Update #74: The Mob Rulers: Wizards and Druids and our Partnership with Paradox

[Stun]

If they come across a spell in an enemy's grimoire, they can choose to learn that spell for the cost (in copper pieces) required to research it.

Aah, this answers a question I've had.

 

So just to make sure I'm reading this right, When you kill enemy wizards, they will drop their Grimoire(s), and then you can learn every spell they had in those Grimoires.

[Lephys]

It's a shame they used the stag form.

The ipex goat would have been awesome and i think it would fit along the lines of the pagan sabbatic goat.

AND that form would gain like +1,000 to climbing. Because goats are friggin' magical and climb smooth, vertical walls with naught but hooves.

 

If I play a Druid, I'm going to dub the sequence of Twin Stones followed immediately by Winter Wind one of my signature combos. Its name shall be "Rock You Like a Hurricane."

Edited March 19, 2014 by Lephys

[Tauron]

Almost evrything sounds good. Love the look of portrait art direction. thumbs up to the artist!  

 

 Unlike priests and druids, wizards do not personally shape the magic that is released.

 

This is what i meant by almost. I cant pin point detail, not sure what or why, but this doesnt sit well with me. Moment I saw it. Just a silly feeling. I must have carried different idea or expectation how those forces work. For some reason being wiz and personally shape the magic felt like certain definition of wiz to me. Oh well, I guess Tauron will be exception to the rule Anyway, great update, carry on guys!

[Prometheus]

Just to clarify: the backer portraits are only for those backers?

The portraits are for all people. description for 3000$ Kickstarter reward:

 

BECOME A CUSTOM PORTRAIT IN THE GAME + GET A SIGNED ART PRINT OF YOUR PORTRAIT. Help us design PROJECT ETERNITY! Your personalized portrait will be seen and used thousands of players. With a supplied photograph and some additional input from you, a talented Obsidian artist will make a custom portrait to be used in the shipped game. The artist will sign a print of the portrait that will be sent to you. You will also receive The Complete Kickstarter Obsidian Pack ($500 reward tier) + 5 EXTRA DIGITAL DOWNLOADABLE COPIES OF PROJECT ETERNITY to gift your friends and family.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Prometheus

[Tuckey]

@Tauron Depends how you look at it...

 

The wizard could shape magic if he wished but elects not to because he finds it inefficient, preferring to research and study magic.

[Marky]

Wow  what a great update! I especially love the spells. They seem both familiar and new, and sound so interestingly useful.

[Tauron]

@Tauron Depends how you look at it...

 

The wizard could shape magic if he wished but elects not to because he finds it inefficient, preferring to research and study magic.

 

Mhmhmhm...thats...thin. But I appreciate the effort

[Keyrock]

Oh man, those backer portraits are terrific!  Pretty much everything about druids and wizards sounds good, my one concern is that I hope Obsidian doesn't fall into a rut of trying to mimic D&D too closely, going through spell by spell, ability by ability, and making sure there is some kind of identical, or at least very similar, spell or ability.  On the other hand, I'm not saying the game needs to be wildly different just for the sake of being wildly different, I just want the developers to feel free to make the best systems and abilities they feel would fit the game without being constricted by having to make sure it feels as much like D&D as possible.

[Lephys]

 

@Tauron Depends how you look at it...

 

The wizard could shape magic if he wished but elects not to because he finds it inefficient, preferring to research and study magic.

 

Mhmhmhm...thats...thin. But I appreciate the effort

 

I dunno.... I'd say the Wizard shapes magic, he just uses tools (namely, a Grimoire -- all the associated materials and techniques) to do it, instead of some innate ability.

 

Also, if his soul energy is in no way affiliated with the operation of the Grimoire, then why does switching grimoires mid-combat result in a delay while the new grimoire attunes itself to the wielder? And grimoires use spells, but someone's gotta devise and "create" (in the sense of coming up with the "recipe/formula" for imbuing a page in a grimoire with the correct properties necessary to cast this spell through that page/grimoire) those spells, right? *shrug*

 

Honestly, what Wizards do in this lore makes me think of alchemists in the Full Metal Alchemist world.

[Mr. Magniloquent]

 

@Tauron Depends how you look at it...

