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Displayed name	Synergy
Member number	6292
Title	Shaper
Postcount	2009
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Registered	Monday, September 12 2005 07:00

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New Cold War US-Russia? in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 16:07 Profile #22 quote: Originally written by Spent Salmon: Talking about a distant threat, and making it as horrific an image as possible, will persuade more folks that... Hey! Let's start showing "Reefer Madness" to students again. Oh, and I still like Ozzy. I wonder if he'll ever make another album? Those wacky preachers' kids. God bless 'em! -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
what is the best A game in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 15:43 Profile #39 Isn't it marvelous how incomprehensibly different we all are? -S- AFTERTHOUGHT: Except you people who like A2 the best. You're all the same. [ Saturday, March 03, 2007 15:44: Message edited by: Synergy ] -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
How to create an ornk? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 15:40 Profile #8 Be sure to have a look at a recent installment of The Insidious Infiltrator for a look at the ferocious Ornks in action! With pretty pictures. -S- [ Saturday, March 03, 2007 19:44: Message edited by: Synergy ] -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
The Insidious Infiltrator in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 15:36 Profile #66 VALETA III: CHAPTER FOUR Part Three—Thee Great and Mightee Ornk Quest OK, so it's not quite the very next thing Val did, but it's by far the most impressive. I will post later how Val fared throughout the rest of Burwood in the ongoing misadventures of Chapter Four. It's done. I have picture proof. I have to put it all together soon, for your uncontainable delight or utter indifference...you decide. Meanwhile, Val indulges a little needed diversion and slips back to the West Poryphra Road. Aha, the legendary Oozebeasts look suspiciously just like Ornks. How fiendishly clever, to disguise themselves thusly. Truly we have met a formidable adversary here. Disappointingly, Val has little trouble dispatching the four Oozebeasts grazing dangerously here. Off to the west part of the zone to the newly opened mystery clearing in the woods... ...to stumble upon the fearsome Uberoozebeast, which also looks suspiciously Ornkish. The Uberoozer douses Val thricely with acid, and looks and sounds something like a cow being milked in the process. This does not assist the Uberoozebeast in appearing any more vicious and terrifying. Val starts carving Ubercow into Ubersteaks. Dinner is served. Never mind the fizzing acidy foam on top...it'll stop soon enough. Our reward for our perilous task: And our fearsome new Shaping ability! We waste no time in fashioning a terrifying new force to be reckoned with. Ornk versus Ornk. Oh, the carnage. Oh, how we shall dine tonight. Dear God, what have I unleashed upon the world? We come back to our senses in the next installment, after sleeping off the wanton gluttony that ensues. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 14:10 Profile #14 Elite Warrior and Natural Mage sounds reasonable and most appealing at this point. I tend to like wearing heavy armor, and if I am going to be a Mage, I might as well. Random (or anyone)...will you give me a bit more on how much you allocated in other skills like: Melee weapons. Seems like a few cheap levels are worthwhile. I couldn't hit much at the beginning when I didn't invest in it at all. Hardiness: worth investing ANY points in? Defense: better than Hardiness, apparently...how much to invest? All it does is help you avoid melee blows. Dexterity: does it make much difference for a singleton? (going sooner in combat or hitting/dodging more often?) Or is it too expensive to get up to useful levels? Assassination Bows I think I know how I will construct my singleton "Shadowcast" now, but I'm still interested in how others have done it or what they can say about any individual skill in A1 being useless or having hidden value. Thanks! -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 01:47 Profile #11 The thought plickens. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 00:32 Profile #9 You, Slarty, are correct. I am so saturated with memories of A4 now, that I had completely forgotten that former construct. This makes Natural Mage an obvious choice to me. Natural Mage/Strong Will? Natural Mage/Elite Warrior? Fast on Feet seems less important than either of these, but I could be wrong. Getting closer to launching. A little. :) -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Chitrach Attack in Avernum 4
