Gromnir

"exactly, makes that boring and other things not-boring. Combat? Just because combat is a big part of the gameplay? That's pretty circumstantial. There can still be boring, terrible combat" is your memory that short? who the hell is gonna ask for the combat to be boring. yes, combat in poe could be boring, but why on earth is that relevant? you don't even know what you is doing anymore, do you? serious. HA! Good Fun!

am gonna assume that animancy must have applications that is mundane and beneficial. the thing is, people tends to be afraid of new sciences. rumors o' frankenstein monsters arise whether there is genuine reasons to fear or not. heck, the actual frankenstein monster's great sins were that he were big and ugly. nevertheless, he wanted to be accepted and he genuine tried to do good. the monster spoke french, so perhaps that were a bit monstrous. that being said, initially the most monstrous aspect related to the creature were how dr. frankenstein and other people treated it. poe animancers can create Real monsters who go crazy and eat people. if the animancers is genuine binding souls to corpses and machines, we expect that there will be a great deal o' fear attaching to their craft regardless of the more mundane aspects o' their craft. use souls as fuel sounds bad to us. bind souls to machines, even criminals, doesn't strike us as mundane. on the other hand, treating soul ailments would be a useful skill that we suspect would be in demand... even if early doctors in many cultures were treated little different than witches. use soul interaction with environment without binding or consuming soul could no doubt have beneficial applications. am expecting animancers to have a hugable and beneficial side, otherwise we don't see how they ain't hunted down and expunged, and lawless territories would likely be more dangerous for the traveling animancer or even suspected animancer. yosemite sam would likely note that, "this here is a hangin' territory, and we don't take kindly to you and your sort." however, am thinking we would prefer hanging to tar-and-feathering. the tar were typical hot. HA! Good Fun!

our kryptonite is spending holiday weekend or week with family. the patience we have with strangers largely evaporates when faced with mind-numbing ignorance or overt pettiness within our own clan. sure, we love family get-togethers and if such reunions lasted only one afternoon, we would probably be happy with 'em. spending more than one afternoon with our relatives is like asking us to do oktoberfest with neo-nazis. HA! Good Fun!

To be fair, there are lots of tabletop games where your gear matters at least as much as your char's skills (Warhammer 40K immediately jumps to mind) but are none worse for it. am only having some very limited experience with dark heresy rules for 40k. warhammer (40k and other) has always been a tabletop strategy game for us as 'posed to genuine rpg, and am largely ignorant. dark heresy had something like ten total abilities similar to d&d attributes/abilities (strength, charisma, etc.) but two such abilities were actual ranged and melee skills, yes? choose career path (class) and customize as you level. dunno. seemed better than old skool d&d, that is for sure. now oldy d&d were pretty terrible. thankfully d&d improved, but we know there is loads o' ad&d fans 'round. choose race, class, kit and roll dice for attributes. for most players using old core ad&d, that is the end o' meaningful character development choices. base stats were extreme important at lower levels, but became increasingly marginal as you level'd. d&d moved away from that. admittedly numenera is not like ad&d as the customization of your gears is far more robust in monte cook's game. is not simple a matter o' finding a keen bauble and using til you find a better bauble. that being said, Gromnir is less a fan o' systems wherein character abilities and skills just don't matter much. HA! Good Fun!

Gromnir does this when he's lost an argument, he falls back on fallacies. just ignore him. folks who use lots o' fallacies tend to make this observation. *shrug* am aware that Gromnir has stepped on a few o' you before, so the group-hug-for-support is kinda sweet and all, but again, trying to suggest that willingness to have your soul toyed with by an animancer is having 0 parallel to everyday questionable choices likes not paying parking tickets timely or any o' the now dozens o' painfully stupid suggestions... unless the undead stuff is extreme rare... which brings us full circle. "what an animancer does, in secret, to Lord Reginald and when he does go ravenous undead (a process that, from the initial timeline might take some time to get to that state - if years, then the correlation co-efficient is going to be rather small)." am in perfect agreement and have said so. if this were the case of Lord Reggie doing secret stuff with dr. frankenstein in his wine cellar, after which Lord Reggie goes undead at some point in future, the State would no doubt be concerned, but am betting they would be ignorant for a good period of time. the thing is, we ain't talking 'bout Lord Reginald in a vacuum. am fully conceding the possibility o' a lord or two getting hoodwinked. even some geographic contained single large-scale outbreak seems plausible. but again, consider a game staple undead and consider just how many Lord Reggies is necessary for such to be reasonable or plausible. State not making the connection with Lord Reggie IS plausible, but once it is Reggie, Steinhart, Burgundy, North, and others, the causal link becomes increasing obvious. rare is okie dokie... makes sense. again, the issue is having more than rare. once is more than rare, is hard to hide causal link. once causal link is known, you sure as heck don't have Lord Reggies willing using themselves to test animancy in any kind o' numbers beyond "extreme rare." HA! Good Fun!

