|
I'm uploading this one a bit early due to being relatively short. Don't worry, though - the next update is almost 40 minutes long.   TRAVEL BOOK UPDATES:
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 17:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 20:01 |
|
|
On the topic of the dracolich, well...it's a somewhat windy story.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 18:49
|
|
|
NGDBSS posted:That said the actual name of the soul box used by a lich is "phylactery". Which if you look into it is pretty clearly a reference to the Jewish tefillin. Thanks D&D, you accidentally did an antisemitism. Slightly off topic but why is this antisemitism? Jewish mysticism is very big on words containing power. Hell, the most well known bit of Hebrew "magic" is the golem, a creature made of mud with the true name of God inscribed on its forehead or on a piece of paper slipped into its mouth. Where better to hide your soul than the place where you keep the word of God safe?
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 19:04
|
|
|
Albu-quirky Guy posted:Slightly off topic but why is this antisemitism? Jewish mysticism is very big on words containing power. Hell, the most well known bit of Hebrew "magic" is the golem, a creature made of mud with the true name of God inscribed on its forehead or on a piece of paper slipped into its mouth. Where better to hide your soul than the place where you keep the word of God safe? With golems, I wouldn't call it antisemitism, but it does really miss the point when a golem is a reanimated corpse, such is the case with the Black Knight Golem in this game (inside the armour is the body of an Aghartan thief). This goes against the spirit of the myth, where creating true life is the sole domain of God, and thus those attributed to creating golems (such as Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Chełm) used mud or clay, something purely of the earth, and the golem could only follow the commands of its maker with no independence. It's also tied into the markings on its forehead: emet (truth) gives it artificial life, and when the rabbi must return the golem to the earth, the letter aleph is erased to create met (death). For that same reason, I would call the connection between the soul boxes and tefillin some unfortunate appropriation rather than antisemitism, since necromancy is a big no-no in Judaism, especially when it's being compared to (for the very observant at least) such a sacred part of Jewish prayer. theenglishman fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Jun 6, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 19:19
|
|
|
Undead in D&D are almost invariably presented as evil and unnatural. Player characters never get to be them without a bunch of Was It Worth It effort. So tying up that in particular with a hint of Jewish identity has an unfortunate if unintended implication. This is as I'm given to understand it. If you want to know more you should ask Mors Rattus. (He's actually Jewish, I'm just a trivia sponge.)
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 19:30
|
|
|
theenglishman posted:With golems, I wouldn't call it antisemitism, but it does really miss the point when a golem is a reanimated corpse, such is the case with the Black Knight Golem in this game (inside the armour is the body of an Aghartan thief). This goes against the spirit of the myth, where creating true life is the sole domain of God, and thus those attributed to creating golems (such as Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Chełm) used mud or clay, something purely of the earth, and the golem could only follow the commands of its maker with no independence. It's also tied into the markings on its forehead: emet (truth) gives it artificial life, and when the rabbi must return the golem to the earth, the letter aleph is erased to create met (death). I knew I was missing some details on golems, thanks for filling in. I agree that golems as expressed by modern day literature have obviously strayed from their origins, as D&D and its successors have added their own spin on traditional mysticism. It's funny you say "unfortunate appropriation" given the well-known origin of D&D starting off as basically a genericised rebadging of Tolkien's works. IIRC halflings were actually still called hobbits in the first edition of the original D&D, then were later changed because Gygax's lawyers warned him that Tolkein's estate would sue him out of existence for it. NGDBSS posted:Undead in D&D are almost invariably presented as evil and unnatural. Player characters never get to be them without a bunch of Was It Worth It effort. So tying up that in particular with a hint of Jewish identity has an unfortunate if unintended implication. That totally makes sense. Now I get where you're coming from. Edit: PS @theenglishman If I haven't said yet that you're doing a great job on this LP, well, you're doing a great job on this LP. I've tried to watch previous LPs of Lords of Shadow before and the game is just SOOOOOOO LOOOOOONG that I burned out on them. Your way of showing off the game is a lot more entertaining, your commentary is top notch, and your musical selections in Ep 26 were inspired. Looking forward to see what you can do with LoS2. Albu-quirky Guy fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Jun 6, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 19:35
|
|
|
NGDBSS posted:This is as I'm given to understand it. If you want to know more you should ask Mors Rattus. (He's actually Jewish, I'm just a trivia sponge.) I'm Jewish too, but as this most recent video showed, I basically know jack poo poo about D&D, so I'm perhaps not the best person to talk about this. Albu-quirky Guy posted:Edit: PS @theenglishman If I haven't said yet that you're doing a great job on this LP, well, you're doing a great job on this LP. I've tried to watch previous LPs of Lords of Shadow before and the game is just SOOOOOOO LOOOOOONG that I burned out on them. Your way of showing off the game is a lot more entertaining, your commentary is top notch, and your musical selections in Ep 26 were inspired. Looking forward to see what you can do with LoS2. Thanks! I'm honestly far more worried about Mirror of Fate than LOS2. That game was just agony to play through, and I'm going to try my best to make an abridged but entertaining LP, while still showing off the worst parts of the game.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 19:45
|
|
|
Yeah, Mirror of Fate is just bad. I tried it for the first time as part of my playalong with this thread and after a couple hours there's just no motivation to go on. (I'm all the more interested in its story on account of that, though)
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 20:01
|
|
|
I'm honestly not sold on this game so IDK how much worse MoF will be.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 21:28
|
|
|
theenglishman posted:I'm Jewish too, but as this most recent video showed, I basically know jack poo poo about D&D, so I'm perhaps not the best person to talk about this.  times 10.So far as I remember MoF, that game looked like the clunkiest possible metroidvania.
