Gromnir

if you is only level 49 at end of game, then it seems very unlikely that you were having done every quest except dr. heart. almost guaranteed you missed a few more... whether you realize or not. contrast: Gromnir were level 50 Before ilos. HA! Good Fun!

tell us you had been beat up by girl scouts or brownies and we would not have been surprised neither. regardless, achievements and merit badges is obviously something that Gromnir not "get." HA! Good Fun!

There's a boyscout in all of us! Gromnir were kicked out of the boy scouts... true story. *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

am clear on what the achievements do.... am simply not understanding why somebody would want. boost to some abilities After you has already played game through? okie dokie. HA! Good Fun!

seen this at bio... and am surprised we recall. the actual mechanics of ally achievement is more specific than "complete majority of the game with..." 45 assignments and 11 missions. ... the confusion comes with the assignments, many of which can be completed sans party. go back to normandy and talk to hackett to complete? well then, that assignment not count towards ally achievement. complete any of the goose chase assignment (minerals/writings/insignia/medallions/etc.) from galaxy map and again you gets 0 cred towards ally achieve. is 50+ total possible assignments.... something like 54. however, at least three or four is completed with a hackett dialogue on normandy. goose chase = 4 more. as you can see, if you has misfortune to complete all goose chase assignments via survey function of galaxy map, then your window o' opportunity shrinks dangerously... 'specially if you play good and skip the 3-4 shady assignments. ... am perplexed why anybody cares 'bout achievements, but there you go... mystery solved. HA! Good Fun!

technically? one. is only 1 refinery base. however, you also gots multiple tunnels and the 'bove ground portion of the final location also gots the refinery base feel. entire area outside first tunnel is probably toughest portion if, like Gromnir, you hate the mako... something like 4 armatures and a colossus, as well as a bunch o' rocket and shock troop geth. otherwise, after the refinery base, it is all easy til you get to final 'bove ground location. "shrug" much like bis did with how, bio hearkens back to donkey kong for inspiration. heck, the mako can actually jump so as to more fully complete the parallel. repetitive S-shaped maps? how very progressive. luckily most critical path planets ain't entirely donkey kong style, but virtual all gots some o' that nonsense... therum=most donkey kong. HA! Good Fun!

motb framerate were fine for Gromnir... and we is not high end. nwn2? yeah, that were horrible. motb made big improvements. 'course Gromnir simply accepts that shadows is evil. can set everything to max... 'cept shadows. HA! Good Fun!

sidenote: anybody who wishes to compare and contrast sci-fi and fantasy deserves to be kicked in the temple by a spastic footballer wearing steel cleats. don't do it. don't be that guy. sci-fi and fantasy genres were birthed by publishers o' pulp magazines some many decades ago as a simple way to tell folks whether they were getting conan and elves or robots and ray guns. is marketing nomenclature, not scientific definitions. give an elf a ray gun and you got sci-fantasy? don't be that guy. now, back on-topic... why is this good news or bad? HA! Good Fun!

smith & tinker? ... am too lazy to moby the named personages at smith & tinker, so can anybody tell us why it is a good/bad thing that these folks got mechwarrior and crimson skies? getting shadowrun? is a bit like being the coverboy for madden football. HA! Good Fun!

am thinking that drew (the me lead writer) watches far too much anime for his own good... 'cause while Gromnir is enjoying story and characters, there is far too many of those huh/wtf moments for us to be comfortable with. take bits and pieces from every other familiar sci-fi setting not bother us much, but if Gromnir has to work to rationalize various plot lines, then something is wrong. ... and keep in mind that Gromnir is pretty darn relaxed 'bout such plot stuff. kreia wanting to kill the force as explanation for her whole grand plan? had no problem with that. me, on the other hand, asks for us to ignore the clamoring protest o' our brain for hours at a time and simply enjoy the pretty pictures, character interactions and gameplay... and as the gameplay is a little too twitchy for our tastes... is still fun 'nuff to keep us involved, but too much huh/wtf. oh, and the stoopid me planet exploration crap should be a good reminder for all o' you clowns who claims to have enjoyed bg1 exploration... 'cause is same sorta nonsense. heck, me actually is slightly less annoying in this respect 'cause at least some 'o those tangential map side quests is more than fedex time wasters. HA! Good Fun!

