Nioca

I'm still not convinced. After looking over the old topic (and there was 1, total), I saw nothing actually prove that Gazak-uss and Gazaki-uss were the same. The idea that the Border Wastes is Drypeak Valley is rather absurd. It's plainly obvious to anyone that's even seen both maps that there's no geographical way it'd come even remotely close (unless, of course, compass directions magically shift at will in the GF universe). So I'm downloading GF5 again and going to do some digging of my own. It'll take a couple hours on dial-up, so feel free to have at it when it comes to calling me a stubborn [censored] in the meantime.

Originally Posted By: Master Ackrovan Quote: Unfortunately, those boxes are right in the GF map files, so there's no getting around them. I managed to partially delete the one on Sucia, but I can't remove the parts on the mountain without taking out the mountain as well. So... yeah. For Vista, you can just go directly into the games graphics folder and take the maps from the Graphics core. I thought this was the same for other windows systems. Yes, but those map files have the box on them. Originally Posted By: The Emperor Originally Posted By: Nicoa Size down Sucia. Got it. No, eliminate Suacia. It was previously agreed that Suacia is not included at all, as it would upset game dynamics too much (i.e. the person who controlled it would win). Wait, what? I thought it was agreed that the Drakons had decided Sucia was off-limits, not that it was out of the game. Besides, the stuff there isn't more powerful than the stuff brought to the mainland... considering, you know, that it's the same stuff. Besides, most everything there is wrecked anyway. Quote: Originally Posted By: Nicoa Seeing as Samman's Isle just happens to be of decent size and right about where it should be, that's where I placed your faction No, the island in question is not Samman's Isle, because Samman's Isle is very small, and covered in snow. It is another island, not mentioned in the game but still on the map. It's not that small. Anyway, I'll see what I can do. Quote: Originally Posted By: Nioca Sleeping Dragon - Sadly, Drypeak doesn't appear on this map, so I did the best I could. The Border Wasteland is Drypeak, because Alwan tells you Gazaki means "younger Gazak", and Gazak was the challenge area in G2. Can't be. Shape's off, the facility is placed on the wrong side of the valley (it's on the NW side in GF2), and there's no snow. Furthermore, you're also failing to consider that it's named that because it's a newer version of Gazak, not Gazak renovated. Same way that New England isn't actually in England.

Originally Posted By: Master Ackrovan Is it possible that next time you just take the maps right out of the game, and not include those area boxes? It would just make it is much less of an eyesore. (not you're editing) Unfortunately, those boxes are right in the GF map files, so there's no getting around them. I managed to partially delete the one on Sucia, but I can't remove the parts on the mountain without taking out the mountain as well. So... yeah. Quote: Edit: Sucia is wayyyyyyyyyyyy to big Size down Sucia. Got it. Originally Posted By: Artemis the Conqueror and i think that i'll take the Mera-Tev somewhere: You're pick. Color...let's see. um... purple i guess. I'm not really a color person: Black usually suffices for me, but I'm not sure if that would really make a statement on the map. Purple it is. oh, and yesyes, Arterials will do for me. Got it. I'll make the appropriate changes.

The map for ASG. Basically, it's the same as the combined map posted near the top of this thread, but there's some major differences. 1) It's been sized down by 50% and cropped to be extra snug. This makes it easier to take in at a glance, and also reduces the weeping of dial-up users. 2) The quality of the image has been reduced. Again, to reduce the weeping of dial-up users (and my weeping when trying to upload it). 3) Sucia Isle has been added to the map. It's between the two prongs of eastern Terrestria. 4) Territories for the factions have been marked. Pink stars are Faction Headquarters/Capitals. 5) Some of that horrific red text and marking have been removed. Okay, now a few things of note. Emperor - Check to make sure you want Red and Black. I'm not sure it shows up well. Also, you mentioned that your faction is on a large island in the middle of Terrestria. Seeing as Samman's Isle just happens to be of decent size and right about where it should be, that's where I placed your faction. Let me know if this is agreeable. Finally, does your faction have a main headquarters or capital city? If so, where is that located? Goldenking - Your faction is marked blue. If you want that changed, that can easily be done. I also took a guess and marked Southforge Citadel as your base of operations. Again, if you want it changed, let me know. Sleeping Dragon - Sadly, Drypeak doesn't appear on this map, so I did the best I could. Ackrovan - Did I get the dimensions of your faction correct? I didn't want to make it too small, but I also knew he wouldn't have an overly large amount of influence either. Artemis - Where's your faction located? I couldn't place it on the map, but I'm willing to bet there's some sort of headquarters or major sphere of influence. Also, what color do you want? Spddin - Same thing. Where's your faction, and what color.