|
|
#
?
Jun 6, 2020 22:48
|
|
|
NGDBSS posted:Yeah I was relying primarily on what Mors had said previously on the topic in TradGames. D&D in general has a bunch of weird cultural baggage, some of which is respectful but a lot of which is instead clueless. At least we aren't getting into alignment because that's Gabriel Belmont: Chaotic Good or Lawful Evil?
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2020 02:14
|
|
|
Albu-quirky Guy posted:Gabriel Belmont: Chaotic Good or Lawful Evil? Dude, seriously? This isn't DnD, this is the 21st century. Or the 17th, I'm not really sure. Either way, you're way off. According to https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test our woman-murdering Gabriel Belmont here is INTP Seriously, questions like "You often spend time exploring unrealistic yet intriguing ideas" and "Your travel plans are more likely to look like a rough list of ideas than a detailed itinerary" and " You are more of a big picture than a detail-oriented person" feel very different when trying to look from Gabe's POV.
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2020 02:35
|
|
|
Gabriel according to Zobek: He is angry. He is dark, and beautiful. He is so intensely angry. Anger consumes him, in all its darkness and beauty. Hatred fills his soul. He in an inarticulate, bellowing rage-monster, who kills mindlessly, cruelly, without provocation. He is dark, and beautiful. Gabriel in cutscenes: okay evil witch, I will help you get a magic flower.  Pan, I don’t want to fight you and I feel very bad about it.  I love God, and my dead wife
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2020 15:03
|
|
|
Bonaventure posted:Gabriel according to Zobek: Gabriel in gameplay: GRR BADDY SMASH
|
|
#
?
Jun 7, 2020 16:09
|
|
|
Fair warning: this video is pretty much a  ride from start to finish, so please watch THE ENTIRE VIDEO before commenting if you don't want to get accidentally spoiled by any replies!It is finally time to answer the most pressing questions. Will Gabriel bring Marie back? What's going on with Zobek's creepy narration? Who is responsible for cutting God's phone lines? And what the everloving gently caress is even happening?! Stay tuned for more videos, as this is not the end! We will have four new videos that cover the two DLC chapters, Reverie and Resurrection, plus a wrap-up video.  TRAVEL BOOK UPDATES:
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 15:57
|
|
|
I just love this entire sequence 
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 16:20
|
|
|
Gonna spoiler this since it’s still so close to the video’s posting: so Zobek basically possessed Gabriel to make him kill Marie and Claudia... and the final conversations with Satan are suffused with traditional Christian ideas about the notion of sin and repentance... but according to all the harmatiology that I know, intent and consent of the will matter when talking about moral culpability— so why would he be responsible for these murders when he was not in control of his body? Even outside of a Christian worldview, he was possessed, come on. “He is angry (when I make him be), so intensely angry (when I make him be).”
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 16:38
|
|
|
He's not being exactly rational. And he's just spent a whole game guilt-tripping... Or at least that's what Zobek says. We can trust Zobek, right?
