Enoch

This has been an interesting conversation to read. I'm not really sure where I come out on it. Ultimately, you have an item customization system to balance out the effects of loot drops in a system where characters have several options and have to make specialization decisions in advance. (Other primary way games balance this: Have all the good stuff for sale. Which is a lame.) A customization system that requires specific inputs also functionally serves as a quest. Indeed, they're often quests that feels more personal to the player-- they're solving a problem their character has, rather than one that some NPC questgiver has. So, I suppose that, like any quest, you want the right balance of appropriate challenge and fun. Challenge is pretty straightforward-- have make the low-level modification ingredients relatively easy to get, and the higher-level ones comparably rare, expensive, or inaccessable. Fun is the tricky stuff. I will posit that picking flowers is not especially fun (unless you're my niece, but she's 3 and also enjoys spinning around just to get dizzy). Mining gems yourself wouldn't be any fun either. Nor would just trudging from merchant to merchant to buy all the components you need. Hopefully, the combat is fun. That will clearly be an element of the "animal parts" ingredient, and possibly an element of the other two. Rewarding a player's investment in a noncombat skill can be fun (e.g., the stealth example). Hopefully, scripted interactions are fun. Hopefully, NPC interactions are fun. Hopefully, optional locations are fun to explore (for reasons beyond just "that's the only place where the Shimmering Gladiola grows"). Hopefully, resource-management in running the party stronghold is fun. That said, I get Gromnir's point-- why have 3 objectives when 1 would do, and why plants when beastie viscera are a more natural consequence of typical-CRPG activities? Which are fair questions. I suppose that plants can be a useful way to give character to the game's locations ('The Breezeless Moors, where Sawyer's Stinkroot clouds the still air...'), and possibly a more natural goal in the game's scripted interactions. There is probably more that I haven't thought of. Is it worth the effort? I dunno.

I call your stomach bug and raise with my 2 week holiday (all i got this year) and sinusitis. When I had sinusitis it was just after a filling which became infected leading to a root canal, but not before the weekend when the dental surgery isn't open, all while I was on my first playthrough of Dragon Age 2. for there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently, however they have writ the style of gods, and made a push at chance and sufferance-- much ado about nothing, shakespeare always pops to mind when we hear of dental issues. HA! Good Fun! Oddly enough, my first thought when I hear the word "toothache" is often of that bit from early in Notes from Underground wherein the protagonist posits that there is pleasure in such suffering, because it gives one license to pass suffering on to others by wailing and keeping them up all night. I need to read some more cheerful literature, I think...

Ceylon tea? Bwahahahahhahah! You know, there is a reason why people add (milk/mint/sugar/etc.) with their "chai" teas right?? Not sure what you mean by the "chai" bit. I was referring to black tea that happens to have been grown (and aged etc.) in Sri Lanka. I find it more satisfactory than comparable products from Assam, Darjeeling, or the various Chinese source-points that I have tasted.

I may be an American troglodyte betraying my unrefined tastes, but Ceylon teas are the best. Earl Grey is particularly loathsome. As far as I can tell from the taste and smell, those awful Greys take a perfectly fine bit of black tea and mix it up with a crock of stale potpourri. Ghastly.

If you mean the chest, there actually is a hint I found. The woman in the spell shop in the Karthal slums explains what one is and even quotes a line from the riddle-poem in one of her dialogue options. It's pretty clearly intended as a clue for players who (like me) scribble down the bare bones of any riddles they find but can't solve immediately.

If you really want to suffer, plant some mint rather than buy it. It will take over all the surrounding area and live forever. It is a delicious virulent weed.

Rye whiskey, ice, and bubbly water. (And I'm trying not to drip any of the condensation from the glass onto the baby that is strapped to my chest, napping.)

Today is the 100th anniversary of the emergence of the being known as Sun Ra (also: Herman Blount) on this planet. The sky is a sea of darkness when there is no Sun. We'll go with one of the Arkestra's more famous and user-friendly tracks to start off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EOpb-fdiy8

As you may notice from my periodic bumping of the appropriate thread, I'm still playing Might & Magic X. However, I noticed that The Banner Saga is 40% off on Steam (i.e., $15) through tomorrow morning. I would welcome any input on whether I should buy it.

