| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Display using:
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 05:30 AM |
I certainly hope that it will still stand. I don't see the use of drow here. There's dark skinned elves IG (FOIG of course), but they're not a player race for certain reasons. Nah, keep the drow for the Forgotten Realms or Greyhawk...
But I certainly would like to see all the items with Vives text rather than seeing "Mystra" etc. ;) |
Luther McIath: I see, so [X is] the right person in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time.
[Fictrix] ... And can speak French, like both! Wait, I mean Elven. |
|
  |
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 05:47 AM |
I don't see the use of drow here.
Man, everyone can use Drow, if they're RP'ed properly. They simply can add so much fun. :D
But heck, they're not crucial. |
Ayntherian Tîwele - Elven Monk, earnest student of Ki and the Martial Arts
His Diary - Updated at 26/8/2006 with ENTRY VII |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 05:55 AM |
I fail to see your point...
Drow are world specific. They're FR ninnies and appear in Greyhawk too. So leave them there. they're not but elves who live underground. You don't need the black skin to roleplay properly. Nor do you need the abilities. *shrugs* Just my .02 |
Luther McIath: I see, so [X is] the right person in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time.
[Fictrix] ... And can speak French, like both! Wait, I mean Elven. |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 06:06 AM |
they're not but elves who live underground. You don't need the black skin to roleplay properly. Nor do you need the abilities.
Drow are beyond just the Black Skin and nice abilities, I love them for how intricate and unique their society is. You don't have anything even similar to that... anywhere, actually. :)
Sorry, though, I'm getting off-topic here. |
Ayntherian Tîwele - Elven Monk, earnest student of Ki and the Martial Arts
His Diary - Updated at 26/8/2006 with ENTRY VII |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 06:36 AM |
I love Drow. They're a hugely interesting race, and it's a shame they often get butchered by people who want to play Drizzt.
But you've hit the nail on the head. They're interesting because they're intricately developed and unique.
Vives wants to create its own interesting and unique, not take other peoples'. It might be harder to adapt to, for a new player, but I think that the end result is better.
-Barnas |
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 10:58 AM |
| Most Drow I've seen are just someone's way of playing out their fem-dom fantasies. *sighs* Total shame. |
"I've got a sword and it's a good one, but all the bleedin' thing can do is keep someone alive, listen. A song can keep someone immortal!" - Cohen the Barbarian |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 11:35 AM |
| The issue I've always had with Drow is that far too often people tend to drag far too much baggage from the Drizzt series et al with them when they RP them, myself included in this. So I try and stay away from them as much as I can nowadays |
"Mistakes have been made, others will be blamed..." |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 11:50 AM |
I actually don't understand that... I mean, really, the entire beauty with Drow is how they are backstabbing, cruel, relentless, ruthless, cunning, dark, sinister... the list goes on...
The fun with them is how they function as a society - how the Priestess try to climb in ranks, how the Wizards play their tricks on one another, how the Matron Mother pulls the strings on everyone - it's partly about playing with other Drow, and not playing a Drizzit, which in that case you really are, mostly, just someone with cool looks and cool abilities.
And to not make this totally OT, I was wondering... Vives 1 is without doubt one of the most, if not the most, beautiful modules out there. I'm guessing then that Vives 2 will continue that line. If so, when can we expect Vives 2, after NwN2 is out? |
Ayntherian Tîwele - Elven Monk, earnest student of Ki and the Martial Arts
His Diary - Updated at 26/8/2006 with ENTRY VII |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 12:00 PM |
I love them for how intricate and unique their society is. You don't have anything even similar to that... anywhere, actually.
You are fairly new to the world if I'm not mistaken, so I think it's way to early to make up your mind on this aspect. I think you're going to be very much surprised about the intricacies of many of the societies in Vives, which ascends imho that of the drow. I can't imagine you've seen it all, heard it all or already know all the lore. ;)
As to Vives 2, our DMs and writers are busy jotting down the world of Vives 2, ranging from descriptions to lore. So that'll take some time and then it has to be translated into NWN2. Don't expect an immediate transfer, but it'll probably be something like 2007. :) |
Luther McIath: I see, so [X is] the right person in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time.
