Orlan Cipher Detective: Detective Quest ala Laura Bow: Dagger of Amon Ra

[agewisdom]

Hearing the Orlan Cipher companion which is a detective just gave me some chills. Hopefully, it means we will have some detective quests in PE.

 

If we do have some detective quests, I was wondering whether any of you played the Laura Bow adventure games. The final sequence where you were required to piece together the clues in the investigation was very exciting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dagger_of_Amon_Ra

 

 

I am hoping that PE could have a scaled down version of these type of detective quests. I personally find these type of quests very fun and exciting.

[UncleBourbon]

I think a neat twist on the normal companion recruitment would be if you this companion earlier if you do some optional rogue-like subquest and have to justify yourself due to his abilities.

[UncleBourbon]

Whoops, double post, my bad

Edited October 21, 2012 by UncleBourbon

[agewisdom]

I think a neat twist on the normal companion recruitment would be if you this companion earlier if you do some optional rogue-like subquest and have to justify yourself due to his abilities.

 

Yes, maybe you could be assisting the Orlan detective on a side quest. If you're successful in that side quest, he might join you immediately. Failure may result in another side-quest or paying him to join you on your quest. Something along those lines...

[Brother Pain]

Ooh, loved that game (except for the chase scene during the final act) and I'd love some proper detective work during PE. It'd be a good place for using a lot of your non-combat skills as well

[agewisdom]

Ooh, loved that game (except for the chase scene during the final act) and I'd love some proper detective work during PE. It'd be a good place for using a lot of your non-combat skills as well

 

Hi Bro Pain,

 

Ooohh... yah, I forgot all about the chase scene... only remember sliding out of that dinosaur's head and the taxing investigation scene... Phew! You really had to pay attention to the game and jot down all the clues to make the correct guess as to the real culprit.

[Umberlin]

A Cipher Detective going around solving an unfolding mystery sounds like a game into itself. And I'd play it.

[rjshae]

Yes, that could be interesting. It would also be an opportunity to break out of the mold of wandering around with a full party of six characters. The investigation could be restricted to just the PC and the cipher detective, at the request of the client.

[agewisdom]

Yes, that could be interesting. It would also be an opportunity to break out of the mold of wandering around with a full party of six characters. The investigation could be restricted to just the PC and the cipher detective, at the request of the client.

 

Exactly, it would break up the monotony of just fighting or going dungeon spelunking all of the time. Perhaps it could be in a very specific scenario such as a murder of a prominent NPC in a manor. The manor is under lock-down, and the PC and his Orlan companion has a limited time to solve the mystery and name the culprit. I think it would make for an interesting side quest. It could be also an excellent way to introduce the abilities of the Cipher class.

[Fooine]

I think that any companion should have a reason to stick with the PC. I mean, this here guy is a detective; he's got a job, he's got a life, why would he leave all that to start adventuring with a guy he just met five minutes ago? Because that stranger just helped him with a case? Not a good reason, just split the reward and go back to detectiving.

 

I think what's more likely is that there will be an "investigation" sidequest that will tie in directly with the main plot. You're investigating something or someone, and you run into him doing the same for different reasons and you can choose to assist him. The resolution of that quest ends up raising more questions than it answers, and so the detective decides to stick with you at least until his own investigation is over. BAM! An overarching companion sidequest appears, just like that.

 

(Unrelated: this companion announcement makes me want to start a new Arcanum game as a charismatic gnome wearing a suit and top hat, striking a balance between magick and tech by using guns and mind/divination magic (because we're roleplayers here, not min-maxers).

 

Y'know what? Scratch that. Let's have Avellone play that character.)

[Gurkog]

Perhaps the detective is like the ones in I Heart Huckabees. An existential detective who helps people discover the nature of their souls.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Gurkog

[agewisdom]

I think that any companion should have a reason to stick with the PC. I mean, this here guy is a detective; he's got a job, he's got a life, why would he leave all that to start adventuring with a guy he just met five minutes ago? Because that stranger just helped him with a case? Not a good reason, just split the reward and go back to detectiving.

 

I think what's more likely is that there will be an "investigation" sidequest that will tie in directly with the main plot. You're investigating something or someone, and you run into him doing the same for different reasons and you can choose to assist him. The resolution of that quest ends up raising more questions than it answers, and so the detective decides to stick with you at least until his own investigation is over. BAM! An overarching companion sidequest appears, just like that.

