I think the problem with the detect evil spell and evil-good axis is a problem with D&D itself. The evil-good axis is too relative to be of any use.
The Shadow druids and Faldorn are "Neutral" . Coran is a "good" character that happily abandons his kid and the mother of his child without a second thought. I am pretty sure a sunnite will think that the robbery of the emeralds to complete the statues and letting Prism exhaust himself to death only to complete a statue it is a justifiable action. You can be a "good" necromancer. A paladin could be considered evil if you are a talosian or a shadow thief.The "Lawful good" paladin in baldurs gate attacks you in bg even if your reputation is 20 because he "detects evil" in charname, even if he knows nothing more about you.
I agree that the axis Chaos-Law has more sense and it is funnier to play.
I think I'm one of the only people in the world whose favorite companion is Jaheira and least favorite is Viconia.
The funny part is that I don't think I disliked Viconia when I first played this game. In fact I think I actually quite liked her, but my opinion of her just got worse and worse over time and never went back up.
She's not my favorite, but I've only left her behind in one run. The trouble is, I have a hard time choosing a favorite. I love Imoen, but I also love Aerie. FWIW, Mazzy is also becoming a favorite. All of them lighten the mood just by being around. If I had to pick, though, it would probably be Aerie. Not only is her childlike naivete nice at times, once she gets to the higher levels, she's a walking arsenal of magic.
I used to be an solo only player but time made me realise that having six times the experience never gives you six times the inventory slots nor six times the amount of things you can do in a single round with a full party.
On the other hand, having six times the inventory slots and six times the amount of things you can do in a round never gives you six times the experience.
(except when getting quest experience in Baldur's Gate 2)
I think having a full party is good early on when the mages are still getting their sea legs, but I think a party of 3 or 4 would be ideal later. Most of the battles my party are getting into often leave a few out entirely. I just enjoy the full party from a banter perspective.
Ok, I think spell memorization encourages metagaming, even if it is a core mechanic. I believe any caster should be able to cast any spell up to their spell slots limit, as this allows them to RP situations they might not be prepared for, rather than reloading or running.
I have long felt that this was a weak point in D&D, and much prefer the runic magic of other systems where you are only limited by Mana. I know sorcerers and shaman don't have this limit, but I generally go with a conjurer anyway.
I think that if your character is a tank, then it is best to have just one or two in the party, increasing the party with magic users later. However, if your PC is a magic user, then a bit of protection from NPCs who are tanks will not go amiss.
... other systems where you are only limited by Mana.
Such systems exist in D&D, in the form of psionics. I don't think any of them have ever been implemented for player characters in the IE games, but it's out there as early as 2E; I vaguely remember a session with a friend once who had picked up a supplement with psionic rules.
A psionic caster gets a certain number of power points per day, and learns powers to use them. Each power has a cost in points, and you can use whatever powers you want until you run out of points.
This does include the option of using lots of high-level powers in a single tough encounter, and the balance implications of that. Even sorcerors are limited by spell slots - if you blow all of your top-level spells on a single fight, you'll still have low-level spell slots available.
I've actually had a lot of trouble with Irenicus on the Tree of Life in some of my playthroughs, usually when I was soloing. Irenicus tended to cast Maze on my character, causing an instant game over. In one playthrough when I was playing a solo sorcerer, I barely had high enough max HP to avoid being killed instantly by Power Word, Kill. I guess it would've been easier had I given my sorcerer Spell Immunity.
I think I'm one of the only people in the world whose favorite companion is Jaheira and least favorite is Viconia.
The funny part is that I don't think I disliked Viconia when I first played this game. In fact I think I actually quite liked her, but my opinion of her just got worse and worse over time and never went back up.
i get the feeling this happend when you became a modder and had to write banter for her.
Might be part of it, but it's also probably that the more I grew up the fact that she's a drow became less and less interesting, and when it comes down to it, I just don't like Viconia's character at its core.
I've actually had a lot of trouble with Irenicus on the Tree of Life in some of my playthroughs, usually when I was soloing. Irenicus tended to cast Maze on my character, causing an instant game over. In one playthrough when I was playing a solo sorcerer, I barely had high enough max HP to avoid being killed instantly by Power Word, Kill. I guess it would've been easier had I given my sorcerer Spell Immunity.
Get him to waste those high level spells on summons (though Spell Immunity works just as well). You do have to summon something reasonably powerful to force the issue, but this is a tried and true method of dealing with high-level mages.