 

The wizard could shape magic if he wished but elects not to because he finds it inefficient, preferring to research and study magic.

 

Mhmhmhm...thats...thin. But I appreciate the effort

 

 

The way I am understanding it, is that they create devices to create magical effects. A spell scroll is not an instruction manual on how to cast a spell, it is a machine which creates said spell. The grimoire functions as a glorified housing for said machines.

[ManifestedISO]

Yeah, I really dig this technical, mechanical wizardry thing. Some stellar naming for the spells, too. 

[cornishr]

It's just so perfect. To say i cannot wait is an understatement.

 

I absolutely love the Grimoire, i've always thought those big wizard's tomes are cool, always wanted one. Inspirational to actually let my wizard have his own grimoires. I've been waiting 39 years for such a thing.

 

Deep, deep joy.

 

Ps When on earth are you going to tell us about the Aumaua?!

 

Pps Who/what is the Devil of Caroc?!

[Wespenfresser]

The blue guy is really nice.
I have to admit I didn't like the Aumaua concepts much, but if that's supposed to be one ..I like. <3

The portraits do really have a certain Baldur's Gate vibe, although I think they are much better style & technique wise.

I am assuming these are over-painted photos, right? (Would make sense.)

Anyways, there are two little things I don't like about the portraits:

1. It seems like the nose in the “human-looking” portrait isn't properly over-painted. That makes it stick out a quite oddly. Similar problem for the druid, although more because it's a lot sharper/tighter than the rest of the piece.
Draws my focus at least, and it's a bit odd to be staring at peoples noses.

 

2. I don't know if it's an oversight or an artistic choice (one that I can not quite comprehend)...but.. do the eyes have to be that dull/flat?
It's most visible in the druid one. I think they're lacking some slight soft shadows and a crisper highlight. Maybe a colored one, for example blue like a sky reflection.(gives more contrast)
It's not a huge thing, but it would really make them much better in my opinion.

Just...you know. Swap the eyes and the noses...focus-wise.

Please do not eat me, or "rain down death" on me.

[cornishr]

Almost evrything sounds good. Love the look of portrait art direction. thumbs up to the artist!  

 

Unlike priests and druids, wizards do not personally shape the magic that is released.

 

This is what i meant by almost. I cant pin point detail, not sure what or why, but this doesnt sit well with me. Moment I saw it. Just a silly feeling. I must have carried different idea or expectation how those forces work. For some reason being wiz and personally shape the magic felt like certain definition of wiz to me. Oh well, I guess Tauron will be exception to the rule Anyway, great update, carry on guys!

 

Think of it that the Druids and Priests have powers sent directly through them by their deities or what have you, whereas the Wizard is using his skills, knowledge, grimoires and rituals, incantations etc. to harness and manipulate the magical forces around him; a conductor so to speak.

 

At least, that's what i shall do...

Edited March 19, 2014 by cornishr

[BAdler]

Just to clarify: the backer portraits are only for those backers?

Anyone will be able to choose the backer portraits for their character.

[BAdler]

It's just so perfect. To say i cannot wait is an understatement.

 

I absolutely love the Grimoire, i've always thought those big wizard's tomes are cool, always wanted one. Inspirational to actually let my wizard have his own grimoires. I've been waiting 39 years for such a thing.

 

Deep, deep joy.

 

Ps When on earth are you going to tell us about the Aumaua?!

 

Pps Who/what is the Devil of Caroc?!

I will mention to the guys that we should do an Aumaua update when we do another design/story focused one.

[ZornWO]

What I was looking for in this update was a way to add in some intricacy and strategy on top of the raw tactics - in order to make up for having no prebuffing (which is understandable), no sequencers and no contingencies (which is really disappointing).  Having lots of spells and filling a grimoire w/ them adds a touch of that back in but doesn't really fix the problem.  I guess SCS has spoiled me utterly.  The players that Josh Sawyer calls the "Rommels" (not the greatest name there lol) get maybe one or two rpgs a decade, if even that much.  Players like that playtester Josh has cited a couple times who never thought to prebuff have essentially the entire market catering to them already; you hear stuff abt ppl buying more games than they can even get around to playing.  Losing PoE to the second group is a bitter pill to swallow.