1) we like the rain. so, am guessing we grab an umbrella, or not, and go on with our day. 2) depends on what is in our "luggage." virtual everything important for Gromnir is carry-on to avoid the lost luggage scenario, but assume we lose laptop, important documents, or our snoopy night-lite and am s'posing we could be sent into a moment o' panic, followed by a couple deep breaths, and ending with a wry smirk of acknowledgement for the universe that once again managed to get the best o' Gromnir. 3) untangle the lights? that one seems like a trick question wherein we is missing the "gotcha." HA! Good Fun!

you think that drinking coffee is same as becoming a ravenous undead? really? we never accused you o' such, but that would explain your apparent obtuseness. well, another mystery solved. HA! Good Fun! aside: is very difficult to find self-professed witches. nobles accused o' sorcery/witchcraft seems rare, but folks admitting to witchcraft is non-existent. 'course the reason being that witchcraft were universal prohibited. confess to being a witch and you get christian burial and decapitation. burned at stake is other option. so, admittedly it is difficult to find a parallel for witches, but not for reasons you suggest.

sure, if is a stoopid one-in-game fire-breathing dodo-velociraptor that is behind a secret door, then it is gonna cheese us off if it is part o' crafting. if is a staple monster, or even a side-quest monster we is ok with it. heck, might even be a fun battle. opening a box or picking a plant dont have gameplay value in itself, unlike the critter... how is this not getting through? as for the mr. straw man routine, nobody is asking that the combats for resource gathering should be boring. lame combat is lame regardless o' how it is used in game. you serious deserve a digital smack in the face with a less than fresh trout for even bringing that into a thread. no joke on that. was terrible. bad cess and all that. there is no gameplay from the plant itself. so what can it possibly add to crafting that the critters options don't? ask 'bout other options? well, if is just random stuff laying in a glorified box, we would be against that too. books at least has some possible storytelling value, so am not gonna dismiss, but plants? why? you say why not and we keep telling you because it is inherent less than critter... is one less thing you can do with plant. so, why? if you make the plant difficult to find, it is gonna be annoying. make easy to find and what is the freaking point? for crafting you already needs the critter part, so what does plant add. am seriously beginning to worry 'bout you. HA! Good Fun! btw our complaint is that plants is bloat. you keep saying "why not," stead o' answering why. is possible you don't see a problem with bloat. have two skills or class or weapons that does functional the same thing is bloat. we see such as a waste of resources and potential dishonest depending on how such things is used. is not an additional feature. is just... bloat. if you don't mind such stuff, then we "get" your failure to understand. some folks actually like bloat.

am thinking witchcraft is a bit more significant than hair color, no? who the hell is gonna bother to record random hair colors n' such? thanks to torture, we suspect that there were folks who admitted witchcraft, but again, the numbers is gonna be staggeringly low... and not because such details is inconsequential. nobles admitting witchcraft is gonna be like seeing some random girl in a ny subway with blue and green hair? *snort* am not recalling where we claimed that nobles and rich people were smart. we said that it would be tough to explain nobles as being complete uniformed o' something as dramatic as link 'tween animancy and undead. we also conceded that nobles were just as likely to be stoopid and foolish... which is why all the horrific rumors that would be inevitable would be just as likely to impact nobles. we noted that conspiracy theorists tends to be folks who has been marginalized by governments. am not sure where you see us saying smarty rich v. dumb poor. those with the power is gonna be the targets o' conspiracies, can we get a "Duh!" should be obvious. should also be obvious that the folks least likely to be desperate is the folks who actually is having stuff. your tendency to selective characterize, generalize and seeming forget is cute, but is not genuine helping. and if you don't believe we explained what is wrong with coffee, multiple times, you is being more obtuse than we imagined. seriously? HA! Good Fun! ps almost forgot. we dated a girl named elizabeth ________ at university. she had blue and green hair.

we already established that critter parts is obvious. you is fighting critters anyway. the gameplay is inherent in any squad-based tactical game. as for why put in books or sarcophagi, we agree that such is stoopid if you is gonna make part o' a mind numbing scavenger hunt wherein the gameplay is to not accidentally pass over the book or sarcophagi. a book might have some additional value to be adding optional exposition. can't say that for a plant, but if you is making gameplay same as the critter part, but without the combat, then we agree that there isn't much point to hide stuff in such things. HA! Good Fun!

