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Goldengirl

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Everything posted by Goldengirl

  1. It's probably one of the things that the Shapers "programmed" into their creations, much like how most creations are designed to be sterile to stop rogue infestations from becoming a persistent problem. Not worrying about abused creations coming back as ghosts is just another such thing to defend against in preventing rogues. That's more of a hypothesis, though. I think that the type of magic is wildly different from Shaping, and so doesn't get much focus in game mechanics nor in the larger universe at all, since Shaping is seen as the dominant form of magic. A lot of the ghosts we see once we get to G4 and G5 are ancient ghosts from civilizations long gone, which would have had different forms of magic than Shaping. That's been my interpretation, supported by the existence of places like Travald's Crypt in G5. Also, I think there's also just a lack of opportunity. Creations would first have to be intelligent, which is relatively rare until the Rebellion. They would also have to be able to use magic, or have someone do it to them; that definitely didn't happen until the Rebellion. They would have to have access to an entirely different type of magic, which is hard since they struggle to get every bit of knowledge that they get. And lastly, they would have to have a strong, malevolent urge for revenge or hatred of something in particular, to help tie them to the mortal realm. That's a lot of boxes that have to be checked, and not a long time for creations to have the opportunity to check them.
  2. Woohoo! I never win at these things, but here we are regardless. Thank you!
  3. This might just be my forgetfulness, but I may have accidentally signed up for the raffle twice. If so... well, I hope that's not going to be an issue. Sorry! Can't wait to see who wins!
  4. If one is willing to stretch definitions, then both Litalia and Ghaldring could count as being in G2 (in the immediate aftermath) through G5. The purge after G2 was pretty extensive, though.
  5. The effects in Geneforge 4 are pretty miniscule, unless you go the Shaper route.
  6. Again, I'm not talking about some vague, dehistoricized idea of rationality. I'm talking about the specific thesis of rationality (perhaps Rationality, to distinguish it) developed and forwarded by the Enlightenment, around the 1600's. Quite simply, they didn't know as much about the human brain as we do now, and so they developed some ideas that weren't quite accurate as a result. There are, of course, people who want to get rid of even the most broad concepts of rationality, logic, ideas about causality, science. That's, I think, pretty different from Dada, and really different from most people's world views as a whole.
  7. This essay is technically about Wikipedia and hacktivism, but it includes a long diversion and discussion of Dada. It certainly provides a lot more context and depth of analysis than the Wikipedia article itself. Check it out. Now, that said, here's my two cents about this thread: reason and logic are specifically developed historical ideas. Logic was espoused by the Ancient Greeks as a mode of thought and philosophy, and revived in Western Europe with the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Reason also came out of the Enlightenment - the Age of Reason. These ideas, which I'm just going to lump under the term of reason or rationality, were used in specific ways in Western history to justify large movements and action. Republicanism, human rights, and scientific inquiry, but also the development of capitalism (which hinges on people operating under their own rational self-interest), the devaluation of emotion as something counter to reason (and the subsequent ascription of emotionality as feminine), and imperialism (countries acting in their own rational self-interest over irrational/non-progressive subjects). This legacy, inherited from the Enlightenment, has brought a lot of good and a lot of bad. Dadaism fits in with the radical Left because of a decision that the Enlightenment was more bad than good and thus we should burn the whole system down and start over. The idea of reason (from the Enlightenment) is pretty thoroughly debunked. People are inherently subjective, based on their upbringing, location, bodily experiences, etc. Psychologists have shown that certain fallacies and cognitive biases seem to be hardwired into our brains, not to mention the fact that logic and emotion are in no way separable or antagonistic. Capitalism has shown repeatedly that often times individuals don't act in their best interest (prioritizing immediate consumption over future consumption, being risk averse, etc.), and even when they do we still get bad things (e.g. monopolies). The idea that certain people are less rational, and therefore deserve what's coming to them, is widely recognized as pretty messed up. Nevertheless, reason still has a lot of staying power.
  8. That's correct. The Shaper Empire exists, the Rebels are crushed, and presumably any rogue creation dies.
  9. These dates are really far ahead from now, so admittedly I'm kinda guessing at what my schedule will be like for the last half ot the calendar.
  10. It's certainly not good, but I highly doubt that it's the worst thing possible. It didn't help the Rebels at all, for instance, nor really even hurt the Shapers. Other things the Shapers did? Astoria was actively treasonous, and Alwan used a highly illegal tactic to secure a fairly large part of the Storm Plains. Taygen was already disliked, and Councillors from Lethia Province and Nodye Coast were probably irrelevant after the war. I'm also confident that Rawal had more blackmail material on all of the Councillors, and not just what we can see in the game. That's his modus operandi.
  11. It occurs to me that these are good for one-shots, although I suppose they could be extended over multiple sessions. I can do this, but AIM simply doesn't work with my computer at all. Can we do this over Skype, perhaps?
