Stopping at Infinity: Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Stopping at Infinity: Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment.

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Flowing Thot: Apr 1, 2023

It actually sucks that she outs herself the first time you meet her in the original version. It was bad, but not for the reason the gamergate types thought. Games keep doing this and it is not cool to do. Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous has a trans character that is handled much better and you slowly learn her story over 150 hours of game or whatever.

# ? Apr 18, 2023 22:35

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 17:07

rojay: Sep 2, 2000

Flowing Thot posted:

It actually sucks that she outs herself the first time you meet her in the original version. It was bad, but not for the reason the gamergate types thought. Games keep doing this and it is not cool to do. Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous has a trans character that is handled much better and you slowly learn her story over 150 hours of game or whatever.

That was my take too. I remember running into that conversation when the game first dropped and being puzzled because it was just completely out of nowhere and unrelated to anything. Then all the bigots started posting and hoo boy. I actually didn't know they'd expanded the character, that's cool.

Siege of Dragonspear is cool, though and I wish Beamdog had been able to make more content in the IE engine or something similar. I dig the Pathfinder games and prefer turn-based combat but SoD showed that the old dog can still hunt.

# ? Apr 19, 2023 00:18

The Shame Boy: Jan 27, 2014; Dead weight, just like this post.

Although this engine clearly wasn't built to support so many NPCs and spell effects and what not going off because the siege itself is very cool but MAN did things chug! The Switch has been managing to handle everything very well up until this point, but i suppose if it's gonna be dropping frames anywhere it'd be here.

# ? Apr 19, 2023 01:15

kingturnip: Apr 18, 2008

The 'big brawl' set pieces are pretty annoying since the base game wasn't designed for anywhere near that many moving parts. Lining up an AOE spell/consumable, only for half a dozen friendlies to wander in at the last second; or trying to get out of spell range only to get boxed in by a bunch of friendlies... neither is fun and while I get what they were aiming for, I'm not sure the spectacle was worth the aggravation.

# ? Apr 19, 2023 20:49

Ginette Reno: Nov 18, 2006; How Doers get more done; Fun Shoe

kingturnip posted:

The 'big brawl' set pieces are pretty annoying since the base game wasn't designed for anywhere near that many moving parts. Lining up an AOE spell/consumable, only for half a dozen friendlies to wander in at the last second; or trying to get out of spell range only to get boxed in by a bunch of friendlies... neither is fun and while I get what they were aiming for, I'm not sure the spectacle was worth the aggravation.

I think your allies won't turn hostile if you hit them with aoe in SOD. Maybe some will, but I think many won't.

# ? Apr 19, 2023 22:23

Suspicious: Apr 30, 2005; You know he's the villain, because he's got shifty eyes.

Use AoE enchantments! They're neutral-friendly! :eng101:

# ? Apr 20, 2023 00:05

Ginette Reno: Nov 18, 2006; How Doers get more done; Fun Shoe

Suspicious posted:

Use AoE enchantments! They're neutral-friendly!

My typical strat as well. I did I think toss a cloudkill out once just to test it during one of those big battle set pieces nd I'm fairly sure the flaming fist npcs didnt go hostile. Don't quote me on that though. Haven't tested it extensively.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 00:20

The Shame Boy: Jan 27, 2014; Dead weight, just like this post.

Those NPC boys took all 6 of Baeloth's fireballs and didn't complain so it's safe to say you're good to just let loose the AOE in that situation.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 00:22

DisgracelandUSA: Aug 11, 2011; Yeah, I gets down with the homies

The Shame Boy posted:

Those NPC boys took all 6 of Baeloth's fireballs and didn't complain so it's safe to say you're good to just let loose the AOE in that situation.

How very chaotic evil of you.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 01:17

rojay: Sep 2, 2000

kingturnip posted:

The 'big brawl' set pieces are pretty annoying since the base game wasn't designed for anywhere near that many moving parts. Lining up an AOE spell/consumable, only for half a dozen friendlies to wander in at the last second; or trying to get out of spell range only to get boxed in by a bunch of friendlies... neither is fun and while I get what they were aiming for, I'm not sure the spectacle was worth the aggravation.

