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Moral dilemmas in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 18:16 Profile Homepage #14
I stand by my statement. The adventurers are fakes sent by the real bandits to keep the real adventurers away.

—Alorael, who felt worst about Crain. He isn't even a bad guy, he's just stiff-necked and reasonably disinclined to get stuck with a dangerously honor-bound family.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Looking for similar games. in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 18:14 Profile Homepage #19
I disagree. The only thing Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate have in common is (A)D&D, and not even the same version of it. Neverwinter Nights has snazzy 3D graphics and a heavily single-character design with a pretty significantly different interface and perspective. It's not an upgrade at all.

I prefer the fully third person and fully party-oriented Baldur's Gate design.

—Alorael, who also disagrees that Diablo is fully over. The plot was never really the point, and as long as gameplay keeps improving, nobody will groan too much about illogical plot twists. Actually, people will groan because people love to groan, but Diablo 3 would still sell like a game that sells many copies.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Party Useful Skills? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 18:09 Profile Homepage #8
Because Parry isn't dependent on enemies, it should theoretically improve as difficulty goes up. I never seemed to get greater chances to parry from increasing Parry, though, and I don't know why. With high Gymnastics it didn't really matter.

—Alorael, who disagrees somewhat with doing consistently higher damage with thrown weapons. This is true in the beginning and to maybe a little bit past halfway through the game, but then bows and thrown are about the same for a while before bows pull ahead. Also, you can (and should) give bows even to characters with no Dexterity or training with bows. They'll still hit and do a fair amount of damage reasonably often.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Moral dilemmas in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 14:27 Profile Homepage #6
Commander Crewl, not Drew. And the mage is in Bargha, not Dharmon, which should never merge with Narnia.

—Alorael, who is quite sure that the Honeycomb adventurers are a plant by very clever bandits who know that the greatest threat they face is adventurers. Surely adventurers wouldn't be willing to kill their own!
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Bandit Castle in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 14:23 Profile Homepage #2
Another, ever so slightly more specific hint: you're looking for another bandit key that isn't bronze. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with one in the other dens of banditry. If you've cleared them out already, go back and poke through chests and boxes.

—Alorael, who couldn't be more specific even if he so desired because he can't remember where he found his keys.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Swords or Spears? in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Friday, January 6 2006 14:21 Profile Homepage #24
Fortunately, in Exile turning a mean man with two little swords into a mean man with one huge sword is as simple as changing equipment. A pair of absurdly overpowered waveblades and a single absurdly overpowered greatsword are perfect.

—Alorael, who never ran into such terribly armored foes that a greatsword literally wouldn't cut it and only a halberd could do the job.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Swords or Spears? in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 22:08 Profile Homepage #15
If A and not-A are both true, then any following proposition is also true. In that sense I suppose my current name is the left side of a tautology of sorts, because whatever follows the ellipsis is true.

"If Alorael and not Alorael, then you are not reading this post, never have, and never will." This is a logically valid statement. I'm not quite comfortable with calling it a tautology, though.

—Alorael, who would rather go with Thuryl's definition. Ignore the if because there is no following proposition and accept that his name is a contradiction. And this is all highly irrelevant to the thread.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Like Anyone Cares... in Richard White Games
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:53 Profile Homepage #25
A truly RWesque being would be a chicken with several heads, none on the neck. And maybe some extra limbs, like tentacles. And fangs, not necessarily anywhere near the heads.

Feed it right on a steady diet of Black Mark Cabbages and I could see it going far.

—Alorael, who can see the terrified masses going farther and faster. But that's as it should be.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Where is the key ? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:47 Profile Homepage #17
If I'm translating that right, and I speak no French, that would be "that's the main thing" "or that's the important thing," which means it should be principal, not principle, and the sentence was exactly right as written.

Actually, that makes it an even better pun, because "it's the principle of the thing" is an English expression about what's important, only it's supposed to be moral principles instead of money.

[Edit: Okay, my translation was rough, but it should at least adhere to standard syntax in some language!]