Also, I'm working up a map for this game. I intend to mark off the territories of various factions with different colors. ESC is going to be a gold-yellow. Anyone partial to a color for their factions, or can I just pick whatever color seems to fit?

I would advise against waiting. It could kill this RP before it even begins. There's nothing stopping people from joining after it starts.

Yes and no. The key ideology of the Barzites is absolute power. For the Enlightened, it's absolute knowledge. Common ground here is that they both allow self-shaping, canisters, and so forth. They both push Shaping far beyond what normal Shapers would allow. And they both tend to eliminate anyone who'd oppose them very quickly. However, there's also differences. In fact, they're almost complete opposites in which parts of the Shaper Doctrine are applied. For the Barzites, they were hardline creations-as-slaves-only when it came to creation rights. The Enlightened fall closest to the Awakened in this regard, granting independence and equal rights to intelligent creations. Meanwhile, while the Barzites freely partook of self-shaping and power like candy, the Enlightened hold firm on the idea that such power needs to be carefully controlled. While not as restrictive as the Shapers, they certainly keep a tight grip on who's allowed to do what, and common civilians are no more likely to learn Shaping under the Enlightened then they were under the old Shaper regime.

As mentioned in the IC for my faction, my faction is basically the Anti-Trakovites. They believe in pushing Shaping harder than its ever been pushed before, and almost nothing is off-limits.

Faction - The Enlightened Shaper Confederacy (ESC) The Drakons had imparted one powerful lesson on the Shapers: You cannot unring a bell. However, the drakons had apparently forgotten that lesson. They never realized that, while vanquishing the Shapers was certainly an achievable goal, destroying their ideology was impossible. While one uprising had launched a bloody assault against the Conclave, another, far more silent one had taken place in the Whitespires. A small group of humans had infiltrated the highly-guarded Foundry. Unbound, normally loyal to the Drakons, suddenly turned on their masters. And when the Drakons tried to activate the Unbounds' inbuilt failsafe to destroy them, they found that it had somehow become ineffective. They learned, quickly and violently, that having creations more powerful than the creator without the ability to control them was the ultimate folly. With a foothold hidden from the prying eyes of the world, the Enlightened Shaper Confederacy began. Led by Grand Shaper Antares, they established a new dominion. From there, they intend to further the Shaping Arts, and dispose of any who would try to stop them. A dreadful prospect indeed, for there are almost no limits to what the Enlightened can or will do with Shaping... As evidenced by Antares terrifying new weapon. Leader: Grand Shaper Antares (Human). Ideology: Knowledge is power. Their goal is to push the Shaping arts as hard, fast, and far as physically possible. To discover new purposes and powers, ensure no knowledge is forbidden, and destroy any who would repress it. They are, in essence, the Anti-Trakovites. Creation Rights Stance: All creations classified Non-sapient are considered servile labor, to be bent to Shaper will. All qualified Shapers are allowed to shape Non-sapients. Creations classified as Sapient, however, are treated as intelligent beings. They are to be treated as one would treat a human being of equal status. To deliberately shape a Sapient earns an immediate death penalty. To be classified as a Sapient, the being must demonstrate near-human levels of reasoning and the ability to make independent decisions. If these criteria are not met, the creation is classified as Non-sapient, and treated accordingly. One notable exception to this are the Drakons, the only creation that's Barred by the Enlightened. Anyone caught shaping a Drakon is subject to the death penalty, and any Drakon found without special clearance from top authorities is to be killed on sight. As they see it, the Drakons are too egotistical and too dangerous to be trusted. They are, however, willing to make exceptions.