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 16:46
|
|
|
I dunno, he had his head on his shoulders enough to give Satan himself a Sunday school lesson lol Also I really liked this game when I played through it, despite its story-- but the post-credits cutscene was just too much, never looked at the DLC or the sequels because I knew only stupidity lay ahead.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 17:06
|
|
|
This entire part is just magical, patrick stewart just going full ham is wonderful. Going back a lot of Zobek's dialogue take on whole new meaning after the several reveals of this chapter. Additionally Baba yaga also provides a few tidbit throw away hints to Satan's presence in this game. During the ghost sequence I expected Claudia to hold up a dark crystal and shatter it just for old time sake. For all this game's faults I still enjoy it immensly and this last bit is a great ending. Is the dlc next or is mirrors of fate? Looking forward to mirrors of fate, as I haven't actually played through that game.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 17:35
|
|
|
So yeah Gabriel being turned into Dracula as a part of god's plan bothers me because it's an intensely un-Christian thing. And ignores the whole very important concept of free will.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 18:12
|
|
|
Well then. I certainly did not see that coming. That's a fantastic twist
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 18:28
|
|
|
I get the feeling that a lot of these twists and such were done to basically undo all of the Igavania lore. You don't have a Belmont lineage, you don't have an all-powerful Dracula that supplanted Satan as the lord of Hell and all things evil waging a forever war on humanity, and because of this time skip it means you don't even have Soma. I was gonna also say 'no Alucard' but I bet they'll throw one in somehow, since he's almost as iconic as Belmont, Dracula and Vampire Killer.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 18:39
|
|
|
Kurieg posted:So yeah Gabriel being turned into Dracula as a part of god's plan bothers me because it's an intensely un-Christian thing. And ignores the whole very important concept of free will. I don't want to talk about this too much since I'd be going into some major spoilers for the sequels, but the Lords of Shadow universe, much like the animated series, makes a clear distinction between divine beings and the religions that worship them. The Brotherhood of Light are not noble. They are not kind. They would not be the heroes of this story if they were not literally fighting Satan himself. God has, for the most part, been absent in this story. The whole reason Gabriel was sent on his journey is because Zobek (possessed by Satan) cast a spell that separated the heavens and earth. Any religious acts we have seen for almost the whole game has been not an act of God, but that of the Brotherhood so that they can communicate more closely with God, which is better for them. God's single act in this entire game is to welcome back the souls of the dead with open arms once the spell has been broken. I guess the point I'm making here is that the Lords of Shadow games' relationship with theology and religious philosophy is very interesting, and we'll explore it more in the latter two games. Zanzibar Ham posted:I get the feeling that a lot of these twists and such were done to basically undo all of the Igavania lore. You don't have a Belmont lineage, you don't have an all-powerful Dracula that supplanted Satan as the lord of Hell and all things evil waging a forever war on humanity, and because of this time skip it means you don't even have Soma. I was gonna also say 'no Alucard' but I bet they'll throw one in somehow, since he's almost as iconic as Belmont, Dracula and Vampire Killer. I get where you're coming from, but this isn't a DmC situation where the game was announced as a reboot then "clarified" to be a separate continuity after backlash. Lords of Shadow was designed as a parallel, Westernized timeline to the mainline Castlevania games, was being developed alongside Castlevania Judgment, and the two were announced together. It was never meant to overtake or retcon any of IGA's games or the classic titles. In fact, an IGA-directed Castlevania title for the PS3 and 360 was in production at the same time as Lords of Shadow, but was mysteriously cancelled. The cynic in me wants to call it more than coincidence if Konami didn't already have a habit of pulling the plug on promising titles in the series (see Resurrection and Bloodletting). I do have a story-related theory as to why those particular story choices were made, but I'll talk about that come Mirror of Fate. For now, we'll be doing the DLC. theenglishman fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Jun 8, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 18:59
|
|
|
theenglishman posted:In fact, an IGA-directed Castlevania title for the PS3 and 360 was in production at the same time as Lords of Shadow, but was mysteriously cancelled. The cynic in me wants to call it more than coincidence if Konami didn't already have a habit of pulling the plug on promising titles in the series (see Resurrection and Bloodletting). According to the wiki it was a reboot. "Castlevania was rebooted due to the team's concern over the poor sales in their latest Castlevania games." Seems like the kind of reasoning that'd lead to 'let's un-Iga-fy the lore' decisions.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 19:07
|
|
|
Zanzibar Ham posted:According to the wiki it was a reboot. "Castlevania was rebooted due to the team's concern over the poor sales in their latest Castlevania games." Hmm, that is very interesting. Though I will say that what they actually do with those story decisions is very interesting. I thought about dropping a few hints, but I'll just let it stew. I will, however, say that the DLC episodes mostly serve to backfill some gaps in the story about how exactly Gabriel went from being an extremely sad man to Dracula. It's sloppy, sure, but the narrative makes more sense when the DLC is treated as canon.
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 19:12
|
|
|
Keep in mind there's a divide between what Mercury Studios wanted to do with the series and what Konami was doing with the series. Eg: Erotic Violence
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 20:06
|
|
|
Seraphic Neoman posted:Keep in mind there's a divide between what Mercury Studios wanted to do with the series and what Konami was doing with the series. Eg: Erotic Violence Oh my god I forgot all about that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN0Te7uTi7o
|
|
#
?
Jun 8, 2020 20:07
|
|
|
it would be nice if the game had any sort of bridge between the Satan fight and the ending other than DLC. That twist comes out of nowhere. Knoami are cowards, show us the dong of Satan
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 00:35
|
|
|
that post-credits scene has an extremely urban fantasy TV series energy to it, and I absolutely love it I had my reservations about this series at the beginning of the Let’s Play, but it’s absolutely won me over. Thanks for putting this together!
