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The Storyteller is probably the reason they cut the original Pathfinder Adventure character Aravashniel from the game. No room for two blind elf scholars!
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Mar 17, 2024 07:36
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Wow, you skipped the option of giving Chaleb a proper name befitting a demon. But yeah, overall Trickster is a somewhat polarizing path. There is a fair amount of genuinely funny, Divine Trickster kind of of material there, but there's also a lot of metahumor and "lol random" stuff as well. Which not everyone is going to like - or at least not like for the entire duration of a Wrath playthrough. Not particularly relevant to anything in the game, but the reason Deskari comes across as so annoyed about lacking wings in that Storyteller segment is that his "mighty father" is Pazuzu. One of the absolute greatest and oldest Demon Lords in PF, a classic D&D (and elsewhere) staple, and taken from actual myth. Cythereal posted:
There's a more in-depth description of it elsewhere, but the Red Morning Massacre is the big reason for the shroud of paranoia in Kenabres and what really led to the Inquisition gaining so much influence in the city. Because it's not quite clear from this brief descriptor, but Minagho and her followers infiltrated the city in the guise of pilgrims and the like before dropping their disguises in the middle of the city and going on, well, a massacre of civilians. Also mentioned here is the Balor Lord that attacked the city and killed Terendelev in the AP - Khorramzadeh the Storm King, one of the two most powerful commanders in Deskari's armies. Lord Koth fucked around with this message at 07:54 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 07:50
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"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."
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Yeah I bounced off of a trickster playthrough because it's just a lot. Azata can also be silly but it doesn't feel lolrandumb like trickster does. Speaking of mounted combat, Cavaliers are just absolutely disgusting when they can charge. My halfling mounted on a velociraptor was doing absolutely stupid amounts of damage charging with a longspear, you also don't have to worry about going sword/shortspear & board because you don't care about the character's AC when mounted. Testekill fucked around with this message at 08:41 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 08:38
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Of Foulsnouts and Foul-ups So, while the Storyteller is not part of the AP (he is in fact, a returning NPC from Kingmaker, and is much less of a pain in Wrath),  I've just realized how little Owlcat changed the layout of Blackwing Library from the AP. That said, he does get a little more backstory compared to his Wrath incarnation's 'just being a dick': quote:Chaleb was an opportunistic, self-centered man even before the fall of Kenabres, a man who joined the crusade for the chance to loot old Sarkorian ruins, impress the ladies, and otherwise turn things to his advantage. With Kenabres's fall, Chaleb is certain that the demons are going to win, and he wants to be on the winning side-he's spent the time since the disaster going from building to building, searching for pockets of survivors and any surviving bits of lore to destroy, hoping to build a reputation vile enough to attract the attention of a demonic patron. So far, his antics have caught the attention of two tiefling rogues who have started to follow the cavalier, figuring that if he does get someone's attention, it's best to be there to coast along. Blackwing is but the latest stop on Chaleb's path of villainy.  He's got a symbol of Iomedae on his shield! He can't be all- oh, Chaotic Evil. Welp. What a charming gentleman. Indeed, when the PCs encounter him he's in the middle of gently persuading (via shouting and threats) a frightened librarian to arrange a bonfire for her and her fellows. That said, he's a Cavalier without his mount, and his only written backup is a pair of tiefling rogues, so a well-made party is going to steamroll him without much trouble, unless the whole party all made Siege Mages or something, in which case you deserve what you're about to get. That said, the rewards you get from defeating him are very nice- a +1 heavy mace, a spellbook with some very handy spells (Dismissal and Dispel Magic being the standouts), and most plot-importantly of all, little strips of flesh that upon further examination, turn out to be dead, dried wormlike creatures that are not of Golarion. Sort of like bits and pieces of a swarm of such creatures- a swarm that is perhaps, capable of walking....? In any case, while the librarians recognize Aravashnial and he them, they're more like work colleagues- they say hi, make small talk around the water cooler, and then go their separate ways after five. But now? Even hanging around Boring Dave from Accounting is better than the company of demons, especially if Boring Dave can shoot fireballs, so this is where your party deposits Aravashnial and moves on.