I was annoyed by those too. It was like playing with the npc's AI on. But I rationalized it by deciding that in an actual battle when troops get close quarters, your fireballs aren't going to be as useful if you care about friendly fire.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 03:05

Max Wilco: Jan 23, 2012; I'm just trying to go through life without looking stupid.

It's not working out too well...

Realized it's been over a week since the last BG2 book update. Let's fix that.

Chapter 10 starts from Imoen's point-of-view, watching Abdel fall to Irenicus.

quote:

Imoen�s otherwise normal, reasonably happy life had become, over the last tenday or so, a sort of hell that alternated between boring, painful, and horrifying. The latter was the case now.

Abdel had appeared rather suddenly, and when he did, the relief she felt was almost orgasmic in intensity. She�d certainly been waiting long enough for this so-called �Hero of Baldur�s Gate� to come and save her. His new girlfriend was of little use but as a model for how to grow up haughty and ineffectual. The �coordinator��he called himself Irenicus, a name he obviously made up himself�was a raving lunatic with a decent command of magery, but he had an ego so out of control and delusions so deeply implanted in his worm-ridden psyche, it was a wonder he could manage anything but a slow, twitching drool.

Oh god, I had Imoen's disdain of Jaheira in my notes, but completely glossed over that first sentence in the paragraph.

I will say this, just to prevent any worry: there is no love triangle between Abdel, Imoen, and Jaheira in the book. I say that because I was honestly kind of worried about that happening after reading the scene where Imoen and Jaheira first met. In fact, I think this bit here is the last bit of animosity displayed between the two (unless I missed something later on).

quote:

Abdel had come in sword literally blazing, but had managed to get himself killed. He made it a few steps out of the circle of darkness, then was dropped in his tracks by another spell. Imoen had seen a couple people die before. Reginald of Wide Girth, a monk she knew in passing, dropped dead of heartstop seconds after walking in on her while she was bathing. She always took that personally. Yorik�another monk�fell off the top of the Shrine of Oghma, though no one knew why he was up there in the first place. All attempts to restore life to his broken body failed, leading many in Candlekeep to assume Oghma wanted him dead for some reason. That one was kind of a mess.

Abdel�s death looked a lot more like Reginald�s than Yorik�s. His body just up and quit.

I can't decide if this tangent is funny or out-of-place.

Imoen sees Abdel get loaded into an iron maiden, and hearing Irenicus tell Abdel that's he not dead gives her hope that they might escape.

She ruminates on the discovery of her being a Bhaalspawn.

quote:

Then there was all this stuff about her being Abdel�s secret sister�or half-sister. Not that she needed any more proof that Irenicus had gone mad a long time ago, but here was a delusion that made no sense at all. Granted, she always knew she was adopted, that the kindly old innkeeper named Winthrop wasn�t her real father. Candlekeep had a lot of orphans�it was something the monks just did.

She�d heard that Abdel was the son of some dead god, but what� that means every orphan was? That would make Candlekeep demigod central, wouldn�t it.

Besides, if she was a daughter of some dead god, wouldn�t she have some powers? She should have at least been able to seduce women�gods do that, don�t they? She should be able to lift boulders, withstand the breath of a dragon (thankfully, she�d never had an opportunity to test that one), or do at least one thing that was beyond the normal abilities of mortal humans.

A fair point. :hmmyes:

Also, hey, Winthrop gets a name drop. I was not expecting that in this book.

quote:

�When are you going to bring him back to life?� she demanded. �Do it!�

Irenicus stopped and looked up at her. Their eyes met, he winked, and he went on about his business. Men, Imoen thought. Bastards.

There's just something alien to me in trying to imagine Irenicus winking.

They then start doing a ritual with Abdel.

quote:

Abdel, naked now and slipping in and out�mostly out�of consciousness was sheeted with sweat. He never opened his eyes, and when Irenicus�s people moved him, he let them, oblivious to what they must have in store for him.

Oh yeah, Abdel is naked again. I think this is the third time in the book he ends up naked (second if you disqualify the sex scene with Bodhi)

Anyway, the ritual continues and as it does, it starts to affect Imoen:

quote:

Imoen�s vision blurred, turned yellow, then became more acute. She saw details in the stone but couldn�t understand what she was seeing. It was a crack in one brick in the far corner of the room, or some enormous canyon seen from miles in the sky. Irenicus laughed, and her vision went yellow again. She heard Abdel roar, and her body flushed and turned warm, wet, then tightened.