Yeah, I haven't done the map-riddle quest yet, but I suspect that I'll probably end up doing the same. From a roleplaying perspective, I figure my characters would know the answers after having walked all over the peninsula a couple times. So I'll collect whatever that reward is after I've unlocked/explored the whole map. One of the chests in the Tower of Enigma made me mad. It was something along the lines of "I don't walk, swim, or fly, but still I wander. I shed tears but never cry, what am I?" The answer that worked after a whole lot of guessing was "Cloud," which really annoyed me because I felt the that the "I don't fly" part was simply untrue. There was also one in the Lost City that seemed especially obtuse, but I'm not ruling out the possibility of there being a hint somewhere later on. I remember that some prior M&Ms would have clues in lategame areas that provided the answers to one of the riddles somewhere in the world, which amounted to giving you multiple-choice options for any particularly difficult ones you hadn't figured out yet. (The 3rd game definitely did this.) Anything like that here?

Been spending most of my limited gaming time scouring the countryside. I think I've explored everything I presently have access to except for parts of the jungle to the northwest. Level 20-21 now, and still haven't entered Karthal. Been focusing on Crypts, Caves, Shipwrecks, and wilderness monsters. I did clear out Skull Rock and got the Air Shard; bringing that in to get the blessing is next on my to-do list. That quest was weird in how early it was introduced. I suppose that they wanted to make sure that the quest-giver was on the plot-critical path, as the Air Shard seems to be something that they didn't want players missing, but putting it back in Act I was probably a mistake. To the extent that the quest-giver gave me any hints as to where to find his sword and how to get it (read: the password for the 2nd level), I had totally forgotten. If I hadn't been a Marx Brothers fan who always guesses "swordfish" when asked for a password, I'd have probably been off to the googles. I try to solve the puzzles on my own, but I lack the patience to walk all the way back to the Lighthouse to see if that guy gave us a hint I had forgotten. I will admit to googling trainer locations, as it seems deliberately obtuse that you can't get the previous-level trainer to repeat where to find the next-level trainer after you've been trained. Not automatically putting that stuff in the Journal is a step too far towards the Old Skool, for my tastes. I do like, though, that a couple of the puzzles have basically required some mapping to figure out. The Crypt in the Shadow Woods is my favorite so far-- figuring out the key to that puzzle was an immensely satisfying "A-Ha!" moment. (That's the one with pressure plates that lower pillars in the dark.)

Why not both? The charcoal kettles are cheap. The big propane grill is for weekday stuff when I'm in a hurry, but I've got a small charcoal one for when I want to take some more time and get more of that lovely smokey flavor.

The key to courses like that is to have 2 computers. The tiny travel laptop runs the course, and the desktop runs Civilization (or similar divided-attention-friendly game).

Well, there are awful meetings, and there are worthwhile meetings. The awful meetings are the ones that are called only to give the organizer an audience. Avoid at all costs. Worthwhile meetings involve organizers who are earnestly seeking input. They can still be chore and are often deathly boring if you're not engaging with the subject matter. But if you do engage (read the materials beforehand; ask questions even if they're dumb ones; contribute insights and criticisms where they are appropriate), they won't seem so boring and you can learn a lot more. I actually just participated in a worthwhile meeting about workloads within the small team I work with. We'll be gaining some staff shortly, so re-allocation of assignments was called for, and the boss, to his credit, is making those decisions as collaboratively as possible. I didn't get everything I wanted, but I didn't expect complete success. Tentatively, I've unloaded some workload I was uninterested in and got some attractive stuff going forward, but I also gained some future workload that nobody wanted and that I'm not especially looking forward to.

Ha! I made it out of there! My first promotion quest is complete! The first ambush was the toughest, but walking right up to the tree to channel the Ghouls into one group for Chain-Lightning purposes turned the tide. Area effect damage spells in this game are generally lousy, but Chain Lightning seems to be the exception because of the multiplier effect you get when there are 3 enemies occupying one tile. After that, once I figured out that I could avoid most of the other encounters by ignoring the chests (I'll come back later), I got out pretty easily.

