PC starting location speculation: Hill's Edge, Baelreach or Twin Elms

[Chaos Theory]

Alright so we have the map and we... have a lot of time to discuss the map. Through brief, conclusion-jumping analysis and intelligent guessing, I believe I've determined the starting location for the PC based on previous Obsidian work along with games referenced as inspiration for Project Eternity:

 

(Previous Obsidian RPGs)

 

Fallout: New Vegas: Goodsprings. Small village off the beaten path and a good distance from the main city. Although the hwy appears to give you 2 avenues to get you to Vegas, anyone who has played the game knows you're depantsed by deathclaws if you try and go north right away, so the game strongly encourages you to take the long way 'round. Initial PC placement on world map is center, left.

 

Neverwinter Nights 2: West Harbor. Small village off the beaten path and a good distance from the main city. More of a linear RPG in that you are pretty much forced to follow a certain path through the map, at least initially, exploring only upon arriving at key locations. Initial placement on world map is center, south.

 

Alpha Protocol & SW: KOTOR 2 are future/space oriented, so I don't think they apply.

 

(RPGs mentioned as inpiration for Project Eternity)

 

Baldur's Gate: Candlekeep. Small keep off the beaten path and a good distance from the main city.

 

Icewind Dale: Easthaven. Small town off the beaten path and a good distance from the main city.

 

Planescape Torment: Sigil. Large city and one of the few exceptions to the formula above.

 

The primary theme seems to be small town/keep off the beaten path but with enough to do in the immediate area for the epilogue/tutorial (usually quick fetch/kill quests). In addition, it's generally close to a rather defined road network quickly branching to multiple directions, thus allowing the player to choose which mission hub he/she wants to do next.

 

Finally, we can rule out some possible candidates simply because their name doesn't flow off the tongue. Who wants to tell everyone they grew up in Loghome or Maiden Falls the whole game? Lame...

 

Therefore, I've narrowed it down to these 3 possible starting locations (in no particular order):

 

Hill's Edge: First of all it just sounds like an Obsidian-inspired starting location. It's also got a conveniently-placed keep in the area to make for some neat intro story. Finally, it's at the bottom of the map, with a couple branching roads to get you going in whatever direction you deem necessary.

 

Baelreach: You've got a little bit of everything here for a starting location: small village next to a spooky swamp promoting that "extraordinary and supernatural event" we all need to kick things in gear. It's also got the road network and it's a prime location for access to the major urban areas.

 

Twin Elms: Small town, almost exactly in the middle of the map with a picturesque little lake, and it's adjacent to a rather vast area of presumably creepy ruins which I'm sure will play a huge part in the story. It's also got the needed road network taking you in any direction you want. To me, this would be the best candidate without knowing the story.

 

So there you have it... Any other ideas?

Edited September 19, 2012 by Chaos Theory

[eimatshya]

Well, since we don't really know anything about these places except for their location, it's hard to narrow things down too much. An additional possibility is that we won't start in a town/city at all. Throne of Bhaal started in a clearing in the woods. It is possible that the momentous event that we witness at the start of the game won't occur in a city. We could encounter it while travelling, sort of like if Baldur's Gate had begun with that first encounter with Sarevok. Or it could start while spending the night at some inn. Or it could start at your campsite, sort of like BG 2 (in the intro that explains how you ended up in Irenicus' dungeon but without the getting kidnapped part). Some terrified person could stumble into your camp only to be horribly killed by some magical force which would cause you to somehow contract some affliction that would drive you to enter the story.

 

I agree that the standard would be to start out in some village, but maybe they'll take a different approach. If we do end up in a village at the start of the game, it probably wouldn't be our home village, given that the game isn't supposed to presuppose a set origin for our character. It could be like Arcanum, where we are on our way to somewhere when we get waylaid by the event that sets us upon our quest and end up stranded in a small town. In such a case, I will go with Midwood as my guess for the starting town. It appears to be on a major thoroughfare, yet is still fairly isolated. Or maybe Dyrford since a ford seems like a good place for stuff to go down.

Edited September 19, 2012 by eimatshya

[JWestfall]

Hopefully it's near "Sorcerers Tomb", because you know with a name like that there is will be some good buried loot.

[Chunkyman]

Since we apparently start off witnessing something amazing, it's also important to find an area of the map where one would likely see something extraordinary.

 

Godhammer Citadel sounds like a place where extraordinary things happen.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Chunkyman

[Chaos Theory]

I agree that the standard would be to start out in some village, but maybe they'll take a different approach. If we do end up in a village at the start of the game, it probably wouldn't be our home village, given that the game isn't supposed to presuppose a set origin for our character.

 

Ahh, but they got around that in NWN2 by saying your 'father' wasn't really your father, and that you were merely raised by him. That way you could still start in West Harbor, even if you were a tiefling!

[Pop]

It's an interesting thing to think about, certainly. A small, remote town is definitely our best bet - not only is it conducive to low-level questcraft (clear rats out of the tavern basement! etc) but it allows the player both the breathing room to learn more about this new setting he/she knows next to nothing about, and an incentive to explore the world as he/she moves toward a more centralized location, getting into scrapes and committing to random tasks / acts of violence as the game progresses. The players are as newborn babes, you've gotta coddle them a bit.