Might be part of it, but it's also probably that the more I grew up the fact that she's a drow became less and less interesting, and when it comes down to it, I just don't like Viconia's character at its core.
Eh, it's probably because you are a surfacer...
Yeah, even if she weren't evil, I'd still not take her. She got on my nerves in the brief time I was saving her from getting torched.
RE: Viconia - Yeah, and for my money I'd prefer a girlfriend who doesn't flip out at the first sign of niceness then expect an apology can just fix anything without meaningfully trying to change her behaviour for a long time. That's a sign of an abusive relationship.
Having 6 teammates is arbitrary and pointless, 4 team party number just makes more sense...
Having a tank, healer, primary arbiter of death and scout is all you really need. There's no real reason beyond nostalgia for the "good ol days" for two extra xp sponges.
I've actually had a lot of trouble with Irenicus on the Tree of Life in some of my playthroughs, usually when I was soloing. Irenicus tended to cast Maze on my character, causing an instant game over. In one playthrough when I was playing a solo sorcerer, I barely had high enough max HP to avoid being killed instantly by Power Word, Kill. I guess it would've been easier had I given my sorcerer Spell Immunity.
this is a tried and true method of dealing with high-level mages.
RE: Viconia - Yeah, and for my money I'd prefer a girlfriend who doesn't flip out at the first sign of niceness then expect an apology can just fix anything without meaningfully trying to change her behaviour for a long time. That's a sign of an abusive relationship.
RE: Viconia - That's a sign of an abusive relationship.
Indeed. Now one could realize that Evil is ALWAYS corrupting, abusing, or manipulating in some form, while Good always tends to be beneficial, inspirational, or therapeutical.
Hold up, viconia is best girl! She's just a fire spitter who won't let you get away with stupid crap, unlike the other two, one is an annoying, whiny egotist and the other just felt blah.
Having 6 teammates is arbitrary and pointless, 4 team party number just makes more sense...
Having a tank, healer, primary arbiter of death and scout is all you really need. There's no real reason beyond nostalgia for the "good ol days" for two extra xp sponges.
I feel that the biggest gain for fighter proficiencies (over other classes) is from specialised (2*) into mastery (3*) and not so much the attaining of grandmastery (5*). The reason is that I play with randomised items and I am challenged to make fighters versatile rather than going 5 star. That 3rd star maximises the thac0 bonus, I don't see benefits from weapon speed and a minor gain in number of attacks is not significant.
Also, most parent classes are invalidated by their kits. Kits have too few maluses over the parent class.
Hold up, viconia is best girl! She's just a fire spitter who won't let you get away with stupid crap, unlike the other two, one is an annoying, whiny egotist and the other just felt blah.
Well, maybe that's what they were going for, and I can respect that, but that doesn't necessarily mean they got there all the way.
I understand that, since they are the stereotypical goody-two shoes heroic protagonist, most people feel they are old hat or think they are intolerant bigots.
It may not be the most unpopular of opinions, but I just finished reading this behemot of a thread from start to finish and I read a lot of hate for Paladins and whay they represent.
Also, when I was a kid I always played the "good" side of the story first and then the "evil" side. Like playing KOTOR first as a Jedi and then as a Sith, usually Male first and Female second if, available.
However... as I grew older, I no longer have the will to it. It feels silly, but I care more now about the imaginary 1s and 0s inside the games then when I was a kid.
I just do one boy scout playthrough and call it a day.
Someone mentioned this previously, but I like when games make the "good" options the hard, slow, start. Where you sacrifice gold to give it to the farmer instead of buying a new sword, where you antagonize a powerful foe because you protected their helpless enemies.
Ace Combar Zero: The Belkan War does something like this. Playing Mercenary gives you lots of money to buy the best planes early on, even if their route Aces are tougher. While playing Knight gives you the 'easier' route Aces, but because you have to spare everything and only get money by kills, you have to get by with starter o cheaper planes by the point you encounter them.
I hope more games go to the lenghts to make both routes matter more at a Player Choice level.
I want to earn those warm fuzzy feelings, damn it!
I think I already saw this in the meme thread but I'll just leave it here anyway...
For anyone interested, the artist name is
fredrik k t Anderson, he has a whole series of that bard seducing everything. Don't really know what he's doing now though.
I think I already saw this in the meme thread but I'll just leave it here anyway...
For anyone interested, the artist name is
fredrik k t Anderson, he has a whole series of that bard seducing everything. Don't really know what he's doing now though.
