Cantousent

I'm fairly familiar with ancient conventions of religion, from reciprocity to mechanical observances and even to modern interpretations of diet. However, I can only speak for my tastes and expectations. Faith in the way we use the word and have for a long long time means trusting something that is not in and of itself proven. The fact is, we could open a tin of tuna and find a dead rat. We wouldn't attribute that to divine intervention. We'd call the FDA.

Yeah, if anything, I would rather the gods were more abstract. I would rather that the character worship the gods who don't have such overt impact on the world. After all, expecting tuna when you open a tin isn't faith. It's a reasonable expectation. Religion in PoE is like that for me, and I don't mean that in a good way. However, it does explain much of the setting and I don't think the snapshot of the relationship between the earthly and the divine is entirely fleshed out in the BB. I *have* played it beginning to end (at least I think I have, it's been a while), but it's such a small sample, I'm sure I'm seeing the game world dimly, as if only a reflection of its proper self. When I play the game proper I'll see the game world as it sees me, perfectly. In that, I hope that there isn't such a direct relationship between the divine and the mortal. ...But if the setting and story are done well, I won't hold it against them. I want a good story and I don't mind something that challenges me. EDIT: A variety of factors encouraged me to reread and tidy up my post. :Can't wry grin icon:

I've always hated the convention that the end boss needs to be 'epicer' than the previous boss fights. I like the opportunity to beat the last boss by non-combat means. Note, I don't demand or even want a non-combat solution to every problem. Some problems in a game of this type *should* require combat. Some actual resolutions might even require a non-combat solution. ...But I do get tired of the 'street cred' mentality where you trudge along to a 'final battle' only to encounter a twist and realize that there's actually another 'final battle' and then another two or three.

The thing is, you enjoyed the setting. You want to explore more of it. I can hang with that. I've never been a fan of the Forgotten Realms setting, which has been a lot of the DnD games. It was never an exciting setting for me personally. Everything was always too *big* in the Forgotten Realms. Everything was always too fixated on it's own importance in cosmic affairs whereas I tend to prefer personal journeys that tell a story of individuals. ...But I enjoyed the past DnD games (yeah, not PoR2, but you get me). Anyhow, you're just advocating your position, which I respect, but liking a setting is one thing. Having rights to it is another. So we'll have to hope that Obsidz fashioned something that will please us. :Cant's keeping his fingers crossed icon:

Damn damn damn damn! When I ordered the t-shirts, I weighed 137lbs more than I do now! I ordered all XXL and now I only need a L. Oh well, the wife can use them as nightshirts or I can give them to someone else. EDIT: and I only even know this at this point because I'm going over what I'm supposed to get and noticed it.

It's the rule of three... plus one! I need to check to see if these books are included in my pledge. I'll probably end up gifting the Lore book to one of the people to whom I'm already gifting one of my keys. It's weird but exciting to be this involved in what I always considered to be frivolous third party content. Now, however, it's got a cool factor it lacked before.

Alternately, I ordered extra so I could scalp... ahem, I mean help out forum members who didn't get them during the kickstarter. Okay okay, I better make clear I was joking since that's *undoubtedly* against forum rules, maybe illegal, and would likely get me beat up by one of the Odsidzians. If there's scuttlebutt on the boards about them being on sale again, I would plan to buy them soon because you just can't trust that they're set up to have a permanent supplier. On the other hand, since this is a promotional sort of thing, it's probably not crazy to think they'd have another kickstarter and offer more shirts then also. I had a couple of obsidian t-shirts a while back and I gave both of them away. One to KQD in Canada, I think.

...feral is just what I naturally expect as the default state of anything under 16. Okay, you jaded bastard, that actually made me laugh out loud. I actually think the soul concept could be great. It's kind of like when someone tells you an idea for a story. It might sound good, but you still gotta make it happen.

I think the spoilers that my ISO friend put in aren't all that big of a deal, but this is a non-spoiler forum. I'll ask the mod squad about this, but please put spoiler tags on anything you get out of the lore guide. Many thanks.

If you'd asked about backing the game, I might have said, "sure. Why not? If you like obsidian games and want to take a chance on them, you should." Since you didn't back at the time, I have a different suggestion. Get the game when you've got a reasonable amount of confidence that you'll enjoy it. If you have a great time playing it, consider backing the next Obsidian project. At least, that's my 'split the baby' suggestion. Sadly, although I anticipate greatly enjoying the game, I can't endorse something I haven't played yet.

It was a pickle, but I eventually got it! <.< As an aside, RIP Don Knotts.

Actually, I don't see why anyone would flame someone else over an honest assessment. Funny thing is, I enjoyed Honest Hearts. I like the detached perspective on things. I especially liked Graham's character. However, I *do* agree that the setting and lore should be backdrops for a great story. Sawyer tends to put possibility above story, which means that having some sort of rich lore with an extensive history that allows the player to roam and wander sometimes seems more important than having a tightly unfolding narrative. In that spectrum, Fallout is superior to Planescape. Since I've been huge fans of both, I'm not making it an either/or proposition, merely preferential. Nevertheless, I would say that this is opposite of my tastes, but I don't think it's like there's this sharp division, some sort of line in the sand where you either want freedom or you want story. I want a great story with enough freedom to become my own person. I'm sure most folks who enjoyed Fallout liked having the freedom to do and explore as they wished, but enjoyed an exciting narrative that made them part of the events in a personal way. Why else would the epilogue endings be so popular? Those *are* stories about how the vault dweller made his impact on the world and its inhabitants. EDIT: I figured maybe it would be better if I actually finished one of the sentences. Maybe not. <.<

No biggie. There was a first party thread somewhere also, but this one seems focused on different things. My guy will be a scholar from the White that Wends just for RP purposes. Kind of like an academe who does a lot of field work. Probably an elf or a human, I suppose. I see him as an Indiana Jones sort of character.