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 00:27 Profile #4 Holy cow...and I thought my 100-124 guess might have been pushing it. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Saturday, March 3 2007 00:24 Profile #7 I was thinking to try Drakefyre's model with the Priest-Warrior, because I like the idea of honing in so tightly and powerfully. I am wondering if it is feasible, and more importantly, fun in A1 to forego Mage spells, especially Haste and Unlock. My wish is to be able to at least eventually go everywhere and do everything, rather than just construct some nasty challenge like I did in my singleton run through A4 in which I couldn't dispel barriers or unearth any caches. Maybe I really do want to make a Mage-Priest-Warrior. I can do without making potions I am pretty sure. I would need 20 Runelore to get Smite level 3 from the book in Fort Avernum, for starters. Is that even possible or affordable as a singleton practically? I believe I want to slow down my levelling up significantly, or else I will cap out at level 40 much too early...isn't that what your experience suggests, Random? I'd rather have the beneficial positive traits and not max out prematurely. More advice? -S- [ Saturday, March 03, 2007 00:24: Message edited by: Synergy ] -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
On the Road to Weapons of Mass Destruction in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 23:54 Profile #56 For context, let me mention that I grew up in a Protestant Christian family and spent a good chunk of my life believing many of the usual unquestioned basic doctrinal assumptions including the infallibility of the Bible. I retain a strong spirituality, believe in a God behind all existence, and have no problem seeing any degree of wisdom, truth, or inspiration being present in what we have recorded as Scriptures. I realized there is no reason they have to represent anything in particular to us. There is no authority who can say what these 66 (a very interesting number, if you follow the symbolic usage of numbers in Semitic/Hebrew cultures) eventually collected books each represent, let alone in entirety. Ecclesiastes is a poetic book attributed to Solomon, yet written from the point of view of a man who believes in no God, but only in the vanity and pleasures of life under the sun. He says it is better to be a living dog than a dead man in the grave. Is this Divine Truth as part of the Textbook from Heaven? Where does Solomon’s stance fit into the odd notion that the ancient writings collected by the Hebrews somehow must all represent Divine Wisdom of some other category than the wisdom of fallible men who have insight and wisdom along with their own blind spots like any other human being before or since? Martin Luther started the Reformation, which one could argue was a reconciliation of some problems with the Catholic Church, yet he was virtually a rabid anti-Semite and communicated ugly sentiments in that regard. God didn’t magically perfect and correct his gross error which goes against the nature of the love of God and the equality in Christ Paul had teached on 1500 years earlier. So, let’s look at some of these Scriptures used to bolster the inerrancy perspective, and thank you for assembling them, Dinti: quote: Originally written by Dintiradan: quote: For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Of course, this could refer just to spoken prophecy, with written prophecy being off the hook. Yes, let’s just go with what is given and stated in no uncertain terms. All this says is that persons at times have inspired moments of insight/revelation/vision in which they speak the truth of God. Again, I have no problem with this idea. What if the main import of such moments is to speak to a more immediate or imminent time, place, culture, and context, and was never meant to be used as instruction or even truth, per se, for times, places, and cultures distantly removed? If there is a God interacting in an intimate way with humankind, and it is a God of love and purposefulness, then I would see that God speaking to many people in many times and places and cultures in the context of their understanding and culture. God would look and sound very different depending on where and when you are in the world. To the native Americans, He might be seen as the Spirit Who Moves In All Things, and so on. There is a Scripture that says God “rains on the just and unjust.” Rain is a good thing in the culture of the ancients, and water is a Biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit flowing out as blessing. God freely pours out His wisdom and blessing in some way upon all the earth, regardless of how worthy some may judge any to be? It is also recorded therein that God is no respecter of persons. The Hebrews may have been chosen for a special interaction and purpose given by God. But by no means do I see this requires such a God is not also speaking to the ancient Chinese, Indians, or Africans in some way as well. God seems plenty big enough to me to be relevant to or from more than one time and place. As I see it, if God speaks to and through humans, he does it more than just through a tiny population in Mesopotamia in ancient times. In fact, that God should be speaking to and through people just as much today. Why