Thoughts on Godlike (are they worth it?)

[Ninjamestari]

I don't think a lore dump would have been necessary. Something like Ninjamestari's suggested dialogue line could have been enough.  Although perhaps there could have also been more that could have been done without being a lore dump.  A group that is resentful of godlikes because they're above the tragedy and because they're coming in and taking jobs.  Some charlatan godlikes trying to work a con on some religious types.  Some death godlikes who can't find work and have taken to frighting people out of their cash.  Any of those kinds of things could have built on both the godlikes role in society and also why there were so many in the area without necessarily needing to lore dump things.

 

 

Now that I think of it, there's got to be implications on having so many god-likes in a single area. This could've easily been used to create quests and events related to the issues caused. If birds of a feather flock together, then it would only be natural for those god-likes to start forming groups and factions, especially if most of them didn't end up getting any land. It's not that difficult to take an odd detail and turn it into a well fleshed out feature. It is work intensive though, which is why we see these "could've been easily fixed" - cases so often.

[1varangian]

I generally don't like races that are too high-fantasy. Unfortunately godlikes are the very extreme of this with flaming hair and whatnot. They just stand out too much and I wish they were living on some forgotten island somewhere as NPCs. With Orlans. ,-)

 

It's personal preference of course but for me the races that are too far out / furry / fiery / wingy make the whole setting less believable and more like a fairy tale for children.

[Ninjamestari]

I generally don't like races that are too high-fantasy. Unfortunately godlikes are the very extreme of this with flaming hair and whatnot. They just stand out too much and I wish they were living on some forgotten island somewhere as NPCs. With Orlans. ,-)

 

It's personal preference of course but for me the races that are too far out / furry / fiery / wingy make the whole setting less believable and more like a fairy tale for children.

 

I think in PoE's case it's more about fitting in the context than simply personal preference. The PoE game world aims for the more plausible, gritty and real, which is why the god-like stand out like a sore thumb. In a more fairy-tale world, the god-like could fit in just fine.

[1varangian]

Also true. I find all the flaming hair stuff a distraction in the gritty and melancholic atmosphere they've created.

 

"Look that evil lord hung 18 people on a tree! -Nevermind that, that dudes hair is on fire wonder what supersayian powers he has?!"

 

Im trying to avoid seeing godlikes when I play.

[Nail]

As I recall Maegfolc Skull is the best helmet in PoE I, but this can't be relevant to Silver Tide.

Silver Tide is just OP.

Battle-Forged is good in some melee builds too.

[Boeroer]

If Maegfolc Skull is the best helmet or not strongly depends on your class and build. One could say that Munacra Arret is stronger or the Executioner's Hood, the Tempered Helm or even the Crossed Patch (when you're a ranger using Powder Burns). But it's true that Silver Tide is strong - especially because you'll have it from lvl 1 on and it's scaling. Even if you'd have helmets in mind that are way stringer than Maegfolc and stuff, you'll never get them at lvl 1 (and their properties wouldn't scale with level).

 

This is also true for Battle Forged, but it starts weaker than Silver Tide and the trigger "50% endurace" also prevents it from being too useful for builds who have mediocre or low health pools.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Boeroer

[Gromnir]

we never play godlike.  the cheap poe plane-touched knockoffs don't appeal to our rp pretensions, and the naming nomenclature is crude to the point o' being vulgar. godlike? why bother with orlan when could call 'em short-fuzzies? aumaua is kinda a mouthful.  why not fishface or sahuaginlike?  we never liked d&d plane-touched, but the naming choice for the poe version is terrible, just terrible. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Ninjamestari]

I like fishface. They could at least add an NPC that calls Aumaua fishface.

[DigitalCrack]

Its surprising to me that so many people have issues with the godlike. I like them and just wished they would have spent more time on their reactivity in the world. for the most part npc's seem indifferent to you when you play as one.

[Aleh1811]

A bit off topic, Since we are speaking about how characters looks. As a person with Italian family and nationality, I would really prefer it if the Valians looked like Italians. The way they dress, their culture, the way they speak all is so closely related to renaissance Italians, but ethnically they look african. That always rubs me the wrong way.

 

I know I know, I am terrible. I will go to the bunker to prepare  for the following cannon attacks.

[Gromnir]

A bit off topic, 

more than a bit off-topic, eh? seems more like a calculated attempt to cause problems.

 

ever see the movie, true romance?

