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I'm loving what I'm seeing of this game so far. Makes me wish I wasn't so drat broke, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
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Jan 22, 2020 04:24
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Age of Decadence is on sale at Fanatical in a bundle for under three bucks. I'd link but on a phone.
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Jan 22, 2020 04:28
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StrixNebulosa posted:Age of Decadence is on sale at Fanatical in a bundle for under three bucks. I'd link but on a phone. Fanatical is worth going on the mailing list, they constantly have ridiculous deals.
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Jan 22, 2020 20:55
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Just bought it a week ago on steam, oh well. Really enjoying the game and LP so far.
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Jan 23, 2020 01:53
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Part IV: Town of motherfuckers Welcome back. There's only a few things left to do in Teron, so let's finish up. I put on a nice green cloak I didn't notice I had.  Always be on the lookout for plants to harvest, because you'll save money. Certain plants can't be picked if the Alchemy skill is too low.   Here's the alchemy tab of the inventory. Ingredients are separated into two types of reagents: base and modifier. Base reagents are used to make the basic (duh) potion/salve/bomb/whatever, and modifiers can do things like lengthen effects, add damage, etc. For now we can make some healing salves and poison vials, but that'll get us through the early game.  I'm forging a new sword, made of iron, as higher quality metals do more damage. I'm also adding two techniques -- one raises our THC, while the other raises the chance of a CS.  Near the palace is this house, with some guy in flaming orange robes outside.  As far as I know, he'll only say more than one line to you if you're a loremaster.  Ugh.  A Lore of 4 tells us this stuff is legit. Thessalos must have more valuables around.    Let's rob this fool for waving his dick in our face.  Sadly, we can't grab much -- at least 5 in Traps, Sneak, and Lockpick are needed to get everything. Right now, all we can get is bronze dinnerware.  Opposite of Thessalos' house is this one.  Well, well.   gently caress.  That's okay. We have other options.     We're in!     Time to scram. After selling everything we have about 500 gold -- quite a bit for this game.  Making our way to Teron's main gate triggers this scene.  Oh good, more unreasonable dipshits.  : So, you will let them starve and die outside the walls?   Sigh. Let's talk to the refugees...  As hilariously dickish as it is to demand 1500 gold, we'll be nice and pay their way. : Don't worry about it.  We find Aemolas between these buildings.  : So, what happened to your village?   We'll keep an eye out for this place. Sounds dangerous.  The armor we received is nice, but we'll forge something better shortly.  Cado is the leader of the local Forty Thieves chapter. Again, I'll save meeting him for another playthrough.  Not far from the tavern is this group of fine-looking individuals.  Hey! Let's do something really stupid!   Alright, I've had enough.   Three thugs to deal with, and one has a big-rear end hammer. Enemies with two-handed weapons are a real pain because they can dent your armor as well as dish out huge amounts of damage.  Always put poison on your melee weapon because the effect stacks.  I get lucky with my dodges here. Not only is Hammerman trying to knock my head off, there's a second prick throwing knives at me. I like how the two people near the wall don't give a poo poo.  gently caress yeah, critical strike, bleeding, and armor damage. I might actually win!  Things are going well, but now I'm getting surrounded...  Hammer Bro is down, but I'm at 9 HP. The inevitable happens...   Death Count: 3  This time I focus on the knife-throwing prick and pull a feint to keep the three in front of me.  One down.  Two down. Still in good shape, but we have to contend with Peter Gabriel.  He dodges, I dodge...   We win! We loot the bodies of everything and break down the weapons and armor.  Time to visit the healer.   It sounds worse than it is. Honest.  Because I'm a glutton for punishment, we'll do those tasks for Dellar. There's some new icons on the World Map -- we'll head for the Bandit Camp, which is east of Teron.  Soundtrack: Ambient I think we've found it. The dude in the cage must be the relative Dellar was talking about.   Hi, Esbenus. : I have an important message for you! Bye, Esbenus. : [streetwise][intimidate] Your captain has insulted House Daratan and paid for it. Fortunately for you, House Daratan doesn't hold the rest of you responsible. Hand over the prisoner and walk away with your lives.  If you're feeling suicidal you can fight the others, but there's five of them and two are equipped with bows. Good luck.      We'll see Antidas about our "magical" ring. I didn't do this earlier because I didn't have the Streetwise for it. Otherwise, we just hand him the ring without any explanation and he hands it back immediately.     Feng does what he does best and we get Antidas' ring as a reward, which we'll sell for a nice chunk of change. At this point I made some iron heavy armor and a bronze helmet, as it will be very handy for the next encounter.  Not far from the pile of corpses we left near the tavern, we stumble upon this scene. Meet one of the few female NPCs with a portrait. Our Streetwise lets us know the whole thing is a farce.  Grab her!  : Hand me everything you have. Hmm...  YOLO  Well, we're surrounded in an enclosed space by two heavily armed men. There's only one thing to do: Fight!     The fight starts off okay, then the mercenary lands a CS and knocks me out. Being knocked out deals massive penalties, like not being able to move or attack for several turns. If you get knocked out, you might as well reload the game.  Death Count: 4    It's smoother the second time around. The lady, Livia, has a mini crossbow that's annoying, but not as dangerous as this fucker with the axe and shield. Again, poison helps.  Notice they're hitting me for 10 points of damage. Thank god for the armor or else I'd be a pile of gore.  Both of the men are down, leaving Livia.  She's armed with a bronze dagger, so the fight's more or less over.  That'll teach you to ambush me.  Time to deal with the mine. Dellar mentioned the Aurelians getting regular supplies, so we'll ask the local merchants if they know anything.  Of course. Nothing's free, right?  The shanty town is just outside the main gate.   Here's the man himself.    Rhaskos, you picked a bad day to say "no" to me. : Then what do I need you for?  He goes down like a sack of scrap iron.  All of this killing has made me hungry. Luckily, there's a kebab seller nearby.  : Sure. God loving dammit!   Must suppress urge to flip out... : [body count] I take it, you don't know who I am.We have a body count of 10 at this point.    At least we get a meal out of it. Next time: The worst NPC rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Jan 24, 2020 02:28
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I kind of love the [body count] choices. Also, gotta admire that raider optimism. You'd think they'd be on guard since they person they sent to parlay never returned but nope. Hypocrisy fucked around with this message at 06:11 on Jan 24, 2020 |
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Jan 24, 2020 03:09
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If you're going to make fighting fairly hard to do, it kind of makes sense for you to get the option to go 'I'm the one who left four bodies in that alleyway' and have people react accordingly.
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Jan 24, 2020 04:37
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The body count options are great.
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Jan 24, 2020 05:07
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It's kind of neat how much you have to get by on bluffing and threats. Like with those raiders, who absolutely could have killed you easily but you make them back down by taking advantage of the shock of surprise-shanking their commander.
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Jan 24, 2020 06:04
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Wooh! Nice to see the stabbings shine
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Jan 24, 2020 07:52
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rudecyrus posted:
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Jan 24, 2020 13:34
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i like the Healer, dismissing a penetrativew skull fracture and subdural bleeding like it's nothing. "seems like you had your head smashed in. Bah, I bet you could walk it off."
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Jan 24, 2020 20:35
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 Octavia's stats, for those interested. New update coming shortly, which will close out the Teron chapter. We got the "Infiltrator" trait by sneaking into the palace. rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 21:22 on Jan 24, 2020 |
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Jan 24, 2020 21:20
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It's kind of funny that the Loremaster is playing as much like a thief as any sort of scholar. I'm guessing most PCs have a lot of use for sneaking around and stealing poo poo in this game.