would He ever stop? There’s so much going on to be addressed and upon which humankind could use guidance. quote: 2 Timothy 3:14-17 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you have learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The “Scripture” of that era was only the Old Testament of the Law, in which there was no salvation, nor any more obligation to be under the burden of, as Paul elaborated in Hebrews and Romans in particular. The Law and prophets may have been God-breathed to the Hebrews, when it was most important for them to receive them, but this still does not state that they will be retained in perfection, or that they are to speak to every time and place. Paul talking to Timothy here says that the law was useful to teach the ways of righteousness under the passing era of the Old Testament. But Paul taught salvation was by grace and believing in it, not by knowing or following the old law. So, this much-quoted Scripture falls far short of implying anything about the entire New Testament, and the future relevance of the supplanted Law of the Old Testament, at the very least. Paul also had this to say about the Scripture, the Law which was then all that was existant: 2 Col 3:5 “but our sufficiency is of God, 6 who also made us sufficient to be ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive. 7 and if the ministration of the death, in letters, engraved in stones, came in glory...” The law was something that administered death. It condemned people with no power to save them. It may have been instrumental for a time and place to prepare people for a lesson and demonstration and expansion to follow on its heels. It, in itself, was not Truth with a capital T. It was something to be supplanted entirely by a new order. God replaces his own Truth and nullifies it? Or does God deal with humankind according to time and place and His purpose in it, and ever “doing a new thing in the earth” as Scripture also states? The Scripture Paul refers to here to Timothy is not even a covenant anyone is to be under any longer. So what truth does it speak to anyone now literally and directly? Are we still to make someone ritually unclean and banished from society for a week if he touches a dead body? Are we still to stone someone who has sexual relations outside of marriage?” That was truth and law, God-breathed? How can it ever be nullified or replaced? If it can be replaced, doesn’t that bring into great question the ultimate time and place relevance for any other God-breathed word given to a people? Paul may have talked a lot about the Hebrew culture of the Law to the Jewish Christians struggling with a new dispensation, but he wasn't talking that way to the Greeks when he used their statue dedicated to the Unknown God to launch his teaching to them. What if so much of even the New Testament represents little more than the many words written to instruct, encourage, and maintain early Christians emerging largely from an old system of ritual law? Who says it was significantly meant to direct anyone beyond that time of transition? The 12 apostles were preaching exclusively to converted Jews. quote: Psalm 102:18 quote: Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD. Though, again, this could refer just to this specific psalm. It says in the American Standard Version, “18 This shall be written for the generation to come,” and in order that they may praise the Lord, presumably when the promised liberation of the prophecy preceding comes to pass and the people affected rejoice in God’s faithfulness. I can’t now 3000 years later know with any certainty to what that was referring, when it was fulfilled, or who was supposed to be brought to praise God by it. I assume the people who did know, knew, and that was sufficient. Again, this has nothing to speak upon God creating a divine textbook over a couple millennia to contain all His important truth for all times, places, and peoples. I don't see this kind of God requiring an 18th century American Navajo native to relate to Hebrew prophecies in order to know God or the truth of the Spirit Who Moves In All Things. I could again see it, if God-breathed indeed, as a promise to Israelites which was fulfilled in the distant past, but has very little bearing or impression upon your average Australian Aborigine today. They are not going to be impressed or fall down in worship and recognition at the ancient promise of eventual liberty to Hebrew captives. They are going to require something a little more imminent and relevant. What kind of God demands someone to trust in some strange, ancient text from an unknown culture in order to be known by another? Does that not strike us in our heart of hearts as perverse, and as a very "respecter of persons" (namely the Hebrews) by its very nature? Is that the God anyone loving really wants to believe in? Because there is no reason one has to by what is in the writings we call Bible itself. quote: 1 Thessalonians 2:13 quote: And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you have heard