Namutree

15 STR gives you a +2 to hit with a melee weapon, a +2 to melee damage, and of course it lets you carry more weight. 14 Dex gives a +2 to AC, a +2 to projectile damage, and a +2 to your chance to hit with a projectile. A fighter with 15 STR can be just fine; if his DEX is high he'll be accurate with a bow, and still strong enough to weild a composite longbow or heavy crossbow. Also strong enough to wear decent armor, and even use a melee weapon competently as a secondary weapon choice. I guess it's you who never played the IE games. Not true. That are 3e rules and only worked in IWD2. Just checked BG1EE. I was 100% right about strength (Maybe the rules are different now?). DEX though... It seems 14 DEX doesn't do anything. Funny that. I guess we were all a bit wrong.

Why did I like them? Here's a list: 1) Lots of classes and class combinations! I like coming up with a team. Playing as a mage/thief is awesome. Do I want 3 Fighters? What about Fighters who dual class?What about a team of all multi-class thieves? These are all awesome questions to me. Every time I play I experiment with a new team. 2) Plenty of races. I like playing as different races. Really get's me feeling like I'm in a fantasy world. I'm a human in real life; why would I ever want to play one in a fantasy game? So many rpgs shoehorn you into the role of a human; I appreciate that the IE games (except Torment) actually let you be something different. 3) I like the UI. Cool pictures representing me are more interesting than 3D models. I find the overall interface to be very user-friendly as well. 4) The combat! IE combat is awesome! It's exciting and tactical. Tons of options, and fast pace if the fight is in your favor. I'm a big fan of RTS games; so it's no surprise I like the RTS style combat. The magic system is awesome too! 5) I still like the story. It's just not amazing. It doesn't bother me. Sure the plot to BG of a bad guy killing your mentor/father (in BG1 a father/mentor multi-class) has been told a million times, and the idea of a special kindred fighting 'till only one remains has been told plenty of times too (HINT: THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!); even so, the plot doesn't offend me or anything. 6) I really like the characters in BG1/BG2. They don't have much development (with a few exceptions: Jaheira for example), but they are mostly cool.

15 STR gives you a +2 to hit with a melee weapon, a +2 to melee damage, and of course it lets you carry more weight. 14 Dex gives a +2 to AC, a +2 to projectile damage, and a +2 to your chance to hit with a projectile. A fighter with 15 STR can be just fine; if his DEX is high he'll be accurate with a bow, and still strong enough to weild a composite longbow or heavy crossbow. Also strong enough to wear decent armor, and even use a melee weapon competently as a secondary weapon choice. I guess it's you who never played the IE games.

That is objectively not true. Make a melee character in the IE games, and dump strength. See how much of a difference it makes. You won't be able to wear any heavy armor. You'll miss nearly every melee attack you make. You won't be able to carry basically anything even remotely heavy, and you'll do almost no damage since you will have damage penalties and won't be able to use any heavy weapons. The attributes in the IE games have about the impact of attributes in poe. If you insist that I'm incorrect; I could literally do the math comparing a melee character with 4 STR in an IE game vs. a melee user with 4 MIG in poe. Most of the attributes in the IE games were useless for most classes, and most of the attributes didn't raise anything most of the time until you went really high or really low. CON, STR, and DEX were useful for everyone, and the other attributes that did matter had great impact. Your point about most attributes not raising anything unless high or low is not true. STR, CON, DEX: These are half the attributes; any modifier from them is important for any class. INT and WIS: These are the attributes you are referring to. They are less than half; far from most. CHA: This attribute is weird. It matters for Paladins and Bards no matter what (Sorcerers too in IWD2). Yet it is usually very important for 1 npc, and meaningless to the others. How important this attribute is varies greatly depending on the size of your party.

A) Scope is not a strong point of the IE games. There are many rpgs with a larger scope. B) Story is not a strong point of the IE games. Planescape Torment is the only IE game with a strong story. IWD1/IWD2 had bare minimum stories, and the story of BG1/BG2 was cliche and had serious lore inconsistencies. C) Character progression is not a strong point of the IE games. In IWD1/IWD2 there is no character progression since all the party members are player generated. In BG1 there basically is none. In BG2 there is a small amount, but still nothing impressive. Torment is maybe the only one with decent character progression. D) The IE games were never great in this regard either. In BG1 you are often only given 1 of 3 choices; all of which have the same result. The game literally opens up with a narrator telling you how you feel. This happens more than once. In BG2 it's better, but not by much. IWD1/IWD2 aren't very good for this either as the game is too linear to allow any real choice. Finally; Torment doesn't even let you choose your race, past, or even appearance. Not much good for role-playing. You are the nameless one; no role-play allowed. Not to mention there is only 1 ending for these games except BG2 (minor exception for Torment as well, but both endings are extremely similar). E) Party based. Well, yeah. That is one of the strengths of the IE games. Too bad poe won't be great in this area since the classes play the same outside of combat, and you can't even multi-class making your options pretty limited.

