Farbautisonn

Personally I dont give a crap about fighting and gear. Im in it for the story. If I can complete PE without swiniging a sword or letting loose a single fireball, Ill be near elation.

As long as the transhuman rights involve working as slaves, as mindless drones in my army and being subject to my sexual whims, Im fine with those rights.

You sound like a zombie rights activist. Zombies give up there rights as soon as they start shambling towards a god fearing man with a shotgun. You sound like a typical zombie bigot. Just because you don't understand their culture doesn't give you the right to blast them with a shotgun. But were getting off topic here. In relation to a post I read in this thread, specifically the one of the necromancer wrongfully enslaving the living impaired to work, while the living lazed about growing fat off of the work of others. This behavior is monstrous and should be treated as such in this game. necromancers should be shunned and punished for abusing the living impaired with no regard to their feelings. You sound like a zombie rights activist. Zombies give up there rights as soon as they start shambling towards a god fearing man with a shotgun. You sound like a typical zombie bigot. Just because you don't understand their culture doesn't give you the right to blast them with a shotgun. But were getting off topic here. In relation to a post I read in this thread, specifically the one of the necromancer wrongfully enslaving the living impaired to work, while the living lazed about growing fat off of the work of others. This behavior is monstrous and should be treated as such in this game. necromancers should be shunned and punished for abusing the living impaired with no regard to their feelings. You work for PETA and belive in speciesm ? :D ( OC: Hahahha !)

I know who Sawyer is and what he has done for CRPG's thanks . Just because he is a guru doesnt mean I shouldnt be able to disagree with the guy. Loosing an experience level will turn alot away too . As for realism I agree with Sawyer insofar as that realism should never take away too much from the enjoyment of the game. However, having said that, disregarding realism isnt bright either. If I were the DM Id ensure some penalties that could be felt throughout the game. A minus two to STA or INT or only a partial respec, and possibly one that hindered other stuff, but thats game mechanics and subjective taste. Something that had a real and significant cost. Dropping an exp level means little when you can "farm exp" by doing every single sidequest... which most of us will likely be doing anyway, not to farm exp, but to get everything. If the drop is permanent, then yes, sure, but if its something with negliable costs it really means nothing. And at that point Ill feel like Im playing "wow". You answered your own concerns. Most gamers, even the pen and paper afficionados do to some extent "min/max". If there is no penalty for doing so, then the gaming experience is trivialized. Not asking for EQ esque exp drops that cost you a week or three of casual gameplay here. I just want a permanent Penalty that discourages it to the point where it is a very significant choise. Just like RL when you jump from one career to the next. Starting from scratch in a new field isnt easy and it shouldnt be. We are after all "Roleplaying" in a "Roleplaying" game.

I disagree with Sawyer here. If people quit a game because they made a mistake or because they were careless, then that should have consequenses. You dont charge a fiend at level 1 and expect to live either. I dont know any CRPGs that penalized you to the point where the game was impossible, because you couldnt respec. You just had to consider other options and other strategies. I get Sawyers point though. He doesnt want to turn people away. But this game is made for fans and financed by fans. I think all of us have CRPG experience and most of us also have d20 pen and paper experience as well. Most of us fuss alot about caracter creation and put genuine thought into what we choose and do not choose. That should have benefits and drawbacks too. I dont think we should aim for a game that is by default so easy to change the odds of, to the point where any challenge becomes trivial. If people want a "respec" option make it the "easy" option on the difficulty slide. Not the vanilla experience.

Torment. I loved that game to bits and wore out the disks about 3 times. It hasnt been beaten as far as I am concerned. IWD was actually better storywise than BG to me. BG was too "black and white" heroic and not "hardship" enough. Too "forgotten realms". Only real bonus was that I got to kill Drizzt. Ive hated him since day one.

Really? Rusty means forgetting? I havent spoken french regularily in more than 10 years, but I would be fluent again in 2 to 3 months if I lived there again. On the same note I can field strip a G3 blindfolded in no time compared to person who has never encountered the rifle and I havent touched a G3 in more than 21 years. I stopped boxing thai when I was 22, and 17 years later Im slightly more chubby, but Im betting I could still beat a novice in a ring. Im now a family man, with a flat, mortgage, debt, exwife and kids. I "respecced" by your definition long ago. Your skills get rusty, sure... but they do not go away. You will always have an edge in the fields you once were profecient in before, if you decide to return or have to use them again.