from us, you actually accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 1 John 5:9 quote: We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Although you could argue that since the context deals with the Spirit, the testimony John is talking about refers only to personal revelation (I think that's stretching it, though). Again here, it states God speaks His Word to and through humankind, such as Paul, at times and places, but nothing about it being written down to be bound into a 66 volume book to be contained and maintained perfectly for all future generations and for all nations and to base a long-running religious practice around. God may well have spoken very pertinent words to the people in the church in Thessalonica in the first century, which I would assume was very helpful and instrumental for them. This does not automatically imply anything for anyone other than the Thessalonicans of that day. John with Peter and the others of the 12 apostles, preached a different gospel from Paul—grace combined with works versus Paul’s pure grace and universal reconciliation gospel. John goes on to say (YLT): 10 “He who is believing in the Son of God, hath the testimony in himself.” This appears to speak of experiential testimony that is a living, spiritual kind of thing known within a person, rather than a word written upon a page which is somehow supposed to convince the skeptic of its own truth. The testimony was what this Jesus guy did and demonstrated and the spiritual life made alive in people after this pattern, rather than anything subsequently written down about it. Who in the future is to believe words on the page alone? They are no testimony in themselves. They only point to a possible experiential reality others are freely invited into. It takes something more than a doctrine, an idea, a promise, a record to know the Divine, I’d say. quote: 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 quote: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures... Deuteronomy 4:2 quote: Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. You could take it that God only commands us not to change the ceremonial law, but again, I think it's a stretch. As I was relating above, did not God change His own laws under a new dispensation? He may have commanded the Hebrews of 2000 B.C. to not change the law he was giving them. I doubt God would have held the ancient Chinese in 2000 B.C. to the same requirements, nor does He hold anyone to those stipulations today. Did God break His own Law by taking away from it Himself? If God can change His ultimate eternal truth for all time and people on a personal whim, is there any absolute Truth of God? Is God to be trusted? I’m playing devil’s advocate here. quote: Revelation 22:18-19 quote: I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in this holy city, which are described in this book. Again, this could just refer to Revelation, and I'd agree with you this time. I’d very much suggest it would be quite a stretch to assume it speaks to anything more than the message of that vision John is said to have experienced and written down. Again, there was no modern Bible at the time of the vision or those words...just letters sent to churches by Paul and whatever may have been committed to word in the names of some of the 12 apostles. At what point do men choose to deify letters written by a man personally to a specific church and claim it is God instructing all humankind in new religious laws for all time and place? And again, this God already did away with a former system of laws and rules He gave. To what is anyone else to be held accountable? Is not the very picture painted here that this God sends timely and culturally relevant people to times and places to deliver a personally relevant word? Why would God do that in the past, but no more? It is a huge, rather counter-demonstrated assumption, and if you ask me, a very sad one to subsequently make. Paul came teaching a new freely-available intimate way to connect with the Divine, and the believers themselves in time put that God back outside them and far far away, in time and space...and in relevance. quote: Proverbs 30:5-6 quote: Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. 1 Corinthians 4:6 quote: Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Though it may be just that: a saying. I have no idea the specific context in which Paul was referring to things written in this letter to the Corinthians. Can anyone know for sure? I assume the Corinthians to whom Paul was writing knew what he meant...perhaps a previous letter or writing he had already sent to them. There is nothing remotely clear to suggest anything on a bigger scale about a future Bible or that the writings politically gathered into it by the Council of Nicea centuries later were going to represent everything true God wanted preserved for all humankind millennia later in cultures far removed. I would hesitate to make any assumptions at all about what Paul is talking about here. I’m reading a letter sent 2000 