A few tidbits on the new IWD II - Page 5

Larry_OHF · 03-27-2002, 10:44 AM

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Icewind Dale II Preview
Wednesday, March 27, 2002, 05:22 | MageDragon

The programmers swear that they completely re-designed the old Infinity Engine, which seems to be quite true judging by the pictures. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine what it is that they really had to change. Some of the possible things that could have been improved are the spell-effects, and the general artwork, and we certainly hope to see even more beautiful maps and monsters than in the first Icewind Dale. The programmers promised the game would play in 1024x768, and some even mentioned it might support 2048x1536. All in all, Icewind Dale 2 doesn't need new technology or visuals to be a good game, as the developers decided to focus more on the plot. This is great, as we saw what happened to Ubi Soft's Pool of Radiance-a, whose "innovative" engine turned out to be practically useless, and made the adventure come down to roaming around and slaughtering everything.

Larry_OHF · 03-28-2002, 09:05 AM

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Wednesday, March 27, 2002, 19:52 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Placing flags on journal mapsYou will have the ability to place "flags" on area maps.

Movement issues: I suggested that Landsknechts should have a measly 1 point movement penalty. From the reaction I got, one might think I had kicked all the forum readers in the groin. And a halfling doesn't just have a 1 point penalty. He has the equivalent of a 2 or 3 point movement penalty (20'/round vs. 30'/round). Many people would have evacuated their bowels in sadness if they booted up IWD2 and saw their halflings, gnomes, and dwarves shuffling along at 66% speed. The limitation is actually less annoying in PnP since you typically only care about movement in combat. The DM doesn't wait to narrate things to you when you move around town.

Designers that worked on PS:T and dialogue: Chris Avellone, Dave Maldonado, Rob Holloway, and John Deiley all worked on Planescape: Torment. They are all doing a lot of area design on Icewind Dale 2. You know why we haven't shown any dialogue? Because dialogue takes place only in the full-frame interface. Our interface is still being implemented into the game.

Memnoch · 03-29-2002, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marco:
just would like some clarifification on "feats". the "feats" setting for char., are they like the pen and paper AD&D game where you choose extra skills like climbing, swimming, weapon repair, etc....? I s this what we are saying? So for IWD II, the options would be more for either skills in attacking or defending.

yes/no, am i close?

Yes. An example of a feat is dual-wielding. It's the 3rd Ed way of customizing your character.

Larry_OHF · 03-30-2002, 10:33 AM

Friday, March 29, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Friday, March 29, 2002, 19:28 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

Doug Avery (Associate Producer)

Making the strategy guide: I don't think so and I'll be hiding if anyone asks me to. That took up way too much of my time during the end of Tales. Matt Norton and Mark Pfeiffer handled the worst parts of it, I just chimed in periodically with corrections or got them maps to use. It was definitely an experience though. Right now we usually contract out all of our strategy guides and help the authors out whenever possible with maps, playing tips, etc. That formula seems to be working really well and it frees up more of the dev. team's time.

Kevin Osburn (Line Producer)

Game length: The reason why we were saying is that we expect 40 hours of gameplay is that was the rough estimate we came up with at that time. Since then, some significant changes have been made to the game, and last time we talked to QA they said they expected it to be longer than IWD originally was.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Inventory slots and carry weight: In IWD2, you will have 24 inventory slots per character, as opposed to the 16 per character that you previously had.

16 x 6 = 96
24 x 6 = 144

Weight will be more of a limiting factor than it was before, especially since melee characters can hold their own in combat with lower strength scores.

Let me take this moment to laugh a little laugh at the fate of the mercenary kit.

Ha, ha, ha.

Don't worry, though. There is a feat in IWD2 called Strong Back (sound familiar?) that increases the character's carry weight.

Elementalist-y feats: The elementalist-y feats will have spellcasting prerequisites.

E.g.: Aegis of Rime will require the character to know three of the following spells: Frost Fingers, Ice Blade, Cone of Cold, Chill Touch, Conjure Air Elemental, Conjure Lesser Air Elemental, Fireshield Blue, Ice Knife, Ice Storm, Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, etc., etc.