[Fictrix] ... And can speak French, like both! Wait, I mean Elven. |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 12:10 PM |
Vives is its own unique world, end of story. Drow are as appropriate in Vives as they would be in a Mech Warrior or Star Wars setting.
No clue when Vives 2 will come out.
NWN2 has to come out first.
Then custom content.
Then the building/DM team need to finalise lore.
And we need to accustom ourselves with the toolset.
And we have to figure out how custom content works.
And set up the systems (especially the DB, and tying in the DB to the website) and scripts.
Then we need to figure out how custom content works, fiddle around more with the toolset, figure out which content we'll be using.
Then we actually have to start building.
And set up a website. And a wiki. And the DB. And link it all together. And figure out how and where it will all be hosted.
Not to mention, I highly doubt we will do any of this until and unless the DM Client is shipped out, which it won't be initially, although it has been said that it may be available in a later patch. Haha... no DM client? No Vives 2, without one - no way.
Of course, I'm probably missing a great many things off that list. PDW can probably expand it to 10x as long as it is with more details of what needs to be done. :)
Bottom line: Vives 2 is a looooooooooooooooooong way off.
Besides which, there are half a zillion Vives 1 stories that still need to be finished. |
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 12:34 PM |
The DM client is supposed to be available as a patch the same day the game is shipped (for whatever that's worth).
Personally, with the amount of work that's going to have to go into it, I'd be surprised if we see Vives2 before next summer - which is just fine with me. I'm having a great time in Vives for now, and look forward to seeing how all these plotlines play out.
Oh, and one of the most refreshing things for me as a player was coming into a world where there are no subraces. I feel like it forces people to come up with actual back stories, and not just gimmicky characters ("look - another fey'ri gladitorial slave!"). Drow are way, way overrated - you want an intricate sociology and history? Try playing a Midoran.
;)
-VK |
"You know, a gong. Large, flat object that you hit when you want things. Sort of like a waiter, but less portable."
-Radra |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 12:44 PM |
I never really liked drow that much.
I mean, they're nice and all, but they're way overrated and over-popular IMO. They're only interesting if they're not so blatantly overdone... as it is, many people prefer them over regular elves, and that just takes the whole fun out of it. What's a subrace if not unusualness? They're so popular, they're not that special anymore, and a lot of their charm simply evaporates.
And worse than that, many (if not most) of the drow PCs are CG rebels-Drizz't-ripoff cliches. And drow villains tend to be very, even dully similar to each other. As was said before, why bother thinking up an interesting character if you can just plaster a large "DROW" over the top of its character sheet?
Having said that, drow -can- be very interesting as a subrace and society. Aspects of the drow could be adopted and implemented into a society in Vives 2 - but with original history, lore and settings, of course, just like any other race. Drow can be effective - if not entirely optional - additions to the world. It's up to the team to decide.
Just my 2 centsish. |
AKA Adept
Ben Bright: portrait, description (02/17/07) |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 05:36 PM |
Please...No Drow...None...Hate 'em....Hate Driz'zt clones even more than I hate the evil ones...
And you know what, no vampires either. They've been done....spectres, wraith, werewolves, whatever.....heck, go through the old Fiend Folio and find a bunch of stuff...but no vampires...
I would love to see the Vives2 team create additional unique subraces, although I don't care if PCs would be able to play them or not. Maybe there's the evil unique subrace that PCs would have to learn about, etc, as their plans become available....a little like the Ssissilayath, except that
1) the evil race must have a pronouncable name
2) the evil race must have a name that is easily spelled.
Other than that, my standards aren't especially high....
I saw the post that technology would be on the periphery...THANK YOU! (and not just because those dang flying machines make Ced sick)...I think gnomes, I think Dragon Lance, I think ridiculous technology and a little comic relief, and it just never fits with my idea of fantasy.