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Jan 24, 2020 21:28
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Part V: The worst NPC Before leaving for the mine, I notice some squatters in a ruined tower.  Yum.  Soundtrack: Ancient Even better! : Can I fight them? This is the devs taking shots at every RPG that forced you to fight rats in a cellar.     The drain looks interesting, but we can't see anything through the muddy water.  Let's check out the walls.    Time to flex our crafting skills.    We found a... thing. Whatever it is, I'm sure we'll find a use for it. When we leave...  You've gotta be loving kidding. : [streetwise] Don't you see?! It's the curse! The curse of the tower! To touch it is to die. : [streetwise] Hmm... maybe I should leave it here. Disturbing a curse can bring one all kinds of misfortunes. I feel weaker already... So long, suckers.  Near the merchant plaza is this guy.  I smell bullshit : Sounds like a good deal. Maybe even a little bit too good to be true? It's probably a trap, but... : Alright, let's go and take a look. Called it!    There's only two guys, but they aren't pushovers, which I discovered when one knocked me out.  Death Count: 5     Second go around, I managed to dodge more attacks and inflict poison on both of 'em.  Behind a locked door is a chest containing a sharpening stone and 20 steel ingots! A good haul.  Miltiades has a rendezvous with my foot in his rear end.  : Ah, Miltiades, my good man. I can't believe you missed all the excitement.  : What are you mumbling about? I doubt he'd have the balls to trick us again. : Deal.   Motherfucker.   I really don't want to fight again, so it's time to intimidate this fop. : Miltiades may have made a fool out of you, but I'll make a loving corpse out of you, unless you put a leash on your apes and get the gently caress out of here.It's been a long day. Octavia's had enough of this poo poo.  Time to find Miltiades and stick my sword down his gullet.  He's hanging around by the blacksmith.  As tempting as it is to slice him to ribbons on the spot, we'll chew him out first.   472 gold? You've bought yourself a reprieve, Miltiades. A short one.    And he scampers off. I hope we never meet again.  The only quest left is to investigate the mine. We could buy the amulet off the prospector, but gently caress that, I'm not spending 500 gold.  We'll take the usual approach.     The crates contain a Bomb and some Black Power, which we'll definitely use.   We know what the machines are for, but there's no way to activate them.     We found... another thing. Presumably, we can put it in the console.   We could overheat the smelter and destroy everything, which would please Antidas, but do we really want to? Teron sucks a choad. Besides, I wanna see this thing in action.   Well, whatever. We were going to Maadoran anyway.  Soundtrack: Slides That's it for Teron! At the end of each "chapter," there's an epilogue of sorts, showing you how the major plots and power struggles play out. You're probably thinking, "The Boatmen killed the Imperial Guards? What does the Commercium have to do with this?" Patience.   We also find out the fates of the more notable characters and the consequences of some of our actions. I'll take a break from the main playthrough to explore the other factions and subplots. There's more to this than you think. Next time: Alternative starts rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Jan 24, 2020 22:50
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Everything's coming up Master Feng! I've definitely seen enough that I want to play this for myself, now.
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Jan 24, 2020 23:04
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I hope this scammer plotline ends with you getting nothing for being a greedy fool. I'm shocked at how much content you apparently missed.
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Jan 24, 2020 23:24
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Miltiades is the *best* NPC, actually.
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Jan 25, 2020 00:28
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Milty is my man and I will hear nothing bad about him.
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Jan 25, 2020 00:34
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Night10194 posted:It's kind of funny that the Loremaster is playing as much like a thief as any sort of scholar. Considering what Loremasters study and do, it makes sence that they're Practical Archaeologists. Unfortunately a bullwhip is not a practical weapon Hypocrisy posted:I'm shocked at how much content you apparently missed. This game beats you over the head with the fact that You Are Not A Fantasy Hero. You can't fight 5 people single-handedly and win handily. You can't chug a potion mid-combat. And most importantly, you can't be everywhere at once. You may influence A Plot, but The Plot can and will move without you in other ways. It's brutal but great.  Also the game's on Steam Sale right now for $3.75
Archenteron fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 01:02
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Miltiades is loving amazing and the best character, as seen in the last LP If you can pass all the preacher's checks, you get a very special title that's kind of a big deal. But I don't think we'll see that in this run
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Jan 25, 2020 02:03
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quote:
 Put that thing down right away Octavia, it'll probably gently caress over you and anyone else within reach! Cherenkov radiation has really bad implications!For reals I doubt that it's quite that dangerous, but thus far there have been apparent hints that a bunch of the "magic" stuff is just forgotten modern-day technology. Radioisotopes in particular, though I'd have to dig back through to find what cued me in.
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Jan 25, 2020 08:44
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NGDBSS posted:
There are multiple mentions of magic "leaking" and "exposure", as far back as when we saw the miner's amulet. So what we inserted, was essentially a fuel cell and you had the instruction manual. gr8.
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Jan 25, 2020 09:04
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It depends on if we're dealing with a situation where magic really is just old modern tech or it simply acts a lot like it, though. It could be either.
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Jan 25, 2020 15:20
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I don't remember much from the previous playthrough, but I do remember Miltiades being far and away the best character in the game, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of that grinning fuckup.