Is there some confirmation that I'm aware of that this "Kana Rua" is a potential party-member? Might just be a prominent non-joinable NPC. (From a party-balance perspective, that roster looks a little short in front-liners. And "Devil of Caroc" sounds like a barbarian-type...) Anyhow, I'm not normally a Bard guy, but I'm loving how they've re-thought that into the Chanter. Toss out the lute nonsense and replace it with ancient epic poetry and legend.

Yeah, I have a tough time imagining how one would take down certain enemies without Purge. Which makes it all the more puzzling why only 1 class can access Dark magic. The game really seems to be lacking a hybrid class who can expert Dark for Whispering Shadows, Sleep, and Purge.

I was really excited to get the Water blessing to unlock new places to explore. So far, all I'm finding is new places to get my ass kicked. I think my guys are all level 18. (The Freemage might be a little behind.) Plot-wise, I probably should be getting into Karthal right now. Instead, I'm poking around in the forest-y area to the southeast of the map, and I may have gotten myself into trouble. I went into the Sacred Grove, which I think is connected to the Bladedancer promotion quest. I found and managed to defeat the wizard in there (barely). I quicksaved, rested, and turned around to find myself surrounded by Ravenous Ghouls. I recall running into those things in the part of the Lost City that was over my head-- they were not a good time. I might have to revert to my autosave. That's where I left it for the evening last night.

The consensus on the Giants picks thus far appears to be that they all look like useful players at positions of need for the team, but that they likely could have been gotten later on. The first-rounder probably wasn't much of a reach, but all the talking heads had the Center they took in round 2 as a 3rd-round prospect and the DT they got in round 3 as a 3rd-day guy. NYG management has never been especially astute at draft-day horse trading. The vast majority of the time, they sit at their spot and make their selections. Ultimately, if they get good players, I don't really care where they were drafted (I remember intently how upset everybody was when they blew a 2nd rounder on some DE nobody had heard of named "Osi Umenyiora"), but I can't help but imagine that a more adventurous front office team could have brought in the same guys plus an extra pick or two to show for it.

Got through the first portion of the Lost City (up until the escape hatch to Seahaven). That gave me enough money to splurge on Master training in the Crag (Axe, Earth, Light, Air). Also cleared out the "Dangerous Cave" to the west of Seahaven. Can't use the relic I found (greataxe), but it was a fun fight. (The Purge spell was crucial in undoing the regeneration spell it would periodically cast on itself.) I think I'll go take a stab at those other dangerous caves near Sorpigal before pushing further into the Lost City. On character skills: The Bladedancer is simple-- Swords, Dual Wield, and some Dodge. The first 2 have the points to GM, but not the training. I'd put a point into Earth for an additional healing backup, but she doesn't have enough Mana to cast the spell and I keep forgetting to boost the relevant attribute. The Scout has Axe (points to GM), Dual Wield to Master (max for the class), Expert in medium armor, and a point in Light. The Runepriest is going to GM Light & Earth (both at Master now, or slightly above), has Expert Fire, and a point each in Spear and Medium Armor. The Freemage is scattered. I'm aiming to GM Air and Dark, I think. Air is at Master level, Dark is between Expert and Master. She also has Expert in Magical Focus and Primal, and 1 point in Earth and Water. Everybody has 1 point in the appropriate missile weapon skill.

I managed to win those two fights largely via crowd control. Against the first group, I spammed Gust of Wind to ensure that I faced minimal incoming melee attacks. The second group had a row of 3 goblins in front of 1 spellcaster and 2 jaguars. I made sure to keep 1 of the low-threat Goblins alive (preferrably asleep) to ensure that I wouldn't face more than 1 of the other beasts at a time. That and lots of Celestial Shield, Regeneration, and Mana potions. Also, Sundering made a big difference in the damage my melee types could bring. It was rather frustrating that I couldn't enter the city gates while enemies were in aggro-mode (but outside melee range).

