Profile for Or else o'erleap.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Or else o'erleap. |
| Member number | 335 |
| Title | Law Bringer |
| Postcount | 14579 |
| Homepage | http://www.polarisboard.net |
| Registered | Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Your soul crystal slots in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, January 9 2005 09:24
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The slot filled is chosen randomly each time you cast Capture Soul. There's no need to erase something if you want something else, because it can be overwritten. The downside, of course, is that you can easily overwrite the creatures you want and not the ones you don't want (or empty slots). —Alorael, who has stopped using soul crystals. He never bothers to summon anything with them anyway, so actually capturing things is a waste of time and spell energy. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Trouble with Berra's clues and Anaximander in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 8 2005 17:37
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Not a whole lot. They leave some fun surprises behind for you in the quarter of the city that you couldn't enter before and escape through a tunnel that you can't get through. It makes their guilt stunningly obvious, but you should have figured it out already. —Alorael, who will give one piece of advice that will help you in your lack of a Bunker weapon. If you get into a fight with Crystal Souls, don't kill them. Running away through a secret door is more helpful. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Did I just hear that?!? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 8 2005 17:31
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I've seen "kh" for gutturals before, usually in transliterated hebrew. That doesn't make it especially good, but at least "kh" is pretty clearly a sound that doesn't appear in English. "Ch" is already reserved. —Alorael, who thinks the alphabet should be updated to include more sounds. Then everyone can learn esperanto and there will be world peace. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Did I just hear that?!? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 8 2005 10:01
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I don't think any body parts are fresh and new after a few years, with the exception of teeth, hair, skin, and nails. Oh, sure, they're "well maintained" and "refurbished," but I don't trust these cells after so many generations. —Alorael, who supposes that a better term would be unused. And he thinks he'll abandon this line of speculation now. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Recommended Reading in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 8 2005 09:54
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Her writing isn't that bad. Actually, it's quite good. It's her plots and characters that are questionable. If you actually think about the characters and what they're doing, you notice that they tend not to make any sense or deserve any empathy. —Alorael, who likes some of Feist's first books. They have gone constantly downhill. Writing books based on games based on the world you created should always be taken as a bad sign. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Trouble with Berra's clues and Anaximander in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 8 2005 09:49
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Getting Berra to analyze evidence is rather counterintuitive. You need to go through dialogue that doesn't have much to do with the evidence before he'll do anything useful. You get into the Bunker by talking to Commander Johnson, not Anaximander. I don't think there have been any problems with that for anyone else, but the evidence has had problems. As others have said, though, it's not much of a problem. You only need to get the evidence and the Bunker for one weapon, and it isn't even especially necessary. A few haste spells and some running works just as well. —Alorael, who will add that the Orb of Thralni lets you meet Erika. The golems will still block your way, but the bridge isn't necessary when you can fly. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Did I just hear that?!? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, January 7 2005 18:05
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Looks like they share a root to me. Hymen is the root of a number of words pertaining to wedlock. (Strangely enough, hymen was a generic term for membranes until only a few hundred years ago.) One of the derived words, hymenaios, meant a wedding song, presumably praising Hymen. From there, it may have evolved into a song of divine praise in general. So yes, hymn and hymen share a root, but hymn doesn't come directly from hymen. Their common root is either in weddings or in a god. —Alorael, who would also be rather surprised to see that connection come up on Christian radio. In America, at least, that's a bit too risqué for the Puritan underpinnings of most Christian sects. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, January 7 2005 17:49
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While everyone can come up with a plot, and many are good ones, we've wandered a little bit from speculation about what Jeff will do. A bandit party is unlikely; it's too far off the beaten, money-making path. A sudden appearance of a new influence is quite possible, though. The vahnatai played that role (possibly as literal aliens) in E2/A2. There's no reason that Jeff couldn't pull a similar stunt in A4. —Alorael, who actually considers it quite likely. Unless there is some kind of political struggle between the Empire and Avernum or the game revolves around killing vahnatai (ugh), there aren't many enemies left to pound. The slithzerikai and nephilim already got thorough ethnic cleansing in A1 and A2. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Avernum vs Exile in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, January 7 2005 11:03