I undestand what you are saying and you are absolutely correct that tribal affinity is alot more important than most here in the west assume. And yep, the alawites are his tribe. The Sunnis and christians are a part of his kingdom however and the christians have supported Assad, not because they liked him, but because they feared (and fear), what comes after him. They look to other nations in the region and see their future post assad spelled out quite nicely for them. Not a pretty picture. So... Assad does have to factor in other tribes. He might not feel anything but contempt for them, but he does have to factor them in, and he does. He is many things but he isnt stupid. I dont even see him as an "evil man" in the sense of Black and White. He does what he needs to do to stay in power. What he is doing is no different from what european, asian and indeed american nations have done in the past. Our "palette" for ethics and moralities however has changed in the west. Our sense of humanity and right and wrong too. But its a change brought about by widespread affluence and peace. Two things not present in most of the world.

If I were the villain, I'd win. I'd be indistinguishable from "Lawful Good". Id get the masses and the intellectuals to cheer me on whilst I hunted down and killed everything I deemed to be a threat to my reign. Evil done in the name of noble has worked very well in history. It has shaped empires and nations. It still does. I could name countless instances but it would turn into a pissing contest... threads where RL history is involved always do.

I cant really see the problem with necromancy. After all, you still "raise dead" companions. You ressurect them. Thats hardly "natural". Also if I were a force of good in life, why on earth would I not want to combat evildoers and villains for as long as possible? Why wouldnt I want to protect "my village" for as long as I could? Why should I leave it to the "bad guys" to go on living forever and punishing those I love when I no longer have the power to protect them? Pursueing lichdom would be a way to ensure that I could. And I would. If there was any "profane rituals" Im sure I could find some villains henchmen whom I sacrificed or sucked the mana/soul out of. I dont see it as evil. I see it as "practical".

Respeccing is an abomination for RPG's. You do not "respec" IRL either. You add to what you allready have, you dont magically "forget" everything you knew before. Please. No WoW features, kthnks la~.

What goes on in Syria has been going on in Sub sahara, and the far east, since the 60'es and before. Crap you positively will not believe happens all over the world. Syria isnt black. Its gray. However like most westerners we are so used to white and nice orderly societies and niceties, that when faced with gray, we assume its black because we dont know how black the world can be and indeed is. Only reason why we notice in Syria is due to its geopolitical importance in a highly unstable, but resource vital, area of the world. Assad is a trained physician, a man who took the hipocratic oath. And yet he is responsible for butchering his own. But thats the middle east in a nutshell. Politics are much more 14th century europe than 21st century europe. Its "face" "power" and "propaganda" over "discourse" "compromise" and "diplomacy". And it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

I like the initial idea of skipping the [insert skill / talent / feat] option. I agree that it sometimes comes off as the "I win" button option. However having said that, I sometimes do not choose the "I win" option because I simply see it as inane. I feel pidgeonholed into the definition of "intelligence" or "cunning" by some writer I might not agree with. Sometimes it is better to act stupid, or less intelligent and then going with the flow. Sometimes letting people know you realize just how simple they are, or how arrogant they are, is a bad idea. For instance I personally very much liked that Obsidian had Dean Domino turn hostile toward you if you beat him in a barter check. It doesnt play out till the very end that you earned his resentment. Because in my first playthrough I like most others (I think) chose the "I win" option, just because I was pidgeonholed into it and Im used to that kind of simplicity in CRPG's. I was pleasently surprised when I had actually alienated my favorite NPC. I would like much more of that. So I dont really see it as a matter of having [i win] options, I see it as a matter of emplyoing these with benefits and pitfalls. It can be done. Obsidian has done it before. So do it again. Id love to see it.

And yet, the italian electorate love the guy. He is the only guy who has managed to keep the country focused... either in blind admiration or in staunch hate of him. Before Berlusconi, Italian politics was as unstable as a crackhead with elections every 6 months on average. He is great copy for newspapers and for gossip columns. And despite his corruption and wastefull spending, noone really questioned it too much because... everyone else was susceptible to bribes and wastefull spending too. Berlusconi is many things, but he is italian politics when it is best.

