Well, I wasn't directing my rant at you. Not really, anyway.Tawmis wrote:Sorry if it came across as I am God, and the world should listen to me about how single player games should be played!
Such was definitely not my intention!
I love a good Dungeon Crawl! I grew up in a time of WIZARDRY (one of the most awesome classic RPG games!) But the FADE drives me crazy. Like I said, once you get ANY form past JUST the mouse... then the Fade is fine. I hated being the mouse and going to the different holes, not remembering which hole teleported you where. (Reminds me too much of Wizardry 7's ending... which you teleport your way up to the top of this tower... I hated it... because it took extensive mapping, with all those damn teleporters to know what teleporter went to what room - and sometimes, it'd teleport you into the same room, different location... so you'd THINK it was a new room, when it actually wasn't!)AndreaDraco wrote: A couple of thoughts on the Deep Roads.
I just finished them, for the third time. I took the quickiest route, ignoring every side-quest, and it still took me five hourse to complete them. First questions: is there someone who actually enjoyed the seemingly endless succession of caves and dungeons? I know many players - and our own Tawmis amongst them - hated the Fade, while other loathed the segment in the Brecilian Forest, but I have no doubt: the Orzammar one is my least favorite quest of the game, and by far the most disturbing and gross. I don't have a problem with it, but every time I hear Hespith's rhyme I feel sick. Great work from the writers here.
And once you get any of the other 3 remaining forms in the Fade, then the Fade becomes tolerable too. But if I had to chalk up the worse part - I'd say the Fade. I think Branka needs to die. She's obviously - as you stated - utterly demented and has no redeeming value. She's too far gone and impossible to reason with. Even Zathrian, which that part I just finished on the PC - he can be reasoned with, despite all of his hatred.AndreaDraco wrote: The second question is spoiler-y, so Spoiler Tags!
How can one possibly choose to side with Branka and keep the Anvil of the Void? I understand the choice if you're roleplaying a really evil character, but otherwise -- even a pragmatist should see that the means, in this case, do not justify the end. It's one of the things that irks me about this quest. The Brecilian one posed some great moral challenges - even if Zathrian was clearly a bad guy, you could understand his reasons and there was a way to convince him to lift the curse, giving way to a very sad, very touching moment between him and the Lady - and the same did the Redcliffe one, but for me "A Paragon of Her Kind" is too straight-forward: Branka is obviously insane, she allowed her House to be captured and abused by the darkspawn, she used the others as cannon fodder and she has no trouble killing dwarves to make Golems. She is too "black," without any moral shades to her.
What do you guys think?
However, I also appreciated that part because it was disturbing. I agree that it was impressive story-wise. Hrm!Maiandra wrote: I think someone could agree to side with Branka if they felt that the Darkspawn had to be destroyed at any cost. They may not agree with what she did, but if they feel her "technology" is needed, then they may overlook it, if they are a "the ends justifies the means" type of person.
Doubtless, an army of golems would fare better against Darkspawn than an army of flesh and blood people, who would most likely die anyway. They could possibly justify it to themselves by either taking people already sick or dying to become Darkspawn or using criminals. I could see that kind of logic from a ruthless, single-minded Grey Warden, since their primary concern is supposed to be killing the Darkspawn.
Is there a way not to have that show up? I'd rather not have it there, identifying me - if I need to log in, I'd rather *type* it in and then clear it away afterwards if possible...) 
Auto Save was way back at the Werewolf Lair (just before entering to see the Lady). By then I had gone to Denerim (second or third time there), to sell, swap around armor, etc, made camp, made my rounds of talking, then decided to go after Flemeth.DeadPoolX wrote:Wow. Level 25 and you lost to Flemeth? What difficulty level are you playing on? I can't imagine that happening even on Hard. I wonder if enemies scale up at all when you're a higher level yourself.
I'm surprised you forgot to save. Wouldn't you at least have a quicksave or two? What about autosaves? There must be some saved game that doesn't put you back too far.