 

Of course when you hit sequels, that logic can go out the window (ie BG2 starting in the middle of Athkatla). PS:T is a special case because I suspect that like most things about the game, its beginning was intended to be completely disorienting, even to old CRPG hands. The average player has about as much of an idea of how everything works and fits together as The Nameless One does. Just one of the many beautiful things about it.

 

Looking at the map, though, there doesn't seem to be an easily identifiable Big City. Without a map key it's hard to say - solid black circles are presumably towns, but I can't tell if white or black squares (or both) are dungeons. Etc.

 

Were I to hazard a guess I'd say the black circles with borders are major towns or cities. They're all either bordering a body of water or on a road near the edge of the map, which we can reasonably assume means that they're ports of trade.

Edited September 19, 2012 by Pop

[eimatshya]

Since we apparently start off witnessing something amazing, it's also important to find an area of the map where one would likely see something extraordinary.

 

Godhammer Citadel sounds like a place where extraordinary things happen.

 

I thought of that, too, but from the cryptic passages teased during the countdown, it sounds like the Godhammer Citadel was destroyed 200 years ago and is now a crater that people visit on some sort of pilgrimage.

 

"Two centuries ago, your divine champion told the people of Dyrwood to grovel at his feet. If you've come on pilgrimage to the blasted crater that was our reply, Godhammer Citadel is *that* way."

 

I guess you could start as a pilgrim, but that would presuppose a specific cultural background, and they have said that you will be free to choose your culture (although I guess all cultures could theoretically engage in the pilgrimage, although that seems unlikely). Otherwise I'm not sure why you would be there without some set background, which it sounds like they are trying to avoid. It seems likely that the Godhammer Citadel will have some role to play in the story, but I suspect that we won't visit it until later in the campaign.

[Nakia]

It is really hard to say. The Devs may not have decided yet. So no harm to speculate. I like Godhammer Citadel not only because of the name but something has already happened there. They have said the even is a supernatural catastrophe so killing off a bunch of pilgrims would be rather catastrophic. Destroying a small village might be catastrophic for the villagers but would it be sufficient to get you worried enough to investigate why?

 

It is going to be interesting to see how they justify your being in the area. Traveling some place for some reason yes. But the details? Something monumental needs to be wiped out, something that really catches your attention, scares you, intrigues you. If anyone can do it Obsidian can.

 

All I ask is that I am not a prisoner of some sort. Just a simple wayfarer going to the big city to seek my fortune.

[Gurkog]

I am hoping that they are going to pull a bait an switch with the map. Giving us this part of the world when Eternity will take place in another. They will point and laugh at us during the big reveal.

[Volourn]

I would prefer there would be different starting areas absed on race/class/whatever.

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Strange, as soon as I've seen that there is a settlement called "Road's End", I suspected that it will be our starting place. It just sounds too cool to pass up.

[Chaos Theory]

Strange, as soon as I've seen that there is a settlement called "Road's End", I suspected that it will be our starting place. It just sounds too cool to pass up.

 

You know, I had considered that, too. If you're arriving by ship it would be perfect, as it would fulfil the openness requirement of race, religion, etc. But Road's End is a fairly large town it looks like, which goes against the majority of Obsidian RPGs. In addition, they tend to want you to work your way toward the coast-- not start on it.

 

But it's certainly a possibility.

[Nonek]

I'm hoping for Echo bay, because ever since I saw it i've been humming the Martha and the Muffins song to myslef.

[Shadenuat]

Maybe somewhere near a forest, to complement "mystical event" with a Wild Hunt references.

[Pidesco]

I think JE has said that the map shown is only a part of the full map.

[Lysen]

I also like the idea that it may depend on your race/class. For example, you are a thief, you are robbing an ancient tomb and accidentally trigger that "supernatural event".

[Pop]

Given that there are going to be several classes and several races (+ subraces, + backgrounds) and Obsidz is on a very limited budget, designing and programming The Event in a different place for each build is a terrible idea. Not to mention writing / scripting every discrete reference to it elsewhere in the game.

[Chaos Theory]

Given that there are going to be several classes and several races (+ subraces, + backgrounds) and Obsidz is on a very limited budget, designing and programming The Event in a different place for each build is a terrible idea. Not to mention writing / scripting every discrete reference to it elsewhere in the game.

 

Agreed, like or not, we're all starting in the same place even if we didn't come from the same place-- that lore you can create for yourself based on your own backstory. I won't even rule out the classic "you wake up in a cave with amnesia" scenario that, ehem, was used before by this company.

 

But chances are, since this is the beginning of an epic new storyline, I'm expecting another quiet upbringing prior to being thrust into the maelstrom of the "supernatural event". I'm picturing farmstead, castle servant, courier... Wait they did that...

[Volourn]

"Given that there are going to be several classes and several races (+ subraces, + backgrounds) and Obsidz is on a very limited budget, designing and programming The Event in a different place for each build is a terrible idea. Not to mention writing / scripting every discrete reference to it elsewhere in the game."

 

It's a terrific idea. And, would make the game a heck of a lot more fun. Without it, the game isn't as good. Multiple beginnings and multiple endings can only enhance one's epxerience in RPGs.

 

BNut, hey, maybe they should take the 'ol fashion lazy route and have dwarves and elves start in the same place. L A M E

[Pop]

We'll get multiple endings. But no, I just remembered who you are and yeah, you still have precious little notion of what content seems to cost

[Volourn]

Not as little as you do apparantly. Everything they do costs money. But, I believe the cost for multiple beginnings is well worth it compared to wasting the money on crap.,.