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This talk of exotic weapons reminds me of Planescape Torment, where the most powerful weapon on the game was a Sledgehammer and I'm pretty sure that there were no swords for the Nameless one to actually use. More systems should embrace the absurdity and hilarity of multi-cultural weapons, and I'm glad that this game does, even just a little.
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Mar 15, 2024 04:04
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Exotic Weapons were actually pretty well valued in Kingmaker - or at least, some were. Elven curve blades, falcatas, fauchards, and bastard swords all had some insanely strong weapons in Kingmaker, especially in end game, and WotR continues the fauchard love with some exceptional choices in chapter 3 and 4. In all honesty, just plain ol' longswords are...not actually that good, here in WotR. The best weapon in the game (probably) is just a big meaty greataxe. Longswords run the problem of being, well, a one handed weapon, and mechanically speaking, one handed weapons typically fall behind, as you're nearly always better off not using a shield, given that most melee characters would much rather be mounted then on foot, and mount AC is absurdly easy to stack up high. Someone on a horse (or wolf! or boar!) with a big two hander will almost always be better then someone on foot with a sword and shield, especially since the person on the mount can move and still full attack. Seriously, give Seelah a horse and polearm and watch her massacre everything around her.
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Mar 15, 2024 04:29
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ProfessorCirno posted:Exotic Weapons were actually pretty well valued in Kingmaker - or at least, some were. Elven curve blades, falcatas, fauchards, and bastard swords all had some insanely strong weapons in Kingmaker, especially in end game, and WotR continues the fauchard love with some exceptional choices in chapter 3 and 4. With a mod that gives you full respecs then even the worst designed character in the history of CRPGS (holy poo poo I know it's for story purposes but why is he four classes with zero overlap) can suddenly be a level 20 Cavalier riding a gigantic mammoth. Bastard Swords seem to always be a big one, you always seem to find a nice one at least once a chapter.
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Mar 15, 2024 04:34
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I think I said it in the thread before, but it's nice to have the various polearms (except maybe for fauchards) be viable through the game, though glaives are the clear winner in this regard, at least for me.
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Mar 15, 2024 04:51
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berryjon posted:This talk of exotic weapons reminds me of Planescape Torment, where the most powerful weapon on the game was a Sledgehammer and I'm pretty sure that there were no swords for the Nameless one to actually use. More systems should embrace the absurdity and hilarity of multi-cultural weapons, and I'm glad that this game does, even just a little. Play Suikoden. Or alternately, Eiyuden Chronicle next month. Those are full of wild and weird weapons and I love them for it. But I'm enjoying the LP so far. Still on the fence about getting this myself at some point, I still haven't left Act 1 of BG3 after all.
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Mar 15, 2024 04:57
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berryjon posted:This talk of exotic weapons reminds me of Planescape Torment, where the most powerful weapon on the game was a Sledgehammer and I'm pretty sure that there were no swords for the Nameless one to actually use. More systems should embrace the absurdity and hilarity of multi-cultural weapons, and I'm glad that this game does, even just a little. I don't know about most powerful but my favorite was a dagger that was actually a gnarled, gross, super-long old fingernail from a night hag. I didn't want to waste my spells on the random enemies of the final dungeon so with its fast attack speed even as a mage I just blendered them with it. Along with stuff like the mummified arm you could use as a club, PS:T had some good-rear end weird weapons.
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Mar 15, 2024 05:02
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ProfessorCirno posted:Someone on a horse (or wolf! or boar!) with a big two hander will almost always be better then someone on foot with a sword and shield, especially since the person on the mount can move and still full attack. Seriously, give Seelah a horse and polearm and watch her massacre everything around her. I prefer to team up with my horse as an extra companion, flanking and attacking the enemy from multiple directions. Comes from growing up a fan of He-Man, Bravestarr, and other 80s cartoons where the mount is also a companion. 
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Mar 15, 2024 05:44
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ProfessorCirno posted:For Wendy, I'm doing a m-m-m-mega hacked run atm with both Lann and Wendy, and like...yeah no there's no contest, Lann is 100% better written. I'd say only bring Wendy along if specifically you want that "redemption" regardless of how dumb you have to act about it and how many obviously evil things you have to overlook, or because you just cannot help but desire that spidercatussy. It's the "ignoring the obviously evil things" that gets to me. Like, having her in your party is, from the perspective of your character, an absolutely awful idea that makes no sense. "Oh, Wendaug is betraying us to the demons again, must be Thursday." Cythereal posted:Personally, I'm starting to get a little leery of how both times I've been asked to find a traitor or criminal they're described as dark-skinned. Funny, I didn't see Joe Dever credited as one of the writers. Cythereal posted:So it might seem a bit strange to harp on Woljiff's deceit at this point, but there's more going on here than the obvious. Woljiff is a tiefling, there's demonic blood in his veins, and the Moon of the Abyss is a demonic artifact given to a woman who had a child with a demon, from the demon in question. It's also called "The Moon of the Abyss". Eh, seems fine. I'm sure it won't cause any problems for anyone.