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Mar 17, 2024 12:05
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Cythereal posted:
Not naming your horse Iomeneigh? I see we're doing an Evil playthrough 
CommissarMega fucked around with this message at 12:22 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 12:07
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The animal classes, if I recall correctly, are as follows- Aggressor- fighter specialized in maneuvers like trip and bull rush. Bully- fighter with sheer bulk and powerful attacks. Daredevil- mobile speedy dodge machine. Racer- fast mover. Needs to be lightly encumbered. Death touched- undead beast, negative energy heals it. Bulwark- defense specialist with free armor proficiency. Wrecker- combat specialist centered around destroying enemy armor, think cats that claw up furniture. Available animal types include horses, elks, dogs, wolves, leopards, smilodons, velociraptors, mastodons, bears, boars, monitor lizards, giant centipedes, and triceratops. A large number of classes that get companions are restricted to horses or dogs / wolves. achtungnight fucked around with this message at 13:36 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 13:20
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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.
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Mar 17, 2024 13:24
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Azata's style of random feels /fey/ in nature, like you're operating on logic no one quite understands and just rolling with the punches as they come. Trickster on the other hand feels /metagamey/, like some rear end in a top hat player let loose in the setting with a DM that just does not know how to handle someone who operates purely on Troll Logic.
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Mar 17, 2024 15:28
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Rorahusky posted:Azata's style of random feels /fey/ in nature, like you're operating on logic no one quite understands and just rolling with the punches as they come. Trickster on the other hand feels /metagamey/, like some rear end in a top hat player let loose in the setting with a DM that just does not know how to handle someone who operates purely on Troll Logic. To be honest, some of the trickster's Mythic Skill Tricks sound like stuff that should have been in the published Mythic rules, maybe in conjunction with Signature Skill. My personal favourite in Wrath is Trickery; quote:Rank 1: Magical effects do not differ much from magical traps, and can be disabled just like any device. You can, as a standard action, attempt a Trickery check to dispel any effects on target or on the ground. Treat this as the dispel magic spell, only with a caster level check replaced by a Trickery skill check with a -10 penalty. Yeah, sure, Persuasion is more powergamey, but Trickery is much more fun to imagine 
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Mar 17, 2024 15:41
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Rorahusky posted:Azata's style of random feels /fey/ in nature, like you're operating on logic no one quite understands and just rolling with the punches as they come. \ I maintain that Azata to me feels like it plays to romantic fantasy rather than the grandiose 'epic' fantasy that is so often the default in video games and fiction nowadays. We'll see more of that in due course, and I'm actually not planning to take every Azata specific option when they arise.
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Mar 17, 2024 15:50
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Trickster is pretty hit or miss for the narrative, there's some stuff that's really funny and some of the payoffs particularly the ending are excellent, but there's some stuff that falls flat. I still prefer it to Azata overall and it was a fun choice for my first playthrough. It's also insanely fun to play mechanically as it's a contender for strongest mythic path for martial classes and has a few variant builds that are hysterically powerful. Persuasion and Mobility are really goofy with the right builds.
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Mar 17, 2024 15:53
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Yeah Trickster handily wins in fun build stuff both game wise and lore wise. Like the mythic feats "start your own religion", "being aware there's loot everywhere cause this is an RPG" and "wait why does Acrobatics make you slower that's dumb".
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Mar 17, 2024 16:31
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It just comes down to whether you find Trickster funny, and I as a rule do not.
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Mar 17, 2024 16:36
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Either the pathfinder animal companion has been buffed from 3.5, the game changed it from tabletop, or the interface shows companions you can't take yet, because - first level triceratops? Really?
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Mar 17, 2024 18:22
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Gun Jam posted:because - first level triceratops? Really? Well, fourth. Pictured, from my first successful game of Wrath when my PC - a demonslayer ranger - hit level 4. 
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Mar 17, 2024 18:29
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I really love the triceratops. And also, just the concept of someone riding a triceratops to a holy crusade.
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Mar 17, 2024 18:35
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...the idea that PF's rules are wack seemed more likely to me than the triceratops being the dollar store version. Maybe they just very young?
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Mar 17, 2024 18:50
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Gun Jam posted:...the idea that PF's rules are wack seemed more likely to me than the triceratops being the dollar store version. Trust me, they grow into it. Said triceratops animal companion at the end of that game:  Animal companions in this game are bonkers good, and I suspect that Owlcat very deliberately didn't spec any NPC into having one by default.
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Mar 17, 2024 19:04
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I really liked the Trickster option there, as the demonic cultists have been shown to be pretty dim, at best. I doubt you really needed much supernatural juice to pull it off, honestly. The main questline has some genuine gags that caught me off guard as rabidly funny, the only significant miss for me was the Fool King, who honestly seemed like the exact sort of inflated ego who you should set up for a fall. But there is something quite satisfying about turning the crusade into a giant pub-crawl right up to the gates of the Abyss.
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Mar 17, 2024 19:07
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CHARISMA 7?!!?!? Not a chance! Such a beautiful and amazing companion should have a Charisma of 30 at least! 