—Alorael, who killed it by explanation. It really is funny, though, and everyone involved is probably getting sent to the special level of hell reserved for those who torture words.

[ Thursday, January 05, 2006 21:48: Message edited by: If Alorael and not Alorael... ]
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
gremlin wine? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:40 Profile Homepage #7
It's simply a matter of going up the stairs (the western stairs, specifically) in the tower ruins, killing many things, and then killing an even tougher thing. Some levers have to be pulled, too.

—Alorael, who promises that it doesn't technically require more than a single trip up the stairs and can be finished as soon as you arrive at the Tower Colony. Some of the fights are hard, though, and it might be easier to wait a little while before facing certain large, blue menaces.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Wikipedia: Skribbane in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:38 Profile Homepage #34
quote:
From the latest entry:
One Thing I Know For Sure About the Next Child

I’m not going to write about it.

You know how people take tons of pictures of their first kid but hardly record anything about the second? This will be like that, writ large. The first child gets a whole book about her, published and everything. The second child gets, well, a copy of the book but with Cordelia’s name crossed out and hers written in with ballpoint pen.

And someday, when the next child comes to me and says, “Father, why didn’t you write a book about me too?” I will simply lift her on my knee, smile in my wise old way, sigh, and say, “Well, if you wanted me to write about you, you just should have been more interesting.”
So there you go.

—Alorael, who still has his SEP membership card and commemorative lead pipe around somewhere. He knows he should really use it instead of the rifle, but bad habits are so hard to break.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum:4 vs Blades Of Avernum which is the best? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:35 Profile Homepage #52
Our tangents have grown tangents.

—Alorael, who disputes any claim that English is uniquely idiosyncratic. All languages (except recently fabricated ones) have their foibled. Yes, some more than others, and English among those, but let he who is without warped syntax cast the first gerund.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Game speed in combat mode in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:29 Profile Homepage #2
It's less of an issue. Most of the buffs will either effectively last forever or wear off reasonably quickly even in combat mode. Other than those, time doesn't matter. There's no clock ticking, no food to lose, and no light spell to run out.

Additionally, there is now an incentive to end combat now and then in the form of First Aid.

—Alorael, who can say with assurance that there is no longer a change in time when you're outdoors because there are only two modes, combat and non-combat. Outdoors became just a sprawling extension of town mode.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Swords or Spears? in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 21:25 Profile Homepage #11
Exiles of all sorts: swords, spears, and maces. Since I use three fighters, I can maintain this happy balance. Unfortunately, maces have a distinct tendency to be worthless, but the other two both have their moments.

Avernum trilogy and BoA: Swords and spears. They're both useful at the right times. Besides, you don't need oodles of artifact weapons. You only need one, and there are enough good spears floating around that that one can be found. Or made for yourself, if you're in the mood.

A4: Both again, although I'm less convinced than others that spears are equal to swords.

—Alorael, who would go with swords if he had to pick just one. Shields are an advantage, and nice swords practically leap into your hands. Spears with additional poking power have to be dredged up from the deepest pits of not fun caverns.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum:4 vs Blades Of Avernum which is the best? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 17:02 Profile Homepage #45
Stringing together separate sentences with "and" is a common sign of a nervous and inexperienced speaker, especially in public. Otherwise, I've usually heard and used as a conjuction.

"So" gets used as an all-purpose announcement that words are about to be spoken. I like to think of it as a sort of hwæt according to Seamus Heaney's translation of the first word of Beowulf. "So! I'm talking. Pay attention."

"Okay" and "cool" are often noncommittal but rarely non-lexical. I suppose the former is occasionally a semi-lexical prompt to continue.

—Alorael, who has heard minimal "like" insertion from people of all ages, genders (all two!) and walks of life. Well, not all walks of life, because he can't really claim to have listened to people of all walks of life, but many. "Well" is an insertion used similarly to but less emphatically than so. Maybe both "well" and "so" should be replaced by "hwæt" altogether.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Postaroni, Pizzabella! in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 16:53 Profile Homepage #70
He sent two, actually.

