Profile for Verloc
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Verloc |
| Member number | 5489 |
| Title | Apprentice |
| Postcount | 4 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
Recent posts
| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Root of all evil in General | |
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Apprentice
Member # 5489
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written Friday, February 11 2005 06:49
Profile
The root of all evil is: Lack of self-knowledge/lack of capacity for self-reflection. In other words, the inability or unwillingness to reflect critically and honestly about one's own actions and motivations. [ Friday, February 11, 2005 06:52: Message edited by: Verloc ] -------------------- "What we can say with confidence is that Rome fell gradually--and that Romans, for many decades, scarcely noticed what was happening." --Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization Posts: 4 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
| Speculating about Avernum 4's plot in General | |
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Apprentice
Member # 5489
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written Friday, February 11 2005 06:23
Profile
I don't understand why everyone is so gung-ho about supporting the Empire. From a game play and scenario design standpoint, I feel very constrained by the fact that the Empire dominates like almost the entire surface of the earth. The impression we get from the BoA scenarios is that the Empire is incompetent and unethical (as in VoDT), frequently corrupt or arbitrary (lord Volpe in aSR), and genocidal toward all non-human forms of life. Empress Prazac or no, what's to admire about that? What I would like to see is the Empire's Decline and Fall--everyone knows empires don't last forever; they become corrupt, decadent, overstretched, overconfident, and ignore obvious threats to their continuation. Remember the emphasis on misfits and outcasts and freethinkers in the first 2 Avernum games? Even were the Empire ruled justly, I can't see an alliance between the kind of people who ended up in Avernum in the first place and those who enjoy living under the totalitarian and controlling regime of the Empire. So what I would like to see in Avernum 4 begins with the disintegration of the Empire, the chaos following which would offer great opportunities for adventure. [ Friday, February 11, 2005 06:31: Message edited by: Verloc ] -------------------- "What we can say with confidence is that Rome fell gradually--and that Romans, for many decades, scarcely noticed what was happening." --Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization Posts: 4 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
| Epics and Sagas in General | |
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Apprentice
Member # 5489
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written Friday, February 11 2005 05:57
Profile
Beowulf, yes. And also John Gardner's rewriting of it from Grendel's perspective (appropriately titled "Grendel"). Dante's Inferno is entertaining and foundational as well--forgot about that one the first time around. -------------------- "What we can say with confidence is that Rome fell gradually--and that Romans, for many decades, scarcely noticed what was happening." --Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization Posts: 4 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
| Epics and Sagas in General | |
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Apprentice
Member # 5489
|
written Friday, February 11 2005 03:44
Profile
Sure: The Epic of Gilgamesh (John Gardner translation is most accurate, David Ferry translation most poetic) The Tain (Epic story of Irish cattle raid c. 1st century A.D.) The Mabinogion (Welsh--not really an Epic, more like a series of really cool legends) The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser--I recommend Books 1 and 3 to start with--book 2 is rather turgid. Then 4 and 5 are good too. Milton--Paradise Lost. He was trying to revive the classical epic in a modern, English form, so if you've read the classical epics, you will already be familiar with the conventions he uses, like Epic Similes, the Invocation to the Muse, etc. I could probably think of more if you want more. Guess this is what 5 years of English grad school gets you. :rolleyes: -------------------- "What we can say with confidence is that Rome fell gradually--and that Romans, for many decades, scarcely noticed what was happening." --Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization Posts: 4 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |