Goldengirl

I wouldn't be surprised if the Drakons were working on this in the shredbug facility, and only started working on that after the Presence failed to be controlled. I would say that the Presence really only makes sense in the Mera Tev / Okavano Fen, otherwise it simply doesn't make sense how it would make it to the Foundry.

In all fairness, the Clinton campaign is joining in on the effort in Wisconsin.

It's hard to not feel this very personally, as a poor trans woman and left activist. So, my comments will remain brief. Suffice to say, likeability is a crucial feature for a good president, even beyond just public appeal. The president is also the face of US diplomacy, after all, and no one can say that that doesn't require skill. The president also is the face of their political party, which means that they are instrumental in maintaining party discipline. In both of these applications, I think Clinton would have been far more skilled than Trump.

Well, fixing the island-hopping issue with the boats would be a great start. Retconning the second Shaper continent would be a good idea, too.

Since finishing my undergrad in the spring, I've taken a short break from reading non-fiction to catch up on more light reading. I've been working my way through the Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett, which is really refreshingly honest and light and just plain ol' witchy fun. I've got a long list of books to read after that, but I'll mention those as I get to them!

If your issue with the MBTI is that it isn't accurate, then maybe it would be better to avoid personality tests in general.

The Gazers that we do get dialogue from all seem to just want to live on their own without any interference. The nature of the game, though, is that the player interferes with everything. That said, there are various indirect signs that Gazers and (Rebel) society writ large communicate and work out deals, so I don't see their territorialistic rage as particularly inevitable. Not really sure why you're interested in creating a Gazerforge. The Gazers in-game certainly don't seem to share that desire.

That would be true if the humans were willing colonizers, rather than, well... Exiles... Not to mention the fact that some (all?) of the Nephil were also sent to Exile from the Surface. Politics of desperate necessity don't easily conform to easy moral judgments.

Congratulations!

That is really cool, actually. Swords can get generic, but that is hardly so.

I can't help thinking a living tool may be a nice signature item from Geneforge.

For what it's worth, nothing else about me is straight anyway.

Finally remembered who Kyass is, but still disappointed that he's basically just a copy-paste libertarian. A thought I had on High Councilor Shema: he's always spoken of as the wise leader of the Shaper Council. He's also very old. I get the impression that he's been the leader of the Shaper Council since G1. So, I find that he's actually supremely incompetent, botching the Sucia Island cleanup, somehow missing Drypeak, conducting genocidal policies, promising to turn the world into a "husk" as long as they still rule it, and failing to negotiate an earlier peace when it became clear that total victory was far from sight and very uncertain concurrent with the ongoing destruction that tore most of Terrestia to shreds and created a huge refugee problem. Time and time again, the Council under Shema proved to be profoundly ineffective. Wise leader, indeed.

Wooo, I'm on the chart! Nalyd is also very sweet and plays with nails casually

Oh, I don't think there's anyone I'd necessarily change on the list at this point. Anaximander was the character I was thinking about in terms of someone who might not be important, but he manages to do more than just be a Bob, so I'm not worried. re: dynamic characters. I understand what you're saying, but the in-game narratives she gives about how she changes fill in the gap enough for me. What am I looking at in terms of my ratings? Function, good writing, character development, the memory test, and some degree of how much I liked them or not. The question of likability can only help, though, not hurt. I like Carol and Tor, which helps them. I don't like Jennell, Shima, or Nathalie, which doesn't hurt them.

I'm a little bored by Jeff's style; there are so many people who could have made this list if they weren't just fancy-titled Bobs. And some, in my opinion, who made the list despite being the very same. Nevertheless, I still evaluate each character on their own merits. And Jeff definitely has some great ones. To answer people's inquiries: Calor Hamer - I think what I like about Carol is that I can see myself in her in a realistic way. It's hard to put a finger on, but she's an early character that really sets the tone for the common Avernite. She's caring, hardworking, and healing. She may be entirely superfluous to the games, but she makes the caves seem a lot more real to me. Ahonar - Okay, to be fair, I'm somewhat using Ahonar as a stand-in for the Anama writ-large. But only barely. His ability to negotiate power with the Governor of Shayder, his sermons and refreshing ideology, and his Learned Pinner - This one was mostly based on the dynamic changes between G1 and G2. While the Awakened could be described as a hippy tribe in both games, I see Learned Pinner take bold action to actually be able to defend that ideal. Plus, Learned Pinner has a lot of great worldbuilding information that I highly value. Bennhold - Bennhold is one of the greatest loose ends to the Geneforge series. He gets two provinces of build up (admittedly, the bandit quest in the Mera-Tev was basically identical to the one in the Storm Plains, but still) and then comes out as actually representing a different strand of narrative that's built through the game, too. The natives of Terrestia, those who the Shapers conquered centuries ago, are really unexplored. So to have a fully fledged native from the Dera Reaches, leading a gang of native nomads, be the king of the criminal underworld of Terrestia is extremely fascinating. There's so much more about Bennhold I want to know, even though his screen time is already so packed. Litalia - Litalia is the only character who is on three different sides of the war. She wiped out the Takers as a Shaper, created the (human) Geneforge as a Rebel, and saved the Trakovites from the brink of extinction. She starts as a common Jeff trope - the power-hungry mage who sees all others as inferior - and transforms slowly back into a more human form. She learns to smile; she abandons Shaping. She's probably the most dynamic of all of Jeff's characters. Khyryk - I'm actually revoking my rating of Khyryk, since I haven't played G3 all the way through and I know that's where he shines. I wish I could have seen him in G5, though.