—Alorael, who has given his response.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Our Anthem in Richard White Games
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:52 Profile Homepage #24
The celebration is on the same day every year. It's the other dates that we move.

I went to the funeral before it never happened. It was a very nice one for the first two years, but then it had been less nice. And I really feel like this requires indefinite and imperfect past tenses to describe accurately.

—Alorael, who almost boggled, whatever that is, until he realized that no true Mr Meanor would have a period in his name.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A4 Demo in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:46 Profile Homepage #35
I didn't catch it in time, but perhaps.

—Alorael, who is not convinced that the ae is a dipthong. As Brits can assure you, ae frequently makes a long E sound, so his name could be spelled Aloreel (although according to the Americanizatino of said British words he'd be Alorel instead). Or it could be an Old English ash, æ, which would make the syllable that lovely, unique nasal A found frequently in the prefix mal-.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Where is the key ? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:42 Profile Homepage #15
In addition to its other meanings, a principal is also a formal, semi-legalese term for an employer. So Giscard can be seen as the principal in your agreement to get rid of the goblin in exchange for a reward, or principal, which he pays upon completion of the task because he holds to his business principles.

—Alorael, who can assure Synergy that there is no lone pun appreciation on Spiderweb.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Who else hates the job board? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:35 Profile Homepage #4
I don't really mind the job board. It's not as though most of the quests require a great deal of dialogue.

"Hey, you! Adventurer! I have a letter that I would like you to take to some other city if you're headed in that direction!"

The job board does just as well and makes those minor quests centrally located.

—Alorael, who agrees that having to check back to get all the quests is a significant irritation. It seems to be less dependent on events than on some decision not to let you have too many active quests from the same board.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Wikipedia: Skribbane in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:32 Profile Homepage #28
Vahnatai wasn't exactly a well-received article, either.

—Alorael, who can live without spreading the skribbane gospel. The fewer who know, the fewer who cut into his supply.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Avernum:4 vs Blades Of Avernum which is the best? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:27 Profile Homepage #41
What do they signify around inferiors? I certainly haven't noticed any drop in meaningless insertions on the part of any superiors I've had to listen to.

[Edit: Half a pair of errors. It could be worst.]

—Alorael, who also can't say that all of his superiors have been prone to insertions. Perhaps there is a causal link. If you, like, pare down you language, you could, like, become the boss!

[ Thursday, January 05, 2006 16:56: Message edited by: If Alorael and not Alorael... ]
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
Postaroni, Pizzabella! in General
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:25 Profile Homepage #68
Djur earned his title the hard way, by winning a competition that required brains and access to the Novah lexicon.

—Alorael, who earned his title the easy way, by posting hellaciously.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
gremlin wine? in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Thursday, January 5 2006 15:19 Profile Homepage #2
quote:
Written by Synergy in another thread
I believe it only takes four bottles of wine to make the gremlin happy. You found the two in the storeroom, and the one sold by the wine seller east of Formello. There are two bottles upstairs in a locker in Giscard's house. There is one in the Gremlin Cave near Silvar. There is one in Hrosharr's bandit fortress in the SW Honeycomb. I think there is one other one in the E. Gallery somewhere...maybe in a bandit lair there.
[Edit: Why must UBB mock me?]

—Alorael, who also sold the wine before completing the quest and who came up with the necessary wine without putting any effort into it. Also note that you can simply kill the gremlin to complete the quest.

[ Thursday, January 05, 2006 15:22: Message edited by: If Alorael and not Alorael... ]
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00
A4 Demo in Avernum 4
Or else o'erleap.
Law Bringer
Member # 335
 written Wednesday, January 4 2006 21:14 Profile Homepage #24
Aloreal isn't anybody. I spell my moniker of choice with the E as the last vowel.

I'm also not quite sure what I think about being female, male, and neuter in one post.

—Alorael, who is male except in certain vicious rumors once spread by a Spidwebber now absent.
Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00

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