Design update: The programmers have finished most of the multi-classing goofiness, including weird interface issues and file format malarkey (?).

Right now, they are implementing skillz and feats. The designers are tightening up area design and/or redesigning portions of their areas for greater consistency.

I would like to repeat my previous declaration that Rob Holloway is out of his mind. Rob is responsible for the Western Pass and Dragon's Eye in IWD2. Some of his puzzles are so nuts that even the die-hard Durlag's Tower enthusiast may be bewildered by them. I have a feeling that the final level of Dragon's Eye will be one of the most well-remembered areas in IWD2.

Chimeras: The chimeras also have a... "symbolic" role in the story.

Dialogue and splattering corpses: As Dave mentioned in the DD (though you may not have been beaten over the head with it), Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate are going into the game as skills. All of the designers are going through their areas to make sure that each skill is used for tangible rewards at least once per area. The player should get the feeling that using their fancy talking skills has clearly given them an advantage in the situation.

E.g. (SPOILERS FOLLOW):

In Targos, you meet a group of jerky adventurers (mercenaries) lounging around in a tavern. A dude asks you to go get them to help with a given task. No matter what you say to them, they respond with jerkiness. Later on, a Targos "official guy" asks you to go get them so they can, you know, actually help defend the town. When you talk to them, you can use Intimidation and Bluff to convince them that not helping defend the town will be bad, bad news for them. Of course, you can always insult them and splatter their corpses all over the tavern, but scaring them into actually doing something helps you with a later battle (in which most of them die, thus allowing you to take their loot anyway).

Seeing the options: Oh, I almost forgot: when you get options based off of race, class, subrace, alignment, ability scores, or skills, you see the listed attribute in parentheses after the reply string. E.g.: A response requires that you are not a paladin and have a bluff skill of 5 (ranks + Cha mod). If you qualified, it would show the following: 1. Besbus Durth? I heard that guy has some big problem with the job you're doing. I heard he was going to rip your head off if you didn't report to him soon. (Not Paladin, Bluff)

Larry_OHF · 04-02-2002, 09:46 AM

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Monday, April 1, 2002, 18:26 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Intimidate skill: As I posted, you will be able to use Intimidate to worthwhile effect at least once (if not more) in every area in the game -- the same applies for Bluff and Diplomacy. I think this puts them on par with skills like Find/Remove Traps, which are used less than frequently, but are still very worthwhile when used.

Spell Focus: Spell Focus is in for Invocation, Enchantment, Necromancy, and Transmutation. The other four spells don't have enough "save vs." instances to justify their feats.

Spell Focus is Arcane Focus. Greater Spell Focus will give a total of +4.

Skills: The skill list has now been finalized on the front page. You may notice that a few of the lore skills got shifted around into other things. You might also notice that the balance of the lore skills is kind of stupid. That would be an accurate assessment. Haste: Haste was its normal, goofy 2nd Ed. version because of engine limitations that we have thankfully overcome in IWD2.

For the record I wanted to have Haste removed from Heart of Winter because it was so unbelievably powerful.

War Chant of Sith: War Chant of Sith's healing benefits are laughable in combat. 2 hit points a round? A Barrow Wight did between 15-25 per hit, and it got multiple attacks per round. If you're trying to tell me that 2 HP regeneration per round makes clerics with Heal and Cure Critical Wounds "obsolete" -- sorry, I'm not buying it.

War Chant of Sith doesn't replace healing spells in combat, and it can't match a cleric's buffing ability. Sorry, it's simple math. If given the choice between my fighter getting 10 hit points back over five rounds or getting 95% of his hit points back in one round, there's no question which is better.

Bless + Prayer + Recitation + Emotion Control: Courage + Defensive Harmony + Righteous Wrath of the Faithful (which was still in IWD and HoW, but not in IWD2) = +8 to hit, +9 to damage, bonus AC, +6 to saves, and an additional attack per round. A bard can buff the party pretty well, but not as well, and he certainly can't heal my fighter back to full hit points when a monster is shredding him to pieces.

If you want to argue that clerics are the underpowered cousins of every other class in D&D, I'd be interested to hear your arguments. If you want to argue that it's because you can't be bothered to actually use their powers when appropriate, that doesn't seem like a very good argument.

