Gorth

Ah, Seelah got the sword bond indeed, being the default when using auto selection for companions (she's usually the last one to arrive at a fight at the moment). As for mythic powers, luckily my last two saves before calling it a day was before and after picking powers. Only downside to the first save is I have to do the selection again for the companions (yeah, I'm a bit lazy like that at times). Did go the beast totem route though, picking first the lesser and then standard beast totem ability. But, will reload and change the second feat to something else (sticking with the first feat, even if not optimal, sometimes you have to feel a bit of pain for less optimal choices, right?). I'll have a look at the skill descriptions on those you listed, before picking the second option... yes, you can definitely shoot yourself in the proverbial foot with a crossbow, given all the options available. The advice is much appreciated

Made it to level 6. Freed Grey Garrison and got what looks like a new "home base". As nice as the old tavern was, it was located a bit far away from everything towards the end. Also got a "Mythic Level". Picked 'A Bit of Fun' (seemed appropriate for a Chaotic character with little in the way of armour) and 'Brutality Incarnate' (seemed appropriate for a greatsword wielding Barbarian). I know my spell casters appreciate their own Mirror Image spells and enemy resistances saves them from a lot of damage. My companions are still using their default level up paths, because I don't have the brains at the moment, to try to work out optimal builds for so many classes Got a promotion (Gods save the Queen) and new tasks in for the form of "Crusade missions". Not that I know how to do that, because last thing I did before calling it quits Sunday night, was scratching my head, wondering how to leave camp with no obvious exits or characters left to talk to To be fair, it was 2am and I didn't try very hard (because Monday is a workday and I had to find my bed) Lann is sort of a staple in my party by now, because he's a monster with a bow. The remaining 4 slots get picked on need basis. I like Seelah as a character, but she's so slow it's painful. Yes, I could cast spells on her at the start of the combat, but... argh Camellia is the opposite, often ending up way ahead of the party, fighting unsupported for several rounds Ember and Nenio takes turns being the spell caster and Daeran is my new best friend in hard fights. The amount of healing that guy dishes out is unreal, especially his aoe heals I suppose Finnean counts as a companion too, but the Lilarcor wannabe would be mostly forgotten if it wasn't because he's my characters current greatsword. Woljief... well, his character rubs me the wrong way, gets left out frequently by now. Not sure what to think about Sosiel as I haven't been able to take him anywhere outside camp yet

That is fine I guess... As for Legend additional levels, they come at a vastly reduced xp rate. No idea how that works, like do you have to max out your original 20 levels at max cost, then get the discount 20 levels at a fraction afterward etc. Daeran throws some interesting parties. Somehow reminding me a lot of "Eyes Wide Shut"

I didn't have enough Grease to go around, but as they just kept coming, my party members started dying one after the other as minutes became real time hours. So I gave up on defending the gates and counted on them not being able to destroy 12 structures in time for them to win. Let the crusaders do the bleeding instead of my party, then make sure they arrive as a trickle of support for the boss rather than as a horde. I was breathing a literal sigh of relief when the boss showed up in my first real time attempt and I knew it was winnable. Even if it took me three tries to arrive at the tactic I ended with.

I didn't know about the immediate stat gain from Legend. I'll keep that in mind Yeah, I had only added up the numbers in my head for reaching level 40. Alternatively using the respec guy in the tavern to add a handful Int at the expense of Dex (although wearing light armour atm, I do appreciate a bit of Dex bonus for protection as well as the Mobility checks). Generally well supplied with Mage Shield spells too.

I hope I didn't paint myself into any unwanted corners. I picked the "Aeon" at some point, as well as "Trickster". Iirc, at the very beginning I deliberately skipped "Angel" (thinking it was binding option, locking me in early and leaving out other options doing so). I can't remember if it was an either or dialogue, Angel or Devil, I'll have to pay better attention next play through. Found another spell caster, an over the top archetype researcher and master of all things scrolls. Which gives me 6 companions for 5 slots. Time for them to start taking turns I suppose. Also, whoever thought the tavern defense mission was a good idea is headed straight for the Abyss! After two hours and 50+ turns, 4 party members down, I called it quits and decided to check the internet. Turns (bad pun) out it just doesn't work properly in turn based mode. Something somewhere gets stuck and boss never shows up/ So, RTS mode it was, until the boss shows up, then switch back to turn based again. I need 3 attempts to get the tactics right. In my third attempt, besides leaving out Woljif of the fight (too squishy for mass brawls) I simply stacked on top of Irabeth and let the crusaders deal with the trash, including the arsonists until boss showed up. Also, got to love Entanglement. Not just visually impressive as a spell, but it worked wonders slowing down the cultists leaving me to fight the boss (together with half a dozen crusaders). Then mop up remaining arsonists and the fight was over. The whole fight only took 10 minutes when doing it "right" (not the only right way of course, just more right than what I previously tried). As for the spell casters, I don't think I've made up my mind yet, which one I'll find more useful in the long run. Ember is a "Sorcerer" variant and Nenio a "Wizard" variant (using legacy D&D descriptions). I did notice a guy in the tavern that will respect my character and I think he can also do something with the companions, but for now I leave the choice of paths for companions to the game. @Gromnir I checked out Vivisectionist, but with Int 10, I would probably need to put more stat points in intelligence for it to make any sense? Otherwise, as mentioned above, tried to make sure I didn't lock myself out of Aeon and/or Trickster. Still aiming for Legend in my first play through though. That is, until I have to make final choices, then my Chaotic true nature probably shines through and I do something completely not planned Edit: Trying to mop up a few loose ends before taking on a garrison, which is otherwise up next as doable missions.