All sense disappeared all at once, and she was aware of only one thing. She wanted to kill. She lusted for it. Death. Murder. Pain.

She wanted to find the one person most valuable, most beloved to all people, and she wanted to kill it�kill him�kill her. She wanted to make someone cry. She wanted to feel hot meat twist in her fingers while the victim�her victim�screamed and writhed in her grip. She wanted blood to spray into her face, into her mouth, across her breasts and all over her body. She wanted to submerge herself in gore and bathe in screams.

She screamed herself into an impenetrable darkness behind her eyes. It was one word, a word that had never meant anything to her: �Father!�

Her voice was all wrong; her body felt all wrong. She heard something that might have been a lion or a dragon or the God of Murder scream in incoherent rage and agony next to her, and the sound empowered her. Her hands were bigger now�everything was bigger now, and the cage couldn�t contain her�she didn�t even remember she was in a cage.

A man�s voice said, ��too much,� then ��too fast, I can�t�� and there was a series of wet popping sounds that made Imoen sigh in twisted, evil pleasure, and she raged out of her cage with speed she knew she couldn�t really be capable of.

A tiny voice like a child�s coo in the wilderness came to her, and she recognized it as her own.

�What have I become?� she asked herself, and the thing that she had become set that question aside to instead savor the taste of an asylum inmate�s head. The brain exploded in her mouth, and it was good.

Through the wild yellow haze, she saw a flash of light, then heard someone say, �He left us! He�� and she was feeding again, and the blood was hot and perfect, and she wanted more, more, more!

Chapter 11 starts with Jaheira...

quote:

Jaheira sat in a corner and tried to stop screaming. It took her nearly an hour.

Oh for gently caress's sake...

quote:

What she witnessed was neither amazing nor beautiful. It was simply wrong.

Abdel and Imoen had been turned into monsters.

Jaheira didn�t like that word: monsters. It was disrespectful. What made one creature an animal and another a monster? Were monsters animals that were new, threatening, or dangerous to people? Monsters behaved like animals, didn�t they? When they were hungry, they ate. Calling something a monster made it easier to kill. She hated calling anything a monster, but that was what Irenicus had created in this underground hell of his. Monsters. These creatures were abominations�things outside nature.

So Abdel and Imoen have both turned into the Slayer now? Well, not exactly. I thought so too when I first read it, but to make a light spoiler, the Slayer and Ravager don't get name-dropped until the end, and this transformation here (unless I'm mistaken) is treated more like some third iteration that's a prelude to the other two. Let's call it... the Flayer.

We're told that Abdel and Imoen both tore Irenicus' servants to shreds while Irenicus teleported away. Eventually they returned to normal and got her out of the iron maiden/cage, but now they're lost in Spellhold (it kind of sounds like the Asylum Dungeon, as it's described as, "a seemingly endless maze of passages and rooms, chambers and corridors").

Soon though, they get attacked by a minotaur, and--

Wait, a minotaur? When I read this, I thought, "This is kind of random. I don't remember there being any minotaurs in BG2." There are, though, and in fact, they do show up in the Asylum Dungeon (as well as a few other locations). I guess I just forgot about them.

Anyway, this results in a fight scene between Abdel and the minotaur.

quote:

The sellsword scanned the cramped room quickly and was as unsettled as he was confused by its contents.

Strapped to the table in one corner of the room was a naked man. He was conscious but obviously delirious. A tight leather strap was wrapped around his mouth. His eyes were dull and vacant. He made no attempt to struggle against the bonds that held him down. Around his temples and forehead was a steel crown from which ran a thick, ribbonlike band of copper. The copper band crossed half a dozen feet to a huge glass tank that took up more than half of the room. The tank was filled with green-tinged water that smelled sharply of brine. Dark shadows like thick, stubby snakes swam in lazy, slow circles, occasionally nudging against the side of the tank.

�What is this place?� Imoen asked.

�Another one of Irenicus�s little play rooms, I guess,� Abdel answered as he eyed the circling minotaur, trying not to look at the sheet behind which the broadsword had come to rest. �I don�t have any reason to fight you, minotaur.�

The minotaur exhaled through its nose, sending a hissing noise echoing through the chamber. It closed its eyes as if to dodge Abdel�s words, then lifted its sword high and came at Abdel fast, on its toes.