Would definitely love to see a little more politics, intrigue, nobility, titles, etc. Not that there aren't any in Vives, but I don't have a sense of the nobility in Port Royale and what they're doing, or any of the machinations within the Queen's court, even just the common folklore stuff that anybody would know about...like to see more plots woven into that sort of stuff....dukes plotting against barons, lords plotting against kings, ya da ya da ya da....and the know-nothing PCs wandering happily unaware anything is going on....(which pretty much describes me right now).
And if it's still up for debate, we should definitely wipe all the characters and start over at level 1. Great to have reminders of characters from vives1 in Vives 2, but that's about it....I tought this was where you all were headed, but just in case, there's my two cents.
But of course, whatever happens, I just hope to see the same level and sophisitication of writing, story and background that Vives has....it really makes the whole place run...I have to admit, you all have really set a high standard for story that will be tough to match, so I look forward to what you have....
and please take your time with Vives2....honestly, there is a ton of stuff that I and my characters still have to do in Vives1....I would much rather wait a while and have a strong, developed world (and a great-looking world) than just play one that wanted to get up and running quickly.
Thank you for reading this ramble.
Oh, yes, one last thing: magical parasols! |
The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for...
-- Ernest Hemingway |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 12 Jun 2006 07:10 PM |
a little like the Ssissilayath, except that
1) the evil race must have a pronouncable name
2) the evil race must have a name that is easily spelled.
You just made me realize that whenever I see this name, my brain says "Sleestak", as in the reptillian bad guys of "Land of the Lost".
*goes off and puts hair in pigtails and pulls on a pair of romper boots and hiphugger bellbottoms*
-VK
((Moderator's Note: Sleestak and Land of the Lost...what memories!)) |
"You know, a gong. Large, flat object that you hit when you want things. Sort of like a waiter, but less portable."
-Radra |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 05:33 AM |
Okay something that bothers me with DND in general are the alignments. I know it's inherent to the system but what doesn't make sense to me is how they split up demons and devils. Can we PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just have them called fiends? No one splits up celestials either. I think that dividing up fiends because some are Lawful and the other Chaotic is stupid. Get rid of that.
And since there won't be any drow, can we also remove mostly other typical critters? The two I'm mainly thinking of here are illithids and beholders. Yes perhaps they're fun opponents, but it makes little sense to have them. |
Luther McIath: I see, so [X is] the right person in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time.
[Fictrix] ... And can speak French, like both! Wait, I mean Elven. |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 08:44 AM |
And since there won't be any drow, can we also remove mostly other typical critters? The two I'm mainly thinking of here are illithids and beholders. Yes perhaps they're fun opponents, but it makes little sense to have them.
Why?
I don't know much of the History behind it, but I don't really think Illithids and Beholders are related to the Drow, other than them all living in the Underdark/Beneath the earth.
Someone that knows mroe care to enlighten me about this? :) |
Ayntherian Tîwele - Elven Monk, earnest student of Ki and the Martial Arts
His Diary - Updated at 26/8/2006 with ENTRY VII |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 08:57 AM |
Because to me, illithids and beholders are to Forgotten Realm-esque. The same is true for Duergar. It's too stereotypical: an underdark with illithids/beholders/dwarves and bad elves? Mhmm wonderful... Not. But that's my humble opinion.
Therefore I'd also ask that no names of other D&D settings be used. So please no Abyss (except as a crevice of course) or anything else that is a reference to those. Vives is a world on its own, so please, let it be just that. |
Luther McIath: I see, so [X is] the right person in the wrong place with the wrong people at the wrong time.
[Fictrix] ... And can speak French, like both! Wait, I mean Elven. |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 09:01 AM |
We've got a completely new system for afterlife, demons, and the like, and new names for all of it as well.