years ago by one man to a body of believers in ancient Corinth. Hard to know the backdrop unless you were there. I do think it is safe to say Paul was instructing them not to stray beyond some instruction he (or perhaps another) had already written to them. And that writing may be forever lost. Solomon in the Proverb was saying that every word of God is flawless. The word of God is described elsewhere as every word that proceeds out of His mouth. There is no statement of intent or even implication about words committed to a page for millennia later. The Logos word associated with God is a living, active, creative word...a word in motion, seen in the figurative words that in the Hebrew tradition spoke all the universe into being from the mouth of God. The message here seems to be highly mystical, stating that when God speaks, stuff happens perfectly according to what God says and wills. Solomon said God is a protector to those who trust in His word. There is a security and safety in knowing God keeps His word and that it comes to pass. Again, this implies nothing about a book playng any necessary role. It talks of a quality of anything God speaks, not its method of delivery or to whom it is to be ultimately relevant. quote: Romans 15:4 quote: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Mark 7:7-9 quote: (Jesus quoting from Isaiah 29:13) "'... They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!" Isaiah 8:19-20 quote: When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. That's it for now. I'd say the Scriptural support of Scripture's necessity is pretty strong. This appears to say that something of the writings of the past teach and encourage a hope. I don’t want to reread all of the letter to the Romans to put it even more in context, but I know Paul is talking about the liberty from the Law now, and a move to a spiritual inner law from the outer one the Hebrews had known. It’s greatly vague, as far as using it as a claim to a Bible of 66 books perfectly preserved through time to teach all peoples forevermore the truth of God is concerned. It states that at least to the Romans to whom Paul is speaking, that an element of the law offered a hope to someone (and yet he also made it clear that this Law itself was the ministration of death.) Jesus scolded the religious Pharisees of his day for not keeping the law they were given, true, a law which he also broke himself and transcended to a spiritual application. No one ever claimed that the Chinese or Africans or Incans were held to the Hebrew Law to know or be loved or saved of God. Isaiah was writing to those who were under the Law—the Hebrews. They were the only given it, and the only accountable to it: this system of Law which Jesus and Paul made clear was no longer in effect as before, and which had never been made available to the “mongrel Gentile” nations before their time. On a curiously related note, there is no hell in the Old Testament, only the Hebrew Sheol, which is the dark, unknowingness realm of the grave. At least, in Old Testament times, there was no hell to send anyone to for not keeping the Hebrew law. Assuming that God breathes His words of truth to humankind, I still see nothing in Scripture that points to what we now call Bible being anything specifically at all. It is an extra-Biblical creation by men, even in the mere writing of it. We know little of any specific times or circumstances under which any of the books and letters was written. If the four gospels, which do not agree with each other on sundry points, were written as Bible scholars best guess...many years after the actual events occurred, who says God magically possessed the minds of whoever transcribed shared stories down to paper so they were perfect? God said nothing about creating a perfectly preserved written account of any of His dealings with the Hebrews or the world. That is our assumption...seemingly our desperate need for something concrete and material to cling to and call the word of God when even the writing itself depicts the word of God only as the outbreathed, active, creative force that accomplishes His will. Lots of writing, my apologies. I’m wholly sympathetic to the notion of a God Who can be, was, and is speaking to and through humanity, and that the Judaic and Christian traditions have been a part of that disseminating. And I also see that if this is so, God does not jerk us around like puppets forcing us to perfectly understand, know, follow, carry out, preserve ancient words. I see a God Who has seen it to be instrumental for us to for a time to foolishly make idols out of dead letters upon the page which killeth, and ultimately justify inquisitions, crusades, and hating your neighbor because he is gay or had an abortion. And when God breathes further into the world, we will gain further wisdom and truth by which to overcome our formerly mistaken and hurtful ways. I’m still saying that there is nothing remotely explicit enough to claim that God ever intended or required a perfect, preserved text to communicate with us