[...]

The minotaur took the broadsword in both hands and made to stab downward into Abdel�s chest. Abdel dropped the battle-axe and grabbed the minotaur�s wrists in both hands, falling back in an effort to flip the creature over backward. Abdel forgot about the big tank, though, and instead of pulling the minotaur over him in an arc, the creature�s sword dipped into the water, and its head struck the glass with enough force to send a hollow ringing sound echoing in the room. The sword pierced one of the swimming eels, and the minotaur�s body jerked harshly, and so did Abdel�s. The sellsword had felt a similar sensation when a doppelg�nger had used the power of some enchanted ring on him in the basement of a warehouse in Baldur�s Gate. It was as if every muscle in his body tensed and cramped, seeming to lock up with a force beyond its normal strength. The same thing was happening to the minotaur, and the man on the table gave a curious whimper through his tight gag.

This stuns the two, but doesn't knock either of them out. But then...

quote:

Abdel was aware that someone had come into the room, but he couldn�t do much more than sit and watch things transpire for what felt like forever. The intruder was huge, bigger than Abdel, and came into the room fast. The door swung into the huge sellsword and sufficed to block him from the view of the newcomer.

Someone else came into the room, and Abdel, realizing he wasn�t alone when he started this fight, said, �Imoen?�

�Abdel!� Imoen called, but her voice was too distant, still out in the corridor. He could hear the sound of steel on steel and knew that Imoen was fighting someone out there.

Abdel looked around at the person who�d entered the room. The big man was easily eight feet tall and a mass of corded muscle. The top of his head was strangely flat, and he moved slowly but deliberately, with the gait of a brute more than a trained fighter. Abdel, still stunned, thought he must be a half-ogre.

From the corridor outside came Imoen�s voice. �They�re trying to kill the minotaur,� she said. The orcs are trying to kill the minotaur!�

A half-ogre and a couple of orcs have entered into the fight. Abdel and the minotaur manage to knock out the half-ogre and one of the orcs, but another orc with a sling hits the minotaur in the ankle, causing him to fall into the eel tank (as well as slinging a rock into Abdel's groin).

quote:

Abdel turned and saw the minotaur roll out of the tank and fall to the floor with a thud. He was holding the broadsword but made no move to attack. His fur had taken on a curious gray-black hue, and he was shaking uncontrollably, gasping for air on the floor. If Abdel had wanted to kill him, this would be the time.

�Abdel?� a voice behind him asked softly. �Abdel, are you all right?�

The sellsword turned and saw Imoen standing in the doorway, holding a hand to a huge flowering bruise on one side of her face. A simple, rusty short sword she must have taken from an orc hung from her other hand.

�Jaheira?� Abdel asked, his eyes still blurry and painful.

�She�ll be all right,� the girl said impatiently. �And I�m fine, thank you.�

�Please,� another voice said. Abdel turned back to the man strapped to the table. In a voice heavily accented and muddy from a swollen tongue, the asylum inmate said, �Now this of out me get someone can?�

Chapter 12 has Abdel, Jaheira, and Imoen talking with the minotaur and man on the table, referred to as 'the madman' (I'm sure you can guess why).

I forgot to mention that Jaheira was absent during the fight the last chapter because she got knocked out by the minotaur.

quote:

Jaheira pressed her hands to her temples and held them there tightly. She�d eventually have to stop taking blows to the head, she knew, or there might be permanent damage. Abdel was next to her, though, and holding her now in his strong arms, so she was already feeling better.

Very true. :hai:

quote:

The minotaur grunted and shrugged. �I was made to inhabit this place. Your Irenicus had plans for this labyrinth beyond peopling it with the addled of your kind.�

�But he�s gone?� Jaheira asked the huge bull-man. �He�s fled this place?�

The minotaur nodded.

�His of woman vampire that with Underdark the into went he,� the madman mumbled, nodding.

�Vampire?� Imoen asked him. �Did you say vampire?�

�He went into the Underdark with that vampire woman of his,� Jaheira translated. �Why?�

�Does it matter?� Abdel asked, not expecting an answer. �Good riddance. He belongs down there.�

�His plans are for Suldanessellar,� the minotaur said, and it was Jaheira�s turn to gasp.

[...]

�Suldanessellar is an elven city,� Jaheira explained. �It�s no surprise you�ve never heard of it. It�s one of Faer�n�s best kept secrets. It�s the home of some of the few elves who have yet to join the Retreat to Evermeet.�

quote:

�We could use your help�� Jaheira said to the huge bull-man.

The minotaur nodded, but said, �Your quest is not mine.�

�At least tell us how to find them,� Jaheira insisted.

�Do we need to?� asked Imoen. She turned a questioning gaze on Abdel.

The big sellsword sighed and said, �I guess we do. We can�t let this go on. I owe him one for that ritual anyway and for the odd kidnapping here and there.�

So we get the reveal that Irenicus is targeting Suldenessellar. However, as noted by that last line, Irenicus has seemingly not stolen Abdel's soul to replace his own. So is there some kind of different motivation here? Sort of, but we'll wait until we actually get to that point.

Also, I am disappointed the minotaur doesn't want to join, because if anything could have potentially redeemed this book, it would have been having a minotaur join the party.

Luckily, the madman knows how they can get to the Underdark.

quote:

�Easy is down way the,� offered the madman, who was busy replacing the copper band on his head. �It over hanging skull a with door a to come you until turns left three first the take and right the to corridor the follow just.�

�Are you getting this?� Abdel asked Jaheira. The druid nodded, listening intently to the madman�s directions.

�One that want don�t you,� he continued. �It over nailed bat dead the with door the through go and that by pass. Ramp a to lead that�ll.�

�You know what?� Imoen said. �This isn�t making me feel better.�

�Right the on door third the find and, goes it as far as down that take,� the madman went on. �Down way long a be it�ll.�

�I can image,� Imoen quipped, and Abdel shot her a stern look, which she ignored.

�Underdark the to get you when,� the madman concluded, �It know you�ll.�

�One question,� Imoen said, looking directly at Jaheira. �Is this Suldanessellar place worth it?�

�I spent time there,� Jaheira said. �I learned to be a druid there.�

Jaheira learned to be a druid in Suldanessellar? Is that true? (I never read Jaheira's in-game bio).

Then a carrion crawler appears from above, grabbing the madman with tentacles and dragging him up into the ceiling.

quote:

�Me,� the madman grunted, his jaw tightening around the words, �help.�

The minotaur jumped onto the table and brought its battle-axe around in a long overhand arc. One of the tentacles dropped onto the table with a wet smack, and the minotaur deftly avoided being splashed with any of the paralyzing poison that coated it. The carrion crawler let out a hiss and withdrew into the dark opening near the ceiling, dragging the paralyzed madman in with it.

�I won�t need your help,� the minotaur said. �Go on about your quest.�

The bull-man didn�t wait to see if Abdel and the women complied. It jumped up, grabbed the edge of the opening with one hand and was through it before Abdel could even get to the table.

Jaheira stopped him from following with a hand on his arm. �Suldanessellar,� she said. �Irenicus.�

Abdel looked at her and nodded, then looked once more at the dark opening, and said, �You understood those backward directions?�

�I didn�t,� Imoen admitted.

�I think so,� answered Jaheira.

�Then let�s go,� said Abdel.

So ends Chapter 12.

Next time, we go to the Underdark. I bet you can't wait to see what horrors await us there! :v:

Max Wilco fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Apr 20, 2023

# ? Apr 20, 2023 03:15

goblin week: Jan 26, 2019; Absolute clown.

Again, this is based on the early draft of BG2�s story, in which Imoen was supposed to do the slayer thing (and then die at some point later).

Jaheira was adopted by a druid enclave in Tethyr forests which is where Suldanesselar is located! I could give it a pass.

The next chapter has a monster cameo that was completely unexplainable until I got older and learned some D&D monster

# ? Apr 20, 2023 06:04

docbeard: Jul 19, 2011

Just FYI - this feels most relevant for the Ironman threads in particular:

https://twitter.com/atomicthumbs/status/1648883351233896448
https://help.imgur.com/hc/en-us/articles/14415587638029-Imgur-Terms-of-Service-Update-April-19-2023-

There's a thread in TECH discussing this further.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 14:34

Suspicious: Apr 30, 2005; You know he's the villain, because he's got shifty eyes.