That is objectively not true. Make a melee character in the IE games, and dump strength. See how much of a difference it makes. You won't be able to wear any heavy armor. You'll miss nearly every melee attack you make. You won't be able to carry basically anything even remotely heavy, and you'll do almost no damage since you will have damage penalties and won't be able to use any heavy weapons. The attributes in the IE games have about double the impact of attributes in poe. If you insist that I'm incorrect; I could literally do the math comparing a melee character with 4 STR in an IE game vs. a melee user with 4 MIG in poe. EDIT: I forgot the word double. Oops.

Here's what needs to be done: 1) Add in multi-classing. NO EXCUSES! You get a wider variety of abilities in exchange for levels. That's fair. Obviously not all classes should be compatible though. 2) Create race based talents, and new class specific talents. 3) Organize the talents into three categories- General (Talents available to everybody), Class (Talents available to that specific class, or classes in the event of multi-classing), and finally race (Talents available to that race specifically). This will allow Obsidian to have a huge variety of talents while keeping everything easily organized. EDIT: If you disagree with 2) and 3); fine, but we need multi-classing at least. The talent system doesn't warrant dropping multi-classing.

Don't be disheartened. It's not that combat or play is terrible; it's just that people are highlighting the problems. There is after all; little point in discussing elements of the game that are working fine. Other than maybe to keep things in perspective. Also, name dropping the IE games in the kickstarter made expectations rise to very high levels. Pillars of Eternity at this point looks like it will be a decent game at worst. So don't worry; poe won't be a train wreck.

Wasn't he half-white, and half-hispanic?

The forums are more hostile than usual. Sensuki and Shevik decided to hate each other. They argue in a very negative fashion on multiple threads.

I am reviving this thread! Now that's it's pretty clear that engagement isn't going away I think this thread will more helpful than before! Remember: This thread is not to discuss the merits of whether there should or should not be engagement in poe. It is meant to identify problems with engagement, and how they can be solved. Right now my biggest concern regarding engagement is the way it can be abused for uber kiting as seen in Senuki's videos. In the unlikely event that Obsidian is not aware of this issue I wish to bring it up one more time.

Oh no. A single party's monopoly over the meaning of language that extends over everyone else means totalitarianism. I can't agree they determine the meaning of any term. They kind of do when they're the ones who used it. It's not like you can go... "Obsidian! When you said that word with subjective implications, this is what you meant."

I get that playing with no armor is a legit play style, but I want my armor-less characters to at least have some clothes to preserve their dignity. Are these in the game/beta and I'm missing them, or are naked dps characters actually going to be common?

One of my favorite holidays has arrived! Good old Thanks Giving! One this awesome day; I like to feast like a beast. All the while I get to visit with my fantastic extended family. Normally this is awesome enough, but it seems there is even more good news for me! I love Turkey, but I'm really in the mood for fish. I guess it's been awhile since I had any, and I've been craving it for hours. Just a bit ago; I found out my Aunt will be bringing fish sticks with her! What are the chances? I've got awhile before my family meets up; so in the meantime I guess I'd like to see if there was ever a little holiday miracle for any of you guys. Got any little holiday stories to share?

Played the new update. I liked more than the last one. Sadly, the skills and talents are still connected. WHY!!!??? Anyway, I feel the standard enemies are about right. They can pose a threat if you don't pay attention, but they won't massacre you if you're a bit reckless. Sadly, the humanoid enemies are too weak! Amp them up a bit OE. The web effect is WAAAY too over the top. I couldn't even see what was going on. I love the new portraits, but you can't make a pale elf with white skin to match the new portrait. Fix that Obsidian.

When anti-GG accused us of harassing women; it was just a case of projection.

That seed game looks like harvest moon had a baby with animal crossing.

I agree with the ideas of this post (Except the heavy import duties, and license). I was trying to come up with a realistic solution rather than the ideal solution. Just to be clear: Ending Drug Prohibition is not the same as ending the Drug War. Though I do want to end Drug Prohibition. I'll be dang pleased just to see the Drug War end.

You kind of are, with your depiction of America under your idea with people seeing cops as friends who keep the peace and so on. Or at the very least, fairly optimistic. Some people are just trash, after all. So it'll just fix problems for drug users, I guess it may save money over all - rehabilitation for a select few is cheaper than prosecuting and jailing them. At least in terms of direct expense. Most communities already see cops in a friendly light. Blacks are the primary targets of the Drug War. That's the primary reason why the black community is so disdainful of the police. Ending the Drug War would likely make them see the cops the same way everyone else does. Utopias usually refer to a perfect society. America would need to do far more than end the drug war to come close to a Utopia.