-Barnas |
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 09:12 AM |
No, both monsters precede drow as monsters developed by the D&D game designers in early play sessions and the conflict created between the races has been fleshed out more completely through the 90s but early on wasn't nearly so well described. The beholder I believe was an over-the-top foe created by Dave Arneson or Zeb Cook or one of those folk as something to kill the party. It's a pretty outrageous beast. If you want greater detail, I can provide it, but I don't think it really matters.
I think in Vives any monster is supposed to be divorced from their previous history, so all of them are essentially just hit point bags, some with nasty tricks, until the background is created. Though I agree the histories of drow, beholders, and illithids has been belabored over the years, and rather hyperbollically so, it would be great to see them redefined in a new context. |
T'mok Gurzi
Resident Gnoll Warlord
patron for the noble yet drink addled
Timik Gorozai the Mistake |
|
|
|
|
Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 10:57 AM |
All of those monsters were around before advanced D&D - let alone forgotten realms.
Beholders were part of the original supplements for D&D back in the 70's. It appeared first in the Greyhawk supplement I believe.
I do not recall when the Illithid first showed up, but yes they are a first edition monster that existed long before Forgotten Realms.
Duergar by the way were not invented by D&D. It is merely an adoption of a norse word for dwarves.
I have no problem for wanting to keep Vives unique, AND I have never liked Forgotten Realms either, but lets at least not let Forgotten Realms spoil these creatures of fantasy for us. |
Famous last words:
Mykal> it's my new wireless router.
* > Mykal has quit (Ping timeout)
Vulpina> Hey!! IRC didn't boot m.....
* > Vulpina has quit (Exit: DarkMyst WebChat) |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 06:05 PM |
I kind of wish that NWN 2 was based in the Ebberon setting, if only to have Warforged as PC race. Then we could have iron paladins!
*eyes the post, realizing it contributes nothing to the conversation, then smiles and posts anyways* |
Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.
-Henry David Thoreau
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 09:01 PM |
And you know what, no vampires either. They've been done....spectres, wraith, werewolves, whatever.....heck, go through the old Fiend Folio and find a bunch of stuff...but no vampires...
Actually I was thinking that the Synspawn idea was great. Oh and the idea that Synspawn and Gokathul are different is GREAT too... I mean 2 kinds of undead!?!? THAT never would havee occurred to me... now let's differentiate the two a bit more. Let's just stop calling them Vampires, can we?! I mean the idea of gaining strength by consuming your foe/prey goes way back in many pagan cultures: Celts, Amazonian headhunters, and I'm sure there are others I can't think of. Just get rid of this Dracula/Underworld/VampireRPG idea that everybody wants to take from the mainstream, and let's make it a bit more unique and NEW!
I would love to see the Vives2 team create additional unique subraces, although I don't care if PCs would be able to play them or not. Maybe there's the evil unique subrace that PCs would have to learn about, etc, as their plans become available....a little like the Ssissilayath, except that
1) the evil race must have a pronouncable name
2) the evil race must have a name that is easily spelled.
Other than that, my standards aren't especially high....
Actually I'm pretty happy with what the creators have doen for PC diversity, and considering that monsters are pre-generated, I understand that changing thim is a bit difficult. There are so many different things that could be done. EG you could group catagorize: say a region that is all reptilian and another that is all Feline of decendance... or you could go common and then more mythical... I think Vives has already done this pretty well. Keep up the good work! MORE MORE!!!
I saw the post that technology would be on the periphery...THANK YOU! (and not just because those dang flying machines make Ced sick)...I think gnomes, I think Dragon Lance, I think ridiculous technology and a little comic relief, and it just never fits with my idea of fantasy.
YES, thank you for saying it. you know, they don't have to be all flying machines! Take Shira and her horses... well why not ride a tame pteranadon or a dragon out of the Vale? OR you could even make certain forms of transportation viable only to certain types: Machines for gnomes, exotic animals to forest types, housecats for Halflings! Umber Hulks for Deep Dwarves! Make evil ones not viable for good PCs and Good animals not viable to Evil PCs! Maybe Elves could teleport through trees like Dryads and Nymphs have been fabled to be able to do? maybe Druids could figure that out too? Maybe mages could use devices like the palantir of LOTR for scrying, but also for teleportation? Maybe Mage towers could be used to SELECT a destination to re-appear? So many options out there... why not expand? Look, Earth has only had air travel for 150 of its many THOUSANDS of years. And in so little time look how we are congesting our skies. Why get in a hurry to do the same in Vives?