And Kaylessa's Elven Chain +3? That's a 2 AC, which is easily beaten by almost any decent armor/shield combination in the game. Clerics could have ACs well below any bard in IWD and HoW.

Game balance and clerics: The number of enemies in IWD and HoW that used Dispel Magic was woefully small. However, the fact that it didn't allow a save is lame. That has been remedied in IWD2. A LOT of things have been remedied in IWD2. And whatever taunting you want to lash out with about the balance in IWD and HoW -- that's fine. For a variety of reasons, I don't always get my way when it comes to balancing things. But, above all else, arguments about IWD and HoW balance aren't salient to this discussion; we're talking about balance in IWD2.

Clerics in IWD2 are really powerful as written. I don't think that spending feats for domain spells makes them any less cool. They still would get their domain powers for free (which is half of "the point"), and could have access to domain spells if the player wanted to. YES, I understand that wizards and sorcerers get most of the flashy offensive spells. They also get low hit points, one good save, and no armor profs (and arcane casting failure on top of that). Do you not believe that a high level cleric of Talos would lay waste to any other wizard or sorcerer of equal level in terms of overall ability? Let's not get into any "cleric of Talos fights wizard" scenarios; I trust you understand what I'm getting at.

Dual Daggers: For an assassin with Weapon Finesse, it should be a nice combo.

Attacks per round: You will have a maximum of five attacks per round in IWD2.

Five attacks should be more than enough. Even though you won't be getting additional attacks, your five attacks per round will still be increasing in attack value.

To the best of my knowledge, it IS an engine limitation. I have seen no evidence that, in the IWD2 engine, a character can gain more than 5 attacks in a single round. However, I have seen plenty of evidence that the engine cuts off the maximum number of attacks at 5. The exact "hows" and "whys" of this are unknown to me.

I honestly don't understand why this is such a concern. I like the fact that there is currently a limit of five attacks per round. Only exceptionally high (Heart of Furyish) characters would even enter into this realm of insanity. I don't know if it's worth wrenching around in the engine just to unleash hideous numbers of attacks for ultra-high level characters.

You will max out at four attacks per round with a single weapon. Adding an off-hand weapon can add an additional attack. Using Rapid Shot with a bow will add an additional attack. The use of haste and other spells to increase attacks beyond five per round will not do so.

Any class using any weapon: Yes, any class can use any weapon, armor, or shield. However, if you don't take the proper proficiencies, you'll regret it.

Larry_OHF · 04-03-2002, 11:41 AM

Tuesday, April 2, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Tuesday, April 2, 2002, 21:08 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

Kevin Osburn (Line Producer)

Multi-class and 30th level limit: Yes, in that situation it would be 15/15.

Export character text file button being on the new interface: Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. But it's going to stay in there.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Spell lists: BTW, bards, paladins, and rangers now have their own spell lists. HOWEVER, note that in 3E, these lists are pretty small and kind of restrictive. We've tried to give them good access to a variety of cool spells per level. Bards have the most significant changes; most outright offensive spells have been removed from their list. In 3E fashion, they do have access to the various Cure X Wounds spells, which makes an awesome difference.

We are still adding spells to the bard, paladin, and ranger. After all, the Player's Handbook can't account for spells that exist outside of it.

Playing a Bard: Ha, ha, ha! I put forth the same questions to you that I put forward to Morc: you never use Mirror Image, Haste, Confusion, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Hold Person, Sleep, or any of the Emotion spells? Haste and Confusion alone are worth the price of admission, and the Emotion spells are lower level for bards than they are for wizards or sorcerers.

I can give you one argument from PnP to CRPG that should have some relevance. Steve Bokkes played a bard in my 3E campaign for almost a year. In that time, out of all the battles that the party fought, his character never fell, and frequently was responsible for the majority of enemy deaths. He was the only PC that never fell. And this wasn't due to some wacky spells he used that aren't in IWD2; it was through the use of Mage Armor, Mirror Image, Invisibility, Confusion, and Haste. Bards are good melee combatants. They have the same BAB as clerics, rogues, druids, and monks. If they aren't your thing, that's fine. But to write off the whole class as worthless because they don't fit your play style is kind of ridiculous.