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The polls never get anywhere anyway. It's all in the arguments, which are always exactly the same. —Alorael, who cordially invites you to read the last topic before saying anything. Chances are good that it has been said. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Recommended Reading in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, January 6 2005 17:16
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I like the Wheel of Time too. Nope, not much happens, but it doesn't happen in a good way. I also happen to like the world Jordan created, which often counts for more than book content in my, well, book. Stephen R. Donaldson is wonderful as long as you have a strong constitution and no aversion to watch characters go through hell and not come out the other side. —Alorael, who will bring up C. S. Friedman again. The Coldfire Trilogy is somewhere between scif-fi and fantasy, closer to the latter, and it has my two favorite unexpected character deaths. In Conquest Born can only be described as different, and it is very different. Don't read if you like to easily empathize with characters. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Spiderweb Software games... On handhelds? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Thursday, January 6 2005 12:28
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Exactly every day, except in special cases like when I am away from all internet connections. —Alorael, who gets to change his name daily because he is especially special. The same can be said for the other regular name changers, like Aran. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, January 3 2005 17:35
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Waveblades and razordisks are good but not remarkably powerful weapons, as you can see when you equip your PCs with them. Giving a vahnatai inferior gear would of course make it less effective, but there's more to it than what it swings or hurls. —Alorael, who isn't sure how much can be read into vahnatai taste in clothing. They don't wear pants or jewelry because they don't wear them, not necessarily because they can't. The lack of armor is a more likely sign of frailty, although the lack of even the lightest armor again suggests either a lack of knowledge or, more likely, a preference against armor. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, January 3 2005 13:24
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Going by the monsters in Exile/Avernum, vahnatai are anything but weak, and not only in the magic department. Ordinary vahnatai make challenging enemies at low to mid levels. Vahnatai warriors are a real danger, and the tougher vahnatai make the end of E3/A3 extremely painful. You can make a case for placement in the game dictating power rather than vice versa, but all evidence points to vahnatai being really, really vicious fighters. I'd go with what Angry Ogre, Aran, and BtI have said. They're not particularly tough, but they are extraordinarily skilled and emphasize the advantages they have. A vahnatai PC race would only need to have a few things, like a bonus with melee weapons and maybe speed, to make a convincing novice vahnatai. Fifty levels and a great deal of training later, you'll see your vahnatai blademaster doing what blademasters do best. [Edit: Redundancy? Redundancy? Redundancy?] —Alorael, who similarly sees no need for super magical power inherent in all vahnatai. Some of them are powerful, yes, but they have the benefit of training for longer than most other races are alive. [ Monday, January 03, 2005 13:25: Message edited by: Amazingly Alliterative ] Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Spiderweb Software games... On handhelds? in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, January 2 2005 17:21
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That depends. If it comes painted onto the side of a very expensive yacht, he might consider it. —Alorael, who would like to know whether the Exile games will be updated with new graphics and stuff. They're getting pretty old, and a facelift would really do them a world of good. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Racism in Avernum. in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, January 2 2005 17:09
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The Empire's complete fear of heterogeneous and complete willingness to practice genocide ensures a uniform skin color, more or less. Besides, it becomes more difficult to identify Avernites by skin color if there are already a variety of skin colors, including those that don't became translucently pale in the absence of sunlight. —Alorael, who only assumes that some skin colors don't turn translucent when away from light. As far as he knows, it hasn't exactly been heavily tested. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Racism in Avernum. in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, January 2 2005 09:13
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With some notable exceptions like Commander Johnson, most Avernites seem to take at least a neutral view towards other races. I guess being the banished dregs of a society teaches you acceptance? —Alorael, who thinks you're looking at it backwards. If humans on Earth can't get along with each other, why would they get along with non-humans on Ermarian? If there's anything dependable about people, it's bigotry. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| (A3) Under Tinraya- Editor Got Me In Trouble? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, January 2 2005 09:09
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It's also possible, although pretty unlikely, that the Tinraya SDFs are tied to something else, or just written strangely, so that a value of 0 isn't helpful. —Alorael, who would like to know how Jeff got through programming the game if he can't keep his SDFs straight. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, January 1 2005 14:24
