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[meglosthegreat]

If Dishonored 1's element is water, Dishonored 2's element is air. Karnaca is described as a city "at the edge of the world", and is defined by its elevation, its towering trees, and the wind currents that provide the city its power. Almost every map in the game has you climbing upward, away from the water that is your home and haven, until you reach the Dust District where the clouds blowing through obscure it completely. Bloodflies are the game's primary environmental hazard, replacing the river krusts and rats of Dishonored 1.

The wind is a double-edged thing in the story. It brings prosperity, allowing Karnaca to escape the need for whale oil in the face of rationing. But that prosperity does not extend to those facing the brunt of its effects; those condemned to toil in the silver mines and live in the district poisoned by their exploitation. The wind powers homes; it also powers the devices used to exert control over the city's population. In short, the wind is like the Empire - as easily put to harm as it is to good. All it took was one Empress deposed by another, and those forces shifted with all the fickleness of a breeze.

Even the Void changes from the serene, underwater-like place in Dishonored 1. It becomes a wasteland of howling emptiness and tall, jagged spires. Shindaerey Peak is the place where the Void meets the world, and the gulley connecting it to Karnaca is where the city's wind currents originate. It is a city at the edge of the world not just in the physical sense - it also lies at the boundary between this world and the Void.

When you leap from Coldridge Prison at the beginning of Dishonored 1, the water is there to greet you. But in Dishonored 2, the water is withheld. When you fall, there is only empty, unforgiving air. Which makes it all the more compelling when the Outsider reaches out to catch you.

(Also, I should point out that there are two more Isles yet to be featured in a game and two more elements yet to be thematically implemented...)

[meglosthegreat]

The thing I love about Dishonored is that everyone's fucked up. No exceptions. Him? Fucked up. Her? Also fucked up. That man over there? He eats rats.

[meglosthegreat]

"I have not sinned against Vlaakith. She has sinned against me."

[meglosthegreat]

Portrait of my bestie's bg3 character that I made for him for Christmas. This is "Lightning" Lirrild, halfling cleric of Ilmater and oath of vengeance paladin. He fucked the Emperor and climbed Mount Halsin and settled down with Shadowheart. We spent 5000gp to have a nude statue erected of him in the party camp.

[meglosthegreat]

I think the primary failing of Dishonored 2's dual protagonist system is actually not the fact that Emily was the intended protagonist and Corvo was a late addition, but rather the fact that picking one necessarily leaves the other to be locked out of the narrative for the majority of the game's runtime.

This is a problem for two big reasons. 1) Emily and Corvo have all of one tutorial and an incredibly brief scene at the beginning to interact before they are forcibly separated. This means that you never get to see what their relationship is like, and thus the whole objective of rescuing the statue-ified one falls flat. DH 1 understood the importance of this, which is why it had you rescue Emily early and gave you the chance to get to know her before she was taken again.

And 2) It is deeply unfair to both characters to leave either one out of the trip to Karnaca. Both of them have things to contribute to the story, and forcing one to stay behind leaves either version somewhat hollow. Emily needs to go, because she needs to see the things that were brewing under her rule of the Empire. Corvo needs to go because this is literally his homeland, and he deserves to have a say in how things shake out.

Not only that, but I feel that both are integral to each other's arcs - Emily needs to learn to be a better ruler, and that involves confronting the things her father taught her, and Corvo needs to learn to let go and allow Emily to figure some things out on her own. Leave either one of them behind in stone, frozen in time for the entire series of events, and who's to say the exact same problems that caused them in the first place wouldn't just repeat themselves? And wouldn't it make the story that much stronger if the protagonist had to go back and defeat Delilah not for personal reasons, but because it was the right thing to do?

You don't even need to lock Emily in as the protagonist for this. It would work just as well with either of them in that role. But you do need them both there, because if the story can be about either one, then in reality it should be about both of them.

[meglosthegreat]

When Corvo rolls up to the Golden Cat and finds Morgan in the Steam Room

[meglosthegreat]

Do you ever think about if the whalers actually meant to kill Jessamine in front of Emily?

Like, maybe I missed details about them and Daud. But I swear they never torture targets unless deemed necessary (ie for information). And Dishonored isn't the game to hold back on horrible things people done to others. There's lots of notes/books detailing shit what gangs have done, and its clear gangs tortured people, to either make a point or revenge. but the whalers? I can't recall any mention of it. I only remember reading they're a) really fucking good assassins and b) Daud and the outsider.