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 00:40
|
|
|
Nissin Cup Nudist posted:Knoami are cowards, show us the dong of Satan Well if you insist
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 00:42
|
|
|
I was pretty sure I knew about the twist because of reading how LOS2 starts off. I thought that the main game was going to show something more along the lines of Gabriel having to give in to temptation and darkness in order to gain the strength needed to take on the final boss (who I thought was going to be Zobek alone). In giving in to his darker, more brutal side completely, he would become dracula and win the fight. But in doing so, his wife and god would both reject him, setting him down his evil path. But that appears to not be the case.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 01:58
|
|
|
theenglishman posted:Oh my god I forgot all about that Yaknow, for a Pachinko machine there were an awful lot of orgasms in that video.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 02:40
|
|
|
I first saw the ending while watching another LP. The LPer went on to state that the whole part about Gabriel being condemned to live and turning into Dracula was all Marie's fault. I lost it and posted that Marie is a completely two dimensional character who's only job is to be the maiden to rescue and a plot device - she is not a character. If there's anyone to blame, it's God, who chose to leave Gabriel doomed to some in-between state of unlife and bar him from seeing his wife, possibly as some sort of back door guard against Satan's next attempt. "Blame yourself or God" indeed. Said LPer never replied, and the whole thing left a very bitter taste. Which is why I'm so pleased by the very fair LP, which has also been really fun at the same time. I can enjoy the game again, thanks to you. ...though I do hope the DLC gives more reasons for the whole Dracula brooding pout than "I can't get over my wife who died ~900 years ago." Very much looking forward to the DLC, Mirror of Fate, and Lords of Shadow 2, in your most capable hands. Thank you!
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 03:23
|
|
|
Kacie posted:I first saw the ending while watching another LP. The LPer went on to state that the whole part about Gabriel being condemned to live and turning into Dracula was all Marie's fault. The DLC will explain alot about how Gabriel turns from extremely powerful mortal man that is basically emotionally broken to Dracula in power. Mirror of fate helps explain the mentality and personality development into dracula.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 03:39
|
|
|
Marie must be facepalming so hard at Gabriel right now. So let's see, some questions: - So they revealed the plot twist that there was an evil mastermind behind everything, and then, during the very same cutscene, they kill off the mastermind and reveal an even master-ermind behind the mastermind? One surprise ultimate villain per cutscene, please! - So the Mask of Plot Device, that is supposed to make you omnipotent and allow them to reconnect earth and Heaven... ended up not really doing anything? I mean, Satan, and in turn, Zobek orchestrated this whole thing to get it, but even after slapping it on it doesn't seem to make the boss very strong? And Gabriel fixed the Earth/Heaven connection by putting the dude in a headlock and apologizing real hard, not by using the mask? - In the post-credits scene, was that Heaven Zobek or evil necromancer Zobek? Presumably the former, but it doesn't seem like either should be calling Gabriel "old friend" based on what we know now. I'm guessing this will be elaborated on in the DLC. - Why is Satan coming back such a big deal? You JUST beat his rear end, while he was wearing the god-mask.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 06:31
|
|
|
I was spoiled on the Gabriel is Dracula plot twist long before this LP, in fact so long that I forgot about it until you cautioned against looking up the voice actors in an early video. What I didn't know was that the guy usually referred to as the Prince of Darkness was the actual villain, nor did I know that the reveal was done in a modern-day scene. Lords of Shadow 2 should be interesting to watch.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 07:27
|
|
|
Schwartzcough posted:- In the post-credits scene, was that Heaven Zobek or evil necromancer Zobek? Presumably the former, but it doesn't seem like either should be calling Gabriel "old friend" based on what we know now. I'm guessing this will be elaborated on in the DLC. e: Commander Keene posted:What I didn't know was that the guy usually referred to as the Prince of Darkness was the actual villain, nor did I know that the reveal was done in a modern-day scene. Lords of Shadow 2 should be interesting to watch. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Jun 9, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 07:27
|
|
|
I was actually considering whether to Let's Play Dante's Inferno at one point, but ultimately I think the game is just too bland to make an interesting LP out of it. Matt McMuscles, formerly of Two Best Friends, did a good one two years ago.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 16:39
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 6, 2024 20:01 |
|
|
theenglishman posted:I was actually considering whether to Let's Play Dante's Inferno at one point, but ultimately I think the game is just too bland to make an interesting LP out of it. Matt McMuscles, formerly of Two Best Friends, did a good one two years ago. I've got the idea of doing an informative LP of that game stuck in the back of my mind, going over what they actually got right w/r/t the book and/or classical descriptions of hell. Cause Gluttony is pretty damned accurate all things considered, but Fraud is... let's just say Not.
|
|
#
?
Jun 9, 2020 23:46
|
|