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Mar 15, 2024 06:24
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Remember that Wendaug only wants you for your body. 
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Mar 15, 2024 13:20
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To answer a question I got on discord, we're presently near the end of Act 1. The last major task is to rescue the Storyteller from Blackwing
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Mar 15, 2024 13:55
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berryjon posted:This talk of exotic weapons reminds me of Planescape Torment, where the most powerful weapon on the game was a Sledgehammer and I'm pretty sure that there were no swords for the Nameless one to actually use. More systems should embrace the absurdity and hilarity of multi-cultural weapons, and I'm glad that this game does, even just a little. WotR is generally good about giving you a decent arsenal, however one weapon I feel got kind of shafted is the rapiers. As far as I know, pre-DLC (no idea what you get there), there is exactly one endgame-worthy rapier which is rather surprising for how common the weapon type is. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Mar 15, 2024 |
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Mar 15, 2024 15:51
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I absolutely hate when game gives you 20 kinds of weapon skills but only half of them actually has any worthwhile weapons and there's absolutely no way knowing if you are going to softlock yourself with poo poo build. That also includes other skills, with worst offenders being a) persuasion and its derivatives b) pickpocketing. In every cRPG game they are either utterly broken or completely useless, never something in between, and there's no way to find out which is going to be this time without spoilers.
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Mar 15, 2024 21:12
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Poil posted:Remember that Wendaug only wants you for your body. And I only want her because Amelia Tyler did an amazing job as her and also because dual-wielding throwing axes Wenduag is really fun.
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Mar 15, 2024 23:13
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Letting players craft weapons can help, or if you do have a shape shifting weapon in the game, make it upgradable so it can do end game content at the end.
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Mar 16, 2024 01:13
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How much can you craft in WotR?
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Mar 16, 2024 01:53
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Kanthulhu posted:How much can you craft in WotR? Not much. There's scrolls, potions, and food which provide buffs until the next time you rest, plus specific items you can upgrade when you find the requisite materials in a manner similar to Baldur's Gate 1 and 2. There is not, as far as I know, a generic item crafting system and thank Desna for it. I typically despise crafting systems in any game I encounter them in.
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Mar 16, 2024 01:58
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Yeah, it's just consumables. I think crafting weapons would even out the weapon drought in the mid game, though, since you have no idea where to go to get the good stuff you need for each character's builds. I get wanting everything to be a flavorful snowflake with backstory and bespoke mechanics, but at the end of the day, you need enough pluses to stay on the AC treadmill (outside of story difficulty, anyway).
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Mar 16, 2024 02:08
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It would be nice if you could make a character focused on cooking by picking the right culinary feats and skills, so you could defeat the demon lords by cooking food so good you become too powerful for them.
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Mar 16, 2024 02:15
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Kanthulhu posted:It would be nice if you could make a character focused on cooking by picking the right culinary feats and skills, so you could defeat the demon lords by cooking food so good you become too powerful for them. You pretty much can. Late game recipes are no joke, and one of the DLCs gives you essentially unlimited purchasable ingredients for even the rarest.
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Mar 16, 2024 02:19
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Kanthulhu posted:How much can you craft in WotR? Just consumables like scrolls and potions, there aren't feats for stuff like crafting wonderous items or weapons or the like. There was a mod for it in Kingmaker but nothing in WOTR.
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Mar 16, 2024 02:46
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Crafting is legit useful at higher difficulties, it's worth saying. There used to be a fun thing you could do with scrolls of mage armor and a specific mythic feat, but they sadly got rid of that. Still, there's lots of scrolls that are legit useful to have on hand. As for the treadmill, it's not the biggest concern, simply because a lot of them can be replicated with spells. Rings of deflection can be substituted with a single level 1 cleric spell, for example. The downside is that you fall deep into the horrors of 3.x buffing, especially if you do it sans-mods.
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Mar 16, 2024 05:25
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On that note, there's something oddly satisfying about casting a shitload of buffs at the start of a dungeon or heavy combat zone and watching those buffs carry you through all of the fights effectively on cruise control. ...Once or twice. The novelty wears off pretty quickly 
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Mar 16, 2024 09:03
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Yeah, the buff manager mod is so essential at even medium levels of difficulty that it's crazy they don't have either in the base game.
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Mar 16, 2024 11:32
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The advantage of crafting, or at least weapon enchanting, is that it "solves" the issue of you accidentally specializing in the wrong type of weapon that won't show up much or at all during the game.