In one battle, he killed four Malarite archers by closing to melee and stabbing them to death with his rapier (his Mirror Images and Blink absorbed their attacks). He then raced back across the battlefield, Confused a pack of reinforcements, used Cure spells to bring his mashed up allies back into the fight, and still wound up dealing the killing blows to a Malarite werewolf cleric and a displacer beast. Two party members died, three fell unconscious. He was unwounded, despite being attacked several times during every round of the battle.

Bard offensive spells: No, most of these are absent from the bard spell list. The bards lose most "I DESTROY YOU" spells, retain almost all of the "I mess with your mind" and "I create fancy illusions" spells, and gain access to the various Cure X Wounds spells.

Have you even played a 3E bard? Are you writing with the experience of someone who has used the character with that range and selection of spells and found it to be lacking? Have you, Jeriko?

1st Level:
Charm Person
Cure Light Wounds
Friends
Grease
Identify
Mage Armor
Protection From Evil
Sleep
Spook
Summon Monster I

2nd Level:
Blindness
Blur
Bull's Strength
Cat's Grace
Cure Moderate Wounds
Delay Poison
Hold Person
Invisibility
Luck
Mirror Image
Power Word Sleep
See Invisibility
Silence
Summon Monster II
Vocalize

3rd Level:
Blink
Confusion
Cure Serious Wounds
Dispel Magic
Emotion: Courage
Emotion: Fear
Emotion: Hope
Emotion: Hopelessness
Haste
Invisibility Sphere
Magic Circle Against Evil
Remove Curse
Remove Disease
Slow
Summon Monster III

4th level:
Cure Critical Wounds
Dimension Door
Dismissal
Dominate Person
Hold Monster
Improved Invisibility
Neutralize Poison
Shout
Spirit Armor
Summon Monster IV

5th Level:
Phantom Blade
Shadow Monsters
Summon Monster V
Summon Shadow

6th Level:
Greater Shadow Conjuration
Great Shout
Improved Haste
Summon Monster VI

Those are good spells. Unless you define "good" as "reducing creatures' hit points".

Are spells only interesting to you if they do hit point damage? There's no hidden power to Hold Person; it hits a character and they're paralyzed, effectively ending their involvement in the battle. There's virtually nothing better for taking out fighter enemies. And Confusion? Man, read the books you have. Try using these spells in combat. They are effective spells. If all you're looking for is for bards to have access to spells that make a lot of bright flashes on the screen and cause hit points to fall, sorry, no dice.

Blink spell: 3E Blink isn't the same as 2nd Ed. Blink. Here's how it works in our game:

Blink
(Transmutation)
Level: 3
Range: Caster
Duration: 1 round/level
Area of Effect: Caster
Saving Throw: None
Through this spell, the caster is able to enter a state where she is constantly phasing between the prime material and ethereal planes. While in this state attacks against the caster are 50% likely to outright fail, but the caster's attacks also suffer and are 20% likely to fail. In addition, spellcasting is 80% likely to fail when under the effects of this spell.

It's a great "final spell" before wading into melee -- right after Haste, of course.

How Justin Sweet’s portraits come to be: BTW, all of Justin's portraits for IWD2 start off of a text description that I give to him. He comes very close to what I have pictured in my mind. This drow portrait was supposed to show a character that had survived as a male in the typical drow matriarchal society, and somehow escaped to the surface. I try to imagine what Drizzt must have looked like when he emerged from the Underdark after all of his experiences in Exile. He probably wasn't ready to go to any social engagements.

And yes, the drow male does intentionally look less physically intimidating than the drow female.