Would definitely love to see a little more politics, intrigue, nobility, titles, etc. Not that there aren't any in Vives, but I don't have a sense of the nobility in Port Royale and what they're doing, or any of the machinations within the Queen's court, even just the common folklore stuff that anybody would know about...like to see more plots woven into that sort of stuff....dukes plotting against barons, lords plotting against kings, ya da ya da ya da....and the know-nothing PCs wandering happily unaware anything is going on....(which pretty much describes me right now).
But of course, whatever happens, I just hope to see the same level and sophisitication of writing, story and background that Vives has....it really makes the whole place run...I have to admit, you all have really set a high standard for story that will be tough to match, so I look forward to what you have....
and please take your time with Vives2....honestly, there is a ton of stuff that I and my characters still have to do in Vives1....I would much rather wait a while and have a strong, developed world (and a great-looking world) than just play one that wanted to get up and running quickly.
I totally agree. AND I'd like to see maybe some more plots that build the lore. When I started reading the posts it opened up a whole new side to Vives. I would love to see more LORE make it into the game in the form of quests. Maybe more shopkeepers could have more (hidden-AKA: race/class related) quests. Maybe even related to specialty items: specialty shopping lists could only be offered after a quest had been completed, or the PC had done a favor to earn the right/prove worthiness, rather than be level based. Maybe plots could be set in regions that build on the lore more, but these plots could be stationary and can be played by new players the area "Discovering" some of the background lore rather than have to have it explained to them...
The sunbringers are a perfect example or great lore-building: I love that Low level PCs see them and know they're there, but they really don't become more significant until you are strong enough to be able to get into Maldovia... then they really come to life. Now link a quest to it somehow getting low/mid-levelers asking more questions or doing stuff (The Mirghul Rangers lodge is a bit dull only because there are no quests attached)... More plots like that to keep players asking questions and delving on... while shucking out just a little XP along the way. This could be done with Gods, favored NPCs of Gods, history, Lore, etc. What if the Troglodyte king under the Port before he died made a comment ((lay a corpse with a dialog link)) in his last breaths, that they were an outpost placed there thousands of years prior by the Sslissayath of Mazadhi and await their further instructions not realizing that the once dominant culture lies in almost ruins ((then the corpse disappears, apears loot and he's dead))... later players find out that these cells are all over and then a final one is found in some remote place and really they DO have a chance of total dominations even still... or that Maldovia is responsible for thier demise... etc... who knows... Maybe PCs that can play lizardmen, or wemics, or brownies, or whatever... I think there was a patch for those somewhere.
AND the more NPCs involved in quests, the more opportunity for a DM to pop in and play around too. I'll always remember the time a DM possessed Baldrick to send us on a Turnip quest... then when I learned about Frobozz, it made the character of Baldrick take such DEEPER meaning (to what end I don't know yet.) "Find the missing turnip" that was fun... Buckshire is great that it gives newbies something to do as they intermingle and meet folks too, that's important... And the Ellea quest is great how it ties in the NightMasks/BlackHand and gets you crafting, and makes you explore all over Vives to finish it...
This kind of change could be good or bad: I mean Bard and Ranger PCs do have a purpose in explaining the lore of vives to newer players, thus more IG time means a more valuable PC, but maybe quests could be more structural/basic to raise questions or shine some light on things to growing PCs and offer new ways to gain XP as they try to get strong enough to be able to explore further out. Maybe we nomadic types could get more RP-XP when training up a Newbie on some Lore... that has happened on occasion, but not as much as when finishing a DM quest for example. Oh and the rangers that warn players before they enter a wood... I always thought they'd be great for a quest of some sort... that's the kind of stuff I mean. That NPCs make vives more dynamic when less players are on, Just that their quests be COMPLETE!