My BG ironman screenshots dating back to '11 are, well, were still up.

RIP

# ? Apr 20, 2023 22:59

sweet geek swag: Mar 29, 2006; Adjust lasers to FUN!

Suspicious posted:

My BG ironman screenshots dating back to '11 are, well, were still up.

RIP

I think I did all of my Ironman runs under my account.

# ? Apr 20, 2023 23:37

Zephro: Nov 23, 2000; I suppose I could part with one and still be feared...

I don't know if this is the right thread, so apologies in advance if it isn't, but what's the consensus on Tides of Numenera? It's on sale for �9 at the moment but I've heard mixed reviews. I very much liked PST, if that helps.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:08

chaosapiant: Oct 10, 2012; White Line Fever

Zephro posted:

I don't know if this is the right thread, so apologies in advance if it isn't, but what's the consensus on Tides of Numenera? It's on sale for �9 at the moment but I've heard mixed reviews. I very much liked PST, if that helps.

I enjoyed it but almost no one else seemed to, from what I recall.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:12

Node: May 20, 2001; KICKED IN THE COOTER; Taco Defender

Zephro posted:

I don't know if this is the right thread, so apologies in advance if it isn't, but what's the consensus on Tides of Numenera? It's on sale for �9 at the moment but I've heard mixed reviews. I very much liked PST, if that helps.

I played the whole game and I don't know why, the game was really boring.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:30

Fair Bear Maiden: Jun 17, 2013

Zephro posted:

I don't know if this is the right thread, so apologies in advance if it isn't, but what's the consensus on Tides of Numenera? It's on sale for �9 at the moment but I've heard mixed reviews. I very much liked PST, if that helps.

It's a fun collection of weird sci-fi vignettes that fails to cohere as a complete story package. The ability to attempt diplomacy or stealth during climactic encounters is something I wish more cRPG renaissance titles attempted to crib, but I guess given the game did very poorly financially and was met with tepid responses from players, there was no real incentive for devs to look at its ideas.

# ? Apr 21, 2023 20:33

Rappaport: Oct 2, 2013

I just had an encounter in BG2 government district I don't remember seeing before.

Viccy got sass :prepop:

I have no idea if this is from Unfinished business or if it's vanilla content, but I laughed :unsmith:

# ? Apr 22, 2023 05:58

Air Skwirl: May 13, 2007; Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed shitposting.

It's not mentioned in the Unfinished Business readme, but there is a component called "restored minor dialogue" that doesn't explicitly list everything it adds.

I've never seen that before either, it is pretty good.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 06:20

Ginette Reno: Nov 18, 2006; How Doers get more done; Fun Shoe

I've seen that before. I think Aerie will also say something to try and protect the beggar. Not sure who else will.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 06:29

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

i am a moron posted:

Oh wow that seems like a totally normal thing for normal, cool people to be fixated on. Good work society

I am in the middle of my very slow 4th playthrough of the whole series, though only 2nd since Siege of Dragonspear came out, and I had forgotten which character had this plotline and honestly missed it entirely when talking to her this time around and had to go back and look it up. Yeah what a thing to decide on as the defining moment of the game

Also while I agree Siege of Dragonspear is pretty good and worth playing, it also has some of the only fights in the series I find more infuriating than interesting. But you can always turn down the difficulty I realize. That was the only way I finished Wrath of the Righteous (probably Kingmaker too) without devoting whole evenings to a single fight, certainly, and it helped me lighten up about doing it in Infinity Engine games. Well a little. Still mostly playing on Insane because if there is any game series I have played enough that I better be good at it it is this one

# ? Apr 22, 2023 07:47

Zeerust: May 1, 2008; They must have guessed, once or twice - guessed and refused to believe - that everything, always, collectively, had been moving toward that purified shape latent in the sky, that shape of no surprise, no second chance, no return.