To whet your appetite, here's the description I gave to Justin for a portrait he just finished. When it's posted, let me know if it matches the image you made in your mind when you read the following:

Male Human Paladin

Much more sombre and melancholy than most of the other characters, this man is a devout religious knight living in a world of heathens and heretics. An ascetic, he dresses simply and frowns on vanity. His warm brown eyes are dark-ringed and sunken with sorrow. His long brown hair, parted in the middle, is tangled and somewhat matted, pulled back simply to keep it out of his face. His beard and mustache are long but clean; it is obvious that he does not groom them meticulously. His plate armor is clean but not gleaming. In fact, it looks somewhat run down. Lacking engraving or pretty enamel, the plate armor is simply serviceable. A simple broadsword sits at his side. In his armored hands, he reverently holds a book similar in size and style to a bible. The paladin's humble gaze is directed down and to the side, as he is deep in thought.

Wood Elf Female Ranger/Druid

A thin but muscular, feral woman, this scout and warrior is alert and poised for ambush. Her exotic olive skin strongly contrasts her long, copper red hair. Practical about her duties, she keeps the front side strands of her hair pulled back into a tail. Her light green eyes are narrowed in suspicion. The woman's dress is practical for her humid home climate. She wears cured layers of deerskin over her torso, with a short, split side skirt affording her minimal protection but maximum mobility. She carries a leather satchel strapped across her body, resting near her hip. In her hands, she lightly holds a primitive but effective spear. The only other distinctive markings on her body are henna brown tribal tattoos on her forearms and shoulders.

Deep Gnome Male Fighter

Standing a little over three and a half feet tall, this bald, grey-skinned man has a serious expression as he gazes at a smooth lump of rock in his calloused hands. His eyes are a warm, very dark brown, like burned parchment. His face is drawn and dour. He is dressed in a chain shirt that ends at his mid-bicep and mid-thigh. His arms and legs are covered with a thick patchwork of leather from a variety of Underdark creatures. He wears sturdy boots meant for climbing over and up rock surfaces. A broad utility belt at his waist carries small picks, hammers, spikes, and a sheathed shortsword. His hands are cupped on the stone as though he is molding clay. A very slight, warm glow radiates out from where his hands touch the stone.

That's all I'll share for now. Oh, okay, one more:

Male Ghostwise Halfling Fighter/Thief

Standing calmly, with a placid gaze, this small man's blank expression is covered by grim facepaint. At a height of 3'2", he is dwarfed by the stumps and cattails that surround him. His leather armor is thick and well-padded. His long leather gloves are missing two fingers on his right hand, to allow easy use of the shortbow he holds in his left hand. Peeking over his right shoulder is a quiver full of arrows fletched with distinctive quail feathers. Over his left shoulder is a scabbarded long sword with a practical hilt, grip, and pommel. He wears a broad, detailed belt that supports three or four weathered pouches of different sizes. His dark brown hair is long, but most of it is pulled up into a topknot. Dark brown eyes innocently watch out from what would be a cherub-like expression, were it not for the pitch black and chalk white jawbone facepaint that covers his lower face.
Dave Maldonado (Designer)
Background art: The backgrounds are first constructed in 3D Studio Max, textured, and rendered out as 2D images - in other words, they begin their life in 3D.

An artist then pops the rendered 2D image into Photoshop and makes many, many, many little touch-ups, both corrections (filling in missing polygons or incorrect shadows, etc.) and enhancements (inserting broken tiles, cobwebs, trails of blood, etc.).

Those touch-ups are what have been giving the 2D backgrounds their aesthetic "edge." In time, 3D engines will be able to replicate them.

3d avatars into a 2d world: I'm not your man for this sort of question. That being said, though, I asked about same at one point and was told that it's by and large impossible from an "integration" standpoint. Sure, it could be done, but it'd require such gross quantities of ripping and replacing that you're pretty much talking about a different engine at that point.

You'd have to go into where the current 2D avatars are rendered and put in some wacky bypass system to your new 3D snazziness. Simple enough, maybe. But where it gets SUPER WACKY is the way all the resources are used... the animation routines and, more importantly, the artwork for equipment. The engine uses this 2D overlay system - like a character's helmet sprite is smacked in place over the character sprite's head - which is why many avatars have those very similar, somewhat stilted animations... it's not easy designing all those pieces to lay nicely over animated character sprites. Anyhow, you'd have to replace all of that with some crazy new system that uses various 3D attachments (new head when you put a full helmet on, weapon when you swap your sword for a mace, etc.), skins (for different colored equipment), and so on and all of that would have to still work with the current inventory interface for changing your gear. None of that - and I mean none of it - even sort of kind of exists and while it's possible to code up eventually, who knows what sort of gremlin-induced mystery problems will crop up as a result of slapping it all into an existing system that wasn't built for it.

