Goldengirl

Originally Posted By: Randomizer After all that effort on the invitation quests, we deserved to see the results of our hard work. So yes. Still not done with the game. I've got a few more zones to go with this faction. Ah, good. Tell us if the endings do the epic any justice... But, to my original question, is the Shaper Council a hive mind, so to speak, or all they all characterized... And, as an afterthought, anyone we know who's on the Council?

Have the beta-testers got the pleasure of meeting the offending council?

Originally Posted By: Yelbis Eceer Nalyd Nethergate, Slarty? Where's Tyranicus when you need him... Anyway, in Nethergate, you get different beginnings, different stories, depending on whether you're Roman or Celtic. Two sides of the same story, so to speak.

Originally Posted By: Akavon the Dragon Lord Oh my god, alwan is so cool. His situation reminds me of Eliza's Shaftoes and Moseh's, with the whole "Needs a tube up my thigh to feed me". And I guess Greta was killed. A shame. I wanted her more. I wonder who this Rawul is too. Maybe on your way to some general to get orders, he captures you and he makes you his personal servants. And not to mention the Shaper council. Since the Shapers are split, perhaps the council has gathered to "resolve thier diffrences". One third sides with the Moderetes, one third goes with the Extremists, and the last third is trying to be nuetral. Oh I can't wait to go on a bizerck ranpage and kill all those who question my sanity one last time. Plus I noticed that the Fyora graphic wasen't change for the first time. >The Dragon Lord Akavon makes a few plans. Be assured that Rawul will regret the day he messed with his level one PC< I see no reason to think Greta is dead. Assuming there was a Trakovite/Rebel ending, which seems most likely at this point, I'd assume Greta's either alive and well, or in a similiar condition. Rawul looks like he's your owner, if you play as a Servile. The Council has always been. They're the government of the Shapers, and by extension, the Shaper Empire. I've been waiting for a chance to wring their necks. And also, to talk with them.

Originally Posted By: Ghaldring You can only do that if you've already played through the game, or are using a walkthrough. Otherwise canister usage is a lot like playing the lotto. I wonder if canisters could be a bit more along the lines of the soul crystals from Avernum, where you have some idea of what they will teach you before using them. Usually I'd resent even the slightest of cross-overs between games, but the 'canister lotto' dilemma is inconvenient for first time players. *cough*Save and reload*cough*

Originally Posted By: Yelbis Eceer Nalyd No. Power should be earned, not found. Sacrificed for, not stumbled upon. Ah, but Nalyd, what if the task to get the canister was replacement for the task of learning the skill. Infiltrating a Shaper stronghold for a band of puresteel is no easy task, and even for the Geneforge, which you would most likely say is "stumbled upon" required years of training in advance. According to whatshisface arrogant lifecrafter from the first zone, and the intro. So, while there is no energy spent on learning the skill, as long as there is an equatable amount of energy spent on something deserving, then the power from canisters should have no restrictions.

Originally Posted By: Randomizer You won't find out the ending from GF4 until you talk to someone that was there. I can't believe who Jeff let survive and who died in that fight. You're talking of the last fight, correct? Let's see, Akhari Blaze, Miranda, Alwan, Greta, Warmaster Karikiss, various Drakons and soldiers, some golems. Did I miss any of the participants? That's it. He let the golems live, and they see the player unleash the Unbound, even as everyone else is dead, before the PC is devoured by a stray. But seriously, how long will it be until we get to see the survivors? And, I suppose, how many are there?

Originally Posted By: Timshel Kind of a random question: Does anyone besides me like John Steinbeck? I do. He's not my favorite author, or anything, though. And I very rarely re-read books, so yeah.

Letters, words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, chapters, books. Specifically, the Twilight series.

Try using mental magic curses to weaken Monarch, and blessing to speed things up. It'll take a while, but it should work. And healing, to keep your converts alive long enough to speed things up.

I think that using the Avernum universe to make a brand new plot would be best. The epic of the Empire War, the horrors of the Abyss, the frontiers in Valorim, Upper Avernum, the expansion of the Empire. Plenty of material. I just don't think the actual plots of the series would work. Too many side quests and boring details to be done. Rising from top to bottom by killing rats, then bugs, then giant bugs, and then baddies, etc. is game material, not movie material.

Originally Posted By: Ale193 The Drakons are trying to kill millions of innocent people, that seems evil to me. Drayks were created by shapers with a degree of restraint, Drakons were created by deranged takers. Gazers and Eyebeasts don't get much face time, but those that I talk to, especially in G3&4 (aside from the ones in G2, who were actually rather polite) the were pretty Hostile and in my opinion anything that is sentient and still randomly kills people needs to be killed off. It could be millions. It could be hundreds of millions, even thousands. We don't know how many are on Terrestia, so you're just exaggerating. The Drakons were created by Barzahl. Just a small point. The gazers/eyebeasts in G4 weren't hostile. They were hermetic, valuing their own privacy and independence. Which they couldn't have with the Lifecrafter bursting in. Humans randomly kill people... Especially the Shapers. "It's a Drayk/Drakon/intelligent Servile/Rebel/Rogue: MUST KILL."

