] - Bloat Spider [Poison | Quillfire] - Frost Spider [Creeping Cold | Slow] - Boneshard Spider [Vampiric Touch] - Swamp Spider [swamp Lung] - Rage Spider [berserk] - Spider Mummy [Disease - Infestation of Maggots] Others - Tauric Medusa - Dust Demon - Earthquake Beetle
  3. TRX850
    Psychogenic Inversion - Target one creature. - Temporarily swap highest and lowest ability scores.
  4. TRX850
    Encountering a true dragon should be like staring into the sun. Automatic blindness and knowing your place in the universe.
  5. TRX850
    We basically get to park one of these outside every dungeon. :\
  6. TRX850
    In some ways I would prefer a dragon encounter, without the dragon. A bit like a scripted event in which the party is overcome with never-before-experienced feelings of awe and insignificance. Like missing time after an alien abduction experience. They know they went into that cave and experienced *something*, but are unsure what led them to be in the place they are in now, even though they are somehow "heightened" by that experience. No need for big lizardy things and fire-breathing every time.
  7. TRX850
    Yes, it's an interesting topic, reputation. I suppose each time you complete a side-quest, it stores that info so that eventually various factions will know about you. Some factions might know of your deeds immediately, then start spreading word. Others may take a while. You might even achieve things that no one ever witnesses and therefore never hears about, unless the party tells someone about it. And I like the idea of false stories too. It gives the feeling that you're not always in control. You may have shown mercy to that raiding half-orc tribe and let them go, but someone somewhere has spread the rumour that you killed them in cold blood. But complications are good. It makes for memorable roleplaying.
  8. TRX850
    Dragons were originally a "game device" in the PnP tabletop era. They were seen as the ultimate high risk / high reward scenario. But now that complex cRPGs can handle far more detail and cinematic storytelling, it's a bit like having a classic magic trick explained to us, and now we see them in a mundane light. A set of numbers. And we question their purpose for solitude and greed. In some ways it's a shame to deconstruct them. And I hope that by doing so we don't modernize them too much. If anything they should be re-mystified, not de-mystified.
  9. TRX850
    I use the term "alignment" as a guide for character intent, moral compass, and behaviour, similar to older systems. And yes, I'm looking forward to doing away with alignment in P:E. It was always part of the reason for past imbalances. Powergaming is a valid play style for players who have already played the game several times and know the storyline. I would encourage players to "do it properly" and roleplay as different characters to get the most out of the game, before deciding to powergame. There's no reason to inhibit their choice on this though. It's an option where they know it's not strictly roleplaying before making that decision.
  10. TRX850
    Evil is good. <-- see what I did there? <sigh> What if your goal as an evil player is to build up to super-villain status by the end of the game, then export-save the character so that when you play through as a good guy, it uses your super-villain as the end-game-boss-level-baddie? A sort of ironic self-perpetuating way of creating a reason for your next playthrough. Or if that's too difficult to design, just have your bad-self as a lieutenant of end-game-boss-level-baddie. Edit: The chaotic/evil character option has been hotly discussed recently in the context of why it doesn't always suit quest-only XP and needs to consider combat XP as a viable way of accounting for "irrational behaviour". I too would like to play both good and bad characters (and variations thereof) over multiple playthroughs. And since P:E will have the option of mature themes, it makes perfect sense to play evil and have as awesome a challenge as other alignments. They aren't using alignments though, they'll be replaced by a kind of reputation/faction system.
  11. TRX850
    Stretch marks?
  12. TRX850
    I spend way too much time on these forums, and sometimes I get tired or muddled and don't always accurately articulate my point the first time round. But I do believe we, and others here, are ultimately problem solvers.
  13. TRX850
    Yes, I was thinking about how to handle plot characters this morning. I think IE games come up with a message that you've been a dolt and killed someone integral to the story and must now reload. I can't remember how or why I (accidentally?) made that happen before, but it is indeed a design consideration. Maybe that will be one of my next big forum posts. Edit: One option could be to make those encounters/meetings into scripted events? So the plot character walks in, says his lines, then walks off or leads the way until you've gone from A to B or whatever.