name 'em. name the people who actual admitted to being witches in spite o' fact that they believed that they were consigning their soul to eternal damnation. we will wait for you to compile your list. ... ... ... how many you come up with in the history of forever? am not talking druids or high priestess of ishtar or whatever. we is talking souls and witchcraft, so lets keep same. name us some bona fide witches serving the dark powers. oh, and make sure that your witches is rich and or nobles. impoverished peoples who has been treated unfair by society and their peers don't fit the criteria, do they? so, give us the list o' the rich and nobles who admitted to practices o' unholy witchcraft. ... oh, and if you not like how we treat stupid coffee analogy, don't make stupid coffee analogies. is not anywhere close to same, or even similar. telling us that lots o' people don't pay their parking tickets in a timely matter is similarly pointless. sure, it is a stupid people that many smart folks do, but is not even close to being the same. is pointless to bring up such stuff. conspiracy theorists? is lots o' conspiracy theorists that blame space aliens and government for every ill. rich nobles is the Least likely to fill that category... save the ones who already have mental health issues. conspiracy theorists is historically marginalized and develop a distrust o' authority. the nobles is the target o' conspiracy and not so much the breeding ground. and even then, how many conspiracy nuts is willing to risk their souls to prove their theories? how many rich and or noble conspiracy nuts is gonna be willing guinea pigs to prove or disprove a theory? rare. we keep saying rare. you folks is unwittingly making more obvious that with present info we have, rare is only plausible way we see undead. HA! Good Fun!

why? why do it with plants? everything you mention can be done via collection o' monster parts, so why add plants? what is different about plants? obvious answer is that with few exceptions, the plants don't fight back. nevertheless, put Godberry bush at the top of Mt. Trumpet is just likely just a silly scavenger hunt, 'cause they ain't gonna build an entire area around a craft resource. you is gonna be at Mt. Trumpet for other reasons. the plant don't fight, so if you gotta fight a guardian to get, what is purpose of the plant? sure, you can makes puzzles or other obstacles, but that would be exact same for critter parts. am not seeing the point other than bloat. HA! Good Fun!

you know, that is kinda our problem with the numenera rules that torment will use. gear actual becomes mostest important part o' character development, and as far as we can tell, it is intended to be that way. HA! Good Fun!

what, so we is ignoring inherent bonuses from abilities? naughty. the thing is, only some serious fallout apologists is thinking gifted ain't broken. am recalling josh has mentioned this a few times, so if you really wanna slog through with gifted, give it a shot with him. he is the developer of poe after all, and his opinion is gonna have more relevance to poe. and small frame... you is joking, right? assume you is building a sniper character, or virtual any character. how important is a decrease in carry weight compared to a stat increase you can functional use on anything? between your pack mules (sorry, companions) and the car and other options, carry weight is a minimal important aspect. is not just str that impacts FUNCTIONAL carry capacity of your party. fallout guys is the only ones who can't see how woeful unbalanced it is. weird. HA! Good Fun!

josh mentioned a Long time ago that feargus were personally responsible for the inclusion of some of the blatantly monty haul weapons in the game. example: http://www.gamebanshee.com/showshot.php?/icewinddale/equipment/images/statictwohandedswordplus4.jpg am thinking the obsidian developers has matured a bit since then. HA! Good Fun!

am not seeing anything absurd. d&d base thac0 for a 8th level fighter were 40% yes? a base 35% is not far off, is it? also, given that her stats is not dex focused, and as josh has been using silly mmo vernacular, we could assume that pellegrino, or whatever her name is, is a tank or maybe even a buffer or heals as 'posed to some kinda dps. this would explain focus on defense stats. additional, if the "R." for accuracy is for ranged, perhaps she currently has a weapon equipped that ain't ideal. dunno. however, am not all that shocked by 35% as it is actual kinda close to what one would expect from a baldur's gate character of same level. 35% sounds bad, but is single +1 on a d20 away from the base thac0 of a d&d fighter o' same level. HA! Good Fun!

sure, yes - and any analogy will break if stretched to its limits. The analogy was merely to establish that (some) people do stupid things even if they know the end result will be bad. How stupid and how bad are now up for debate if the analogy is so general, it loses meaning. people do stupid things, but analogizing to drinking coffee? really? as for hockey player, keep in mind that the undead lose control of appetites and have increasing cognitive problems. if the undead thing is all mysterious and lord is hoodwinked, he may not even know he is undead at first. some o' these transformed nobles is gonna screw up, and they is gonna screw up obvious... especially if they is anywhere near as common as some of you want them to be. doesn't take thousands o' public and obvious blunders to create a panic. takes a handful... or even just one. if nobles is the ones being turned into undead by animancers, they is the ones most likely to create a panic when one eventually goes nutters and eats his chamberlain, or whomever. bath salts can create panics with fictional accounts o' people going insane and cannibal. genuine and real accounts of nobles going insane, becoming immortal undead, and eating folks is gonna create more or less terror? c'mon guys. we get the devil's advocate thing. we also understand some folks wanting to give obsidian the benefit o' the doubt, but either this undead thing is missing some important details we ain't yet privy to, or it is gonna need be a very rare occurrence in the game to be reasonable and rational. HA! Good Fun!