It's weird that this game has gone with a Zelda-style "unlock portions of the map as you progress in the main quest" approach. I don't recall that being the case in any of the prior M&M games. Some dungeons had locked doors, but as I recall you were free to wander just about anywhere on the countryside, limited only by the fact that the enemies in high-level areas would flatten you. (M&M3 did hold you back from learning the Water Walking spell for a bit, which functionally limited you to the first island, but that made a whole lot more sense than did these swirly mystical gates dotting the landscape. Also, the first game had a desert that would get you lost.) EDIT: Actually, now I'm recalling that 3-5 had skills that your party had to learn in order to traverse the thicker territory (Mountaineering, etc.). They were usually for sale in the cities, though, so you could unlock them all pretty early if you could survive the road between the first few towns. So, somewhat similar, but not quite like this game's "gated" approach. Anyhow, speaking of enemies flattening you, after several tries, I finally was able to defeat the folks guarding the entrance to the Crag last night with a 14th level group. Jaguar Warriors are still a bit of a reach for me. I ended the fight with my Freemage dead, so my first task in exploring the city was to find the Temple. Irritatingly, the Temple didn't offer resurrection services, so I had to hoof it all the way back to Seahaven to get her up and running before I did anything of note in the new town. (I didn't want to stumble into earning more XP that she wouldn't get to share.) Now I need to save some more money so that I can actually take advantage of all the new training opportunities there. (Which, in turn, will hopefully make taking on those Jaguars and the mercenaries down by Karthal a more realistic proposition.) I've enjoyed the 2 "mysterious crypt" puzzle dungeons I've found so far. Hopefully I'll find more stuff like that as I go. By the way, is there any utility to keeping the secret-detection spell going while I'm outdoors? I've used it inconsistently outside of towns/dungeons, and haven't found any secrets.

Yeah, reading your responses was a bit of a forehead-slapping moment. Of course that was what has been happening, and I'm not sure how it hadn't yet clicked for me. I guess I was a bit hung up on how the older M&Ms had a "Speed" stat that determined when a character (or a monster) acted within a round. But since this one has a clear "Your Turn"/"Their Turn" split, I guess there really isn't much reason for the game to dictate the order in which your characters act.

So I'm now through what I guess is the first chapter, having cleared Port-whatever Castle on the map outside Sorpigal. Frankly, my attention to the plot stuff has waned. (This may be a side effect of playing while a mostly-sleeping baby is strapped to my chest.) I'm not too certain why I'm working for the people I'm working for, other than that it seemed like the only way to access new content. I mean, I thought my party's medium-term goal was to get into that city that starts with a K, but I don't recall how rescuing and working for the guy who rules this castle is supposed to lead to that. Still, I'm having fun. Smashing through mooks in someplace called an Elemental Forge. Ran into a couple Air Elementals that totally wrecked me, so I'll have to loop back there later on. (I managed to deal with the Light Elementals across the way, though, and all it got me was access to a door I can't open yet.) Party-wise, we're all level 10 or 11, I think. My Scout is out-performing my Bladedancer as a melee combatant. I think this is mostly because I've had better luck in finding Axes than I've had in finding Swords. Also, the Bladedancer seems to usually act earlier in the round and thus gets blocked more. (I'm not sure if this is due to party positioning, something in their attributes or equipment, or a weird streak in random initiative rolls.) The Runepriest is the clear MVP so far-- Celestial Shield, Regeneration, and Poison Spray are pretty indispensible. He's also just a skillpoint or two away from Experting Fire for the spell that stops all those annoying "Stun" effects. (Rather atypical for an RPG to have such a key general-use buff spell in the "Fire Magic" category-- that's usually a pure-direct-damage school.) It bugs me a bit that I'm going to have all these short-duration buffs on the same character. The Scout can also use C-Shield, and the Freemage has 1 point in Earth for Cure Poison and Regeneration, but they're all less effective versions owing to the RP's larger investment in the schools. I do feel like I'm under-utilizing the Freemage so far. She's got enough Prime to get Identify (expert level), but I don't yet see a strong reason to continue investing in that school. Likewise with her 1 point in Dark for secret-detection purposes. I've poured most of her points into Air-- some nice direct damage, and Gust of Wind is handy against melee opponents. The spells for sale in the Water school don't look that appealing, so I might just start investing in the magical-crit-boosting skill to give her lightning bolts extra oomph.

Torn ligaments and/or tendons can be worse than a bone break. He should absolutely get this evaluated. Best of luck, W.