The latter being my point really

Does it make the people there happier? Better mental health? Low suicide rates? No bullying in the schools? Political and individual freedom? Job satisfaction? Decent living conditions for normal people?

You know "Democracy" was a result of political science and philosophy, not carpentry, right? (not dissing carpenters, Jesus might get angry with me). Good thing not everybody listens to your advice Edit: Otherwise we would just all end up in some kind of Ayn Rand'sque hell

I cheated a bit and read up on the mythic paths in the game (to see what they were about and what is required). None of them look like a good fit for a CN Barbarian, I guess I'll just aim for the legend route (if I make it that far) and get another 20 levels of some class (because your level cap then increases to 40, so fill it up with 20 levels of bloodrager or whatever) Lich looks like fun, but I would start a game as an evil character then (and since it replaces all your current companions, at a time where you're tired of them anyway). I just don't see myself ever playing as an angel... too much role playing required Edit: In my current game, I made it to some market and found Aerie Ember. Not sure what to make of her. In the party for now, as I don't mind a straight up spell caster. Also got the dual dagger wielding thief. Found out he doubles as a vendor once you make him happy.

Coming from a "classless" society, I noticed how stark the differences were for Australian youths. Universities are expensive and it has two effects. It creates very much a tiered society, where education and wealth is a feudal thing. It stays in the families that can afford it. The rest... can go picking grapes (and compete with the backpackers for the cheap labour jobs) or sleep in the streets. I.e. a self reinforcing inequality in society. The conservatives down here are all for that biblical quote "to him who has will be given more" (and the context be damned). Up there with tax breaks for the top 5% in poor governance Personally, I firmly believe an educated (at least the bulk of the) population is a national asset and therefore a task for the government to ensure happens. Not the task of wealthy parents. Ironically, my free University degree (minor in electronics and major on computer science) is of effectively no use today. It wasn't even what got me my first job (I worked as a cleaner, as a untrained carer in a hospice and a few other jobs, including as a removal guy, before landing my first developer job). It was networking, a friend who knew somebody who needed someone badly, like yesterday. With that on my CV it was a small step to New Zealand and the rest is history. 25 years as developer, almost 20 of those overseas. My biggest challenge is to trim my CV and leave out most stuff that is more than 10 years old to keep it shorter than three A4 pages. Nobody cares about a university degree from the 90's when presented with my CV (a few token reference checks to satisfy due diligence, did I really work for the company that I claimed working for in the position I claimed to have worked in). Doesn't change my perception, that an educated population is a requirement for well functioning (and affluent) society as a whole. Edit: Hospices didn't officially exist in Denmark back then, but they had de-factor places where they created as comfortable environments as possible for terminally ill people, both old and young.

I suspect a few people here are very skeptical, if not outright afraid of academics, as they tend to be left leaning politically. Better to close the universities and open up more workshops

Is it just me or does Camellia come across as a bit untrustworthy? She's useful alright, but there is just something fishy about her...

Thanks Gromnir. I'll ask away if I either get stuck or suspect I'm going to head into deep trouble soon. Yes, my barbarian is mostly focused on dishing out damage (at low levels at least). I put some points in dex too, as I wasn't really convinced dressing up in the heaviest platemail possible was really "the barbarian" way to go. Figured I would use light(er) armour and compensate with higher dex. (hidden by pop up window, it's 15). As for the uneven numbers, I seem to remember you get an ability point every few levels to add and it made more sense in the beginning not to use all points in the diminishing return sink. Sure, it may come back to bit me But for now, it's just fun. Learning to use charge and rage (I took the defensive rage feat or whatever it's called, that doesn't leave me completely exposed to incoming attacks when raging as well as dodge) Edit: As mentioned previously, not going to fret if I can't complete my first run. I could have picked easy mode, but prefer to meet a bit of resistance and get an idea what you have to prepare for. I'm wondering what "Mystic Path" is

Let's see how far it goes. Gorth the Barbarian is now level 3 and made it to the tavern. I feel a bit like I just finished Irenicus' dungeon again Nothing difficult so far... except that "mini boss" at the garrison. I had a suspicion the game was rigged when I used the Inspect function and saw she had 32HD