So to kill a mother in front of her daughter? Traumatizing her like that? I think it was another mishap. Another mistake they didn't plan for just like Corvo showing up two days early. I think Daud was meant to kidnap Emily first.

When he shows up in the gazebo, the first thing he does is grab Emily. Maybe it was so she didn't run off, but with his abilities? It's not like she couldn't have ran far. Jessamine then attacks Daud to release Emily, and that's when his attention is turned to her and he stabs her. Then, the whaler holding Corvo releases him to grab Emily as she tries to run.

But what if. He also didn't expect Emily to be there either. We know Billie was involved with the assassination. But we don't see her at all during the attack. Why would she not be there for the killing? The most important part of the mission? Because she was the one tasked to kidnapping Emily. Daud handles the killing, and Billie was trusted with the kidnapping. So what if Billie was in the Tower, searching every room for the young empress that should have been there. Maybe Emily had a lesson, but as soon as she caught wind Corvo's ship was returning, she rushed out to be there to greet him.

Anyway. Some food for thought. Also I need to explore Daud's regret of killing an empress, but does he regret killing a mother? And Emily deserves to confront his ass about it. If only I had a comic about that- oh wait I do. And 3 parts are out already hahahaha. Wow crazy.

(Read that here)

[meglosthegreat]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the genius design decision of having Corvo's health potions be the literal elixirs that prevent the rat plague?

It takes what could've been a simple gameplay mechanic that nobody would've thought twice about and grounds it in the world and the lore. It explains why Corvo is never at risk of contracting the plague, despite coming in closer contact with it than the vast majority of people - he's chugging these things multiple times a day. It also explains why random people would keep these things stashed everywhere - it's not just loot for you, the player, to be rewarded with, it's their actual supply of life-saving medicine.

And when you think about it that way, it makes every moment you casually snatch an elixir from someone's nightstand a little more impactful. You're not just topping up on health potions, you're literally stealing the only method by which people can be kept safe from the plague. In low chaos, you'll end up not needing most of the ones you come across by the end of the game, because you'll be staying out of combat. But in high chaos, you'll be taking them a lot more. Which means less elixir to go around, and therefore, more people dead from the plague.

I used to think that the increase in weepers in high chaos was mainly down to Corvo leaving more dead bodies lying around. But I think that this is an even more potent explanation. Because of course going around and hoovering up all the elixir in the city would have consequences. And who are the people who have the least access to elixir to begin with, from whom stealing it would take the greatest toll? The poor, obviously. Who you most often see becoming weepers. What a game.

[meglosthegreat]

i'm really curious about the results of this poll. mainly because most of these guys suck in one way or another

also see vote for the least problematic god

[meglosthegreat]

there is a wrong answer. several, in fact

also see vote for the most problematic god

[meglosthegreat]

DLC in RPGs Poll

Since my previous poll was so much fun, I decided I'd put out another one!

How many of you have had the pleasure of booting up a game years after its original launch and getting overwhelmed with a bunch of prompts to start DLC that your low-level character is in no way ready for? Or come back to a game with newly-released DLC that you have to reload an old save prior to the endgame to complete? And how many times have you had to google "[Game title] when to do DLC?"

DLC in RPGs tend to occupy a strange space. These are games which, at their base level, are attempting to tell a complete story through their original runtime. So how do you go about expanding on that story without detracting from the original work? What, in your opinion, is the most effective way to introduce DLC?

**Please note, in this case I am referring specifically to "story" DLC: Major expansions that provide several hours' worth of playtime, as opposed to minor downloadable add-ons.**

[Examples and propoganda below]

Must be played before endgame: a.k.a. the Obsidian way. Here, DLC is either given early on, or gated gradually behind levels as the player progresses, but in either case, must be completed before finishing the base game. Pros - if you want your base game's story to drastically alter world events, this is the way to go. Cons - can greatly disrupt the flow of the base game's story and cause the overall experience to drag.

Playable anytime, pre or post-endgame: The most flexible option, usually giving the player a prompt to start the DLC at some point in the base game and then letting them complete it up into the endgame. Pros - the most freedom is given to the player here. Cons - this is the only option which requires the game to have a playable endgame state, which may not always gel with the story and requires more resources to develop.

Playable post-endgame only: This usually comes in the form of a DLC that extends the main story, or leads into the next instalment of the franchise. Pros - No need to worry about disrupting the main story's flow, or establishing an endgame state, since you can launch directly into the DLC. Cons - greatest likelihood that players will complain about the game's "real" ending being paywalled, plus you risk undermining the ending of the main story.