DIPLOMACY WITH THE DEAD SUMMARY - A mixed bag, to be sure. On one hand, this scenario has the worst design and graphics of any pre-packaged scenario. On the other, the plot's decent, if not stellar. And then we hit combat, where the real meat of the scenario is. Quite a few fights are good... but quite a few of them tend to be hack and slash, with little variation. Overall, it's decent, and you should play it. Just be prepared for some of the best and worst combat to grace Blades. In terms of combat, design, and graphics, this is the worst of the pre-packaged scenarios. However, its plot still trumps Za-Khazi. NOTABLE POINTS * Heavy combat * Decent plot * Empty outdoors * Loot Heavy Enjoyment - Average Starts decent enough. While the whole undead plague bit doesn't exactly draw one in, the designer did include a bit where a guy runs up to you and tells you to leave. It's neat, and helps draw you in to the scenario a bit. You encounter a few bits of what the undead are doing, see the terror on the farmhouses, so forth. Then you talk to Mayanard, start to get into the plot, and find out what the master of the undead is up to. Unfortunately, it's right about here you'll start noticing the combat, if not sooner. Namely, the fact that a good deal of fights consist of waiting, luring the enemy in, and then pounding them with what-have-you until they're dead (again). Then you start noticing issues with plot. It's called Diplomacy with the Dead, but... where's the Diplomacy? It seems more like just beating the crap out of zombies and such. Plot - Good As mentioned, the whole undead plague thing isn't exactly a major draw. However, it soon starts getting more interesting as you delve a little deeper into the dark secrets of Seleucia. A complaint is that there's too much time spent on building up the mystery around Vahkohs, and not enough with the actual diplomacy and dealings with him. You're given very little time to determine if you want to switch sides, and it's a one-time offer to boot. Both sides are rather despicable, but I found myself definitely favoring the Vahkohs side of the equation. That said, both sides are balanced well-enough to be a bit of a dilemma. On one side, a ruthless lord with good publicity and good intentions. On the other, a deadly, evil creature who got the short end of the stick. While not original, the plot was amazingly bullet-proof when it came to player cleverness. It's entirely possible to shoot for a third option and take out both sides, though you have to know what you're doing. Definitely the most satisfying ending, in my opinion, and I'm glad that the option is there for us players who hate both sides. Atmosphere was decent. You got a feeling for the terror surrounding the countryside of Seleucia, and that nowhere was safe. However, the scenario was a smidge too short to really pull it off. Combat - Substandard This is where the meat of the scenario is. Combat. I'm really not sure how to rate combat here. Some of the best fights in the game are placed alongside some of the worst things to ever have the indecency to visit BoA. Unfortunately, the bad side of things tends to win out. Starting on the good side, we have the boss fights. New tricks for every one, along with the need for varying strategies to defeat them, was a very nice touch. In fact, pretty much every unique fight was well done. Fights in most towns were done well too, and were generally kept interesting. There were also some neat encounters such as the trap in the Cavern of Bones. The undead variety was nice, providing a break from the typical skeletons and zombies. I also was pleased to find out that there were a few hidden traps and such in place. Not only that, but there's a few combat encounters in places you wouldn't expect. Both are nice touches. Also, some of the creatures did enough damage to kill of a full-power meat shield armored to the hilt within the space of a round, which made certain strategies somewhat useless. And God help you if they catch you from the rear, where your nice squishy mages are at. Betty, the joinable NPC, was a blessing in this respect. Then we hit the flipside of the coin. While there was variety, there wasn't nearly enough. There was so much potential with scripted abilities that it was a real shame it wasn't used. Then add that to the fact you're often fighting one kind of enemy at a time. If you're fighting zombies, you're fighting only zombies. If you find a skeleton, don't expect much more than skeletons. And so forth. Furthermore, most enemies are melee enemies, meaning that almost every fight that didn't involve a boss could be dealt with by hitting the Wait button and letting the undead come to you. Then we have the rather gratuitous spell exploits available to the party. It's hard to take Lord Mayanard seriously when you can cast Capture Mind and have him kill his own allies for you, then allow you to take free shots at him. Or when