Your email is always shown on the menu screen. If you're logged out, however, you're the only who sees it.Rath Darkblade wrote:(By the way, I'd just run this game to check my game version - I can't find it, but just below the "Logged Out" button on the bottom left, I noticed my ACTUAL email address - as in, name at address dot etc.
I understand your reasoning and I agree with it. However, there is something so inherently evil, cruel and soulless in the process of making Golmes, that I can't see any of my Wardens, not even the most driven and down-to-earth, preserving it and allowing Branka to continue her research. Interestingly enough, I have far less problems when it comes to Blood Magic or, say, Avernus' reseach. They are obviously perilous and morally questionable like the Anvil of the Void, but they don't struck me as inherently malicious.Maiandra wrote:I think someone could agree to side with Branka if they felt that the Darkspawn had to be destroyed at any cost. They may not agree with what she did, but if they feel her "technology" is needed, then they may overlook it, if they are a "the ends justifies the means" type of person. Regardless of their decision, they can't change what she did.
Doubtless, an army of golems would fare better against Darkspawn than an army of flesh and blood people, who would most likely die anyway. They could possibly justify it to themselves by either taking people already sick or dying to become Darkspawn or using criminals. I could see that kind of logic from a ruthless, single-minded Grey Warden, since their primary concern is supposed to be killing the Darkspawn.
I agree. It's really terrifying. Disturbing. And while that's good from a storytelling perspective, I'm always happy when I leave the Dead Trenches behindMaiandra wrote:The creation of the Broodmothers seemed to me so much worse than the fate of the average person who just died in battle or was eaten.
Why Sten? Why?Tawmis wrote:I believe I am playing on Medium/Normal (the default). The thing is, I took myself (Rogue), Alistar, Sten and Wynne.
My Warden didn't side with Branka because HE wouldn't. It's not his style. But if you think about it, my Warden "abandoned" his duty. Grey Wardens are there to fight the Darkspawn and if that means being ruthless in their efforts, so be it.AndreaDraco wrote:I understand your reasoning and I agree with it. However, there is something so inherently evil, cruel and soulless in the process of making Golmes, that I can't see any of my Wardens, not even the most driven and down-to-earth, preserving it and allowing Branka to continue her research. Interestingly enough, I have far less problems when it comes to Blood Magic or, say, Avernus' reseach. They are obviously perilous and morally questionable like the Anvil of the Void, but they don't struck me as inherently malicious.Maiandra wrote: I think someone could agree to side with Branka if they felt that the Darkspawn had to be destroyed at any cost. They may not agree with what she did, but if they feel her "technology" is needed, then they may overlook it, if they are a "the ends justifies the means" type of person. Regardless of their decision, they can't change what she did.
Doubtless, an army of golems would fare better against Darkspawn than an army of flesh and blood people, who would most likely die anyway. They could possibly justify it to themselves by either taking people already sick or dying to become Darkspawn or using criminals. I could see that kind of logic from a ruthless, single-minded Grey Warden, since their primary concern is supposed to be killing the Darkspawn.
Do you really think that Branka would have stopped? Do you think that she would have abided by the rules? I don't think so.DeadPoolX wrote:Besides, there would have to be rules set when creating golems. How many, who, where from, etc. The formation and use of golems would be governed like any other military unit.
The solution is simple: learn everything she knows and then kill her. She's no longer needed and once dead, no threat anyone.AndreaDraco wrote:Do you really think that Branka would have stopped? Do you think that she would have abided by the rules? I don't think so.DeadPoolX wrote:Besides, there would have to be rules set when creating golems. How many, who, where from, etc. The formation and use of golems would be governed like any other military unit.
You're right: being a Grey Warden means that your primary objective is to fight darkspawn. But where do you draw the line? I think my Warden's limit is Branka and what she did to her House, her lover and her followers.