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... well, it ain't literature, but this tooth related bit is more likely to make you chuckle... and not in a dark and humorless manner. HA! Good Fun!

... this real world stuff people is trying to make analogous, ain't. bath salts is actual useful, 'cause the graphic bath salt stories is all bs. the difference here is that you get REAL freaking undead... undead who eat people. is not people with a caffeine-headache, dehydration or even a slightly weird trip. seriously, you gotta see a difference, no? the bath salt stories tend to be far more graphic and scary than the reality. so, what kinda scary stories is gonna attach to animancy if bath salts spawn ridiculous cannibalism nonsense? driving car is statistic very dangerous. drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, play hockey without a helmet... whatever. if ace bailey and other hockey players who didn't wear helmets sudden turned into flesh eating undead, how long would it have taken before helmets became mandatory? two weeks? a few days? ten minutes? ace doesn't just get knocked out, but he gets up off the ice as an unstoppable ghoul and charges into the stands, where he starts feasting on some idiot with the temerity to wear a canadians jersey to a leafs game. as we noted above, the snake oil stuff ain't analogous 'cause end result is death, and you were sadly expecting death anyways. it is admitted difficult to distinguish bad medicine from disease when eventuality o' both is death. but again, we is talking UNdeath and the more common you make undead, the more obvious you is gonna make a causal link 'tween undead and animancy. you not need ace bailey to jump into the stands if this kinda thing happens with frequency slight better than being struck by lightning. say nobles is hoodwinked is plausible only if they is extreme rare. extreme desperate don't help. even extreme stupid don't cut it. HA! Good Fun!

am recalling our boss from the short period o' time we were at us attorney office. guy comes into work with his right hand middle-finger heavily wrapped in gauze-- had a little tube sticking out o' the end o' the bandages. apparently the tube were to allow puss and other nastiness drain from his terrible infected digit. ick. turns out that he got finger lacerated when trying to clear grass from lawnmower. and o'course the mower were running when he tried to clear the grass. this is from almost twenty years ago, so please recognize that average lawnmower were a bit more primitive and dangerous at the time. our boss didn't seem like an idiot, but am guessing we all do extreme stupid stuff from time-to-time. HA! Good Fun!

I dunno... it doesn't have to require combat. Maybe if you go at night, instead of during the day, to the jabberwocky nest, you can simply collect some scales that it's shed in the area. Maybe you have to mask your scent to do so, because your scent will wake it up? Maybe you have to figure out how to even get TO the nest, etc. Just because games make such things a loot drop doesn't mean there can't be more to it. I think that'd be an improvement, from both allowing the player an actual non-combat means of achieving a goal that doesn't directly involve the death of something (jabberwocky SPLEEN would be another story, ), AND making the process more interesting than just "you kill things, and they drop stuff." Same with plants. Maybe they only grow in some precarious place. Maybe you have to get through some spiffy scripted interactions to actually get the plant you want, instead of simply running around enough, manually, in a game environment, then left-clicking on the plant when you finally get near it. Possibility often trumps precedent. I definitely agree that collection stuff should be more than just collection. you really aren't helping make plants sound better. steal scales from nest via stealth or whatever is additional gameplay options beyond combat that would be seen by Gromnir and many as a positive. on the other hand, making plant location More obscure is not helping diminish the scavenger hunt nonsense. if you already got the critter parts that one may use combat and/or steatlh and/or diplomacy and/or whatever, then why bother with plant scavenger hunts? HA! Good Fun!

compare drinking coffee to animancy? ... can't even have a serious conversation. HA! Good Fun!

the nwn2 system is sounding familiar to josh's teases 'bout enchanting weapons/armour. recipes called for a combination of essences and a gem. essences were, for all intents and purposes, critter parts. sadly for indira, the gems required for nwn2 crafting were not the kinda l007 that filled up gem bags. anything you would bother to craft were requiring the most valuable gems. the plant/herb stuff is new, and am not sure we see it as a good idea either. any kinda scavenger-hunt gameplay always feels like bloat to Gromnir. kill a dragon or jabberwocky to get scales is going to be involving combat. whether you like it or not, combat is gameplay. mindless uncover far corners of maps in search of special babba yagga witch hazel? *groan* am hoping there is more to the plant/herbs collection than... collection. HA! Good Fun!

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!

What makes you think we will only have three or four companions at any given time? ... not know what you will do, but Gromnir will only have three or four. HA! Good Fun!