you can knock off the super-powerful Vahkohs in two rounds with a careful application of Cloud of Blades and/or Simulacrum. Seriously, would it have killed the designer to make them have Mental Immunity, upped physical resistance, and be Special monsters? While the various traps were nice, some of them had an unfortunate tendency to be utterly useless when you could see them coming. Hit a player once with the spawning trap (you'll know the one), and you catch them off-guard and do some serious damage. Hit a player twice with it, and you still do some serious damage when the player gets caught with their guard only partially up. The tenth time? Yeah, that zombie/skeleton/ghoul won't last the round. Also, someone apparently wasn't paying attention to what undead got what resistances. For example, Burning Bones are vulnerable to fire and immune to ice. Allow me to repeat that. A skeletal monster MADE OF FIRE is vulnerable to getting burned to death. And we also have Foul Skeletons, who have total magic immunity because they... um... smell bad? Does this mean that if I don't take a shower, I'm immune to magical bolts of lightning too? Finally, the fighting tended to devolve into mindless hack'n'slash, particularly versus the outdoor encounters. Once you've figured out how most of the monsters behave, you can take them down quite easily. It becomes a game of buffing up and kicking the rear side of reanimated pelvic bones. Which is sad. (BEWARE, INCOMING RANT) I reserved a special place in this review for the Spectral Warrens, however. Why? Because I'd like to nominate it as THE WORST DUNGEON IN THE HISTORY OF BLADES. Hack'n'slash versus monsters? Okay, I don't mind hack'n'slash, I actually find it enjoyable at times. Complex but well-done maze filled with traps? Count me in. Monsters that can knock a character into next week with a single hit? Awesome. Good atmosphere? Check. And an awesome boss fight to end things? Where could this dungeon POSSIBLY go wrong? Actually, it's right around where the designer thought it'd be a good idea to make the hack'n'slash super monsters respawn EVERY. SINGLE. TURN. Oh, and this happens an infinite number of times, and there's no way to turn it off (other than breaking into the scripts). Yeah, suddenly you're getting swarmed by an unceasing swarm of monsters, and are completely unable to take more than a step without having to reengage an enemy. Believe me, I wish I was exaggerating. Sadly, I'm not. So, to sum up, you're getting swarmed by killer hack'n'slash monsters while having to deal with monsters popping up from traps and navigating a maze, all to reach an otherwise excellent boss fight that becomes aggravating since you're too drained by the spectres to actually do much against the boss. I'm convinced: evil parties don't go to Hell. They're trapped in this awful dungeon for the rest of eternity, forever tortured by hack'n'slash cranked up to absurd levels. (END RANT) Design - Substandard Another sad point for this scenario. The only design that really stood out was Seleucia, which was awesome. Other dungeons, such as the Cavern of Bones, were nicely done. But overall, most of the dungeons and the only other town in this scenario was rather bland. But that's nothing compared to the outdoors in this scenario. The surface map is a solid 3x3 chunk of emptiness. You get trees. You get the occasional encounter. And that's about it. This scenario's surface world could quite easily be compressed into a 2x2 map and be considerably more exciting then it is now. Having to trek over 200 spaces just to get any action is just plain wrong. The underworld, thankfully, was quite a bit better. But it too could have been sized down. Dialog and dialogue was well done, thankfully. A little bit of humor was present, which was a nice touch. But other than that, there isn't much else to mention. Graphics - Average The custom graphics were a nice touch to this scenario... except that several of them had noise in their death animation. It's a little disconcerting to watch goblins or Vampiresses die surrounded by a flurry of white pixels. Other than that, the scenario was visually unimpressive. The outdoors were basically long stretches of the same two trees repeated over... and over... With a river or two thrown in for variety. Towns looked good, and there was definitely a good use of heights. Seleucia in particular was rather impressive. Plus, there were quite a few SFX. However, it just wasn't visually exciting. Scripting - Good There were quite a few neat scripting tricks used here and there. It's extremely solid, which is good, and there were a few interesting effects implemented with it. However, considering this is the one pre-packaged scenario not ported from BoE, I definitely expected a bit more. Still, thinks like teleporting foes away and healing scripts added nice touches. FINAL VERDICT ----[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]----

