Questions about Legacies and Bonuses

[EbonKnight]

Hey guys,

Maybe I'm just dumb here but I cannot for the life of me find a definitive list of what each PoE1 prebuilt history entails when it comes to decisions. Thing is, yeah, you can make custom ones easily enough, but am I just blind or does doing that effectively cut you off from the Gift from the Machine and Effigy's Resentment bonuses? For example, there isn't an option to devour the souls, only to do as one of the Gods would have you do.. and none of those actually give you an attribute bonus. The blood pool thing seems to be COMPLETELY missing. Now my question is (so I can save myself playing up to that point just to check xD) do the prebuilt histories actually have  that or are you stuck here if you don't have a PoE1 save handy? One I'm particularly interested is the self-serving one that tells it like you did everything you could to advance the goals of you and your party.. that one seems like it'd give you those bonuses, right?  Anyways, yeah, TL:DR, what's a surefire way to ensure I can get those nice evil stat bonuses for a new character in Deadfire? I tended to ignore these earlier as I was playing a goodie two shoes, but since my next char will be a total bastard anyway it's a nice lil boost to have

[Raven Darkholme]

You missed that in custom history (I did too first time I made one).

After selecting an option you get like little tabs of further options, gift for the machine for example is in Heritage Hill, and there is another for Effigis.

[EbonKnight]

Oh! Yeah, totally missed it. Thanks man, good to know you really CAN all-out customize it.

[omgFIREBALLS]

On 1/9/2021 at 9:45 PM, EbonKnight said:

 I tended to ignore these earlier as I was playing a goodie two shoes, but since my next char will be a total bastard anyway it's a nice lil boost to have

The best kind of background for these characters is a goody-two-shoes one where you just happened to have lapses of judgment in scenarios leading to advantages in Deadfire. My Watcher had had too much snowcap when he pushed someone into the blood pool. *nods*

[AndreaColombo]

How serendipitous—my character's also a generally well-disposed individual who had some momentary lapses of judgment throughout her adventures in the Dyrwood...

[Boeroer]

It's a split personality. Lamest explanation - but it works!

[AndreaColombo]

7 minutes ago, Boeroer said:

It's a split personality. Lamest explanation - but it works!

Not so lame when you consider the Watcher experienced an Awakening. Maybe their awakened self isn't as kind-hearted

[Boeroer]

Okay wait, let me think this over...

...

..

.

nope, still lame.

[AndreaColombo]

Whatever, I'll take my bonuses

[EbonKnight]

Hahaha, yeah. I tried to justify Durance and Devil of Caroc, with the latter not only giving a great bonus but also it counting as a mercy of sorts, perhaps, since she's definitely living a straight up tortured and horrible existence (+ was a horrible person to start with so yeah). Still, it's bad however you slice it, but considering you're a soulless pirate who peeps on dead souls in Deadfire, ehhhhh Tbh, the worst part is how people just don't give a ****, even Eder is pretty chill about it, so you really have to push yourself not to powergame with those bonuses.

Edited January 11, 2021 by EbonKnight

[AndreaColombo]

11 minutes ago, EbonKnight said:

 Tbh, the worst part is how people just don't give a ****, even Eder is pretty chill about it, so you really have to push yourself not to powergame with those bonuses.

Technically they don't know you did it. The first game makes it pretty clear that your communication with the blood pool is mental and your companions can't hear it; since it also shows that the others could not see you did it, I believe the sacrifice to the blood pool is not physical (as in, the Watcher did not physically push their companion into the pool) but rather of the soul kind (i.e. you shove their soul in the pool; again, not something your companions would be able to see.)

Edited January 11, 2021 by AndreaColombo

[EbonKnight]

Hm, true. Making it all the harder to stay on your goodie two shoes course I mean, technically, you playing with other people's souls then getting your own stolen, that is actually wonderfully poetic.. hell, it even makes sense from a "why my char would sacrifice someone's soul then be good in Deadfire" angle.. so yeeeah.. game really making it hard to pass up those sweet sweet boosts

[Boeroer]

The bonuses are very minor though. They hardly make a difference.

[AndreaColombo]

30 minutes ago, Boeroer said:

The bonuses are very minor though. They hardly make a difference.

If you're into number crunching, they make a whole lot of difference from a psychological perspective

[Noqn]

When I get to the blood pool, I always cover my eyes and pick randomly. That way I'm not responsible for sacrificing Maneha every time.

Edited January 11, 2021 by Noqn

[thelee]

i tried all the pre-built ones, and they mostly happen to pick things advantageously so that you get some neat stuff throughout deadfire even if it doesn't altogether make sense (e.g. on top of the sacrifices everyone mentions, pretty much every single one lets you get whispers or blade of the endless paths), but the one big thing is that most get you get the devil of caroc plate, but at least two don't (rymrgand and "everything bad"), so something to be careful about. that probably matters a lot more to people than a random effigy's resentment buff.

 

i did the "everything bad" background once as a challenge, and it was fairly amusing (though most of the challenge was earlier on since eventually you level/hire your way out of the downsides).

Edited January 11, 2021 by thelee

[EbonKnight]

Well, a lot of builds that I like end up needing...like...pretty much every stat. Considering I don't always like playing on PoTD and consider Berath's Blessings just downright cheating if not on PoTD (and even then, but eh, AI cheats too :D) I have a hell of a time getting stats I like even with those +2 stat points.. without them it's just annoying. BB is nice and stupidly overpowered without having to be evil, but at that point you may as well just use the console and give yourself whatever stats you want

[Haplok]

17 hours ago, AndreaColombo said:

If you're into number crunching, they make a whole lot of difference from a psychological perspective

I'm VERY much into number crunching and builds.

Yet I could never even remotely consider the Blood Pool or the Gift of the Machine bonuses. They are really tiny and inconsequential, while carrying a heavy burden indeed.

Indeed, maybe if they were more substantial, like the DoC BP....

Edited January 12, 2021 by Haplok

[AndreaColombo]

9 hours ago, EbonKnight said:

BB is nice and stupidly overpowered without having to be evil, but at that point you may as well just use the console and give yourself whatever stats you want

Psychologically it's not the same to achieve your desired stats within the game's rules set compared to just using the console. Even when exploiting a loophole or shortcoming in the game's rules it feels better than cheating, possibly because that way it feels like I earned it (and that it is technically possible/plausible within the game's rules, as opposed to giving yourself something that would be impossible/unachievable otherwise.)

I know, I'm an odd duck like that. Cognitive dissonance and all that.

[Boeroer]

I think that's not odd at all. Especially if you discovered loopholes etc. yourself.

[EbonKnight]

2 hours ago, AndreaColombo said:

Psychologically it's not the same to achieve your desired stats within the game's rules set compared to just using the console. Even when exploiting a loophole or shortcoming in the game's rules it feels better than cheating, possibly because that way it feels like I earned it (and that it is technically possible/plausible within the game's rules, as opposed to giving yourself something that would be impossible/unachievable otherwise.)

I know, I'm an odd duck like that. Cognitive dissonance and all that.

Heh, I suppose you're right. At the end of the day, you ARE the center-piece of the story and are meant to be more powerful than anyone else. It's just such an absurd bonus that makes you able to create perfect characters without pretty much any trade-offs AND doesn't come with the burden of sacrificing the soul of someone who trusted you, just to get far less powerful In  a way it feels a bit like that blunderbuss streetfighter trick.. it's there.. it's insanely awesome..but it just feels like too much. Still, I totally get you..  I tend to gravitate towards builds that really could use every stat, so it's always super tempting to take it