Whybird fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Jan 25, 2020 |
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Jan 25, 2020 17:36
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NGDBSS posted:For reals I doubt that it's quite that dangerous, but thus far there have been apparent hints that a bunch of the "magic" stuff is just forgotten modern-day technology. Radioisotopes in particular, though I'd have to dig back through to find what cued me in. The mask and glove in Thessalos's house look like welding kit: rudecyrus posted:
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Jan 25, 2020 19:18
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Can we come back and
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Jan 25, 2020 19:47
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Xander77 posted:Can we come back and We can come back later, but not before a certain point. yes good
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Jan 25, 2020 21:50
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Archenteron posted:Considering what Loremasters study and do, it makes sence that they're Practical Archaeologists. Unfortunately a bullwhip is not a practical weapon you can basically do all of these things but it requires such an intense desire to micro-manage every aspect of the game and also you have to be clairvoyant, which is really fun for like a 4th playthrough where you go "i want to see everything in this game". i think you can also only do it on like.. the mercenary path or something? Its been a while since i played the game the latest patch like a year ago or whatever also added a few skill points where you didnt get them before so its slightly easier
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Jan 26, 2020 03:38
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A bit late on the commentary, but I do appreciate how difficult it is to break into the castle. All else aside, the world does feel like a world here. Getting into the castle should be difficult for a random nobody. The game has a tendency to go full-on wall of text, but at least the writing quality is reasonably there.
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Jan 26, 2020 12:29
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The game is very, very good at replicating a tabletop RPG feel with its writing in skill checks and death messages, I really appreciate that.
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Jan 26, 2020 13:32
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I remember losing interest in the game after a while, mostly because of combat. Also, even though the devs all but spell out that it is impossible to win all the fights, even with top tier gear and stats, and I'm talking fights where you're outnumbered 8-to-1, they still worked in scenarios where someone actually manages to do so. Won't say more not to spoil stuff. How do I know, you ask? Well, obviously, I cheated myself max stats, skills, HP and such, just to see as much content as possible, when I realized I won't finish the game regularly. Of course, this is not the way to play AoD. Mostly because then you realize that the sheer amount of choices is just an illusion. Also, this game just hits you in the face with the "indie developer" handwriting. This, while it may be well executed in some cases, didn't work for me here. Nevertheles, playing the game few years ago was refreshing, as it really doesn't hold your hand. The LP is great. Jeez, really forgot about those loving assholes Feng and Miltiades. I love them. And if I recall correctly, there's at least one more significant rear end incoming.
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Jan 26, 2020 22:23
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Part VI: Greed is good This is Gaius Goonius, and he'll be starring in the side playthroughs. First up: merchant.  Merchant is arguably the easiest background for beginners, as you'll rely entirely on dialogue skills and won't get a sniff of combat if you're smart.   I'm getting good vibes from Linos.  Remember Gracius, the merchant with the map who ended up dead? Linos was behind it. : You'll kill a man for trading in your town? : What about the laws? Oh, well if that's all...   We're transported to the Boatmen of Styx guild. It's nice to see someone who enjoys their work. : This time?   I invested some points in Trading since we're a merchant. It'll come up a lot.    I didn't know Stalin existed in this universe. Time to see our buddy, Feng!    He's his cheery self, as usual. : What do you do around here? He's also the sass dispenser. Time to show him the map.  Our Streetwise/Trading is high enough to know Feng's bullshitting us. : Easy there, Feng. Let's leave this "valuable artifact" act for farmers and discuss a reasonable price. : Here is the money. What else can you tell me about the map?   This sounds familiar. : How grateful are we talking about? Time to squeeze Feng a little. : [trading] I wonder what you will do once the new loremaster settles in. I've heard that it's hard to start begging at such an old age. Nice. We'll deal with Cassius right away.  Instead of shanking the doofus, we'll convince him to leave town. : You aren't getting it, are you? If you stay here you *will* die. Do you want to wake up everyday, wondering if today is the day? Do you want to live in fear, never knowing when the assassins will strike?  We tell Feng the news, he gives us the ring, blah blah blah.  Something I didn't show off in the main playthrough: there's a trader outside the inn we can bilk. It's easier if we have the merchant background.    Ah, there's nothing like shaking down hapless citizens. Puts a smile on my face.   With that out of the way, we go back to Linos.  : About Gracius' map...   I imagine Linos bathing in a pile of gold every day, like Scrooge McDuck. : What should I do now?  : Cado's tavern? Isn't that the thieves guild?  : Why do you care about the Imperial Guards? Linos sounds like Mr. Burns in my head.  