2 weeks after Gromnir stopped playing nwn2, the patch finally gets released. ... is a good thing that the game were relative stable (though we had more than just a handful o' ctds, most were related to transitioning on world map with spell effects or active familiars... so were a problem with an easy 'nuff work 'round,) 'cause am not recalling a pc game for which it were taking so long to patch. hell, even toee got patched quicker and atari and troika were slappy fighting at the time which were making any sorta a patch seems less than guaranteed. maybe after Gromnir gives ME a try we will manage

just 'cause you didn't have (or didn't notice) problems, don't mean they weren't in game. various bonuses not stack right (though if you not know rules you probably not notice.) more than some spell durations is wrong. is more than a few game killing bugs experienced by more than a few people. warlock gets imbue item ability, but can't take item creation feats. favored soul dcs seems to be chr based 'stead of wisdom. warpriests can't gain divine casting levels? characters getting access to too many epic spells... or not 'nuff. ctds. etc. chances is you suffered many data entry kinda bugs and simply didn't realize. wrong babs and wrong saves and wrong dcs? you not know rules and you probably not even realize. HA! Good Fun!

... is obsidian gonna patch this freaking game 'fore Christmas? for chrissakes, how long we gotta wait for some basic fixes? oh, and while we know that it gots 0 chance o' ever becoming reality ('least not til josh gets a chance to work on bg3,) given that obsidian is taking a months kinda approach to fixing motb, maybe they could add fixed domain spell lists and functionality for clerics. is embarrassing that iwd2 did a far better job with 3e domains than does motb. josh mentioned that this were something that might (unlikely) be addressed in a patch, and as wait for patch has become a task fit for Job, am figuring that maybe obsidian throws in a bone to make seem likes more than simple bug fixing. opportunity to improve rather than simply fix. HA! Good Fun!

which motb jnpcs would Conan accept? ... only difference 'tween red wizard and the other jnpcs is that Conan might try to get sexed up with the bald chick previous to killing her. HA! Good Fun!

skillz is extra important in Gromnir d&d campaigns... not too many players voluntarily play low int fighters or clerics in our game sessions. all you got is concentration or climb? too bad, 'cause Gromnir warned you 'least a half dozen times that such a route were gonna lead to frustration. bards is buffers and skillz monkeys that if built right can also be very effective in a combat support role. personally, the concept o' the bard offends Gromnir sensibilities. the "minstrels" we has known is typically hygienically challenged dreamers who stink o' failure and mj, so we got 0 urge to rp such a character save as some sorta comedic bit o' buffonery. nevertheless, the d&d bard is often the most useful member of gaming sessions in which Gomnir is dm... which is kinda ironic given our overt loathing for the bard. HA! Good Fun!

"I know it is probably not fair to compare NWN2 with the Temple of Elemental Evil and Infinity Engine, where the maps are 2D but I feel I am experiencing the demerit of 3D engine rather than enjoying it at the current state of implementation (BTW, oddly, I liked the 3 dimensionally visualized giant frogs, gelatin cubes and magic missile effects in ToEE, for example)." *chuckle* the funny thing is that now that Gromnir has played so much nwn2 and motb, every time we tries to play bg2 or ps:t (would rather have tiny glass shards rubbed into our eyeball than try to play toee again,) we find ourself trying to zoom in and out with the wheel mouse. the fixed overhead perspective, while functional, is far more limiting and limited than nwn2 strat view. you happen to get a battle in a doorway in bg2 or toee (a frequent occurrence as Gromnir typically used doorways as extra immovable and unassailable defenders,) or there just happens to be a large wall or structure in way, and you pretty much gotta simply endure seeing half of battle. yeah, in nwn2 we sometimes get a bad pov and we gotta adjust, but with ie and toee there were some situations in which you need to realize the limitations o' the 2d pov if you is gonna be able to enjoy the game. fixed 2d left Gromnir with far more situations in which we had less than an optimal view o' the battlefield... 'least compared to nwn2 and it's expansion. oh, and we gots another annoying bug. built ourself a favored soul/rogue/storm lord. the favored soul spell casting primary attribute (from Gromnir pov) is wisdom as wisdom determines dc o' spells cast. however, fs charisma determines max spell level the character can cast as well as bonus spells. gave our fs a 14 charisma and planned to use stat boosting items to get us to 19 by time we reaches point where we could cast 9th level spells... character level 22 or so. one small problem with our plan: reloads wipe out known spells 'bove level 4. as long as Gromnir not have to exit game, everything is fine. our +6 nymph cloak allows Gromnir to use level 9 spells, but if ever we gotta reload game, all spells 'bove level 4 is blacked out til we rest... and this game purposefully makes rest more o' a challenge in some specific areas. not a big problem... is simply more sand in our shoe. HA! Good Fun!

am beginning to get the picture that the camera problem is pretty much a character-mode issue... and as Gromnir never uses character mode we gots 0 frame o' reference. d&d is, at its core, a squad-based tactical combat game... looks down at graph paper or dry-erase maps and move your pawns 'bout from your godlike pov. *shrug* HA! Good Fun!

austin is a fantastic town. has the advantage of being a very big college town w/o being a genuine big city. ut is one o' the biggest universities in the nation, and it is actually a pretty darn good university too... and like all good universities ut is a magnet for big brains and big talent and nifty cultural opportunities. throws in great music and great food and only real drawback is fact that you gotta deal with texas weather and texans. austin? Gromnir can deal with austin... and as cost of living is so much less than in cali... we would still have to take a big pay cut. *shrug* major obstacle is gonna remain Gromnir's lack o' talent. HA! Good Fun!