So basically, you have to make some significant changes to the way the whole engine works, not just how characters are rendered onscreen. It's madness, I tell you, UTTER MADNESS.

Of course, I might have been lied to and it's really like that old standby joke:

[Program Options]
SetUseCool3DModels=1

Wooo!

Larry_OHF · 04-03-2002, 11:08 PM

Wednesday, April 3, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Wednesday, April 3, 2002, 17:44 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

Kevin Osburn (Line Producer)

Multiplayer performance: I will talk to the QA team today to see what's up with this.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Multiclass monk: Monk/anything almost always = levels that could have been better spent in the monk class. I played an awesome cleric/monk of Loviatar for a while. She was a cool character from a conceptual standpoint, but she was by no means a powerhouse. As a monk, she was way outclassed by single-classed monk NPCs we encountered, and as a cleric, she was woefully short on spells.

Sorcerer/wizards: All classes have separate spell lists. If a wizard/sorcerer scribes a scroll with Magic Missile on it, he knows it as a wizard -- NOT as a sorcerer. The wizard portion of the character learns and casts spells as a wizard should, and the sorcerer portion learns and casts spells as sorcerer should. Never the twain shall meet. This is done to avoid clowny mcclown from getting around each class' primary limitations.

Weapons for druids, rogues and monks: Druids start with proficiency in all simple weapons but crossbows. However, they do have the martial weapon proficiency: polearms and martial weapon proficiency: large swords. They are not prevented from taking feats for other weapons. I can't even begin to imagine the reasons why a druid could use a scimitar but NOT a longsword.

Rogues start with all simple weapon proficiencies. Monks start with all simple weapon proficiencies. This is pretty much by the book. The only weirdness comes in the definition of "small blades" and "polearms". Daggers and spears are simple weapons, but short swords and polearms are not. We decided to make an even trade; polearms are a MW proficiency and small blades are a SW proficiency.

Moonblades: There are no moonblades in IWD2 other than the Selunite/druidic kind. Sorry.

Lightning bolt and Chain lightning: In IWD, we implemented the Lightning Bolt "family" of spells (which, I guess, was Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning) by the letter of the roolz. It bounced all over the dungeon, but it started where you wanted to start it (within range).

In 3E, Lightning Bolt no longer rebounds all over creation, but it starts at the caster. Also, Chain Lightning arcs from enemy to enemy, instead of to the next nearest target.

I'm assuming that the Chain Lightning change would be warmly welcomed. How about the Lightning Bolt change?

Larry_OHF · 04-05-2002, 10:00 AM

Thursday, April 4, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Thursday, April 4, 2002, 20:34 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

Feargus Urquhart (President – Black Isle Studios)

New interface: We are still working on them. I just edited the new Spell Book screen a bit and am going to send it off to get it rendered and made after Darren takes a look at it.

As for you guys seeing stuff, it will be very soon.

Kevin Osburn (Line Producer)

Max hit points on level up: It's in there.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Cleric domains/faiths: Here are the descriptions for the clerics of each faith:

Painbearer of Ilmater -- Ilmater, also known as the Crying God, is the god of suffering and perserverance. Taught that enduring the suffering of others is the greatest act of sacrifice, Painbearers of Ilmater can be found wherever the weak are oppressed. Painbearers are known for their charity, humility, and their unshaking faith during even the most trying of circumstances.

Morninglord of Lathander -- Lathander the Morninglord is the god of the dawn and renewal. His priests, who share his title, can be found around the world helping communities grow and rebuild after times of trouble. Morninglords are known for their kindness and optimism.

Silverstar of Selune -- Selune is often called the Moonmaiden for her connection to the silver moon that orbits Faerun. She is the goddess of the moon and travelers. Her priests, called Silverstars, travel far and wide to help the oppressed and explore lost places. Silverstars are known for their open-minded tolerance and their hatred of bigotry.