or to continue to do so. If God is as involved with humanity as Christianity likes to believe, then I have every reason to believe such a God would speak and interact richly and appropriately with many people in their context today. God’s big and bright enough to be relevant and timely in His purposefulness, if He is the sort of God seen in Christian tradition at all, one of inner communing with humankind based on love for us and through us to one another. And again...if the Bible were stricken from the equation as anyone’s absolute source of anything of God, would it make any difference in our ability to know or connect with such a God? Do you think God has or has been employing any other means to interact with humanity...perhaps in many peoples grasping different parts of the great elephant to many peoples throughout time as they seek after the spiritual themselves? Does God reject the South Pacific Islander who in his quiet, uncomplicated corner of the world prays to the universe for truth and knowing of the Divine? Does God rain freely on all? Does He respect persons? Does He give stones when one cries out for bread? Why is God only Hebrew, white, or even Christian? Why’s it gotta be such a small, ancient, cramped phenomenon that might as well be dead to our experience today? Was Nietzsche’s (actually typically misunderstood) assertion that “God is dead” true? If God’s word is a flowing, living, creative force, but requires a written Bible to operate or be that word, then the moment God stopped speaking to create a Bible, God stopped doing...his word stopped. God really is dead. What might it mean if the deification and worship of the Bible were surrendered, but God could still be known and embraced? Too much a mind-blower? Too scary? Too much for one to spiritually apprehend and ascertain such a God for oneself? My experience of Christianity is that it has become a cult of book worship far more than a body of people experientially knowing and demonstrating God. Is the edifice merely another whited sepulchre which Jesus described the Hebrew law having become? Oh, but we aren't Jews. We are Christians. We are above that and could not make the same kind of mistake they did in time...right? I hope I play a respectful gadfly here. -S- EDIT: minor typos [ Saturday, March 03, 2007 00:13: Message edited by: Synergy ] -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 20:59 Profile #3 Hmm, well, I'm trying the priest-warrior, so no mage spells nor Natural Mage needed. Now I'm looking at Strong Will and Elite Warrior. The other alternative to Elite Warrior would be Fast On Feet, but it's got less penalty. I've seen mixed mileage reviews of Elite Warrior. I'm wondering if Fast on Feet is the way to go. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Avernum 1 Singleton in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 20:11 Profile #0 So... I think I'll replay A1 as a singleton, which I have never done before, and it's been a long time since I played A1 at all. I've been poking through threads and FAQs, but find little on A1 in regards to building an optimal singleton. The FAQ for A1 seems naive. I'm looking for some distilled wisdom here. I'm going with Divinely Touched and Strong will with a warrior priest. I'll use sword and shield. Randomizer has mentioned you can top out at Level 40 only halfway through the game. With the 55% penalty here, is this more likely to even out? I don't want to waste too much. What about Tool Use and Cave Lore? Do I need to use these at all? Is Defense or Hardiness worth any bother? I'm really rusty on A1 mechanics. There's no encumbrance in A1? I forget. Your best thorough strategy/advice please. Thanks, -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
About Ed... in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 16:47 Profile #43 The irony...the irony. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
[Insert Dumb Joke Here] in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 16:44 Profile #90 Those were painfully bad, Jewels. Naturally, I will be inflicting a few of those on choice victims in the future myself. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
On the Road to Weapons of Mass Destruction in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Friday, March 2 2007 16:42 Profile #50 What I like to ask a Christian now is why do they believe their Bible is and needs to be inerrant? There is certainly no passage in the whole book stating that God intends to give a written textbook/lawbook/truth book to humankind, and that it would remain supernaturally untainted, and, in fact, inhuman in its inerrancy, perfect insight, perfect truth, perfect history, perfect instruction, etc. etc. With the amount of magical maintenance required for this to be, why didn't God just drop the finished product out of the heavens on glowing, indestructible papyrus in the first place? But seriously, can anyone actually point to what requires there to be a Bible, for a Bible to be accurate, created by automatic writing/speaking through human beings as the possessed mouth of God? Point me to the Scriptures that tell us God was going to give humankind a textbook of truth and history to live by. Show me, show me. If it ain't in the Bible itself, why and how have you chosen to make this colossal and exceedingly unlikely assumption? Based on whose word and opinion? Would your universe and God collapse it if were not so? These are serious questions I'd love to see engaged sincerely, as they are sincerely asked. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