There is no such thing as bad dice. It's an outlandish superstition that gamers create to make sense of luck and probability not being in their favor. However improbably long this occurs is irrelevant, dice are based off of probability and not some cosmic force playing tricks on you.
Comments
The Shadow druids and Faldorn are "Neutral"
I agree that the axis Chaos-Law has more sense and it is funnier to play.
She's not my favorite, but I've only left her behind in one run. The trouble is, I have a hard time choosing a favorite. I love Imoen, but I also love Aerie. FWIW, Mazzy is also becoming a favorite. All of them lighten the mood just by being around. If I had to pick, though, it would probably be Aerie. Not only is her childlike naivete nice at times, once she gets to the higher levels, she's a walking arsenal of magic.
On the other hand, having six times the inventory slots and six times the amount of things you can do in a round never gives you six times the experience.
(except when getting quest experience in Baldur's Gate 2)
I have long felt that this was a weak point in D&D, and much prefer the runic magic of other systems where you are only limited by Mana. I know sorcerers and shaman don't have this limit, but I generally go with a conjurer anyway.
Such systems exist in D&D, in the form of psionics. I don't think any of them have ever been implemented for player characters in the IE games, but it's out there as early as 2E; I vaguely remember a session with a friend once who had picked up a supplement with psionic rules.
A psionic caster gets a certain number of power points per day, and learns powers to use them. Each power has a cost in points, and you can use whatever powers you want until you run out of points.
This does include the option of using lots of high-level powers in a single tough encounter, and the balance implications of that. Even sorcerors are limited by spell slots - if you blow all of your top-level spells on a single fight, you'll still have low-level spell slots available.
i get the feeling this happend when you became a modder and had to write banter for her.
Get him to waste those high level spells on summons (though Spell Immunity works just as well). You do have to summon something reasonably powerful to force the issue, but this is a tried and true method of dealing with high-level mages.
Eh, it's probably because you are a surfacer...
Yeah, even if she weren't evil, I'd still not take her. She got on my nerves in the brief time I was saving her from getting torched.
Having a tank, healer, primary arbiter of death and scout is all you really need. There's no real reason beyond nostalgia for the "good ol days" for two extra xp sponges.
Come at me bro!
Hold up, viconia is best girl! She's just a fire spitter who won't let you get away with stupid crap, unlike the other two, one is an annoying, whiny egotist and the other just felt blah.
I tend to think of them as arrow sponges.
Depends the dragon in question. An silver dragon that spends more time in human form is one thing. An red dragon....
Is how you get dragon disciples a few generations later
(or draconic bloodline sorcerers in 5e)
Kobolds are also for seducing. Tiny Dragons~!
Also, most parent classes are invalidated by their kits. Kits have too few maluses over the parent class.
Dragon: Fails saving throw...
I think I already saw this in the meme thread but I'll just leave it here anyway...
Well, maybe that's what they were going for, and I can respect that, but that doesn't necessarily mean they got there all the way.
Well, we had it in monochrome, so at least the colours are new.
I understand that, since they are the stereotypical goody-two shoes heroic protagonist, most people feel they are old hat or think they are intolerant bigots.
It may not be the most unpopular of opinions, but I just finished reading this behemot of a thread from start to finish and I read a lot of hate for Paladins and whay they represent.
Also, when I was a kid I always played the "good" side of the story first and then the "evil" side. Like playing KOTOR first as a Jedi and then as a Sith, usually Male first and Female second if, available.
However... as I grew older, I no longer have the will to it. It feels silly, but I care more now about the imaginary 1s and 0s inside the games then when I was a kid.
I just do one boy scout playthrough and call it a day.
Someone mentioned this previously, but I like when games make the "good" options the hard, slow, start. Where you sacrifice gold to give it to the farmer instead of buying a new sword, where you antagonize a powerful foe because you protected their helpless enemies.
Ace Combar Zero: The Belkan War does something like this. Playing Mercenary gives you lots of money to buy the best planes early on, even if their route Aces are tougher. While playing Knight gives you the 'easier' route Aces, but because you have to spare everything and only get money by kills, you have to get by with starter o cheaper planes by the point you encounter them.
I hope more games go to the lenghts to make both routes matter more at a Player Choice level.
I want to earn those warm fuzzy feelings, damn it!
Edited to correct the godawful format on mobile.
fredrik k t Anderson, he has a whole series of that bard seducing everything. Don't really know what he's doing now though.
Including a rock last I checked.