Watcher of Helm -- Also known as He of the Unsleeping Eyes, Helm is the god of guardians. His servants, the Watchers, are always vigilant against invaders, thieves, and tricksters of all sorts. Watchers are known for their stern demeanor, loyalty, and uncompromising ethics.

Lorekeeper of Oghma -- Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, is the patron of bards and the god of knowledge. Oghma's Lorekeepers are interested in recovering lost secrets, preserving knowledge, and spreading information freely. Lorekeepers are known for their honesty and their inquisitive nature.

Battleguard of Tempus -- The Lord of Battles, Tempus, is worshipped by warriors across the Faerun. As war can be found in almost every civilzed part of the world, so too can the Battleguard of Tempus. Battleguards fight bravely and inspire their comrades to deeds of valor. They are known for their bravery and stubborn nature.

Dreadmaster of Bane -- Also known as the Black Hand, Bane is the god of strife, hatred, and tyranny. The Dreadmasters, his priests, can be found wherever the strong and cruel prey upon the weak. They are known for their manipulative scheming and malicious attitude.

Demarch of Mask -- The Lord of Shadows, Mask, is the god of thieves and shadows. His servants, the Demarchs, often help small bands of thieves in their efforts. Many can be found as advisors in thieves' guilds. They are known for their deceptive nature and their avarice.

Stormlord of Talos -- Talos the Destroyer is the god of storms and destruction. The bane of many rangers and druids, Talos works his evil through the use of his priests, the Stormlords. Stormlords terrorize farming communities all across Faerun with threats of imminent doom if all do not appease the Destroyer. They are known for their abusive terrorism and their foolhardy nature.

New lightning bolt: Yes, it will affect all enemies in the target area (anywhere the lightning bolt goes, targets in the path will take damage). No, it will not burn thin doors and light things on fire.

It's not so much a "3D" issue as a dynamic object issue. If you want to deal with objects as real objects that have things like hit points and AC and hardness values, those have to be part of how the object is defined.

If you've ever used Worldcraft or any FPS editors, you may know "dynamic objects" as "entities". In a Quake level, for instance, anything that you can do stuff to (doors that actually open and close, ammo you can pick up, teleporters, explosive barrels you can detonate) are dynamic objects. They have data associated with them that defines how they ACT in the environment.

A quick way to separate dynamic objects from static objects (world geometry that doesn't really do anything) in most 3D engines that use shadow maps is to look for the "Scooby-Doo Effect". You know how, in Scooby-Doo, you can always tell when a secret panel is going to open or when one of the five statues is going to move? It's usually a different color than the surrounding stuff; it sticks out. In most 3D engines with static lighting and shadow maps, it's easy to spot the objects that can move or be thrown out anywhere in the environment. When the developers make the level and burn the light maps, all dynamic objects are ignored for purposes of making the maps. Because the dynamic objects can move or disappear, it doesn't make any sense to have them receive or block static lighting or shadows. Ergo, they receive none. That's why it's easy to spot dynamic objects in most 3D engines. Why did I go off on this tangent? It is a mystery.

A high IQ player can't hold his melee characters back for the three seconds it takes to cast the spell?

Lightning Bolt does not reflect off of surfaces. Chain Lightning does not arc to allies -- EVER.

But, beyond what the rulebook says, there are very practical reasons for making these changes. In the Infinity Engine, the manner in which Lightning Bolt reflection is calculated works off of the search map. The search map is a blocky bitmap that the player can't see, making reflection, for all intents and purposes, random. Maybe it will bounce back to you, maybe it will bounce off at an angle. It isn't a tactical decision; it's just a risk. Casting a Fireball at a certain distance, that's a tactical decision. You have to use your judgement about the environment. There is no way to predict where a Lightning Bolt will bounce -- there's nothing "tactical" about making the decision to cast it. Removing Lightning Bolt's reflection makes it much more useful. About as useful as other 3rd level spells, which is what it should be.

Chain Lightning is a 6th level spell. It does d6 damage per level. However, with each arc, that damage decreases by 1d6 until it sputters out. For it to be valuable as a 6th level spell, it cannot be as haphazard as it was in IWD. Furthermore, it is not supposed to arc to allies in the first place.