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Mar 16, 2024 11:54
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Poil posted:The advantage of crafting, or at least weapon enchanting, is that it "solves" the issue of you accidentally specializing in the wrong type of weapon that won't show up much or at all during the game. I'm good with crafting in games built around it, but often it is a distraction from the other games. However, in a DnD system where you can specialize in a smorgasbord of weapons, weapon crafting is essential so players can indulge that choice. It can be a one time quest or even series of quests that lets you get to the end game level in your spiked chain or three section staff or whatever, but if you give players the option to pick their choice of weapons to not just use, but to lock themselves into for bonuses, those weapons need to be competive. Armor and accessories not so much because those are much more limited and should be lootable through the game.
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Mar 16, 2024 17:32
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I'd rather just be able to commission generic weapons through a smith or merchant up to an extent. Just pay gold to have a weapon made to order. A big part of why I despise crafting systems in RPGs is because it inevitably clogs up your inventory and loot nodes with crap, which rarely sells for any worthwhile amount and often weighs a ton, so you're either constantly loaded down with useless garbage or consciously leaving half the lootable items you find because they're not worth it. And/or you end up spending huge amounts of time scouring the map for enough bear asses, spleens, and kidneys to craft the doohickey you want. If you just want the customizable weapon, just cut out the middleman and let me, say, talk to Horgus Gwerm and tell him hey if your trade contacts find a mithril rapier of mimic slaying, give me a shout and I'll pay a premium for it.
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Mar 16, 2024 17:43
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I'm with Cythreal on crafting for the reasons she states. I usually end up avoiding crafting systems because they're a slog and difficult to manage. Also, in this game at least, crafting takes feats I'd rather spend on damage bonuses of some kind.
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Mar 16, 2024 17:48
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If you're putting crafting into your RPG the mats better be weightless, easy to find and forget and be mainly focused on customization or so help me I'll ignore it.
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Mar 16, 2024 17:50
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There's something to be said about the satisfaction of making gear yourself and using gear that you yourself created. In PF1 though it takes feats, which really should go towards your combat prowess. On top of that, everything about crafting can be solved with money anyway.
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Mar 16, 2024 17:56
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The cooking is mostly a painless "tick box for buff", but the other consumables have a crapshoot for what you could make at any given time. On one hand, it's interesting to look at a pile of random junk and see what you can make out of it. On the other hand, if I specifically want a scroll of haste before a big fight, being able to make 14 other, useless scrolls is not helpful!
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Mar 16, 2024 18:05
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Cythereal posted:I'd rather just be able to commission generic weapons through a smith or merchant up to an extent. Just pay gold to have a weapon made to order. This also works, basically any method to get a weapon that fits your specialization Customizable weapon (like talking sword but it needs to stay viable to the end), pay a premium for a weapon on delivery, hire someone to make one, make your own, etc.
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Mar 16, 2024 18:38
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I would theoretically like crafting systems for games, but in practice they've got all the fiddly bits people have been mentioning , and in such cases I just cheat myself the mats and extra carrying capacity I need (looking at you, Fo4). Personally, I'd tie in crafting systems to game milestones, so if you want a Mithril Greatsword, you need to liberate a mithril mine and rescue the royal blacksmith, which in turn allows you to buy Mithril Greatswords, and then you can do a special quest to have a special one-of-a-kind Mithril Greatsword that you can name, and which comes with a cutomized bio detailing its crafting. Not sure if there are any games out there with something like this in place though.
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Mar 16, 2024 18:54
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Capfalcon posted:if I specifically want a scroll of haste before a big fight, being able to make 14 other, useless scrolls is not helpful! Our heroes, tired and injured but full of adrenaline and determination, stood before the black gate. Behind it, they knew, was their target. "This is it. This may be the hardest fight we ever fought... But there's nobody else in the world I'll rather have at my side than you." They nodded their heads, not having the energy to cheer. "Ready? On count of three: One! Two! Three! WRITE!" As she tried to get the exact mix of the ink right, and to remember over which A did the umalut were over, Yua thought that this was not like any song she's ever heard of.
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Mar 16, 2024 19:16
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I don't hate crafting off the jump but I do think the way most games do it is terribly annoying. When you need X specific item to create Y specific thing. So you have to go on a journey to grab X specific item which only spawns on Z specific part of the map. So you basically have to set out on your own personal side quest in order to make something you desperately need. Just let me buy it at a high price. Please. I think my platonic ideal for crafting is when it's more like their own separate currencies and not specific items you need. Like how in Cassette Beasts you use pulp as the primary currency for buying stickers. Or how most Souls games have a specific item type, like smithing stones and ore, which is used for upgrading weapons. You don't randomly need the whisker of a dragon or the blood of a twice-killed giant to make your sword sharper. I guess you do still need to hunt down that ore and smithing stones, but as least it's not random crap. Uhhh. TLDR I hate crafting style of the "strapping together random and extremely specific options" variety. But I do actually like crafting where it's a distinct resource or it's own currency instead of random items.