Many of the liberals on MSNBC want to see the Drug War end. Libertarians on Fox News like John Stossel want to see the drug war end. This video only addresses the gang side of the Drug War, but heck I'll find more evidence later if you insist. I find looking for evidence online tedious. I know about this issue on a more personal basis. Remember, the area I live in is mostly black people, but at the same time I don't do any drugs of any kind. It gives me a decent amount of clarity on the matter.

I'm hardly speaking of Utopia. Even with the Drug War ended America will still have problems; just not this one. Keep in mind also that the black community doesn't dislike the police when they put a black mugger behind bars; it's when they put black people (especially young ones) behind bars for no good reason. Possessing a drug is not a good reason to ruin some one's life. I also don't expect everything to be healed over night. It may take a while, but the results will be positive.

Not quite. See, by taking away the financial motives to arrest people; cops will only arrest them when they are causing some kind of disturbance. Let me give you an example: Let's say there are 2 Americas. One with the Drug War, and one without. Drug War America: A cop sees a black guy driving a car. The officer pulls over the driver hoping to find drugs in the car. If he does; he'll be rewarded since his department will receive a budget increase from the federal government due to the drug war. Once he looks in the vehicle the officer doesn't see any drugs; so he decides he wants to do an illegal search hoping to uncover some drugs. The officer knows that many black people can't afford proper legal defense; thus he can ignore the need for probable cause. After a thorough (though illegal) search; the cop finds a bit of weed under a car seat. The black guy goes to jail since his public defender didn't bother mentioning that evidence found in an illegal search should be dismissed. After all, public defenders don't actually care about their clients and just take a plea bargain since it's easier. The black guy is given a harsh sentence and his life is ruined for no good reason. Afterwords, the cop goes into black neighborhoods all the time looking for more people to arrest. He knows convicting black people is easy, and he is rewarded every time he does it. The black people begin to hate the police, and before you know it a cycle of violence is created. No Drug War America: The cop sees a black guy driving a car. The black guy isn't causing a problem so he is ignored; why bother searching his car for drugs? He isn't hurting anyone, and it's not like the cop gains anything for arresting him since the Drug War is over. The black guy goes on to live a good life, pays his taxes, and even cooperates with authorities when a robbery takes place in his neighborhood. I mean, why not? The police are only there to help. It's not like they'll ruin your life for no good reason. EDIT: My point being that blacks won't be rounded up for rehab. The cops have no incentive to arrest them at all. The only way they'll get involved in a drug case; is if the drug user is causing some form of problem. Hint: Most drug users don't. Especially people on lesser drugs.

There are many ways to end the drug war; here is what I feel is the most realistic: 1) Officially declare the campaign over. This won't do much practically speaking, but I feel it will help Americans understand why things got better. 2) Remove the financial incentives for law enforcement to make drug arrests. This will change the way law enforcement deals with drugs. Instead of looking for people to arrest for drug offences; they will arrest people when their drug abuse is actually causing some one a problem. 3) Change the focus of trying to scare people away from drugs with harsh punishments for using them (this approach simply does not work). Instead they should be sent to a rehabilitation center where they can be treated and receive help to get off drugs. Also, there should be no crime added to their criminal record IF they cooperate with their rehabilitation. 4) Simply legalize weed. It's basically harmless; heck, junk food is a bigger risk to society. Keeping this one illegal is a bigger problem then the drug itself by a lot. That would pretty much do it. Without the financial incentives arrest people for no good reason police won't be scouring black neighborhoods looking for black people who are easily convicted. Instead; they'll only show up when there's actually a problem. This will do wonders in mending the relationship between law enforcement and the black community. Cops won't be seen as predators looking to arrest them with any excuse they can muster, but friends who keep the peace. With the focus on treatment; black kids who are arrested won't come out a hardened criminal, but rather a rehabilitated citizen; heck his/her family will probably be grateful for the assistance helping their family member readjust to society. Also, arrests will be easier since the cops sending you to rehab isn't as scary as cop letting you get raped in prison; only for you to come out branded for life as a criminal. Legalizing weed would just be good economics, and a good PR move.

More importantly is that he doesn't tell them what they can do about it. He doesn't say; the relationship between the black community and law enforcement could be mended if the drug war were ended. He just says, "Well, use this anger for something positive." - Not a direct quote, but the jist of what he said. He needs to be more bold and actually name things that should change.

There is no evidence of systemic conviction of innocent black people. There is evidence of harsher sentences and greater police scrutiny of black people. As in; if a non-black person commits a crime he/she is less likely to be caught and punished than if he/she was black. Even if the non-black person is punished; the punishment is likely to be less harsh than if the criminal were black. It's not innocent blacks being punished for crimes they didn't commit; it's guilty blacks being punished harsher than they should be. There are people who believe that white privilege is a serious problem in the US. I believe they are wrong. The system isn't as much pro-white as it is anti-black. They also aren't oppressed deliberately. It is happenstance. The Drug War is meant for everyone, but blacks are poorest and thus the most affected. The people who believe the drug war is good don't hate black people; they just don't want to believe that the system is unfairly targeting them.