No major DLC: These games usually focus on improving the base game with small additions and patches over time. Pros - no need to worry about any of the above problems. Cons - there are no chances to further expand or iterate upon elements of the base game, plus the game might not have as much longevity.

Any other thoughts or methods I may have missed, please let me know in the tags!

[meglosthegreat]

Thanks for the answer! Archmagic sounds really cool, I hope we get to see it in some form in a future title. And the archmagi putting folks to death for being audacious enough to put their name on a spell absolutely tracks, that's hilarious.

"That's a real head-scratcher." Tayn scratches his head.

I'd just like to personally thank whoever wrote Tayn in the Forgotten Sanctum, he cracks me up every time and is such a joy to interact with.

Was there any particular inspiration behind the mechanics or politics of the Circle and the various Archmagi? I've always loved the idea of this group of unhinged egomaniacs plastering their names all over spells moreso than the more traditional in-lore ways of categorizing magic.

Thank you. I think either Paul Kirsch or Alex Scokel wrote Tayn.

I had almost nothing to do with Forgotten Sanctum, but I did loosely define the Circle of Archmagi sometime between Pillars and Deadfire.

I liked the idea that they were all pretty esoteric and detached from normal mortal life, that they all pursue immortality in various ways, and that they are obsessed with the development of magic for its own sake. This makes them pretty annoying in the context of world changing events because they are very powerful but often impractical, selfish, and myopic.

In the Pillars TTRPG, I developed the idea of archmagic, which is magic developed by archmagi that (in the TTRPG at least) can only be cast out of a grimoire (or by the archmage who developed it) because it transcends the known metaphysical limits of arcana.

Magical theory has known limits and it takes extraordinary research and a lifetime of work to develop spells that break those limits. When a wizard is able to do so and proves that they can sustain that magic outside of the confines of a grimoire, it can be presented to the Circle of Archmagi. If the circle validates the wizard's findings, their spell can be disseminated in grimoires with their name as part of the spell.

It is also known among wizards that the use of a personal name with a spell that has not been validated by the Circle is punishable by death at the hands of the Circle or its agents. So if John the wizard fancies themselves as particularly bright, blabbing on about John's Incredible Coldflame may earn them a visit from Ninagauth.

[meglosthegreat]

"Kill them with kindness" wrong. Tayn's Chaotic Orb

[meglosthegreat]

One thing I think is done extremely well in Baldur's Gate 3 (and in Larian's previous games, if I'm honest) is the way combat is treated as the carrot rather than the stick.

Most of the time, combat in CRPGs is the primary obstacle in the way of progression. You have to *get through* the combat in order to reach what really matters-- the dialogue and story. Too often, combat is coded as the "bad" outcome of a quest - you failed to persuade a key NPC and now you *have* to fight them. In Pillars of Eternity 2, if you pick too many fights, you can net yourself a reputation for being "cruel" or "aggressive", which can make it even harder to avoid fights in the future. In Planescape: Torment, every fight you get into has a chance of inadvertently making the endgame harder for yourself.

This seems all well and good from the story side of things. After all, killing people is generally bad, and you should be encouraged to find other ways out, right?

Baldur's Gate 3 takes a somewhat different approach. Sure, there are times when you'll accidentally trigger a fight with a whole faction of friendly NPCs and will immediately reload in a panic, but for the most part, the game doesn't make you feel bad for killing people. In fact, it makes you *look forward* to combat in a way that most other games don't, because the combat in Baldur's Gate 3 is so damn fun.

And why should a game want to make you feel bad for engaging with its primary and most in-depth mechanic? In many cases, choosing to fight leads you to a better outcome than the so-called "peaceful" option. Some of the best fights in the game are entirely optional, and yet you are compelled to engage with them because the fight itself is the reward.

This is I think, the best possible way to bring the feel of tabletop gaming to the CRPG medium. Because combat shouldn't be just a stopgap between your party and the next dialogue check to pass, and I'm eternally grateful that Baldur's Gate 3 lets you have so much fun with it.

[meglosthegreat]

Starfield's cyberpunk city is kinda weak. in fact you could say it's merely

[meglosthegreat]

This is one of my favourite Astarion conversations because of Neil's performance for one but also because of the "pure shit" line. It's so raw and always makes me pause.