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Mar 16, 2024 19:26
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Laughing Till the End Just one last task to wrap up in Act 1, rescuing a mysterious man known as the Storyteller who warned the crusaders that there was a flaw in the Wardstone making it vulnerable to corruption.  Blackwing   A book in the library gives Yua a small AC bonus against dragons.    "Ha, crusaders? Excellent! I am Captain Chaleb Sazomal, and these are my men. I am about to burn these vile back-stabbers and heretics here, these pathetic imitators of the traitor Areelu who tricked their way into the ranks of the crusaders!" (The knight nods at a heap of severely beaten people and a strange elf whose appearance seems jarring for some unknown reason. Sazomal bellows threats at his prisoners, who seem to be in a state of deep shock and utter terror.)Spoilers: this guy is in fact a cultist. But things are about to get a little... odd.   [Perception 10] [Take a closer look at the ruthless crusader]Passing either the Perception or Knowledge: Religion checks causes the Trickster mythic theme to start playing. Yua has just unlocked the Trickster mythic path!  (Chaotic) [Trickster] [Give in to the strange instinct] "Idiots! Stop! Heed my command, in the name of... Baphomet!" (The words fly out of your mouth before you can even think them. Some gut instinct told you that this is precisely what needs to be said in this moment. And the words hit their target the crusaders jump in surprise and look at each other in terror.) (Woljif glares menacingly at Chaleb.) "Didn't you know, mortal? We're everywhere!" (Chaleb leaps to attention and barks out) "Sorry! Couldn't have known! We'll fix it right away, ma'am!" (An inexplicable feeling of rightness flows through you. You enjoy seeing the look of oafish terror on the faces of the crusader and his lackeys when you rebuke them for their fecklessness.) [Listen to your gut] "Stop wasting valuable fuel! If you like burning books go rig the Gray Garrison library. Our enemies might try to sneak in there. Step to it!" "There's plenty more where that came from, ma'am! I'll do everything you've ordered, and just as soon as those crusaders arrive, they'll be dead meat! I'll go make sure that we get another... no, make it another two barrels of alchemist's fire from the Gray Garrison storeroom! Things are going to burn right up in there!"If this seems kind of random... well, that's the Trickster path for you. You do random poo poo for the giggles and it usually works out for you.    "A bearded elf! How very intriguing! If you please, I would like to pluck out a hair of that phenomenon manifesting on your chin in the interests of science, of course." (The old elf holds out his hand in your direction in the perennial gesture of the blind, greeting you with an unexpectedly strong and calm voice.) "Hello. I am Storyteller, and I wish to thank my rescuers. That is you, if I am not mistaken?" "Storyteller? Ha! That's the first I've ever heard of a venerable old-timer like that having a street name!" "Sometimes a person can lose their name. But mama and papa are gone, friends are gone, and there's nobody to ask what it was. So instead of their name, a person can pick any word that is good everybody has to have a name... Or do they? I don't know!" "Who are you?" (The old elf frowns.) "I prefer people to call me Storyteller. It very accurately describes the sphere of my occupations and interests. In most of the places I have been, I am known by that name." "When I was little, my mother and father used to tell me stories. But I have no one to tell me stories now sometimes grandma does in my dreams, but I always forget them in the morning... Can you tell me a story?"So this is Storyteller. He's an important recurring character throughout the game, and I'm told he was in Kingmaker as well.  "I'm taking you to the Defender's Heart." (The Storyteller lowers his voice slightly.) "Please, wait. I am not the only one thankful to you. That young crusader over there is eager to give his regards, but he is too shy to approach you. I can tell from his quickened breathing. Take pity on the lad and accept his thanks." (The young man with aristocratic features wipes the sweat from his brow and gives you a courteous bow.) "Allow me to introduce myself: Brother Klaem, at your service. Thank you for helping us. We thought we were doomed to perish.) "There is death everywhere here. Sometimes I think we are all doomed, but then death has passed us by, and we are all still alive." (Lann looks at Ember with sorrow in his eyes.) "But you're an elf. You should live hundreds of years and never even worry about dying. Little elf girls shouldn't even know such words." "When children are thrown into the middle of a war, they learn many sad things. That is why we have to win. So that other boys and girls don't have to learn what we did." "Who are you?"Personally, I wonder if Lann's meant to be a little jealous of Ember. As a mongrel, Lann's lifespan caps out around forty. He's in his twenties right now.  "Miammir, hmm... I don't recall the name, which means her scholarly contribution cannot have been significant. And yet her actions do intrigue me. If the opportunity arises, I would like to find out what experiment she carried out." "Miammir just left the city, leaving no word of where she could be found?" "None. She left in a hurry, without leaving any notes or orders... Why? I have no idea. The only thing that may serve as a clue is this book, the one she was studying." (The knight holds out the leather-bound tome to you.) "Miammir's note mentions something about a stone book belonging to the druids of old Sarkoris. What does that mean?" "Stone books... The druids of old Sarkoris used sacred trees as books they carved their secret knowledge on the bark. When the demons came, the druids resorted to a dark ritual that turned the trees to stone and the druids themselves into undead, doomed to guard their stone library grove forever. But that happened far from here, in the Stonewilds. Is it possible that's where Miammir went? Or maybe she found one of those trees somewhere nearby? I don't know..." "Go to the Defender's Heart. Those who are ready to fight back are gathering there." "The city still fights? Why, that's incredible news! We will go to our sanctuary guarded by our order brothers and sisters. We will bring them to the Defender's Heart."This is another sidequest for the future, and the last group of recruits for Defender's Heart.  "I'm taking you to the Defender's Heart." "Please accept my sincere thanks once again. And, if I may, please don't rush. I will struggle to keep up with your young legs."Talking to Storyteller again will instantly warp you back to Defender's Heart, but there's a few more things to do here.  So yeah, Deskari has in fact left Kenabres and withdrawn deeper into the Worldwound. If you side with Hulrun against Ramien and talk with Hulrun at Defender's Heart, he'll speculate that since demon lords are absolutely not supposed to intervene directly like that, Deskari either withdrew from Kenabres before a good god or archangel (like the empyreal lord empowering Ember) dropped in to kick his rear end, or someone slapped him hard enough to force him to withdraw. There's no actual explanation for why he withdrew as far as I know.  Yua Level 5: +1 Bard (Bard 5) Feat: Weapon Focus (Heavy Crossbow) Skills: +1 Perception, +1 Persuasion, +1 Knowledge World, +1 Knowledge Arcana, +2 Trickery Spells: Invisibility Yua gets better at bard stuff, and I decide to bring her Trickery skill up to full, giving her full points possible for the moment to Persuasion, Perception, Knowledge: World, Knowledge: Arcana, and Trickery. For lack of anything more useful, I spend her feat on weapon focus for the heavy crossbow. I don't remember if this is a good pick or not, but Yua's job was never going to be one of the primary damage dealers of the party.  Seelah Level 5: +1 Paladin (Paladin 5) Feat: Mounted Combat Skills: +1 Trickery, +1 Lore: Religion, +1 Persuasion Seelah has hit level 5, which means something very important. Paladins at level 5 get a choice between a bunch of abilities to juice up their weapon, or a horse.  Seelah's horse is the first animal companion we've seen so far, and they level up just like regular characters. They also get a set of classes. Racer sounds like a good idea for a companion intended to serve as a mount, but it's a bit of a trap: its fast movement only applies if the party is carrying a light load and the companion is unarmored. Yes, animal companions in this game can use gear.  Welcome to the team! As for the name, well, I've logged more hours in the Mass Effect series than I'd care to think about, so the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw Seelah's name was a play on the quarian catchphrase 'Keelah se'lai.' Seelah, meet Kelai!  Just having the horse is valuable: the party's carrying capacity is based on the total STR of everyone in the party, animal companions included, so Seelah's new friend both lets us haul a lot more loot and is a decent combatant itself. But remember how I gave Seelah the mounted combat feat?  Fun fact about horses and libraries: when I was interning at my then-local county public library during my college years, one of my jobs was going through some decades-old scrapbooks library staff had put together in the 70s and 80s and cataloging what all was in them. One newspaper clipping was covering a pet show hosted in the then brand new central public library building, with photos of the winners in various categories. Winner of the miscellaneous category was a horse, photographed drinking out of one of the drinking fountains in the library.  Lann Level 5: +1 Demonslayer (Zen Archer 1, Demonslayer 4) Feat: Deadly Aim Skills: +1 Athletics, +1 Mobility, +1 Lore Nature, +1 Stealth Not to be outdone, Lann picks up the Deadly Aim feat to let him take a penalty to his attack rolls with bows in exchange for a damage bonus (a ranged version of the classic DnD feat Power Attack), ranger spellcasting, and his own animal companion. This is a compelling reason to switch Lann into ranger rather than zen archer and indeed the reason I did so, animal companions are just that good in this game.  Paladins are restricted to horses, but rangers get options. Now, the sensible pick here is a dog or wolf because they get a bunch of bonuses to the trip combat maneuver, which combines with one of the animal companion classes to make them excel at locking enemies down. But if a video game is going to let me get a pet velociraptor, who am I to say no?  Unlike Jurassic Park, velociraptors in Wrath are correctly labeled small creatures by default, making them analogous to an exceptionally vicious chicken.  Ember Level 5: +1 Stigmatized Witch (Stigmatized Witch 5) Feat: Spell Penetration Skills: +1 Lore: Religion, +1 Persuasion, +1 Use Magic Device Spells: Burning Arc, Scorching Ray, See Invisibility, Sleep Fun fact: if you bump Ember to Lawful Good (via 'save those you can, kill those who refuse a second chance), she gets a special feat and new spell reflecting how she's come fully in tune with her divine patron.  