I'll have to wait & keep an eye out for mods... thankfully I don't preorder as a rule.  That said, I sincerely wish you guys @ Obsidian the best of luck.  I'll go so far as to say, if I thought your success depended on my purchase I'd go ahead & "buy" (back) it now.  It does look like you're producing a quality game & you completely deserve the love you're getting.

[ryukenden]

Interesting update.  I was actually expecting a publisher partnership from this kickstarter deal.

 

As for other things. The spells bring back memory. I love the classic d&d spells.  No other modern games have a complex spell system. I wonder how powerful the spells will progress late in the game. will we spell death like Power Word Kill, finger of death,  or even Meteor swarm.

 

I don't know the progress of your development yet but I hope you guys can pump those maps/dungeon out quick. I really hope we can enjoy a lengthy amount of gameplay.

[Tamerlane]

Spells are for dorks.

 

Shapeshift into a stag and gore nerds all day every day.

[Bryy]

Spells are for dorks.

 

Shapeshift into a stag and gore nerds all day every day.

Now I want a fan video where a Druid just goes insane and starts goring people due to the turn based BS the party is setting up.

 

Set it to the Harlem Shake as well as Everyday I'm Shuffling.

[Kaz]

The blue guy is really nice.

I have to admit I didn't like the Aumaua concepts much, but if that's supposed to be one ..I like.

 

The portraits do really have a certain Baldur's Gate vibe, although I think they are much better style & technique wise.

 

I am assuming these are over-painted photos, right? (Would make sense.)

Anyways, there are two little things I don't like about the portraits:

 

1. It seems like the nose in the “human-looking” portrait isn't properly over-painted. That makes it stick out a quite oddly. Similar problem for the druid, although more because it's a lot sharper/tighter than the rest of the piece.

Draws my focus at least, and it's a bit odd to be staring at peoples noses.

 

2. I don't know if it's an oversight or an artistic choice (one that I can not quite comprehend)...but.. do the eyes have to be that dull/flat?

It's most visible in the druid one. I think they're lacking some slight soft shadows and a crisper highlight. Maybe a colored one, for example blue like a sky reflection.(gives more contrast)

It's not a huge thing, but it would really make them much better in my opinion.

 

Just...you know. Swap the eyes and the noses...focus-wise.

 

Please do not eat me, or "rain down death" on me.

 

Hey there! Yes all of the portraits are painted on top of the reference photos we receive. I usually take the photo, shift things around for composition sake and start painting away. It's a huge time saver, and I get the likeness and subtle expressions for free. I agree with you on both of points, will try to hit those if I have time. Thanks for the feedback, you have a good eye!

[pseudonymous]

A few minutes ago, Obsidian made an important announcement about a new partnership with Paradox Interactive for Pillars of Eternity.

 

As long as my copy requires me to login to Origin to access a launcher which starts up Uplay which leads to a Steam launcher that installs Securom which protects the Starforce protected executable, I'm good with it.

[happyelf]

I hope POE doesn't end up fixated on spellcasters, and ignoring warriors and their ilk. Homage to the infinity engine it may be, but I would like to think that all classes are getting the same amount of attention and content.

[BruceVC]

Oh man, those backer portraits are terrific!  Pretty much everything about druids and wizards sounds good, my one concern is that I hope Obsidian doesn't fall into a rut of trying to mimic D&D too closely, going through spell by spell, ability by ability, and making sure there is some kind of identical, or at least very similar, spell or ability.  On the other hand, I'm not saying the game needs to be wildly different just for the sake of being wildly different, I just want the developers to feel free to make the best systems and abilities they feel would fit the game without being constricted by having to make sure it feels as much like D&D as possible.

 

I was thinking a similar thing around the spell selection, but the way I see it is you really only have 4 basic elements and when you think about spells, especially offensive spells, you can create for a new IP you will always have similarities to what we are familiar with due to our exposure to D&D.

[curryinahurry]

Very nice update.

 

I especially like the way some spells have randomness built in; like bouncing, blighting, and afflictions.  I also like the term 'affliction' as a description of harmful status effects.

 

And +1 for the stag form...if it could use the firebrand spell in that form, it would make for a ridiculous melee option!  Hope we get a Druid NPC since I'm not likely to play one, but might create one in the adventurer's hall just to try it out.