 

I am pretty sure Obsidian has something along those planned. They're very good at stories and making sure they jive with the world and lore. The Cipher class combined with a detective profession sounds extremely intriguing. I just want to make sure that the cipher's abilities are used to their full potential i.e. in non-combat situations such as investigations. This makes things more interesting. Otherwise, the Cipher class will just seem like a wizard sub-class.

[DCParry]

Here would be a twist -

 

You are a suspect in the detective's investigation. A series of killings in which the victim is spiritually and physically mauled in a particular way which fits your, umm, let's say "unique skill set". When first introduced, the orlan begins following and trying to gather evidence of your guilt, so he is an antagonist of sorts. You could even be in the process of being framed. The resolution could be handled with a number of options: you could join with the detective and catch the real murderer, and he then joins with you when he finds out that the murderer is a pawn in a larger scheme; you could discover the truth and skip town and avoid the detective, at which point he becomes a long antagonist; you could just kill (or try to kill the detective) and continue on your own way.

[agewisdom]

Here would be a twist -

 

You are a suspect in the detective's investigation. A series of killings in which the victim is spiritually and physically mauled in a particular way which fits your, umm, let's say "unique skill set". When first introduced, the orlan begins following and trying to gather evidence of your guilt, so he is an antagonist of sorts. You could even be in the process of being framed. The resolution could be handled with a number of options: you could join with the detective and catch the real murderer, and he then joins with you when he finds out that the murderer is a pawn in a larger scheme; you could discover the truth and skip town and avoid the detective, at which point he becomes a long antagonist; you could just kill (or try to kill the detective) and continue on your own way.

 

I like the way you think! That's more or less how I would like to be introduced to the Orlan Cipher detective...

"It's elementary my dear Watson..."

Edited October 22, 2012 by agewisdom

[Monte Carlo]

Back in the day Judge's Guild did a spoof Sam Spade fantasy adventure, 'twas pretty cool.

 

[Umberlin]

I remember the first time I finished Colonel's Bequest only to be told on no uncertain terms that, while I had finished the game, I had come to the wrong conclussion. Being a little kid that had only been exposed to games you either 'won' or 'lost' prior a was amazed at this turn out and promptly started the entire game over again. It brings me to wonder if a well done mystery has to be solved correctly to be an enjoyable session of play. I finished the game that first time, surely, even if I came to the wrong conclussions, but despite being wrong I wasn't turned off of the game. In fact it made me want to play the whole thing over again, start to finish, even more, to see what else could happen.

 

In short, there being more than a simple, "wrong or right" and "you win or you lose" aspect to a mystery . . . in my mind is something well worth thinking about. That's my little tid bit to add to this discussion.

[agewisdom]

I remember the first time I finished Colonel's Bequest only to be told on no uncertain terms that, while I had finished the game, I had come to the wrong conclussion. Being a little kid that had only been exposed to games you either 'won' or 'lost' prior a was amazed at this turn out and promptly started the entire game over again. It brings me to wonder if a well done mystery has to be solved correctly to be an enjoyable session of play. I finished the game that first time, surely, even if I came to the wrong conclussions, but despite being wrong I wasn't turned off of the game. In fact it made me want to play the whole thing over again, start to finish, even more, to see what else could happen.

 

In short, there being more than a simple, "wrong or right" and "you win or you lose" aspect to a mystery . . . in my mind is something well worth thinking about. That's my little tid bit to add to this discussion.

 

Hi Umberlin, another Laura Quest adventure game lover, I see.

I don't think any first time player, save for the most astute or Sherlock Holmes type can solve the game on the first try. From my own experience, I was just fooling around and exploring everything and asking a lot of questions. I didn't really try to jot down notes on my observations nor did I try to correlate things like the clues, who was where at what time. Like you, I was really shocked at the end when I was asked a series of questions to determine who was the culprit. Phew... I was

 

That just made me want to go back and replay the whole game again...

 

If PE implements a mini-quest, there should be an option to fail the quest. Perhaps something nasty might happen or the Orlan Cipher Detective may decide to blow you off when you ask him to join you... It would be nice to have some detective side-quests from time to time...