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May 2005 be much like the good parts of 2004 and not much like the bad parts at all! —Alorael, whose only nod to the calendar change is constant low-level irritation at the need to cross out fours and write fives. Well, that and a night of crazed revelry. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| (A3) Under Tinraya- Editor Got Me In Trouble? in The Avernum Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Tuesday, December 28 2004 17:14
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I'm pretty sure that he already said that he doesn't remember the A3 SDFs anymore. You're probably out of luck. —Alorael, who is a great advocate of the daily save file. Unless a few KB of space matter to you, never save over your old games! Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| lava dome question in The Exile Trilogy | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Monday, December 27 2004 21:59
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You, on the other hand, revive topics nearly two months dead. I'll take the double posts, personally. —Alorael, who will kill this topic that never really needed to exist in the firstplace. 25% of the posts within it are meaningful. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| A Hypothetical in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, December 26 2004 21:44
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Both men are not guilty of driving; driving is not a crime. They are not guilty of drinking; drinking is also not a crime. Drinking and driving on an absolutely enclosed and private track is dangerous but should not be illegal, as the only victim is also the perpetrator. By the same reasoning, driving while drunk is not a crime except that it endangers others. Similarly, driving while sober an an area packed with pedetrians is criminal, because it risks the lives of the pedestrians. The greater the risk, the worse the crime. In theoretically identical circumstances, the two drivers are equally guilty and deserve equal punishment regardless of the outcome. However, because laws have to function in the real world, not a test laboratory, the results count for something. If person A crashed and killed someone while person B did not, the circumstances of person A's crash were riskier enough to result in fatality. Fair? Not always. But on probability, you're going to get people who caused more risk convicted for those risks more often. —Alorael, who knows that's a flawed system. The punitive aspect of the legal system is inherently flawed, because evidence and juries are imperfect. He also understands that conviction on probability is what lets Texas get away with its gung-ho attitude towards death sentences. Maybe his thought process needs revision. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| A Hypothetical in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, December 26 2004 13:20
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Hence it is a deterrent. I agree that retributive punishment has no value. However, I would say that hitting a parked car is a lesser crime than hitting a person. One may drunkenly not care about smashing into parked vehicles while still maintaining the presence of mind to avoid hitting people in the same location. Thus, the circumstancial crime is one of property damage, not manslaughter. That, however, leaves the family of the person killed feeling cheated. It also means that one can get away with less likely manslaughter more easily than plausible manslaughter. As Alec said, it even makes a good cover for deliberate actions, as unlikely as they may be. —Alorael, who would conclude that someone who crashed into an empty parked car should be given a lesser sentence than someone who hit an occupied parked car, but that the former deserves a punishment more severe than someone who gets drunk and repeatedly bashes a parked car with a lead pipe while the latter deserves a punishment less severe than someone who hits a pedestrian not in any car. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| New Year's Resolutions in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Sunday, December 26 2004 13:04
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I resolve to gain the willpower to keep my resolutions. —Alorael, who figures he probably won't manage this one unless it's the only one he makes. Start small, right? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Saturday, December 25 2004 10:55
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Well. On the one hand, the plots of Nethergate and the Geneforges came after the Exile/Avernum plots, which were his first and admittedly rough works. On the other hand, he could just have an Avernum mentality. A war of succession would be good, but I expect a vahnatai war with little justification instead. —Alorael, who is also a proud and unrepentant pessimist. Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |
| Morality question in General | |
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Law Bringer
Member # 335
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written Friday, December 24 2004 12:28
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I'd send Dr. Xavier a letter explaining that he is about to be sued like he's never been sued before. Then I can see what he's willing to cough up to keep me quiet. —Alorael, who would like to see the results of an anti-Milgram experiment where test subjects are told that their "victims" are actors in such a way that it seems like they're not supposed to know. Then, when they crank it up all the way without worrying, have the scientist inform them that they were tricked and they actually did kill someone. What psychological effects would that cause? Posts: 14579 | Registered: Saturday, December 1 2001 08:00 |