I hope that was a joke? Send wave after wave after wave of young men through no-mans land, mowing those down who didn't get taken out by barbed wire and artillery fire, with machine guns in entrenched positions. The only thing Ypres, Somme and Verdun accomplished, tactically and strategically was... nothing. Sure, it killed and maimed hundreds of thousands, but that just made it a war of attrition. Which side would first run out of a generation to sacrifice in battles like that. So, take my 500.000 man, tell them to take objective. Enemy player takes his 500.000 man and digs in on objective. After both sides have lost 250.000 man each and six months have passed, lets call it a draw. WWI in a nutshell. No, I don't really find the land battles particularly interesting, because nothing was shown when it comes to things like strategic brilliance or tactical nous. Even the introduction of radical new forms of warfare, like airplanes, chemical warfare and tanks had little to no effect, because the generals were trying to outdo each other in cluelessness on how to break the stalemate. it's as bad as the old "battle line" doctrine for naval warfare, where captains and admirals were prohibited on the pain of being court marshalled from showing any initiative and breaking with conventions and existing doctrines. The latter lasted until Nelson decided to break all the rules and got away with it, because a) he won and b) he died before he made any slip ups. The same can not be said for land warfare until Guderian decided that WWI sucked and all out tank warfare with airplane support was a better idea than killing off another generation in the trenches. I know, he didn't invent it, but he made "Blitzkrieg" famous.

The naval battles of wwi were way more interesting than the land battles imnsho What was the Serbian contribution to wwi? A single bullet to the head of an Austrian? Got to hand it to him though, he got a lot of consequences out of that assassination (I don’t remember the details anymore, a long time since I read up on the events in Sarajevo, could’ve been more than one bullet)

Congestion... finding parking spots in urban areas just gets harder and harder

Considering how dirt cheap Russian tanks are to manufacture, I wouldn't be surprised if the handful of expensive high tech missiles (they had a few, emphasis on few) fired at the beginning of the war makes up most of the war expenditure. The Russian state also offers economic incentive to people to have more babies, so you never know, they may be in it for the long war... (only serious about the first part in case there was any doubt)

Yeah, I noticed the very familiar system of picking a class (any class you qualify for) level when leveling up. I did get a second barbarian level though for level 2. Later I might go Rogue for a bit, just for the role playing fun (I need to practice my Austrian accent). That being said, I consider this character "expendable" and it's more of a testing the waters run, to see what to expect later. I.e. how badly is min/maxing needed etc. and how much wiggle room is there for at least some limited experimentation. Once I get the hang of it, I might try what looks like more challenging classes (more "stars"). Maybe even something just for the sake of later gaining those classes you can't get at character creation (like Assassin). But, for now, just left the Mongrel "village" and exploring a maze. Edit: Playing "Normal" difficulty. While I'm a noob at this game, I don't consider myself completely clueless to the mechanics. Also, categorically using turn based combat (I could probably have roflstomped all opposition so far in RTWP, but I think I learn stuff better by taking it one turn at a time and consider what my characters are doing)

So... I put Tyranny on hold for a bit (The Scarlett Chorus can wait a few weeks). Started up a game of Pathfinder. I didn't want one of the pre-created characters, so looked long and hard at the classes to select from. In the end, I figured simplicity might be good for a start. I can always go back and start a new game with a different character after all. Went for "Gorth the Barbarian" with a bit of stealth and other potentially useful thievery skills. Very much based on Conan the Barbarian as he's portrayed in the 80's movie (sans the great music). Nothing like sneaking up on your enemies and backstab them with your greatsword!!! Did the intro town and getting towards what I think is the end of the first underground map (the tunnels). Met the tieflings, read all the basic game tutorials etc. Swearing and cursing at the Options screen because it completely ignores my choice of keys for rotating camera left and right (I wanted to swap Q and E, because the default reversing of the X axis is just too confusing to me). But, despite swapping the the keys in the keybinding options, Q is still right and E left Other than that, lots of fun so far (which is like less than 30 minutes in). Edit: The movie version of Conan was sort of a Barbarian/Thief multiclass, but that might be an option in this game (I don't know yet)

Ok... hopefully it will either have been patched or some Goty edition released before I get to that. I also remember the warning about difficulty/complexity, but being an old veteran of the old Infinity Engine games (BG&IWD) as well as the two Neverwinter Nights and Temple of Elemental Evil, I hope it won't seem all alien to me

Tyranny. Siding with The Scarlet Chorus (I think, I might change my mind later). My second most favourite Obsidian game after Fallout New Vegas

https://www.gog.com/en/game/pathfinder_wrath_of_the_righteous 50% off at the moment

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous was on a 45% sale on GOG. Got that and some Ashes DLC (which was on a less impressive sale, but nevermind). Now I just need to find the time to play it (since I got myself into a game of Tyranny the other day) Edit: Core game was 50% off, DLC was 20something% off, somehow the total was calculated as 45% as some kind of average