INCORRUPTIBLE (Version 1.0) SUMMARY - A very short, yet oh-so-satisfying scenario. Tridash clearly put a lot of work into this scenario, and it shows. It's a fun romp with an excellent backstory. I only wish that the story hadn't appeared as walls of text (two-and-a-third full introductory screen), but there wasn't much to be done about that. Combat was on the easy side, though it's certainly fun. And it's designed rather well. Downsides include how fast it cuts off, and how linear it felt at times, but these are relatively minor points. NOTABLE POINTS * Immense plot for the scenario's size * Extremely heavy exposition * Noticably tiny scenario * Easy combat * Well-designed Enjoyment - Good A highly-enjoyable scenario. Fire grenades were certainly fun to play with, the combat was fun, and the plot was interesting. However, it really does cut off too soon. Also, the tons of exposition does take away from the experience somewhat; you wind up getting bombarded with information regarding the world this takes place in and what not. Also, it feels... really linear. I don't mind linear, but at times, it felt more like a short cinematic than a scenario. Plot - Good A great plot, unfortunately compressed into a tiny scenario. This would have been even better if the scenario hadn't been so small, and all that exposition crammed into five minutes of gameplay (ten, if you read it). Still, it's a nice side-trip from the typical Avernum fare, and it makes sense. But the player doesn't really impact the scenario in any way. Heck, there's only one outcome of the final fight no matter how you play it. Combat - Average There's one big problem with this scenario's combat: Not enough. Not nearly enough. There's two fights total, and you can only lose one of them. The fight that you could actually lose was extremely easy; lob a few fire grenades, and you're done. Still, it's fun, and it gives a sense of your opposition's power. But there is definitely some room for improvement. Design - Good Not much to mention here. Town design is nearly flawless, though having a few things to explore would have been nice. My main complaint on this front lies on the Outdoor design; namely, it's just a bunch of trees, for the most part. A little variation would have been nice. A hill, a mountain... something. But other than that, it's just a maze of trees. Nothing jumped out at me from the Dialog/Dialogue front, which is good. It seems error-free as well. Graphics - Good Nice and pretty. There's the jungle trees, the new water, the tents... All quite nice. It captures the essence of the scenario nicely. However, heights weren't used to any great effect in this scenario. Also, the zigguraut looks sort of weird... The solid rectangles definitely stand out from the rest of the graphics. All-in-all, pretty good. Scripting - Good Nothing particularly fancy. It's got the fire grenades, and the asteroids are a nice trick. It also has an enemy that calls for help every turn you fight it. The cutscene is also nifty. Nothing much, but in a scenario this short, every bit counts. FINAL VERDICT ----[rating]GOOD[/rating]----