My sole problem with SoD is also the dumbest, most pedantic problem possible: it introduces a level of stakes and accomplishment that disrupts the overall arc of the saga. BG2 starts off pretty low-key before ramping up into beholders, dragons, and demons in the endgame, while SoD's finale sends you into Literally Hell to take down a big-name Devil. After doing that, clearing trolls out of someone's castle or fighting some shadows in the woods is a little bit of a step down.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 11:13

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Zeerust posted:

My sole problem with SoD is also the dumbest, most pedantic problem possible: it introduces a level of stakes and accomplishment that disrupts the overall arc of the saga. BG2 starts off pretty low-key before ramping up into beholders, dragons, and demons in the endgame, while SoD's finale sends you into Literally Hell to take down a big-name Devil. After doing that, clearing trolls out of someone's castle or fighting some shadows in the woods is a little bit of a step down.

It�s maybe a bit unusual for video game series but that kind of rise and fall in stakes is very common for long tabletop RPG campaigns.

And even in Irenicus� dungeon you�re interacting with extraplanar creatures and taking a quick jaunt to the Elemental Plane of Air.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 11:17

Devorum: Jul 30, 2005

JustJeff88 posted:

Try Red Magic by Jean Rabe. Might be the worst novel I've ever read on any subject. It's book #3 in the Harpers series from the 2e days. Meanwhile, book $4 in that series frightened me so much I can't read it again and #5 is a personal favourite, so let's not paint them all with the same brush.

This is old, but Night Parade (Harper's #4) was one of the first Forgotten Realms novels I read after The Crystal Shard when I was 12 and it scared me worse than anything other than Salem's Lot or Pet Sematary had to that point.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 12:31

JustJeff88: Jan 15, 2008; I AM
CONSISTENTLY
ANNOYING
...
JUST TERRIBLE

THIS BADGE OF SHAME IS WORTH 0.45 DOUBLE DRAGON ADVANCES

of SA-Mart forever

Devorum posted:

This is old, but Night Parade (Harper's #4) was one of the first Forgotten Realms novels I read after The Crystal Shard when I was 12 and it scared me worse than anything other than Salem's Lot or Pet Sematary had to that point.

That's the one for me too. I read it ages ago and remembered it being terrifying. A few years ago I said to myself 'I was younger then and it's a D&D book - it can't be that bad'. So, I read it again... it was that bad. I don't mean bad is an low quality, I mean still scared the piss out of me. I had to force myself to finish it (again).

You can probably tell I'm not a connoisseur of horror literature.

# ? Apr 22, 2023 15:41

Zephro: Nov 23, 2000; I suppose I could part with one and still be feared...

Fair Bear Maiden posted:

It's a fun collection of weird sci-fi vignettes that fails to cohere as a complete story package. The ability to attempt diplomacy or stealth during climactic encounters is something I wish more cRPG renaissance titles attempted to crib, but I guess given the game did very poorly financially and was met with tepid responses from players, there was no real incentive for devs to look at its ideas.

chaosapiant posted:

I enjoyed it but almost no one else seemed to, from what I recall.

Node posted:

I played the whole game and I don't know why, the game was really boring.

Thanks all. Maybe I'll pass for now. I've got plenty of other games I need to get through (including Disco Elysium!). Seems like a shame, though. I'd really like a good successor to Torment at some point down the road. I don't really keep up with D&D these days - is Planescape even a thing in 5e?

Zephro fucked around with this message at 14:02 on Apr 23, 2023

# ? Apr 23, 2023 13:59

Slashrat: Jun 6, 2011; YOSPOS

Zephro posted:

Thanks all. Maybe I'll pass for now. I've got plenty of other games I need to get through (including Disco Elysium!). Seems like a shame, though. I'd really like a good successor to Torment at some point down the road. I don't really keep up with D&D these days - is Planescape even a thing in 5e?

There's a new 5e Planescape sourcebook on the way, but even without that 5e is back to using the Great Wheel cosmology as the default D&D cosmology. That's an important distinction to make; the setting of Planescape is basically baked into the 5e rules by default, just as it was in the 3.5e rules. Planescape as a label is just branding for all the stuff that specifically fleshes out details of the planar setting.

# ? Apr 23, 2023 14:25

Finnish Flasher: Jul 16, 2008

Any thoughts on Yasraena mod? Apparently its made by Saerileths author so... Is it any better writing wise?

# ? Apr 23, 2023 14:55

Node: May 20, 2001; KICKED IN THE COOTER; Taco Defender

Zephro posted:

Thanks all. Maybe I'll pass for now. I've got plenty of other games I need to get through (including Disco Elysium!). Seems like a shame, though. I'd really like a good successor to Torment at some point down the road. I don't really keep up with D&D these days - is Planescape even a thing in 5e?