The more i review the list, the more I'm a little bored by Jeff writing and rewriting different versions of the same basic tropes. Greedy Reptilian, Shrewd Political Figure, Arrogant Asocial Archmage... My prediction is that Sarcastic Spy Girl will win.

It makes more sense to think of Greenwood Academy as a military academy than a school per se.

A few modest suggestions, before I comb through the games more closely. X1 - Tor. He appears throughout the trilogy (and into the fourth game maybe?) and is always one of the first characters you get to meet. I also just think he's a really fun character. I'd say that gives him enough reason to be on the list. G1 - Leader Khobar. Second-in-command (maybe? Learned Pinner maybe?) of the Awakened, but the character you meet first as the head Servile in Vakkiri. G1 - Control 4. The Servile that's the subject of an Awakened/Obeyer (Taker too? Can't recall) quest that actually does a lot to give background on the Shapers and Serviles. Plus, I feel like that quest was executed with a good degree of ethical grayness. G4 - Moseh. An ethical conundrum, a local power, a generally pitiful person. G4 - Pirik. Leader of the Illya Safehouse. I want to say Pirik was in other games, which would be the only reason to add to the list. My memory fails me, but one game alone wouldn't be good enough for a relatively cool, but minor character. G4 - Pol. Greta's assistant, and in every province your guide. There were some really humorous scenes, actually, such as Pol meeting the Rebel PC after passing through the Barrier Zone. I'd say, actually, one of the better-written characters, and one that I missed in Geneforge 5. G5 - Bennhold. He's got three provinces of build up, and is quite the local power boss. G5 - Denna. Appears in two provinces and is the subject of a major part of the identity search the PC is on. Interesting, but perhaps too minor. G5 - The Presence? Maybe too micro, but the way the Presence intersects with the PC is really interesting, plus it is just a really interesting boss. G5 - Guardian Makar. A local power, an attempted assassin, a symbol of the diehard Shapers.

Ooof, I have to say, it hurts to see so much Lankan hate. I think his move is understandable, and he's full of a lot of remorse for it too. It was a split-second action and he recognizes that. It actually humanized the Rebellion for me a lot, because this was just some frustrated human who didn't necessarily have a lot of ideological opposition to the Shapers, as it seems every other rebel does. And he, too, is corrupted by self-shaping. It's a fitting synedoche for the whole Rebellion.

The entire Shanti subplot from G2 always sticks with me.

I mean, I feel like Geneforge 4 really encapsulated that real world moral ambiguity on the Rebel side with the question of the Unbound, the Trakovites, probably a few other plot-central concerns.

I'm really glad I've got such good music recommendations from this thread.

1. Name one song that makes you feel really, really happy. "Stuck Like Glue" by Sugarland. Sometimes, I feel like I can hear people smiling while they sing. This is one of those songs, and it's infectious. 2. Name one song that helped you get through a difficult period of your life, or still does. The first time death crept up to my door at a close level, I listened to Pachelbel's "Canon in D" for months. It's still really charged for me, and so hauntingly beautiful. And it reminds me that each transformation builds on what comes before, and what is here will still change yet. 3. Name one song that makes you feel calm and serene. The Paper Kites, anything really, but let's say "Halcyon," is so calming. A private spring or summer afternoon in a park, a light breeze, it's all just lovely. 4. Name one song that you associate strongly with a good memory. As a youth, "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People, though pretty messed up, makes me think of an amazing summer experience I had at debate camp making lifelong friends. 5. Name one song which resonates with a character trait you want to encourage in yourself. "Everything at Once," by Lenka, is about becoming everything at once. That unbridled ambition is something I haven't had in a long time, and I want to stop being so timid and scared. I want to stop apologizing for existing. 6. Name one song that you find really interesting on a compositional level. (Lyrics, chord structure, sound effects, timbre of instruments, etc.) Mogwai's "Auto Rock" is hauntingly beautiful. "Mars" by King Crimson, similarly, is the only song that evokes fear in me. 7. Name one song that you didn't like at first, that you eventually came to really enjoy. I really didn't like pop music at first, I was too much of a try-hard hipster to stoop to that level, but I'm an amazing fan of anything kesha produces. Among others, of course. *. Say something positive that happened in your life today. I've been very productive on studying for my senior thesis today, which has been an amazing districation from... life.