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Mar 17, 2024 19:10
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I'm probably going to play Trickster, because it and Azata sounded like the most interesting options for my first playthrough and this LP is already showing off the Azata route.
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Mar 17, 2024 19:19
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I enjoyed Trickster as my first run, you just need to be prepared for the fact that your character is going to lean much harder into the Chaotic element of your alignment. You are a weird supernatural force of disorder and status quo upheaval with all that entails rather then any sort of good guy who does a funny trick every once in a while.
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Mar 17, 2024 19:26
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Edit: shhhhh it's a secret
Vargatron fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 20:29
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Shush. There are some things I don't want to spoil before they come up.
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Mar 17, 2024 20:30
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Angel and Azata are my favorite paths. Trickster has some fun stuff, but it feels like you’re not doing enough if you don’t embrace the chaos. And some of the tricks are just plain offensive. Mostly in Act 4 and 5.
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Mar 17, 2024 20:31
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Gun Jam posted:Either the pathfinder animal companion has been buffed from 3.5, the game changed it from tabletop, or the interface shows companions you can't take yet, because - first level triceratops? Really? I'm pretty sure Owlcat buffed animal companions compared to tabletop so they're more op than usual CommissarMega posted:Not naming your horse Iomeneigh? I see we're doing an Evil playthrough I was going to make this joke drat you  Lann's pet name should be Wendawg Nissin Cup Nudist fucked around with this message at 23:10 on Mar 17, 2024 |
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Mar 17, 2024 23:08
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Maybe "Nowdog".
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Mar 18, 2024 00:54
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Gun Jam posted:Either the pathfinder animal companion has been buffed from 3.5, the game changed it from tabletop, or the interface shows companions you can't take yet, because - first level triceratops? Really? Animal companions are one of the biggest changes in in Pathfinder compared to 3.5. Instead of literally picking something out of the monster manual and then applying Animal Companion buffs as appropriate, you instead pick from a list of what are basically just stat + ability templates with animal names attached. Basically, in 3.5 the Triceratops is something only available to a 16th level or higher Druid, but you get it as listed in the MM and you then apply Animal Companion buffs as if your Druid was 15 levels lower. In Pathfinder, picking a "Triceratops" gets you this: code:In Owlcat's CRPG's they just get extra buffs on top of normal animal companion buffs. In Kingmaker this was because you couldn't give them any gear, so the buffs were basically in place of buffing gear you'd theoretically be giving them, while in Wrath the buffs were toned down but mounted combat was added - which has its own silliness.
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Mar 18, 2024 01:21
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Intercepted Cultist Communication: Failures at Kenabres My Lady, The situation in Kenabres continues to deteriorate. Strongholds of the faithful across the city have fallen silent and servants of the Abyss have reported crusader patrols increasing in number, frequency, and intensity. I have confirmed that we have lost the Tower of Estrod. All valuable artifacts that we know of have been recovered, though I cannot confirm the location of the prestidigipainter golem. Knowing the quality of the faithful in Kenabres, I can only surmise it lies abandoned in a ditch somewhere. The adventurer threat has materialized as I feared. I have multiple reports of an adventuring band lead by a white-furred kitsune spearheading attacks against the faithful throughout the city, and the local thieves' guild - the 'thieflings' - has proven highly opportunistic in preying on the faithful rather than rallying to our banner. We have also encountered unexpected resistance from adepts of the goddess Desna. Contrary to expectations that the Desnan threat would be negated by Inquisitor Hulrun in a show of typical crusader stupidity, Hulrun and the Desnans appear to have settled on ignoring each other while our threat presents them with a common foe. I must surmise that more dreamers will flock to Kenabres in addition to regular crusader forces, guided by their goddess's dreams. In short, the battle for Kenabres is increasingly becoming symmetric rather than asymmetric and reports suggest that Queen Galfrey herself is leading the Mendevian regular army marching for Kenabres. Lady Minagho continues to pronounce reassurances that the Wardstone will be corrupted, but has been unable to provide a timetable. I struggle to maintain a sense of optimism regarding Lady Minagho's efforts regarding the Wardstone. If this course of action pleases you, my Lady, I will instruct the faithful in Kenabres to prepare to go to ground. Either the Wardstone will soon be corrupted to our purposes, or Lady Minagho's stronghold at the Gray Garrison will be overwhelmed by crusader forces. Respectfully, I  Beth, we caught another cultist messenger. I told you Ramien could be trusted, but I don't like the sounds of the cultists returning to hiding. I think we're going to have to assume the threat of infiltration won't end when we retake Kenabres.