Thank you for reading this ramble.
Oh, yes, one last thing: magical parasols!
AND magical Fans! Oooh ooh! and a magical violin of the elements that has different bows that focus on specific elements, but they only work together! And the Goddesses of Fire, wind, Ice each have a bow hidden in their realm!!! YES!!! MORE LORE! ((and for me, less coffee!!)) |
"Life is a short trip... travel light"
--
PC Descriptions with Journal Links |
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 09:48 PM |
((Has anyone actually seen a Gnomish Flying Machine actually work?
No?
Me either.
- Paul)) |
Purpose in life: finding better ways of allowing players to kill themselves. Repeatedly.
--
"...Cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good."
--
<@James42> Lawful good isn't in your vocabulary, it's on your menu.
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 19 Jun 2006 11:03 PM |
((Has anyone actually seen a Gnomish Flying Machine actually work?
No?
Me either.
- Paul))
We keep the working ones to ourselves. We just let everyone else try out our prototypes. |
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Vives² Suggestions
Posted: 20 Jun 2006 06:52 AM |
Just get rid of this Dracula/Underworld/VampireRPG idea that everybody wants to take from the mainstream, and let's make it a bit more unique and NEW!
Barnas can answer that for me.
I would love to see the Vives2 team create additional unique subraces, although I don't care if PCs would be able to play them or not. Maybe there's the evil unique subrace that PCs would have to learn about, etc, as their plans become available....a little like the Ssissilayath, except that
1) the evil race must have a pronouncable name
2) the evil race must have a name that is easily spelled.
Races are different. Familiar and yet... with a unique Vives twist. Mmhmm. You'll love some of the twists that have been thrown in with certain races and critters.
I saw the post that technology would be on the periphery...THANK YOU! (and not just because those dang flying machines make Ced sick)...I think gnomes, I think Dragon Lance, I think ridiculous technology and a little comic relief, and it just never fits with my idea of fantasy.
*Wryly* The flying machine in V1 flies by magic anyway, not through any technological means. Seriously. Have you seen the thing? Be glad I took away the grandfather clock, flower pot and rotors. It was truly a ridiculous contraption before I finally mashed together the correct combination of placeables!
It's not a flying machine so much as a magical catapult anyway...
But anyway. Travel in V2 was actually one of the big, big things that first came up. Travel had a BIG influence on the layout of the land, and the way we have chosen to divvy up the world, and design the landscapes, and the modes of transport. A lot of thought has gone into the art of Level Design.
Would definitely love to see a little more politics, intrigue, nobility, titles, etc. Not that there aren't any in Vives, but I don't have a sense of the nobility in Port Royale and what they're doing, or any of the machinations within the Queen's court, even just the common folklore stuff that anybody would know about...like to see more plots woven into that sort of stuff....dukes plotting against barons, lords plotting against kings, ya da ya da ya da....and the know-nothing PCs wandering happily unaware anything is going on....(which pretty much describes me right now).
V2 is bigger and better. And definitely more politically convoluted.
V1 evolved and developed organically out of a handful of areas, as I understand it. Hence why the world is as small as it is.
V2... man, we have started from scratch, and I am SO squiggly with delight over what we have come up with.
But of course, whatever happens, I just hope to see the same level and sophisitication of writing, story and background that Vives has....it really makes the whole place run...I have to admit, you all have really set a high standard for story that will be tough to match, so I look forward to what you have....
The standard has been met and exceeded. No, let me rephrase: has been met and EXCEEDED.
I look at V1 and go, that's pretty good, considering we're just working with whatever we've been handed.
I look at V2 and go.... holy CRAP, that's awesome!
That isn't hype. I mean, seriously... V2 is just... wow.