Disco Elysium is incredible. I don't know what humankind did to deserve that game. You will have a great time.

# ? Apr 23, 2023 14:55

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Finnish Flasher posted:

Any thoughts on Yasraena mod? Apparently its made by Saerileths author so... Is it any better writing wise?

For a good-aligned drow on the surface, she's a very low-key character outside the Underdark. I remember her being blandly nice and uninteresting beyond the detail that if you play a male character you can torpedo the romances with Aerie, Jaheira, or Viconia by flirting with her too hard (she already has a boyfriend or something and turns you down).

# ? Apr 23, 2023 14:58

sweet geek swag: Mar 29, 2006; Adjust lasers to FUN!

Cythereal posted:

For a good-aligned drow on the surface, she's a very low-key character outside the Underdark. I remember her being blandly nice and uninteresting beyond the detail that if you play a male character you can torpedo the romances with Aerie, Jaheira, or Viconia by flirting with her too hard (she already has a boyfriend or something and turns you down).

That is a lot of self awareness by an author that hadn't previously shown much.

# ? Apr 23, 2023 15:51

Vichan: Oct 1, 2014; I'LL PUNISH YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR CRIME

Ginette Reno posted:

I've seen that before. I think Aerie will also say something to try and protect the beggar. Not sure who else will.

I can't remember her interacting with this at all but it seems like something she'd do.

# ? Apr 23, 2023 20:43

Duderclese: Aug 30, 2003; I'm the gay younger brother of UnkleBoB and Buddha Stalin

Vichan posted:

I can't remember her interacting with this at all but it seems like something she'd do.

I read your entire thread and this image haunts my dreams.

# ? Apr 23, 2023 20:51

Max Wilco: Jan 23, 2012; I'm just trying to go through life without looking stupid.

It's not working out too well...

Vichan posted:

I can't remember her interacting with this at all but it seems like something she'd do.

You honestly deserve a Purple Heart (or whatever the equivalent is in your part of the world) for going through that mod, capturing all the dialog and screenshots, troubleshooting mod issues, etc.

It was also kind of educational, in that I learned what a polycule was. Disappointingly, though, nobody made the joke that I would have expected: "You must gather your polycule before venturing forth"

Really, what gets me about it, though, is that it's someone's fanfic about their super-special OP original character who everyone loves, but instead of something that's written on AO3, instead it's a full-blown mod that someone has to go out of their way to install, play, and participate in.

# ? Apr 24, 2023 04:33

Flowing Thot: Apr 1, 2023

All the impressive technical work going into the most dogshit content and writing is really funny.

# ? Apr 24, 2023 04:37

chaosapiant: Oct 10, 2012; White Line Fever

Zephro posted:

Thanks all. Maybe I'll pass for now. I've got plenty of other games I need to get through (including Disco Elysium!). Seems like a shame, though. I'd really like a good successor to Torment at some point down the road. I don't really keep up with D&D these days - is Planescape even a thing in 5e?

In terms of atmosphere and writing quality, Disco Elysium is the truest successor to Planescape Torment. But it�s also a flat out better written game.

# ? Apr 24, 2023 05:40

zedprime: Jun 9, 2007; yospos

The truest successor to PST is Alpha Protocol: broken rear end combat, interesting reactivity occasionally succumbing to scripting bugs, good pulpy story.

Disco Elysium has its own share of issues but it's on the next level up from those.

This is all separate from Planescape and secondarily Spelljammer being an awesome rear end -punk type D&D setting that is begging for a total package game like BG2 or IWD.

# ? Apr 24, 2023 14:48

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 17:07

FishMcCool: Apr 9, 2021; lolcats are still funny; Fallen Rib

zedprime posted:

This is all separate from Planescape and secondarily Spelljammer being an awesome rear end -punk type D&D setting that is begging for a total package game like BG2 or IWD.

I would kill for a modern Spelljammer crpg. Even throwing a modern engine and economic system over the old Pirates of Realmspace would be neat. With the setting now officially republished for 5e, there may be some hope down the line.

# ? Apr 24, 2023 14:59

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Stopping at Infinity: Baldur's Gate 1&2, Icewind Dale, Planescape:Torment.

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