  14. TRX850
    Could I tempt you to grudgingly see the point behind why I think quest-only xp tends to serve rational character behaviour better than irrational behaviour? Which is why, in my view, kill xp is needed to accommodate a range of historically-unpopular-yet-valid play styles, provided there is a robust reputation/faction system that handles the consequences.
  15. TRX850
    I feel like we're on the verge of something wonderful...
  16. TRX850
    I was also thinking from a game dev point of view. Every time you have to make exceptions for whom you think shouldn't be a random target to a psycho blackguard, you have to hard code that data into the core mechanics. If, on the other hand, you simply gave commoners and children and squirrels a CR of 0, you wouldn't need to hard code all those exceptions. It means you can still take a swipe at them, but it won't ever net you any XP. However, I do believe you should still be able to attack them if your character's agenda is to antagonize the faction in question. Not simply in the case of powergaming, but as a valid choice of irrational behaviour. And, really, it's always going to come back to the undeniable reality that what you do in your own game can never ever ever ever ever affect what happens in someone else's game.
  17. TRX850
    Lephys, would you ever powergame in P:E ? And if so, how would you go about it?
  18. TRX850
    One example that might shed some light is a series of "Let's Play" videos on YouTube by a guy called mynameisnotlily, where his character is usually evil or chaotic. As a player, some of his choices are downright irrational and sometimes painfully bizarre. But it's because he has built his character to behave that way. And once you get to see him roleplay it out, it's actually one of the best RPG series I've ever seen. He's done BG and NWN that I've seen so far, and probably others. He wastes a lot of gold. And kills a lot of innocents. And turns quests around in such a way that it makes for compelling viewing. That's just one reason why irrational behaviour is valid behaviour.
  19. TRX850
    Myself and others have given examples of chaotic or evil play style that comes under the irrational banner though. A paladin would be irrational if he thought he should kill everything. A blackguard would be in keeping with character. All along I have been talking about "character" and not simply the player. You are not your character. You play the role of another person. Part of the problem is when lawful or good characters grab extra XP by killing a few random things because they know there are no consequences, or at least there weren't in previous IE games. That's where a behaviour system should come into it. But if a chaotic or evil character kills a few random things, it doesn't (or shouldn't) matter if those creatures were part of another side-quest or not. That's irrelevant to the "character". I think maybe the confusion lies between differentiating player from character. Maybe? Edit: Btw, I did mention powergaming in one of the other threads, but I fear it became lost in the sea of white noise that is now the P:E forums.
  20. TRX850
    @Lephys, I take all your points into consideration. But some people will want to powergame. And IIRC, they said they would allow that in P:E as a valid play style. And killing everything might seem irrational, but if you are powergaming, and you want to antagonize every faction you can so they come after you, then that's a perfectly valid choice. It means more XP for powergaming. It might not be an interesting playthrough in terms of storytelling, but to be fair, the player has probably already played the game a few times by this point.
  21. TRX850
    ^^^^ His description of going back to kill creatures is precisely why the reputation/faction system should handle the *consequences* of doing so, rather than removing kill xp. If your intention is to remain in good standing with appropriate factions, then don't go back and kill everything. If your intention is to antagonize various factions, then by all means. They are developing the reputation/faction system anyway. Just let that handle it.
  22. TRX850
    How about something inspired by the Tarrasque? Or Chaos Tarrasque?
  23. TRX850
    It would be a sad day indeed if they pandered to the whim of players who simply cannot control themselves IN THEIR OWN GAME. Someone, pinch me, please....
  24. TRX850
    I really hope they get the balance right with respect to all "alignments" and ideologies being properly playable, not just preferred play styles. But I've almost stopped worrying about it because if there are discrepancies, the modding community will step in with fixes. I suspect the first one will be an "XP Mod" to redress the balance.
  25. TRX850
    There's a saying in advertising: If you throw someone a ball, they'll catch it. If you throw them three balls, they'll catch none of them.
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