The best creations? in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Thursday, March 1 2007 22:52 Profile #32 Eyebeasts sure are fun. They may not be the most practical creation, but if you can afford the indulgence, there's something maniacally satisfying about redlining a half dozen critters all at once with one or two rounds of dual bursts of Aura of Flames.I enjoyed having an Ur-Drakon, a Drakon, and an Eyebeast at endgame with an Infiltrator. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
what is the best A game in The Avernum Trilogy
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Thursday, March 1 2007 21:56 Profile #20 I voted for A3. I enjoyed the mixture of the cave world and the surface world. I enjoyed the vastness of the world and crossing waters. Some of those legendary quests were genuinely chilling, challenging, and exciting for me to fulfill. Pit of the Wyrm, etc. Very memorable stuff. The lasers, however, quickly outwore their welcome. I find the Vahnatai irritating, cheesy, and distracting from the fantasy world feeling. That may explain some of my lack of enthusiasm for the much-vaunted A2. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Did you feel herded? (spoilers included) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Thursday, March 1 2007 12:15 Profile #10 Welcome back, Marlenny. To what do we owe the pleasure of your return? -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Did you feel herded? (spoilers included) in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 22:29 Profile #7 I'd like to see more of a consistently connected world, somewhat like what is being described. If a PC goes psycho and slaughters a town, word should get around and it should drastically affect how you are trusted and treated by any side. You've become clearly dangerous and possibly unhinged, certainly hard to trust. I'd like a game that discourages indiscriminate killing, and in which psychopathic behavior is not so rewarding, and much more perilous. I don't like the subtle implications such a world can suggest to a gameplayer on even a subliminal level. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Your creations. in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 22:19 Profile #12 I'm wondering what's that been like for you? -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Your creations. in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 21:15 Profile #4 Playing a game is like watching a movie or reading a book. The mundane, boring everyday moments are kept to a minimum, so you will stay interested. Fantasy is even one step removed. Not only the characters and situations, but the whole universe is invented. It will never stand up to scrutiny. It's not meant to. It's just a game. -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Your creations. in Geneforge 4: Rebellion
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 20:48 Profile #1 It's a game. It's not real. Ever see yourself sleep in it? -S- -------------------- A4 Items • A4 Singleton • G4 Items • G4 Forging • G4 Infiltrator • NR Items • The Lonely Celt Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
[Insert Dumb Joke Here] in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 19:05 Profile #81 We regret to announce that our Quality Control department is now on an extended and involuntary leave of absence in lovely, brisk Siberia. We apologize for any undue suffering in the meantime. We now return you to your regularly scheduled deprogramming. -S- [ Wednesday, February 28, 2007 19:26: Message edited by: Synergy ] -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
Bots? in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 17:38 Profile #79 Is your universe shattered upon confronting the experience of Alorael's non-infallibility? -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00
[Insert Dumb Joke Here] in General
Synergy Shaper Member # 6292	written Wednesday, February 28 2007 14:54 Profile #77 What might be worse was that first I read it as, "It turned itself on." That could be worked into an equally inane joke, I'm sure. Like, I dunno... Did you hear about the new auto-erotic lightbulb? It turns itself on. :P And while we're at it... Did you hear about the new doctor doll? It operates on batteries. -S- -------------------- A4 Item Locations A4 Singleton G4 Items List G4 Forging List The Insidious Infiltrator Posts: 2009 \| Registered: Monday, September 12 2005 07:00

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