I stopped following it for that reason. If it's good, I can still buy it when it ships.

The funny thing is, I would dread the idea of having a namesake in any of the games. I'm sure the depiction would not be flattering. I would understand why and I'd just suck it up. ...But I can't imagine I would be the only person who actually *doesn't* want the notoriety. Whether you 'get' Gromnir's shtick or not, he's been the eminent personality of the online rpg communities for years. Well over a decade. Probably a couple and giving a nod to that seems perfectly appropriate. I think Grom does a lot for the community and I even thought that at times when he got under my skin. I also think that someone who is and has been key to this community is Fionavar. I'm not just saying that because he's my friend. He's done a lot for the community here and the vast majority of members don't even know that. I think Fio should get a nod in a game one of these days. He'd probably be irritated that I said that, but he'd do his best not to show it. If it's done well, I think having some of the community in the game is kind of cool, but too many inside jokes and self reflecting community cameos isn't all that great. At least I don't think so. Maybe a few members and then you hope that the green eyed monster of envy doesn't cause mayhem. EDIT: And I should really actually try to be more on topic. I'm fairly ignorant of the number crunching still, so I'll just fumble around a bit with a melee rogue build. Unless of course I don't have any decent range dps options, in which case I'll have to tune the stats for ranged dps and get some other class to cover melee dps.

ohhhh, I didn't know that. I actually never read anything about the game that I don't see here or get as an update in my email.

I want my stronghold to be a repository of knowledge and a sanctuary for lost souls. Having a strong commercial base would be a great help also, especially since the tax revenue would help keep things in the black. Maintaining and policing the roads is a must. I'd pick a broad mix of hirelings and set up two task forces, one to oversee the outside area, towns, and road. The other would see to affairs inside the stronghold proper. Problem is, you can't always trust hirelings, so I'd like to adventure with them first to get a feel for them before I entrust my stronghold. Then I'll need to have people... no, not *spying,* just keeping an eye out on things and sending updates to me regularly.

Heh, I think it would be funny if the hirelings could actually sometimes be a liability. I mean, rogues, barbarians, and fighters can get into a lot of mischief in society.

Apart from the putative issues Virgil had with his work, the Aeneid was hugely successful. I tend to fall more on the 'Hellenist' side of things, preferring the ancient Greeks in terms of artistry, but I actually think of the Aeneid as truly excellent and a worthy competitor from the Roman collection. Don't get me wrong, I love Homer, both the bard and the cartoon character, but Virgil can swing a bat in the same league any day. ...And, in some ways, Virgil is superior. Take epithets, for example. Assuming there was one Homer (which I actually do believe), his works were built on oral traditions and his use of epithets relied on a lot of help over a long time from many many people telling the stories. The epithets were an aid, a convention that helped the bards fill out the poetic line and also, like repetition, were useful for remembering things in an oral tradition. By the time of Virgil's work, epithets had transcended utility. While they remained useful for the same reason they were useful in the Iliad and the Odyssey, they were also part of the literature and Virgil had to fashion or modify them himself. Virgil had to come up with a lot of his work and fit it into a epic that could be art *and* propaganda. Even today, with our jaded and judgmental society, the art still wins. That's why I say that no one gets the last word. ...And that's also why I say that even if they had the ip rights to DnD, I'd still be glad that Obsidz created their own world. It might have been better to have and use the rights from a commercial standpoint, but it would be no better and probably worse from an artistic one.

...And, to be fair, some giants have stood on the shoulders of people who were themselves no greater themselves. I get a kick out of it because Roman artists, both in terms of literature and sculpture, were considered inferior to Greek artists who preceded and some were contemporary with them. However, Italian artists in the same area at later periods overshadow their predecessors in many way. Originating something doesn't mean that you get the last word, even if you get cred for getting the first word.

At this point, I will admit to indulging myself a bit freely tonight, but my specs as I see them are: Intel i5 3570 3.4 Ghz 16 GBs of Ram and Radeon 7800 I actually have 32 GBs of ram, but I'm only using 7 home premium 64 bit, so I don't know if I'd have more available ram if I upgraded to 8.1 I have 8.1 ready to install, but I'm a lazy bastard and so I probably won't do it unless there's a compelling reason. Anyhow, with my current specs, the beta seems to play without any issues at all. I don't see any real lag, but it's not as fast as my impatient mouse hand would always like. Still, I really can't complain yet. However, the last time I played the beta from beginning to end was some months ago, so your mileage may vary. EDIT: I have 32 GBs of ram, but I'm only using 16GBs because my current os is Windows 7 home premium.

Good job knocking off the slaving bastards, but I have to say, you're erotic fixation on the elderly Daisy is... disturbing. If you flipped her trigger, how would you complete Auld Lange Sine?

I reserve judgment until I've played the game. For me, we need to balance the idea of individual motives against cultural motifs. As someone who has lived in Asia, I don't like to put this up as a struggle between 'Chinese long views' and 'Western short views' clichés. The individual and societal forces struggle against each other in every culture. If one emerges triumphant, there is chaos. If the other is the undisputed victor, there is stagnation. What I want is a balance between what my character does within society against what my character must do for himself. If Sawyer does that, I will praise him. For a variety of reasons, I *want* to praise PoE, but I will *not* do it if I cannot do it honestly. However, Indira, I can dig your position. The individual can impact the factions, but rarely creates them. So, the PC comes into a dynamic situation and *then* makes his impact.

/speechless ...And yet, for all my speech, nothing left to say.

EDIT: Under advisement of council, apparently my offer was premature. I need to make sure of the forum guidelines. lol Anyhow, good luck in your endeavor, Zazz.