[SixOfSpades]

Actually, I was listing Diablo's weaknesses not to run down the game itself, but to rationalize the desire for Diablo gamers to seek new sources of variety.

Lemmy, you're just plain wrong about BG being "linear," and I wouldn't consider 5 (or 6) CDs "ostentatious." But you're 100% correct about the game's pathetic lack of randomness--I *HATE* entering a new map and knowing exactly where the Traps are, what types of enemies are present, how many of each type of enemy, what unique creatures are there, how to kill each of those creatures, and what each unique creature will drop when I kill it. It's abysmal.

I wish the BG engine would support at least some attempts at chaos, such as moving the Traps around and shuffling certain unique items between different randomized locations and creatures throughout the game. Perhaps some items would be restricted to some location in a current chapter, like the Boots of Speed can only be found in the Cloakwood.

I don't like Viconia's portrait either--it makes her look like some bloodthirty demon. And it's the wrong image: Take Viconia within melee range of any respectable enemy (especially when she's without a shield), and you'll be rewarded with 110 pounds of Viconia meat.

While we're on the subject of Faldorn's fingernails, what's up with Edwin's? Are they supposed to be his last-ditch defense against Gibberlings or something?

Pirengle, you're right about Coran's ears. I looked closely at his BIG portrait, and yes indeed, they ain't pointy. Which, happily, adds even more weight to my theory.