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Mar 18, 2024 02:04
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I am struggling to think who could be sending these dispatches. No doubt that’s by design. 
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Mar 18, 2024 07:39
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Cythereal posted:Yup. It also, avoiding spoilers, weaves so hard into one party member's personal quest that it feels you can't really not be Azata and romance them. I happened to run into that on my first run and it just felt too perfect. Also, yeah, this game actually does a really good job making fun evil characters like Daeren. Most of the evil party members are kind of a delight which you don't usually see. They're (mostly) evil in very human ways.
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Mar 18, 2024 12:57
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I think Aeon is a fantastic path, but much more so when it's not your first playthrough. Because you can change so much stuff that you only really appreciate when you have done a more "normal" playthrough and can see the difference. Azata still wins as the overall best path for me. It's just fun, and often time also feels good. You feel like a hero on that path, more even than on the angel mythic path imho. I don't want to go into details for spoiler reasons, but we will see what I mean later in the LP. Going velociraptor is the only correct choice, of course. Unless you have a halfling party member who can ride his dog, which is just perfect.
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Mar 18, 2024 13:42
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Aeon>Angel>Trickster>Lich>Azata=Demon for me. They’re all better than the late game paths by a noticeable margin, though there’s a decent permutation for Demon that requires a lategame path.
RevolverDivider fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Mar 18, 2024 |
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Mar 18, 2024 13:50
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Mokinokaro posted:it feels you can't really not be Azata and romance them. I happened to run into that on my first run and it just felt too perfect. She (I don't think it will surprise anyone that I'm planning a f/f romance for this LP) actually has a surprising amount of reactivity in her romance based on your mythic path, including a special sequence if you initially go demon then abort in the late game to turn to one of the non-evil alternatives. Most romances in this game don't have much reactivity to your mythic path beyond ones where they leave the party if you commit, but that one character does. There's also one romance that *does* have a lot of reactivity to one particular path... and all that dialogue is disabled and you can't romance that character on that path that they have a fair bit of dialogue for. It's still an Owlcat game at the end of the day.
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Mar 18, 2024 14:11
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Cythereal posted:She (I don't think it will surprise anyone that I'm planning a f/f romance for this LP) actually has a surprising amount of reactivity in her romance based on your mythic path, including a special sequence if you initially go demon then abort in the late game to turn to one of the non-evil alternatives. I'm not sure I'm parsing this correctly. There is a character that has a fair bit of reactivity in their romance to one specific path, and a coding mistake makes you unable to select those dialogue choices?
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Mar 18, 2024 14:48
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Torrannor posted:I'm not sure I'm parsing this correctly. There is a character that has a fair bit of reactivity in their romance to one specific path, and a coding mistake makes you unable to select those dialogue choices? Not so much a coding mistake as just unfinished and inactive material that's present in the game's files. Maybe it will get activated in the final DLC that's apparently coming, maybe it won't. It's one of the late game paths, which were supposed to get additional content in the Enhanced Edition update that was blatantly unfinished and Owlcat said they had no intention of going back and finishing what they had said they'd do, so I'm guessing it's left over from that.
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Mar 18, 2024 14:50
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Cythereal posted:She (I don't think it will surprise anyone that I'm planning a f/f romance for this LP) Shocked, SHOCKED, I say!  Speaking of reactivity though, I do kind of appreciate the levels of dialogue people had for the lich path when I'm not being mustache twirling evil. But then the game has to insist I'm doing it wrong if I don't have the particular EEEEEVIL alignment. Bummed me out a bit.
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Mar 18, 2024 15:31
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I mean becoming a Lich isn’t a weapon like a sword or basic spell like magic missile. You are intentionally embracing and wielding one of the most evil cosmic forces in the universe. You can mitigate it to a degree, but if you want that full power you have to dive into it. the actual problem with Lich route is how much you are forced to be a kiss rear end.
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Mar 18, 2024 16:22
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Cythereal posted:She (I don't think it will surprise anyone that I'm planning a f/f romance for this LP) actually has a surprising amount of reactivity in her romance based on your mythic path, including a special sequence if you initially go demon then abort in the late game to turn to one of the non-evil alternatives. That's really neat but you can really tell she was a darling of the devs with the amount of love she gets in the story.
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Mar 18, 2024 16:38
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Mokinokaro posted:That's really neat but you can really tell she was a darling of the devs with the amount of love she gets in the story. That may be true, but I really like her as a character, so I don't mind at all.
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Mar 18, 2024 16:42
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