Nenio Level 5: +1 Scroll Savant (Scroll Savant 5) Feat: Greater Spell Penetration Skills: +1 Knowledge: Arcana, +1 Knowledge: World, +1 Lore: Nature, +1 Lore: Religion Spells: Dispel Magic, Fireball Nenio picks up two classic wizard spells, one of them a valuable utility piece.  Woljiff Level 5: +1 Eldritch Scoundrel (Eldritch Scoundrel 5) Feat: Weapon Focus (Dagger) Skills: +1 Mobility, +1 Trickery, +1 Stealth, +1 Perception, +1 Use Magic Device Spells: Blindness, Burning Arc Woljiff does Woljiff things.  There's a hidden chamber with more goodies.   Before leaving the library, Yua does some more reading to productive results.  Talking to Storyteller warps you instantly back to Defender's Heart, and it's worth talking to him.  "Irabeth has explained why you were looking for me. I warned the authorities of Kenabres that the local Wardstone had been desecrated. They waved off my warning and paid for their inaction. I have examined many Wardstones, but only in the one guarding Kenabres did I sense a flaw, a spot of corruption inside. A vulnerability the demons will surely use. They are able to spread the blight inside the Wardstone, corrupt it, and make it their weapon. It frightens me to think what it will be capable of. The Wardstone must be destroyed." "Why did they let you examine the Wardstone?" (The elf smiles faintly.) "I am the Storyteller. Just an old elf... And a bit more. I am old even for an elf. I've seen many things and have been to many places. Not so long ago, I witnessed the making of a young kingdom in the Stolen Lands, led by a remarkable and promising individual. My advice on the complicated matter of conquering those lands proved useful to that leader. This is not uncommon for me. Some seek my advice or services, and I don't refuse. This is how I acquired my reputation as an old vagrant who's never hurt anyone, stayed out of others' squabbles, but sometimes gave good advice. I had a few friends in Nerosyan who vouched for my integrity. This is why my humble request to be allowed to see the Wardstones was granted. I visited all of them, but only found cause for alarm in Kenabres." "Do you wield some special magic power? Some instinct?" (The Storyteller chuckles.) "Yes, to a certain extent. But it is more of a gift. I can see the past. Stories that have happened. I touch an object, and shreds of its owners' memories are revealed to my mind. Their emotions, passions, and tragedies. I see visions like I am them, and their stories happen to me. This is my power. I've been roaming the world gathering such stories for many thousands of years. One day I will gather them all." "What blight is concealed in the Wardstone?"The Storyteller's power is what's called psychometry, and it crops up every now and then in fiction and real-world folklore and paranormal beliefs. Thematically, the idea is that everyone who uses, or sometimes just touches, an object leaves a psychic imprint on the object and thus the object can be 'read' to learn about its past users.  "Have you heard of the Red Morning Massacre? A dreadful morning remembered with fear even by those not yet born at the time. A demoness called Minagho invaded the city with a crowd of her followers, and started to do what demons do best kill and desecrate. They say they covered the Wardstone with pieces of dead bodies, splashed it with blood from top to bottom... Could such an abomination darken the radiance of the gift of Iomedae herself? The locals think this is impossible. But who knows... It was not the last attack. Many demon leaders brought their unholy forces here, even the terrifying balor Khorramzadeh. Their attacks were rebuffed, but they still reached their target. I think this is when the seed of corruption was planted in the stone. It wouldn't have grown on its own, but Deskari himself has now come to take advantage of this weakness, to open the abscess that has been festering for years, unnoticed by the people of Kenabres. And when the demon lord struck the blow, the weakened stone gave in. Now it's in demon hands, and nothing is stopping them from spreading the blight throughout the entire stone... And from it to the other stones along the whole perimeter of the Worldwound." "I have heard you, Storyteller." "In that case, you must make every possible effort to destroy the corruption. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get an instrument powerful enough to banish it from the Wardstone. As far as I know, there is nothing like it in Kenabres. But the demons might have something. I heard the dying roar of Terendelev, the silver dragon, the protector of the city. At the same time, I felt a wave of unfamiliar power sweep over me from head to toe. I would advise you to go to where Terendelev perished and search there for... something. I'm sorry I can't be more specific. But intuition and a strange sense of rightness tell me to point you there." [Present the purple stone knife] "I found this in the square where Terendelev perished. What do you make of it?"This exchange is why I left rescuing the storyteller for last. Remember, this purple stone knife was carried by the aeon that tried to fight Deskari (and was itself Yua's own alternate future self), and the aeon singed out the Wardstone as a singular focus of abhorrence. The aeon wanted to destroy the Wardstone, but was destroyed by Deskari before it could act.  (The Storyteller touches the knife, his fingers clamping around the hilt with a hungry, masterful grip. His face contorts into an evil grimace, his voice disgustingly raspy.) "Hunger. My many legs bring me into the lair, to my mother's feasting hall. Her swollen body overfilled with food is so huge that I have to look at it with all of my eyes at once. On top is her scrawny little head with a long beak that is always yearning for more food." (You feel feverish, and your chest where the mysterious wound is concealed feels hot. Your mind is flooded with a wave of visions. Visions that repeat the words of the old elf.) "Mother greets me with a placid screech. Stupid, greedy wretch, whose only achievement is my birth. A creeping, wingless creature. It's your fault I have no wings a symbol of greatness, a birthright I should have received from my mighty father. Mother points me to a crowd of whimpering subjects, suggesting I fortify myself with their pathetic flesh. Not today! I summon my spawn and they fly to me, enveloping me in a teeming cloud. Like dark buzzing wings, they unfold behind my back and lift me up. Mother has always been stronger, but she did not expect this. I dive on her and rip her limp, bloated body with my claws. Ichor splatters, the bone spurs on my heels sink into her flesh. I clench her pitiful, tiny head and tear it off along with the shreds of meat. Victory! I am the strongest! I am the son of my winged father!" (The elf grimaces with distaste, his voice becomes normal again.) "Appalling... Stories like that are the most difficult ones to keep with me." "Did this knife belong to a demon?" (The Storyteller opens his mouth to answer, but a sudden spasm crosses his face. A new vision, a much stronger one, engulfs the old elf. The malevolent undertones vanish from his voice as it grows more determined and tired.) Even looking at the Wardstone is difficult. Despite the corruption nesting in it, it still has an aura of strength. Your fingers clench the stone hilt so tight it hurts. A little spot on the flawless surface of the Wardstone draws your attention. It looks like a butterfly. Corruption in the guise of something utterly harmless. But it will grow. You swing and stab the butterfly with the knife as hard as you can. Your fingers cramp painfully. A howl invades your ears. Light. White light everywhere. (The stone knife falls from the old elf's hand. Out of breath, he drops to his knees. He is trembling, the terror on his face so unlike his usual dignified manner.) "What
What was that? That was not the past! That was... something that is yet to happen! Or rather, might happen! One of the roads to the future. In one of the possible futures, this item will help you to cleanse the Wardstone or to destroy it!"So, the first part of the vision here, about 'Mother,' is in fact a memory of Deskari! Yeah, he killed his mother and forged his scythe from her remains. The second part of this, however...  (The old man stands up. He looks completely stunned.) "Never before has anything like this happened to me. But how... I am not an oracle or a prophet! Or... Is this another riddle from the past that has caught up with me? I must find out. Seeing stories that have happened is one thing, but seeing stories that are yet to happen... I don't know why this is happening now, but there is one thing I'm sure of this is not a coincidence. This is a sign of coming changes. Great changes." "I shared your vision. And this knife... tempted me." "Did you... see what I saw? This has never happened before. Could it be the magic of the object that you brought me? I sense dark energies in it that can cloud and charm the mind. Be careful with this item. It may have tried to influence you, but you managed to overcome its power and subdue it. Or perhaps something else happened to us, something we don't yet understand." "Maybe the knife gave you the power of divination?" "This knife is a powerful artifact, but I feel that its power is of a different nature. No, I felt the same as I do when I tell the past. This is my gift, but manifested in a completely abnormal way!" "Who were you in the vision?" "I don't know. Someone strong and desperate enough to resort to extreme measures. I felt that what I was doing had to be done." "Your powers are amazing."All of this is important to pay attention to if you want to unlock the Aeon path and get what the path is trying to be about. I'll be giving the Aeon path a full rundown much later in the LP.  "Please, examine the items I'm carrying. Perhaps one of them could tell a story." (The Storyteller nods politely.) "Let me touch them, and I'll tell you what I can see. (The old elf carefully takes Yaniel's sword, Radiance.) "Powerful forces lie dormant in this sword. It used to belong to an incredibly bright and daring soul." (The Storyteller's hand runs carefully over the scale that has still not lost its shine.) "Proud Terendelev, protector of Kenabres. You devoted your life to serving people. Your death is a great loss. But maybe I will be able to find out something about you that is unknown to your many admirers? (The Storyteller's hand touches Finnean.) "What a peculiar weapon. I sense intelligence in it, but it seems... dented." "Ahahaha! Grandpa elf, watch where you're poking your fingers! It tickles!" (The Storyteller fiddles with a fragment of a gold buckle.) "An old thing, created long ago by divine will. But the power that gave birth to it is lost in the darkness... However, the relic still lives on, though it has changed. I wonder what secret it is hiding. Would you like to know it? Bring me five vials of magic essence, and I will revive this object, and with it, its story." "Tell me what you see of Finnean." "Hello, grandpa elf!"All of the items the Storyteller mentioned have uses. Right now I'm at three of the five magic essence required for the buckle, and Radiance will be restored over the course of the game. The scales of Terendelev have a use that we won't see for a very, very long time.  "At first I tried to break free, but I got tired, then I screamed... but now I've lost my voice, though the pain is burning right through me..." (The Storyteller stops, his voice changes, becoming more frightened.) "I think I lost consciousness, again. But when I woke up, the pain was gone. And I wasn't tied to the table anymore, I was standing near it... and someone else was lying on the table, a burned corpse covered with a black crust. The master took out a handsaw and was sawing off his head, in a very focused way... I should have run, back then... but I couldn't for some reason. This burned corpse had a symbol on his belt, just like I do: an eye and a star. My favorite belt, a good one... where would a stranger get one? It must have been someone from my clan, some distant family member... (The Storyteller stops. When he speaks again, you hear only a muffled whisper:) "Those crusaders, I... I was glad when I saw them, I thought they'd come to help, but... How? How was it that I killed them all? Someone told me to, and I obeyed... I don't understand... I understand nothing now... I... I need to catch my breath, I need all this to stop, even just for a minute. I just have to... have to understand what's happening to me... just need to rest..." (The Storyteller shakes his head, slowly coming to his senses.) "Thank you for your story." (The Storyteller gives Finnean back to you.) "Please take care of this young lad. He is finally in the right hands. Do not worsen his suffering by involving him in dishonorable deeds." "Come on, grandpa elf, I can take care of myself I'm not a kid. I don't know what horrors you were talking about, but don't you worry about it, all right? Look after yourself!"So yeah, Finnean used to be a living person until someone killed him and transplanted his soul into a weapon to harness his phantom blade abilities, and now Yua has picked him up. On that cheerful note, I'm calling the update done. Next time, the assault on the Gray Garrison. The Crimson Path (this update) Giant Spiders 4 Schir 1 Cythereal fucked around with this message at 13:02 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 02:32
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Cythereal posted:But if a video game is going to let me get a pet velociraptor, who am I to say no?
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Mar 17, 2024 02:49
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Cythereal isn't exaggerating about animal companions being really drat good in this game. Especially the ones that auto-trip with their attacks (wolf, dog, boar, and I think I might be forgetting one or two), but any of them are a great asset to your team. Their AC can get sky-high, they can take teamwork feats to further boost the rest of your front line, and some of them can do some pretty respectable damage too. It only gets more ridiculous when you get into mounted combat feats and/or the Cavalier class, which is mostly built around kicking rear end from horseback. Also, for some reason they're allowed to take the Crane Style line of defensive feats. The idea of teaching your horse kung fu is endlessly amusing to me.
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Mar 17, 2024 03:51
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Mr. Baps posted:Also, for some reason they're allowed to take the Crane Style line of defensive feats. The idea of teaching your horse kung fu is endlessly amusing to me. Reminds me of Fate Grand Order and the servant Red Hare, who has a skill literally called Various Martial Arts (Horse). Also as a side note, even when I am fast enough to complete all the objectives before the attack on the Defender's Heart, I usually prefer to wait and do the event anyway. You get a magical weapon out of the deal if you win (I believe some kind of Flail if I am not mistaken), and it is an amazing opportunity to show off just how absolutely amazing the Grease spell is. There's nothing like casting Grease on the gate all the enemies are spawning from, and watching a congo line of Cultists make like a Loonie Toons skit and faceplant into a giant pile of bodies.
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Mar 17, 2024 04:29
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You actually get the flail whether you do the siege or not. In fact, you get a little more material rewards for skipping the siege.
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Mar 17, 2024 04:38
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Animal companions are whack because they, if I remember, actually scale with difficulty, which like. It's good because it ensures they're always good. It's also insane because it means, low level, animal companions are way stronger then your actual PCs are. The easiest way to demolish Shield Maze is to just shove Wendy or Lann into a class with a pet and let the pet do all the work. Which goes back to what I said earlier - mounting up makes you near invincible to HP damage, because attacks are all re-directed to your mount, and when your mount is invincible, guess what that makes you. Why bother using a shield when your horsey is your living shield?
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Mar 17, 2024 07:00
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