Originally Posted By: *i For those who asked me to use your scenario, thanks! Could you please get me: Difficulty Version number Keywords I'm guessing Difficulty refers to the level recommendation, not the actual difficulty of the scenario. Either way: Difficulty - Beginner Version Number - 1.0.3 Keywords - Linear, Combat Heavy, Avernum Universe, Short

THE ZA-KHAZI RUN SUMMARY - The third pre-packaged scenario, and undeniably the worst of them. Fortunately, that still means you get a quality scenario. It just isn't nearly as good as the other three pre-packaged scenarios. The plot is simple: Deliver a package to Fort Caviler before the fort falls to evil sliths. You have 2 weeks to navigate a river known as the Za-Khazi Run, and therin lies the problem: it's wild and full of things that consider you lunch. Or worse. Unfortunately, it has quite a few problems. Combat difficulty varies to the point of absurdity, loot balance is on the high side, the terrain encourages exploring, and there's no real pressure on you to finish before the deadline. The plot appears at the beginning, mostly disappears for the rest of the scenario, then reappears at the end. And it drags at the end. Basically, the scenario is one long string of filler dungeons. On the plus side, it looks good and flows smoothly. NOTABLE POINTS * 14 Day time limit * Wildly variable combat difficulty, from moderate to hair-pulling * Lots of combat * Lots of loot. * Plot moves slowly * Beautiful scenery and town design Enjoyment - Average This scenario can easily be described by one word: "Meh". The premise starts exciting, but quickly fizzles out once you realize that the scenario mostly consists of dungeon crawls, several of which are unrelated to your mission (or the plot, really). They're enjoyable dungeon crawls, but a scenario based on a time limit really needs to keep the pace up. This did... not. The time limit does serve one practical purpose: it stops you from visiting every dungeon. While this may seem like a bad thing, by the time you're reaching the end, you're hoping for a reprieve from the constant dungeon crawling. The scenario plods along at a leisurely pace, with nothing really happening unless you get overly distracted by the various dungeons and lose track of time. Otherwise, it's quite easy to make it within 14 days. There are good points as well, though. Fights didn't get overly repetitive; most of them required you to employ different tactics, and generally required more than just blindly running up and smacking an enemy. And the scenery... good lord, the scenery. The scenario has quite a lot of eye-candy when it comes to outdoor and town design. But other than that, don't expect overly much in the way of entertainment. And the Poppy Shrooms... Well, let me just say there's a reason I go for the special item that protects you against them every single time I play this scenario. Plot - Substandard There's not much I can say when it comes to plot. Mostly because you could lift what exists of one right out of the scenario and it wouldn't harm it much at all. Weren't paying attention when Yale told you about your mission? Don't worry! It never has any real bearing on what you do anyway. As mentioned earlier, the plot disappears for pretty much the entire scenario, reducing it to one dungeon crawl after another. In other words, it's an excuse plot for why you're leisurely rafting down a river and kicking the crap out of the local fauna. Of what there is, it's alright. However, it's nothing inspired. War with sliths, run down a river and perform a rescue before a fort falls. Now, this could still be interesting if it was carried over into the actual main part of the scenario. But no, it just serves as the starting point and the denouement, and nothing more. Combat - Average Combat was intriguing and fun. If you want to get an idea of the variety, take a look at the scenario's folder and count the number of creature scripts there. Yeah, you get critters that spit acid, critters that paralyze, critters that cast spells, critters that turn into more critters when killed, critters that drain life, critters that are capable of knocking even the sturdiest character into next week... The list goes on. The combat gets mixed up enough that it avoids getting overly tedious. Which is good, considering there's enough combat in this scenario to satisfy even the most combat-happy players. There's just one catch. The difficulty of the combat varies. Massively. Some fights, you don't have to enter combat mode to deal with. Others will hand you your party's collective butts on a golden platter again and again. If you were to quantify and graph the difficulty of the scenario at various points, you'd have something that'd look more like blueprint for a rollercoaster. Some of it winds up a little outside what any L18 party should have to deal with, such as the the Haakai (L40, with four difficult monsters backing it up), Khoth (L50, with two persistantly regenerating golems), or *shudder* Dark Wyrms (L30 but likely capable of defeating the former two). Each of these is optional, but unless you've played this scenario before, you'll need to fight one of them. Invulnerability Potions, Capture Mind, and Slow are your friends. Because the combat difficulty... isn't. And the frustration caused by the difficult combat, followed up by the tedium caused by some of the easier combat, hurts this scenario. On a side note, this scenario makes me wonder whether the designer has a thing for worms. Seriously, we've got Wyrms, Pit Wurms, the Wurm Queen, Dark Wyrms, Slimy Worms... Three places dedicated to worms (Blood Glee Clan Basement, Pit of Wurms, and Wormy Hollow, respectively)... Half of the combat in this scenario is worms! Design - Good This scenario's shining point. With fifteen outdoor sections total, it's difficult to make every single one appealing, and not repitious. But it's done, and the result is excellent. It flows smoothly, there's very few hang-ups anywhere. Town design works well and flows smoothly, dialog (or what little there is of it) is clean and typo-free, and the puzzles mostly work. It's generally designed well, it doesn't have bugs... My only complaint is that some things are made somewhat counter-intuitively (the password undead come to mind, with the password in some random cave). But other than that, it functions well. Graphics - Good Not outstanding, but very nice nonetheless. Tons of eye candy and small touches everywhere serve to liven up an otherwise somewhat dull scenario. Everything looks either very realistic or pretty. Moods are set well by the appearance of towns and outdoor sections. A few custom graphics are used, though I do wish there were more used. This scenario could use a few more unique graphics for it. Additionally, the poppy shrooms didn't quite look right. Other than that though, make sure to take in some of the scenery. Scripting - Good Nothing cutting edge, but then, this is a pre-packaged scenario. Still, there were several script-driven abilities employed by enemies. A custom ability was coded in, though you had to earn it. And there was several nice touches added in here and there (the sparklers, for one). Overall, the scripting in this scenario is employed very effectively. FINAL VERDICT ----[rating]AVERAGE[/rating]----

I'll freely offer up Witch Hunt, if that's what you mean.

You can kill it. Or you can set the appropriate book on one of its mats.

Correction: Strength has no bearing on a character's encumbrance in A1-BoA. It simply affects how much the character can carry and how hard they can hit with melee weapons. That said, each level of Enfeebling reduces strength by a full point, so it's very easy to wind up with every point of strength sapped, leaving you able to carry a whopping 50 pounds and with all the attack power of a fruitfly.