... dunno. there is almost no times where/when Gromnir can't simply rotate camera slightly to gets a good view. area transitions? ok, take 2 seconds to pull back and rotate left or right with camera. THAT is the big camera stink? okie dokie. HA! Good Fun!

am not much of a writer ourself, but all those secondary skills is what Gromnir would find daunting... coupled with a big pay cut and a move to kanada. HA! Good Fun!

could somebody explain what is the camera issue? some folks really is torqued by nwn2 camera, and Gromnir has never really "got" this criticism as the strategic view is pretty much where we live... zoom in and out sometimes. *shrug* btw, anybody heard anything 'bout the patch? HA! Good fun!

from books we would probably end up with either 1-2 levels rogue x levels of fighter or 100% fighter d&d barbarian not seem to be Conan. barbarian rage ain't so much a Conan thing... is simply the skills aspect that seems more barby than fighter. lack o' civilized culture? yeah. wild animal? is not how Gromnir read. savage and brutal, but not really wild. take 14 int and able learner and go to town with whatever skills you wish. Conan were pretty damn smart. HA! Good Fun!

dove combat stats in Gromnir's party late in chap 3 with typical buffs: attack bonus 53/48/43/38/33/28 damage 1-8 +7 (crit 17-20 x2) +1d12 slash +1d12 (magic) v. outsiders +9 physical +3 magical +1 slashing +2 magic +1d6 divine v. evil +9 divine damage ac 53 not bad, eh? HA! Good Fun!

"My 15wiz/14spirit shaman..." no wonder you had problem with ancient vamp sr. caster level o' 15 or 14 (even with the spell penetration feats) ain't gonna often be able to touch critters with sr o' 30+... and there is too many vamps in those vault battles to assay resistance 'em all. HA! Good Fun!

okku is the tank. you want a tank, then okku is your guy. however, please keep in mind that an appropriately buffed and outfitted cleric is gonna be equal or better than any tank obsidian could come up with. dove already gots big wisdom, so throw a couple extra points into charisma... and take divine shield. there is a nymph cloak +6 available early in game so you can probably get dove's chr modifier up to +8 or +9 w/o much effort. she already gots extra turning, so spam away with divine shield and divine might before every battle. +8 or +9 to damage and ac is nothing to sneeze at. spell buffing is key for the cleric combatant. extend and persistent metaspell feats become almost necessary for a tank. cast persist divine favor and prayer. cast extend divine power and battletide. cast extend recitation 'fore big battles. most of the stat boosting spells is a waste 'cause you can find belts and cloaks and other items that boost better than bull's strength or eagle's splendor anyways... and stat boosts don't stack. heck, divine power alone gives dove same bab as a fighter of same level. also, while dove carries a puny little mace when you meet her, she can use any martial weapon. for some odd reason it seems that the best weapons in game are either 2 hand weapons or they is exotic weapons. you is probably gonna want to have dove use a shield, so best route is probably to craft something for dove. Gromnir avoids crafting 'cause it seems like overkill, but if dove is gonna be your tank, then you should think 'bout customizing her a super weapon. use your friends. gann can cast tortoise shell, and or barksin 'pon dove... and make sure somebody can stoneskin her. red wizard can cast haste (potentially persistent haste,) and a few other buffing spells. umd is another way to turn dove into a tank. her umd will never be good 'nuff for using scrolls, but to use wands and any items in game requires that dove probably have 'bout ten ranks in umd. for dove you only get 3 skill points per level, so if you already gained a bunch o' levels with dove and spent points elsewhere, this may not be an option. regardless, keep in mind that spells like displacement, mirror image and ghostly visage, spells that normally can only be cast by a caster on self, is wonderful wand fodder. dove can be a tank, but as the spirit meter makes resting options more limited, you is gonna have to be careful with dove's spamming of spell casting... you may have to pretty much put her in puppet mode so that she does what you want her to do. so am assuming that you insist on both gann and safiya in party? gann has some neato abilities, but he is largely superfluous if you got dove and safiya in party. dove can heal and buff, and between dove and red wizard you gots some serious damage potential from offensive spells. *shrug* dove is a serious melee weapon, if you is willing to micromanage. HA! Good Fun!