The Loquacious Lord Grimm

It's that time again. National Novel Writing Month. Hmm. Everyone has a story; most everyone, anyway. Sometimes it comes in the form of a novel, and some years, you might want to try to devote November to finally getting that first draft written. But it doesn't always have to be a novel. Our greatest or most dear creations can take the form of short stories, visual art, music, the perfect D&D campaign, an RP, or (heaven help us) a Blades scenario. So take a moment and share what you've been creating. You never know where it can go. I, for one, am devoting NaNoWriMo this year to a webcomic that I've been stalling on for far too long, in hopes that I can turn the daily devotion into a habit. The Silent Assassin doesn't plan on writing much this month, except perhaps a few scathing movie reviews, the next chapter of his autobiography, a few dozen post-it notes, one or two e-mails a day, and a long letter to Dear Abbey.

People from SpidWeb have joined already. And are badass. Join us. You must join us youmustjoingusyoumus...

Don't encourage them, Tyran. Minecraft addiction is a serious thing. The Silent Assassin wishes you pie, prosperity, and good hunting through the next solar revolution. In the event that none of these happen, he wishes that the pie you won't get goes to him.

Yes, extremely cool. @actaeon- you've been here how long, and you're just now realizing? EDIT: By the time I caught the typo, it had already posted, and the mobile page wouldn't let me edit it. It's fixed now. Jeez. The Silent Assassin is testing this fancy new ipb for mobile thing. So far, the autocorrect isn't too bad, but the lack of formatting options is a little frustrating. Also, it needs more pie.

Yet we assume that placing the powerhouse item nearer the starting point means that the player would be able to access it immediately. Presuming that the same Rakshasi hold the Halberd, regardless of location, a level 10 party would no sooner be able to obtain it than a level 2. If it were located, for example, right outside the starting point, and the player were actually able to access the dungeon, that player would eventually either learn that the cave is beyond their current capability and come back later, or grow frustrated and stop playing. We naturally assume that content further in the game's progress will be harder than currently accessible areas: such is good balance and design, as we understand it. Truly open worlds, which disrupt what we believe to be a natural flow, disrupt our expectations of progressive skill building. and many games built on open worlds and exploration (think metroidvania style) have to reinforce the concept of backtracking very early on in order to ensure that the player gets used to passing areas up and coming back when they're ready. Most games that work with this concept also give some very obvious hints that the player is not yet prepared for what lies beyond, by requiring certain equipment before allowing passage. Granted, Jeff has safeguards built into his world (reputation, money requirements, sub-quests, and ultimately the maps and associated SDFs) that would easily prevent a fresh party from even knowing about high-end dungeons near the starting point, let alone access them, and so there are few real reasons for there not to be a high-end dungeon hidden near start, which is Trenton's point. My guess would be real estate. The dungeons in Krizan Province (with a few Orb of Thralni-required exceptions) are designed with the goal of training a fresh party to get out and explore, and in explaining the reactions that the world will have to the actions that the player takes, when relevant. With all of those starter and intermediate dungeons spread through the area, it seems like a bit too much to cram in that extra high-end dungeon when there's so much space elsewhere. Further, placing the Black Halberd quite out of the way both encourages and rewards player exploration, which is what E3 is about. As for only having the high-end spells at the very end... well, in-universe it seems logical for the best mage to be with the Queen. Otherwise, well, again, there's no reason why one couldn't have an arch-wizard hanging around teaching newbies for personal amusement, giving a small taste of the power that can be obtained with a ton of money and experience. That one's a matter of writer preference. The Silent Assassin points out that the Mystical Item of Doom has to be in a dungeon near the end, or there's no point of having a game in between.

[/topic_hibernation] An impossible woman, a sulky millenarian, a new desktop theme, a set of recurring characters, and the voice of Ian McKellen bring us the only bit of savory Whovian goodness that we'll have to hold us over until April. And of course, the big question: did this intro remind you of some things you may have seen before? My greatest hope is that further developments will justify the time spent with Amy and Rory this fall as foreshadowing elements instead of mere fanservice. Time, of course, will tell. EDIT: ooh. thought. The Silent Assassin suspects that Strax is actually the Master in disguise. Also, he really wants a memory worm.

Is that why you were talking about the goose in the apocalypse thread (congrats on its success, btw) ? Eh, lock it if you want, and mock me all you please.

Enjoy your celebrations, whatever they may be.

Bump appreciated and seconded. I'm interested.

Truth. I too, while supporting the right to own firearms, see no reason for civilians to carry automatic weapons. While a single shot can be used for sport, or to disarm or disable, a spray of bullets only either controls crowds or kills.

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