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Author Topic: Choices & consequences  (Read 117227 times)
Vince
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« on: June 05, 2009, 11:15:34 am »

Seeing that we are still waiting for the demo - /mandatory "RELEASE TEH DAMN GAEM ALREADY WTF!!!" outburst - I hope you won't mind if we entertain you with long-winded tales and photoshopped screenshots.

Today's sermon is dedicated to quest design and choices & consequences. Those who followed the game in general and the Let's Play thread in particular will be familiar with the events. Long story short:

- you're trying to get an audience with Lord Antidas, which isn't easy because you're a nobody
- Dellar, the captain of Antidas' guards, has offered you two opportunities to prove yourself and do something he doesn't want to waste his own men on.
- Feng, a not entirely trustworthy loremaster, has asked you to get rid of a rival recently invited by Lord Antidas.

So, overall, it's a simple "kill a rival" quest. Naturally, it comes with a double-cross opportunity, so now it's a "which loremaster to choose" dilemma, which poses a question: what's the damn difference? Allow me to illustrate.



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Vince
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« Reply #1 on: June 05, 2009, 11:21:11 am »

Let's go and find Cassius. As usual, we start with an introduction of a new character, which leads to insightful questions like "How does my character knows who this Cassius guy is? Hmm?". He (or she) doesn't. The info is for your benefit and entertainment. Deal with it.

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Vince
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« Reply #2 on: June 05, 2009, 11:40:00 am »

Ironically, killing an innocent man will increase your "word of honor" reputation stat, while saving him will make you an untrustworthy, opportunistic liar. Go figure.

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Vince
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« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2009, 11:54:08 am »

Saving Cassius allows you to bypass Dellar's quests (you can still do them to increase your standing with House Daratan), which is a nice bonus. So, overall, we:

- lost some "word of honor" points
- forfeited whatever money you negotiated from Feng. Not a big deal, but...
- scored some reputation points with House Daratan
- learned some "transmutation" secrets

Edit: Almost forgot:

- after your betrayal Feng leaves Teron and shows up in Ganezzar later on, faithfully - well, as faithful as Feng can - serving Lord Meru. This will complicate your relationship with House Crassus.

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« Last Edit: June 05, 2009, 12:00:23 pm by Vince » Logged
Resch
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« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2009, 12:00:19 pm »

I'm on the third screen and there seems to be a 'lil mistake in the NPC's first line. "He did, did he?", shouldn't it be "didn't he?"?
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Vince
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« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2009, 12:13:52 pm »

No.

Anyway, let's see what happens if you kill Cassius. A magic ring with awesome powers? Now THAT's what I'm talking about!

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Wrath of Dagon
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« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2009, 12:35:45 pm »

Iron is not an alloy, it's elemental iron with a lot of carbon. Iron ore is iron oxide, i.e. rust.
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Resch
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« Reply #7 on: June 05, 2009, 12:59:42 pm »

I dig the quest.

Curious, are there ways to get an audience with Lord Antidas other than escorting Cassius or doing Dellar's quests? If so, how many? Can you build up your repution with House Daratan elsewhere and get his is attention solely on that basis, for example? I have not followed the LP too closely (in fear of spoilers), sorry if it was mentioned.
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Vince
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« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2009, 01:01:25 pm »

I'm sure you're aware that AoD is not an educational program and that many statements made by the characters are misleading and incorrect. So the "transmutation" overview reflects Master Cassius' personal opinion only and does not reflect what the various Iron Tower employees and associates think on this sensitive subject.

For the record, pure iron is an element. The forge-ready metal Cassius refers to as iron is an alloy. Anyway, I was a bit distracted by office politics, so let's continue.

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Gregorus Prime
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« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2009, 01:11:21 pm »

This Feng fellow seems the trustworthy sort. I'd like to give him all my money in the form of a cashier's check, please.
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Vince
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« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2009, 01:15:25 pm »

So, overall, quietly killing Cassius:

- increases your "word of honor" stat
- increases your "body count" stat - duh
- removes a very knowledgeable loremaster from the game, so you won't be able to get his opinion on various subjects related to the main quest
- is a beginning of a beautiful and productive relationship with Feng (if you are a grifter, you'll enjoy it a lot)

If you don't do this quest, at some point Feng will most likely talk you into buying this ring. The descriptions will show you various bonuses. Hey, it's not a lie if you believe it. No, the bonuses won't actually be used in combat calculations.

Curious, are there ways to get an audience with Lord Antidas other than escorting Cassius or doing Dellar's quests? If so, how many?
7 ways:

- challenge Dellar and defeat him in combat (wouldn't count on it)
- infiltrate the palace like a ninja - keep in mind, this screen was taken 3 years ago, so...
- double-cross Feng and take Cassius to Antidas
- deal with the raiders
- deal with the Aurelian outpost
- join the Imperial Guards - eventually you'll be sent to talk to Antidas, although things may go ugly and you may or may not get a chance to have a heart-to-heart conversation. Depends on your skills and certain choices.
- start the game as one of the Antidas' "knights".

Quote
Can you build up your repution with House Daratan elsewhere...
No.


Edit: Actually, it's 8 ways. I missed one:

- you can pretend to be a nobleman and talk your way in. It's mentioned in the LP thread.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2009, 04:59:10 pm by Vince » Logged
Resch
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« Reply #11 on: June 05, 2009, 04:08:02 pm »

Well, color me impressed. I actually expected less and even then I still would have been happy.

Quote from: Vince
(...) - removes a very knowledgeable loremaster from the game, so you won't be able to get his opinion on various subjects related to the main quest
So if you ignore Feng's quest, you can use both Feng's and Cassius' services?

Quote
If you don't do this quest, at some point Feng will most likely talk you into buying this ring. The descriptions will show you various bonuses. Hey, it's not a lie if you believe it. No, the bonuses won't actually be used in combat calculations.
Can a knowledgeable character realize he's being conned?

BTW. I foresee confusion and bug reports about that fake magic ring. Wouldn't it be prudent to extend its description with a hint of its uselessness only after the character had put the ring on? Something like "it doesn't make you feel any different, but sure looks nice" or some such. What do you think?
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« Reply #12 on: June 05, 2009, 05:03:12 pm »

What? Duping players on top of characters is the best part. It'll be comedy gold on the forums.
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Vince
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« Reply #13 on: June 05, 2009, 06:12:43 pm »

So if you ignore Feng's quest, you can use both Feng's and Cassius' services?
Nope. All quests have default "outcomes". If you don't do them, someone else would (i.e. the default outcome will be chosen). In this particular case, the default outcome is "Feng poisoned Cassius, tried to flee when things got out of control, but was caught and hanged".

There is no time limit, so as long as you are in a major location (which includes all satellites), you can take your time getting things done. When you leave, all outstanding quests are auto-completed. Kittens are saved, rats are killed, packages are delivered. Much rejoicing.

Quote
Can a knowledgeable character realize he's being conned?
Your only defense against being conned is Streetwise.

Quote
I foresee confusion and bug reports about that fake magic ring. Wouldn't it be prudent to extend its description with a hint of its uselessness only after the character had put the ring on? Something like "it doesn't make you feel any different, but sure looks nice" or some such. What do you think?
Defeats the purpose though, no?

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Hector
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« Reply #14 on: June 05, 2009, 06:55:51 pm »

Even if the person trying to con you is trying to con you in an area in which you're actually quite knowledgable?  Trying to sell useless "herbs" to a master alchemist, for instance?
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For once we get a game with evil options that let you play malevolent character not just an obnoxious cunt. Happy times.

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