Originally Posted By: Ghaldring Goldman: Quote: You're right. The market's, as a whole, and Jeff Vogel's opinions are the only ones that matter. Avernum sells. Avernum IV sells. Avernum V sells. That's the best you've got? To counter, Phantom Menance sold. Checkmate. That might be a checkmate if Phantom Menace was a horrible movie. It clearly wasn't the best, but I still enjoyed viewing it.

Originally Posted By: Ghaldring Yes, but not all opinions are equal. You're right. The market's, as a whole, and Jeff Vogel's opinions are the only ones that matter. Avernum sells. Avernum IV sells. Avernum V sells.

Originally Posted By: Delicious Vlish Threads like this make me glad that Jeff is making the game. Amen to that, brother.

Originally Posted By: The Limper. For such an ancient empire, they don't have much in the way of metropolises, ruins, or history. I don't think the Shaper empire is too old. Two centuries, as implied by G1, seems a bit young, but it makes some sense. I mean, when you can spawn neverending armies, conquering two continents, most likely connected by land, doesn't seem so hard. And, from there, it doesn't seem unreasonable to say that the frontier, far away lands of eastern Terrestia would only be starting to have "large towns". Everything major is still in the west, is what I s'pose I'm trying to say.

I'd imagine there's an application process to your area's Shaper, and a certain regional quota, such as one for every other village, three for cities, etc. The local Shaper probably narrows it down based on general guidelines, and specialised tinkering. There are probably prerequisites, too, such as innate magical ability, as well as loyalty to the Shapers. Your parents being Shapers would probably help a lot, as well. After being selected, you're whisked away to the closest academy, such as Greenwood, to begin studying how to learn quickly, basic magic tricks, how to take in essence, the actual creations, and finally real magic and Shaping. Eventually, after finishing studies there, you get whisked away as an apprentice of a real Shaper, like Shanti, to get some experience with your skills. Finally, probably with approval from your master, you take a test, such as the one on Greenwood Isle, and if you pass, you are sent to the Council. The Council probably further tests you, but eventually they affirm you as a Shaper in some way, and send you out to work in the hierarchy.

I've been busy over the vacation. Read two books, one called Tobacco, which is about this curious weed named after a court physician, and its relation with Man. Goes from the uncertain discovery of tobacco's properties in South America, to its arrival in Europe with the Spaniards, all the way to the present day. The writer, Iain Gately, has written one other book, a novel. As such, even though the book could be incredibly dry, he really makes it come alive as a story; as every history book should do, in my humblest of opinions. Highly recommended. The other book was the eigth installment of the Edge Chronicles, The Winter Knights. As usual, Paul Stewart weaves a tale full of imagery, rigor, and even combat; his beautiful portrayal of life upon a giant, floating stone that is freezing to the core is only amplified by Chris Riddell's masterful artwork. Also highly recommended, though it is better to start at the beginning. Now, I'm reading a memoir by a historian, Stephen Ambrose. To America is a book stretching from the bravery of figures such as Jefferson and Washington all the way to the present. In each chapter, he details the objects of his study, how he studied them, and short, humanistic personal insights. So far it is excellent, and I only hope to be so learned as him in the future.

Some people always complain... Perhaps she (he?) is not floating, but instead her (his?) shoes blend in. They kind of already look like socks.

Originally Posted By: Dikiyoba Knowledge at any cost, eh? Dikiyoba shall infect you both with a rare, painful, and probably lethal disease in order to test cures for it. Think of the knowledge that will be gained! They've got death row prisoners, regular prisoners, and animals for that already. But, if it must be done, sure.

You're thinking of the Tullegolites, not the Barzites. The Barzites are actually somewhat lenient on the issue. The Trakovites are the scum of Terrestia, and deserve to be killed off in an Inquisition of the highest order. Knowledge, despite its dangers, is never a bad thing. They're the sort of people who have no faith in humanity, and trust no one to do the right things. Filthy. I kill every one of them that I see, or hand them off to be killed. What we need are controls on Shaping. What we need are creations rights. Together.

Originally Posted By: Sleeping Dragon Goldenking, I don't think drakons can join the Barzite sect. They don't believe in creation independence, if they did, they would be no different from the regular rebels. Salassarites don't believe in creation independence either. Nor human independence. Just the ultra-powerful, including canister-warped humans, ruling over the weaker Drakons, Drayks, Humans, Serviles, etc.

1st Avernum 3. Weakish plot, but great world and beautiful environment. 2nd Avernum 2. Great plot, great chapter system, good combat, okay atmosphere. Really, more likely ties with A3. 3rd Avernum 5. Meh engine, great feeling, sort of like a return to A3, but man, that engine. 4th Avernum. The original is never last. Didn't like not having a quest list, but the rest was great. 5th Avernum 4. Like having the okay atmosphere of A2 with the weakish plot of A3, and an engine worse than A5.

Actually, that's what one of the things I really like about the new character (Shaper/Lifecrater, hopefully). The way he floats. It's beautiful.

The fens were the only place in the game that actually felt like a warzone. Hope there's more like it. Personally, me and a creation or two usually just blitzed the place. So much fun... Eventually, when I was confident I could get absolutely anywhere on my own, I brought the technicians, and the channelers as aides/escorts.