 

staying on-topic, other than missing nose and ears, am not certain how one would depict a skaen godlike.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited April 12, 2017 by Gromnir

[Aleh1811]

I have not seen it . It was not a deliberate attempt to cause troubles though.

 

I actually refrained from creating a new thread about it (despite my obvious pro Italian bias) just because I knew the storm it would create.

[rjshae]

A bit off topic, Since we are speaking about how characters looks. As a person with Italian family and nationality, I would really prefer it if the Valians looked like Italians. The way they dress, their culture, the way they speak all is so closely related to renaissance Italians, but ethnically they look african. That always rubs me the wrong way.

 

I know I know, I am terrible. I will go to the bunker to prepare  for the following cannon attacks.

 

To me it's good because it breaks with expectations and intrinsic biases. The game designers are already borrowing rather heavily from Earth history, so a little change up is necessary. You see the Valians and you immediately know it's a different world where you'll need to adjust your thinking to get ahead.

[Aleh1811]

Maybe you are right, but if that's the case perhaps they could have added other differences as well. As it stands, others than skin color, they seem to be almost completely a reproduction of northern Italy during re-birth period.

[Boeroer]

They don't all look the same. Agosti and Verzano don't have dark skin color for example. Seems the history of colonization left the Republics with a good variety of skin color.

[rjshae]

A bit off topic, Since we are speaking about how characters looks. As a person with Italian family and nationality, I would really prefer it if the Valians looked like Italians. The way they dress, their culture, the way they speak all is so closely related to renaissance Italians, but ethnically they look african. That always rubs me the wrong way.

 

Well... they're not Christian, so the religion is entirely different. They are also a colonial power, which is behaving more like the Western European nations of that epoch. (Presumably then they don't own a spice trading monopoly?) But otherwise yes, they are deliberately modeled after Renaissance Italians. To me that's a break from all the masses of fantasy works based off English culture.

Edited April 13, 2017 by rjshae

[injurai]

They don't all look the same. Agosti and Verzano don't have dark skin color for example. Seems the history of colonization left the Republics with a good variety of skin color.

 

I think the answer would be that Obsidian needed a way to justify a degree of amicable diversity within the game while preventing factional divisions from reflecting the ethno-national lines that we see in our own world. Since it's the age of sail, they took a power that had chartered expeditions and used it's cultural heritage to manufacture one that would serve as the cultural base for a dark skinned peoples. Obsidian doesn't want to explore that natural results of a more powerful people usurping a lessor power people, when the two peoples happen to vary significantly along phenotypes. Any accidental imperialistic undertones could result in the player "playing out" a role that could be construed as a being politically supremest.

[Amentep]

staying on-topic, other than missing nose and ears, am not certain how one would depict a skaen godlike.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

IIRC Skaen is scarred as well as missing the nose and ears so perhaps the godlike of Skaen has a body that creates scars and wounds naturally? Maybe they end up looking something like a more natural, less extreme S&M Cennobite in the Hellraiser series?

[tinysalamander]

 

staying on-topic, other than missing nose and ears, am not certain how one would depict a skaen godlike.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

IIRC Skaen is scarred as well as missing the nose and ears so perhaps the godlike of Skaen has a body that creates scars and wounds naturally? Maybe they end up looking something like a more natural, less extreme S&M Cennobite in the Hellraiser series?

 

 

Sounds like stigmata.

[HooAmEye]

I would have imagined them with tendrils, that would wrap around like chains. For example, thick "dreads" tied to the back, that would prevent full movement of the head. A tired and haggard figure, hunched over a bit. More than a little of a regal Woedica godlike, with a natural crown and unnaturally fluid actions

Edited April 15, 2017 by HooAmEye

[SonicMage117]

Anything can be worth it if used properly.

[rjshae]

Must a godlike always have a unique head that prevents wearing a helmet? Couldn't they have, say, unique feet that prevent wearing shoes?

[SonicMage117]

Must a godlike always have a unique head that prevents wearing a helmet? Couldn't they have, say, unique feet that prevent wearing shoes?

They should have made them able to shape-shift their head to fit helmets lol

[Aleh1811]

I think it makes for an interesting trade off if properly balanced, just wish the strange appearance would generate different social interactions. I live in a. Country and city where my appearance is quite unusual. It of course doesn't reach that level of difference, but still very obviously affects how other people treat me. That's not reflected in game.

[White Phoenix]

I wish they could wear circlets or special tattoos like Qunari in DA:I. It would solve helmet problem.