Dionicio still needs his victory condition nerfed slightly. Having every role by the end of the game is way too hard for his role, and has absolutely no margin for error. Especially considering that the end of the game could be as early as Day 3. An idea: leave it at all roles, but make it so that submitting a list will give you the number of roles you got correct (not which ones, though). And you can only do it once per day. Or, follow Marlenny's suggestion, and cut it down to 13 or 14 out of 16. Or, make it so that Dionicio has to know the names and roles of the Darksider targets by the end of the game.

I would make a better distinction between Rank 2 and 3. I generally think of "Average" and "Mediocre" being the same thing when it comes to ranking quality. Especially since "Average" can be interpreted as median, which is about the same as Mediocre. Maybe a "Poor, Mediocre, Good, Great, Outstanding"? As for the Global Mod thing, I am a little concerned. Not with the actual mods, mind, that's fine. But I am concerned with how many of them would actually keep an eye on the board (I've counted three Global Mods that have an avested interest in BoA), and with the fact that all of them have responsibilities elsewhere as well. I think we need a couple low level regular mods, dedicated to the review forum and nothing else. They could stay on top of new developments in the BoA community without having to worry about the rest of the forums as well.

I'd go "Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, Outstanding". But that's just me. But it raises a question: if we change the format, are we going to port old reviews over? And if so, how do we plan to make said ports compatible with the new format? Anyway, I like that idea. It could work well. As for the histogram... why not just give a list of percentages for each opinion of the scenario. Like this: Quote: Reviewer Opinions of Uber-Awesome-Scenario 0/5 (0%) Outstanding 3/5 (60%) Excellent 1/5 (20%) Good 1/5 (20%) Mediocre 0/5 (0%) Poor Simpler and easier to manage. And it could then be sorted into the five lists going by the mode review (so this would be an Excellent). Taken a step further, we could add common opinions to it as well (Hard combat, so forth). Though maybe that's taking it too far.

Actually, come to think of it, Vahkos is simultaneously over-powered and underpowered. He's nigh-unkillable, but he lacks the firepower to really do anything. Take a look at this match: Despite making it to the end and unleashing hell, he wound up completely unable to take out the two remaining players when logic dictates he should. So, an idea: Make the spirits Offensive in nature only, and not defensive. Maybe allow him to choose, once-per-game, a spirit that will act defensively. But as he is, he's just a stalemate waiting to happen. Or, perhaps, grant him a set of, say, ten spells that he can cast at any time, but only gets to use each once.

Originally Posted By: Marlenny Originally Posted By: Nioca Stuff I agree with the roles bit. It has gotten much more harder to learn roles now than when the rule was first implemented for the Machrone. The Dionicio's ability for one role was taken away, same with the Spyre, and the knowledge brew is just useless (40 coins for a random role?). But most importantly people have gotten so much better at lying and covering up their roles. Expecting anyone to know all 16 roles or lose seems a bit tough, something like identify 10/16 or even 13/16 seems fair though. It's not just that. You have no indication whether you got it right or not. You just have to pray that someone hasn't pulled a fast one on you, because if they have... *draws finger across throat* Quote: As per the how hard it is to defeat the DLs, not quite. The Dionicio has got a fairly good winning rate (from what I can remember), and he is quite tough. His first shot would be to go straight for the Anama. Combine that with an Ironskin balm to sit in his inventory in case he gets attacked, and he is pretty much unstoppable. ...Hard-ish, then.

Originally Posted By: Sleeping Dragon I thought all was lost for me on Day 1 when Andraste blew her identity somehow and died, and then there was the fact that the Darkside Mage was missing. Overall, the DLs were thoroughly doomed from the start. My Shanker charade only worked so well because the real Shanker was inactive for the first few days. I'm curious as to how everyone eventually figure out I wasn't the real Shanker. Or did Nioca think he was attacking Shanker when he killed me? I knew you were the Blademaster. You told me. Well, actually, it was Marlenny that clued me in, but when she first told me, I didn't believe it. However, when you started getting hyper-persistent I go after Duck with the wand of death, it raised a few red flags. When you offered to help me only if I killed Duck, I knew Marlenny was right (why would Shanker wait to help me and advocate killing?). Originally Posted By: Marlenny And where exactly is the: "Kill Gladwell or the holder of the Holy Spirit by day 4" rule? It isn't that. Both are immune to spirits, and Vahkos only gets one direct attack a day. If you've got the holder of the Holy Symbol and a faction leader standing by Day 5, it's as good as an instant loss, since Vahkos can only take one of them out. Oh, and Xelgion? What the heck was with you this time? Not only did you push Sarachim into an untimely death, but you also wound up suiciding yourself. Seriously, "making things smoother" is not a good reason to attack somebody, and as was demonstrated, can backfire rather horribly. Your direct attack on me though really bumps me; even if I hadn't lied to you about my Box of Traps wearing off, you still would have lost. I wasn't an enemy, and thus would have gotten first strike.