1) Edge of Darkness. No not your american butchery with Mel Gibson, but the original british one. Its old, but its still very much watchable and Id recommend it to anyone. Miniseries so its easy to take the time to watch. 2) Blackadder. A must. Its ripe with great quotations and jabs at history. 3) Boardwalk Empire. I love the 20ies to 50ies in american culture. Chicago style art deco, furs, decadence, class and style. Always wondered why americans dont try to sell this aspect of american culture to european / far eastern tourists more. We dont give a crap about the grand canyon or the great lakes. We come stateside to see the very best of vulgarity (and I mean vulgarity in the best possible sense) and lavishness in Urban western culture. We want to see NY, Vegas, Miami and experience Sct Paddys day in Chicago. 3) Magic City. Same reasons as above. 4) Dexter. I loved the first 4 seasons but then ran cold in it. Didnt really expand on Dexter as a character enough. 5) The Borgias. As a student of politics its a nice window into the politics that shaped Europe. It shows just how brutal and corrupting power was and still is. 6) Band of Brothers. Also a great miniseries. 7) Game of Thrones. At first I really didnt like it, but it does combine fantasy with the unbridled lust for power that is European history. Plus I love the dwarf.

Id say "no". Talent trees tend to "pideonhole" players into a certain playstyle and is too "WoW Esque" for me. It was also implemented in ME3 and well... that sucked hard. Having a free choise of talents allows you to customize your toon to a much higher degree and gives you a feel of "personalization" (regardless of real empirical evidence to that fact). I wouldnt even mind if there were talents that were more or less completely useless except in two or three critical situations where an underrated talent suddenly gives you an edge. Obscure knowledge about Religion, nobility, history suddenly pays of as your captor turns from foe to friend because you can relate to his family / church history. Or it could turn foe into hellbent enemy till death. Strange lore or books on architechture, jewlery, etc that you decided to hold on to "because the drawings look nice" or because you RP yourself as an arrogant fop with a passion for the "better things in life" or RP the druid turned wizard who has a fetish for all that is the urban. IRL small things make a difference. In my most memorable pen and paper games, the smallest bat****e insane talents and perks I came up with could make a significant differnce... for bad or for worse. Small things can make or break a campain.

They did it exclusively in EverQuest and because of gameplay limitations it wasnt well implemented. You usually ended up either finding the correct answers on the interwebs or from older guildies when you needed stuff. It could perhaps be implemented to be good, but honestly I think it would be too much of a hassle programming wise.

Head of Vecna... It will be hilarious on the boards...

Basically I want the stronghold to make sense. I want it to fit seamlessly into the story and preferably have an impact on the story. If I choose the wizardly path I should gather people who long to learn magic (whilst the locals might fear me because fireballs are bad for dry farmland) and if I was a gung ho mageslayer then I should have no ability to hire my own personal mage. If I was a decadent person, I shouldnt be able to hire clerics, but the local thieves guild and slavers might be interested et cetera and ad nauseam. I do not want the stronghold to be a "minigame" just for the sake of it. I want the story to fit. The "Sink" was a great fit but I felt it lacked impact on the world. I was told that I the protagonist let my knowledge seep out into the wasteland but yet I see few examples of it. It would have been a nice idea to be able to build a "teleportation device" between Houses hotel and the sink. The hand held mini thing is cool enough and I realize its a matter of game mechanics but... It just seemed "meh". If you have a stronghold its usually because its worth your time. Its at a strategic point of commerce, a cultural hub, a place where realms collide, it starts a community or it blows new life into the old. If the stronghold feels like its just "stuck" in there, Id rather do without i. Just make it matter.

Planescape torment. Bought the game three times before I decided to burn it and save it. I still play it once a year or so. . Its pretty much the benchmark in storytelling and immersion as far as I am concerned. And the people who said DA2 and ME3? You can **** off to hell. Now.

I personally feel that anything beyond 2, editon sucks. But I know Im an old timer and a minority. :D

Its in the realm of "nice to have". Not "need to have". There are basically a gazillion things Id want before a torture chamber

Copenhagen Denmark. A bit surprised to see so many Euros here honestly...

DM'd a couple of games. Played Pen and paper from my 13th to my 20th year, and then it kindof ran out. Women, wives, kids relationships and marriage ment that we were pulled apart and only played the occasional CRPG. We had a short revival when we tried to create our own NWN module. But really its been too long. Im 39 now and I still remember my pen and paper days fondly. The CRPG is good, but it wont ever beat the D20ies and a diabolical and sadistic but fair DM;

Why just an "demon" character deal? Why not make a deal with a "Aasimar" or "Angelic" deal? A deal where you are forced to act a certain way in a critical situation or defining situation ingame? Where your deal makes it impossible to, say slay an enemy and that your mercy at this critical time comes back to haunt you as this person escapes and not only continues his evil ways, but reinforces them? It need not even be demons but just vows given to "good" or "bad" churches, Princes etc. Where you are tested on your word and your honour and where there are advantages and disadvantages to both breaking your word and keeping it.