By the way, the Zenon we referenced earlier? He's right here.  : I have some questions... Q & A time! : How long have you been with the guild?  The Commercium operates much like the mafia, it seems. : Why did he refuse? : Who runs the Commercium? Great. Sounds like Strabos is another unbearable, power-hungry tyrant. : Who else has the power in the organization? Linos, Strabos and Athanasius could form a comedy team. Call it "The Three Sociopaths." : Any tips? Thanks for the SP, Zenon. : What do you do here?     I dunno; the Commercium is less of a hen and more of a viper. Off to the palace. We talk to the preacher along the way, but things go differently...  Instead of asking about the Gods, we can go on an ego trip.    A major ego trip.  We need a charisma of 9 to pull off this next bit. Luckily, we do!   Yes, we convinced this man we're the loving Messiah. How many games let you do that?   Huh, this is different. Thank god we don't have to waste time with Dellar.  CASSIUS!   Back outside we go. Looks like we have to complete Dellar's missions after all. Before we leave... : I've heard you raided caravans back in the day.        Aw, poor Dellar. Sadly, his training is wasted on this character. At the bandit camp...  : I'm here to negotiate. : Lord Antidas will certainly appreciate your kindness, but a thousand coins is too much.     I told you Trading would come up a lot. : How does an Imperial Guard become a raider? Boy, people will tell you anything when you've got god-like charm.  : So, how did you end up here? Pay attention to this next part.    : I've heard of such platforms. It's said that there is a similar device in the Commercium's building in Maadoran. : A temple carved into a mountain? It's got to be Hellgate. The stories I've heard match your own -- it's a gateway to the underworld. No man has ever returned for only the dead can dwell there, or so the legend goes. HELLGATE  : Do you remember where this cave was? Back to Dellar!  : They want money. They asked for a thousand, but I talked them down to five hundred. Oh come on! I went through the whole negotiation for nothing? : Then pay the raiders to attack the Aurelian outpost. You'll kill two birds with one stone.  Back to Esbenus!  : blah blah, do the thing, blah blah God dammit, why do I get pushback on every plan I propose? : [persuasion][trading] Do the thing and get paid. Back to Dellar! Again!   Yeah, it looks like Esbenus held up his end of the bargain.   We could keep the money, but, uh, that seems like a bad idea.  And he gives us the power module for keeping our word. See? It pays not to be a backstabbing douche, Cassius.  From here, we activate the smelter like we did in the main playthrough.  You'll notice we can do something else at the control panel, but our Crafting is too low. We may find out what it does later...     We show Antidas the map and he goes through his spiel.  Remember when we asked Antidas about his House and he shut us down?   : The story is most inspiring, my Lord.  So, Daratan was king of the hill until the war against the Qantari almost wiped them out. Then a prophecy said Antidas would rebuild the Empire and, being a stuck-up noble born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he swallowed all of it. Yay! : Speaking of rings, check out this piece of work! Uh oh.  Hilariously, Cassius spots it's a fake immediately. Time to poo poo on his expertise. : The only ring you've handled is the one on your cock.   : Shut up and sit down, my unassailable logic has bested you. Eat my entire rear end, Cassius. Next time: Subterfuge, forgery, and windbags rudecyrus fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Jan 27, 2020 06:09
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A fun thing: When I was playing as a Loremaster, I gave Cassius the same warning, and my PC realized he was going to run right to Antidas. But also that his back was turned on me and he was sure he'd outsmarted me. Stab-stab.
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Jan 27, 2020 06:32
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... Huh. This is genius.
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Jan 27, 2020 07:19
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Night10194 posted:A fun thing: When I was playing as a Loremaster, I gave Cassius the same warning, and my PC realized he was going to run right to Antidas. That's a much better way to handle a skill check in a conversation than just "add extra dialogue options". More RPGs should do that.
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Jan 27, 2020 14:27
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Convince a single deluded man you're the messiah? Child's play. Let me tell you about a game where you convince several deluded people you are their god and then kill the lamest space satan.
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Jan 27, 2020 20:20
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Fanatical has Age of Decadence in a pick your own bundle that would knock the price down quite a bit for anyone interested but a bit on the fence about the price (and Masquerada is part of it and it's a very interesting game in it's own right)
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Jan 27, 2020 20:45
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The writing of this certainly seems competent, but I'm not sure the gameplay looks any fun at all It's ideal for Lets Playing, is what I'm saying
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Jan 27, 2020 23:33
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| # ? May 5, 2024 17:11 |
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The combat doesn't really have the depth to be more than number checks except the numbers are (potentially) stacked against you, but the non-combat gameplay is pretty fun so far.
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Jan 27, 2020 23:42
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