  12. I agree. Ghaldring's fight is a lot more epic, especially since it takes place through an entirely unknown area. Gazaki-Uss? Old ground, less war feeling. Fight urban warfare through an actual city feels a lot more like an active, real battle. I got the impression that Akhari Blaze died somewhere in the Battle of Gazaki Uss, or likely in the conflict that happens afterward as the Drakon radicals get deal with by the moderates.
  13. I'm not a nail technician or anything, but I've had mild success when it comes to doing my nails (until it comes to painting my dominant hand...) I always do a base coat before anything else, and usually a top coat at the end for good measure. In my experience, the base coat is more important. Make sure to wipe the excess off on the lip of the bottle, yes. Press the brush fat and wide on the base of the nail, right over the crescents. It should be wide enough to cover most of your nail. With each coat, try your best to evenly apply it to all parts of the nail. And do two or three coats, letting each one dry on that nail before moving to the next one. Other than that, I suppose just try to avoid doing too much with your hands, which is easier said than done.
  14. If my memory serves me, every game has had some mention of the "tiny scrolls." On the origin of Drakons:
  15. I wonder what this would be like in a Spiderweb scenario. They're too serious for something as simple as your scenario, SoT, but maybe they could be reduced more. Famous characters instead of adventurers... The great mages of Avernum (Erika, Solberg, Mahdavi, Linda, X, Rone, Aimee?) versus a sudden outbreak of zombies (or demons, more topically) in the Tower. Probably Linda's fault. A bunch of Shapers circa G3 in Greenwood Academy (Greta, Master Hoge, Alwan, maybe some other luminaries) dealing with a bumbling apprentice accidentally making a bunch of zombies in the vats. Who knows. Are there other, simpler fables/fairytales in the Spiderweb universes that would be a more realistic analogue? I'd be willing to do a campaign with such simple rules; I think that would be fun and accessible (as long as it wasn't on AIM).
  16. I don't actually recall if the game does answer that question. I have the impression (which might have just been intuition) that the Dera Reaches weren't considered important enough to be worth the effort to pacify.
  17. Taking down Fort Rockfall is something you would need an endgame level character. They aren't as fortified as the other forts in the Line, but they have reaper turrets which can make short work of any cocky lifecrafters. The fall of Fort Rockfall is sad, in part because the characters are so lovable, but that's the cost of war. Your actions have consequences. As for the forge, it's lost. It would only open if you had done some quests at Rockfall (for the commander, if I recall right) before the battle happened. There is another forge in the Dera Reaches, though.
  18. G3 takes place a few years after G2. There are more accurate estimates, but I want to say it's five years past, perhaps more. G4 takes place 7 years after the Rebellion began in G3; G5 takes place 10 years after the Unbound were unleashed in G4. Plus, the Drakons had been in G2 for a while, so there's probably a few years that could be added there as well.
  19. You could say that Astoria is a rebel moderate option, and perhaps even the Trakovites. But, basically, Ghaldring is the only true Rebel. The Ghaldring endgame is radically different from all of the other endgames, and forecloses them as options.
  20. His name is Taygen. He isn't Trakovite, actually, but there are a lot of in-game reasons to show him as cartoon-ishly evil. I think Jeff added him as a hardcore Shaper option / for variety and roleplay purposes, because I don't know how people would actually take him seriously. If Alwan is the status quo, Taygen is the extreme wing of the Shapers. There is a separate Trakovite option that is a lot more moderate (strangely so, tbh). Killing Rawal (or any of the Councillors) automatically makes you a Rebel; it's not hard to see why. But that's a point-of-no-return, in which you're stuck in Ghaldring's camp. You also need to get the control tool out before you can attack Rawal, which any of the factions will do for you. You'll lose some stats (a point of endurance, I think?) but it's essential to do the endgame.
  21. I thought this was going to be a tech support question. PC vs PC violence... yikes. And you want it done with the technical information of the parties? Wowza. Honestly, that just sounds like a bunch of number crunching. Are we supposed to back our assertions up with plot logic?
  22. Other than Dera Bridge, nothing at all happens, and even that event is a pretty minuscule change. I think the in-game is that the PC is already driven insane from canisters, self-Shaping, and the Geneforge, so having any more doesn't have any effect on sanity. As I recall it, nothing changes in the endgame whatsoever.
  23. I believe we are all fully aware that there's no objective way to measure this, and none of us can really be right. But what's the harm in some hypothetical imagined scenarios?
  24. It's weird to me that the literal enslavement of a sentient race goes from being a major focus of the series to a peripheral issue to the larger cause of unregulated Shaping.
  25. I mean, I'd be pretty Grumpy too if I had to stare at lines of code all day in a basement, while dealing with raising kids. He doesn't even have the company mascot any more (RIP in peace). But hey, that's just me, a twenty-something.
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