Bhurano

It coudl be that you just waded in and through sheer force of will/personality/arms carved out your own personal realm. This doesn't help one bit explaining why the heck no other noble tries to kick you in the guts for this foolishness and it would also be odd to assume that the surrounding villages just allowed you to assume control over them. So it could be a great quest chain overall. On the other hand this part of the Dyrwood might be considered "wild", "untamed" or "contested" with no noble really capable of establishing his superiority over the region. That is until CHARNAME came along and restored Caed Nua, especially if he contained the stuff spilling out of the endless paths into the surrounding countryside. This would certainly help establish him as a local ruler worth following. Another way to look at is, is simply to look at Lord Raedric who should or probably would normally in charge of that region but who sunk a LOT of his gold into hiring mercenaries and animancers with the intent to contain and cure the Legacy. This alone would have weakened him and there are indeed hints alluding to his weakened situation. Couple that with his hard attitude towards his subjects and he might very well have lost control over those regions. If you support him and take Caed Nua he would either try playing nice out of necessity to his weakened military and economic status or try to regain control by force if he felt that necessary. And if you supported Kolsc... well, he is inexperienced as a ruler and has a LOT of other things to take care of. The fact that you helped him achieve power in the first place would also not lost upon him. Add to that, that you already dislodged one member of his famliy from his seat of power and could do so again and he has a very strong incentive to play nice. If he doesn't want to he would need to assemble allies that would need to move against you. He could probably find some in Defiance Bay. I hope they expand on the stronghold and put in such explanations or reasons why you are left in ownership of the castle. After all, there is a expansion coming.

Ok, having played the game for quite a while now, something very odd reared it's head... and that only because I started playing around with something else than a wizard. The Wizards is the ONE class that has the worst starting stats and is one of three classes (Druid, Priest, Wizard) that has to manage a limited number of casts per rest. And while I like the spell learning and the grimoire, I find that the wizard is severely hampered by it. Compared to any other caster class he is limited to a maximum of four spells per level, while the priest and druid have access to their whole arsenal. And let's face it: Swapping grimoires in combat is not gonna happen, even with Quick Switch the downtime is fatal... at least in my book. The icing on the cake is that the wizard has usually to get really close for a lot of his spells to use. Another thing that I found lacking is Arcane Veil. Even upgraded it is not that helpful... unless the Wizard is build with high Perception and Resolve. You go either full defense or you neglect it entirely. The Druid on the other hand has usually a greater range with his low level spells. And he has access to all of his at any given time, among them also heals and decent spells to hamper his opponents. At level 2 he even gets a summonable blight, which cuts the druids risk to be scratched quite low. And on top of THAT he gets a spiritshift form that can be a bear with an innate DR 10. Butt naked and better protected than most on the battlefield. Overall, I'd had expected the Wizard to have a bit more oomph in exchange for all his shortcomings. Instead the Wizard got the short end of the stick. Yes, I know the wizard is still a decent class, but I still think that it is a class that is in odd spot. Don't get me wrong I love the wizard, but he needs a overhaul in my book. So why do I have the feeling right now that the Wizard is a watered down Druid in this game? Any oppinions on the matter at hand? Feel free to share. P.S.: I compared the Wizard to the Druid, because that is the closest class in terms of function to it.

No, that makes no sense, either. Druids, Priests and Wizards are reliant on their spells. Especially because spells of level 1 and 2 transform into per encounter later on. Therefore buffing a weapon that is rather mediocre without a Chanter is not that helpful. Then there is the simple fact to consider that the needed chant got nerfed - and rightfully so. Overall, if you are trying to be effective, it is better to invest in all four elemental talents (Heart of the Storm, Scion of Flames, Secrets of Rime and Spirit of Decay). The last two talents should be applied to a bonus spell in level 1 and level 2, which ups your per encounter spells to 5 per the first two spell levels. For priests, just leave the Spirit of Decay out and swap in Untroubled Faith... just in case. In general, investing in talents like Weapon Focus or Gunner for wizards/priests/druids is not worth the effort, but should the level cap raised to 20 there would be room to invest in those too. Mind you, optimizing is not really necessary to get through the game... maybe aside from the Path of the Damned. So putting a talent here or there into something you think is awesome, even if it might not be that effective, is doable without crippling the character.