I'd like to see maybe some more plots that build the lore. When I started reading the posts it opened up a whole new side to Vives. I would love to see more LORE make it into the game in the form of quests. Maybe more shopkeepers could have more (hidden-AKA: race/class related) quests. Maybe even related to specialty items: specialty shopping lists could only be offered after a quest had been completed, or the PC had done a favor to earn the right/prove worthiness, rather than be level based. Maybe plots could be set in regions that build on the lore more, but these plots could be stationary and can be played by new players the area "Discovering" some of the background lore rather than have to have it explained to them...
That depends totally on whether we can set up a static quest system that will permit this.
At the moment, trying to set up static quests in V1 are a royal pain.
The sunbringers are a perfect example or great lore-building: I love that Low level PCs see them and know they're there, but they really don't become more significant until you are strong enough to be able to get into Maldovia... then they really come to life. Now link a quest to it somehow getting low/mid-levelers asking more questions or doing stuff (The Mirghul Rangers lodge is a bit dull only because there are no quests attached)... More plots like that to keep players asking questions and delving on... while shucking out just a little XP along the way. This could be done with Gods, favored NPCs of Gods, history, Lore, etc. What if the Troglodyte king under the Port before he died made a comment ((lay a corpse with a dialog link)) in his last breaths, that they were an outpost placed there thousands of years prior by the Sslissayath of Mazadhi and await their further instructions not realizing that the once dominant culture lies in almost ruins ((then the corpse disappears, apears loot and he's dead))... later players find out that these cells are all over and then a final one is found in some remote place and really they DO have a chance of total dominations even still... or that Maldovia is responsible for thier demise... etc... who knows... Maybe PCs that can play lizardmen, or wemics, or brownies, or whatever... I think there was a patch for those somewhere.
There are actually reams and reams of conversation I have for the Mirghul Rangers and Sunbringers, and reams and reams MORE lore than the PCs see (you only get to see the abridged version), not to mention a handful of static quests I did want to put in.
But... yeah. *Points up* Static quests. Pain in the butt to set up.
Besides, a DM is just so much better anyway. Especially if the DM who possesses the NPCs is the one who wrote them and knows their backgrounds.
I have been sneaking "discovery" xp around the place, though, inside certain conversations. So, I may not have snuck in any static quests, but chat to enough NPCs written by me and you'll find that "you have been rewarded for furthering the story" might pop up at some point.
As for Sslissayath... no. That is definitely a DM thing, not a common knowledge thing. Some things, I am fine with PCs discovering accidentally via NPC convo. Other things are simply way too complex and do require DM intervention. You won't ever see me writing up NPCs who babble about the Sslissayath. The NPCs I write who do babble will only babble about things that are common knowledge, or if they have uncommon (but not rare) knowledge, will only babble to the right PCs about them (anyone talked to Aeolavian yet?). That's just an example, of course.
But one of the things I (and a few others) are very very much stressing in V2... is that there are certain things that are too special to just happen to automatically stumble into. Don't expect to be able to encounter dragons in V2. Dragons are DM-spawned only and play a specific purpose in the world.
If something in V2 is mythical, then it is MYTHICAL. You will never ever ever be able to just stumble upon it (like Maldovia, or like a dragon's lair in V1, or whatever). Things that ought to be special are actually special.
Everything has a background. Everything has a reason for existing. And moreso than V1, those reasons will play a very real, very significant part in the world.
Oh, yes, one last thing: magical parasols! AND magical Fans! Oooh ooh! and a magical violin of the elements that has different bows that focus on specific elements, but they only work together! And the Goddesses of Fire, wind, Ice each have a bow hidden in their realm!!!
That depends entirely on whether NWN2 actually has parasols, fans and instruments... :p
YES!!! MORE LORE!
The lore I've posted recently probably represents a tiny fraction of what I've written for V1.
The lore I've written for V1, both public and hidden, probably represents the most infinitesimal fraction of a fraction of the lore that I've written up for V2.
The lore I've written up for V2 is but a fraction of what the entire team has conceived.
You want more lore? And quality lore? Man... let me tell you, V2 has it, and it will rock your socks! |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|