Originally Posted By: Marlenny Also, is it possible to discuss how everyone feels about the box of traps protecting someone from the Wand of Death? I particularly don't like it, especially given how rare the Wand is. Perhaps we should consider making the box just as rare. I'd like to know how everyone feels about this. Nor do I. In fact, I thought Sarachim had just rushed me with a Physical attack. But I do think there needs to be something that can be used to counter it. Maybe an invulnerability potion that makes you unkillable, but with a short life (Say, 12hrs? or 6?). Originally Posted By: *i 1) Nioca. You somehow came close to winning. Had you listed the roles correctly, you would have won. Your stunt at the beginning ensured no one trusted you and probably contributed. You probably did more for Vahkos than Sporefrog ever could by drawing attention to yourself. You sound surprised. I also got screwed somewhat by Sporefrog revealing he was Vahkos. It made me backtrack and assume that Sarachim was the Skribbane Addict again. Plus, Wz As as the Trickster came from nowhere (I'd say he did a bit TOO well this time around ). - Alright, a few thoughts about roles. * Dionicio really gets the short end of the stick when it comes to his victory condition. Offing all the Darksiders can be pretty tricky as it is, but if Dionicio gets even one role wrong, he winds up screwed. And this is likely, considering that there's probably going to be a role that either keeps itself concealed to the end (Trickster) or dies early and is mostly a mystery. Add on to that that the list has to be correct when everyone else finishes their victory conditions, and... well, yeah. It seemed a bit unfair, in my opinion. My suggestion would be to change it so that he has to make sure at least two Darksider targets survives (him excluded, obviously), and that he knows the DL Target list from the start. It's more connected to his role, still difficult, and makes it so he isn't just a role that kills people. Maybe also change his ability to act as a bodyguard for 24hrs for a certain person, intercepting attacks. Might add an interesting dynamic. * Vahkos was interesting. However, I don't think making him so it requires a group to beat him is a good idea. While I know you don't like the idea of a single person KOing Vahkos, trying to get 15 players who don't trust each other, some of which need to kill each other, to cooperate is like trying to herd cats. On fire. It just doesn't work. Making it require the effort of a small alliance could do it, though. Maybe make it so he can only hold a certain maximum number of spirits at one time? Or maybe build in a secondary use of the Holy Symbol which, instead of its normal use, a person can activate it and fire it at a target, obliterating several (or all) spirits at one time if it hits Vahkos? It'd count as an ability use, so the shooter couldn't fire and then pounce, but it'd keep Vahkos on his toes. - Now onto mechanics. * I hated the new Stealth mechanic. I'm sorry, but I really did. In a game that's already confusing, making it so you can't be sure the person you were talking to was already was just a bit too much. New idea: Standard and Power roles, on a kill, leave a clue as to what role made the kill (Reveals attack type, skill level, whether it was defensive, whether the opponents were enemies, etc.) along with making a person suspicious. Stealth, even defensively, leaves no such trace, and there's only a 50% chance of a person being suspicious. * Just an opinion, but there needs to be a few more items in the Mod shop. Five just seems stingy, especially considering the stock doesn't change unless something is purchased. * The Ring of Magery seems to... well, suck. If you're being attacked, hitting the attacker's immunities is likely to be a moot point. Besides, having an artifact that only works for mages just doesn't seem right. Maybe replace it with a shield of some kind that allows you to choose your immunity (but can only be switched every 24hrs). Or bring back the Assassin's Leather. - Anyway, I enjoyed the game. Just wish I would have won. Missed by two roles... But yeah, I won't be pulling that role claim stunt again. It didn't work quite like I planned.

I hate it when I'm right.

Originally Posted By: wz. As I can't speak for Stareye, but I'd imagine the question he wants answered right now is, "If I create a CSR on the Spiderweb Boards in the way I have been describing, will you all help write reviews and/or help moderate it?" The answer, for me anyway, is yes. I'd even moderate the BoA one and would help transfer SV reviews over to it.