Fireball: In 3E, Fireballs also do not deform their sphere shape to fill a volume. Sorry.

Problems with tiefling avatars: The problem with having 2D avatars that Barbie Fashion Designer tails, legs, horns, etc. is the same problem we have with tacking on any new graphic for equipment displayed on the characters. Well, except for the whole "legs" issue, which would require new models entirely, not to mention new armor/weapon overlays for those characters. And, if we were able to only implement a few of their features, like wings and horns, there invariably would be people who cried out, "WHHHHHHHYYYYYY WINGS AND HORNS?!? MY TIEFLING HAS A TAIL AND GOAT LEGS!11!" Yay.

Tieflings and aasimar have their own skin and hair palettes. You can make wacky red-skinned tielflings and gold-skinned aasimar if you want to.

No Rogue party: You should be able to do it. Rogues aren't quite as niche-y as they used to be. They are the best characters for "thiefy" things, but they can be pretty good in combat as well.

Larry_OHF · 04-07-2002, 06:38 PM

Friday, April 5, 2002

On the Black Isle Developer Boards
Friday, April 5, 2002, 17:31 | MageDragon
From the Black Isle Developer message boards.

J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer)

Elemental swarm spell: In our game, this is what it does:

Elemental Swarm
(Conjuration)
Level: Drd 9, Selune 9
Range: Sight of Caster
Duration: 1 turn/level
Casting Time: 1 round
Area of Effect: Special
Saving Throw: None
This spell allows the caster to summon four elementals, one from each of the elemental planes, to do his or her bidding. The spell always summons 16 hit dice elementals. The elementals will fight on behalf of the caster until the spell duration expires or they are destroyed.

It's pretty effective.

Fighters wisdom: I consider a fighter's wisdom to be one of his or her prime stats, given their asstacular Will saves.

Point-buy system: Discussions of what it should "feel" like aside, the point-buy system is not weighted because the mathematics in the DMG's scale don't make sense. The system attempts to convince the player that in some cases, +1 = 2 and in other cases, +1 actually = 4 or = 6.

Wizards: Wizards get a bonus feat at first level and a bonus feat every five levels after that. By 15th level, you could have a wizard with Greater Spell Focus in multiple schools (+4 to save DC).

Sorcerers do gain additional skill points, as listed in the rules forum.

Summoning spells: Summoning spells that last eight hours? They barely last eight rounds. The duration of most summoning spells in 3E is pretty short.

Animate Dead produces some pretty scary dudes at high level.

Dragon’s eye: What makes you think that after descending to the bottom of Dragon's Eye that you will go back up? Domains: Here's a task for you, if you'd like to understand where we're coming from. Find two domains in the PHB or FRCS that have domain spells that are all in Icewind Dale or Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter.

It's rhetorical; there are no domains that have ONLY spells that we have in Icewind Dale 2. If we can't even find ONE domain that has all bases covered, finding nine or ten full domains (which still barely scratches the surface of possibilities for FR deities) is impossible. The deities listed were the ones whose domain spells could be most easily represented by what we have -- one per alignment. Oghma's a bit of a stretch, but he is one of TWO neutral human FR deities (if you discount the various elemental lords). At the higher levels for some of these deities, I was just leaning back in my chair, looking at our spell list, and rubbing my temples in anguish.

Contest: BTW, I'm writing up an IWD2 contest for the near future, so that will hopefully draw many people to re-examine what we are making. It worked like a charm for Neverwinter Nights. Man, that was a difficult contest to judge.

Chad Nicholas (Sciptor)

Key rings: Nope, sorry. I asked for this as soon as I started working on IwD2.

Familiars: I just know that it was decided to not have familiars early on in IwD2's dev cycle, and that decision hasn't changed. Once all of you see the changes we've done to the entire game, I don't think you'll feel that anything is too hard to do (how much time we have is another matter).

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Useful tidbits..	Nanobyte	Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 Also SoU & HotU Forum	3	08-29-2001 06:42 AM

03-27-2002, 10:44 AM	#41
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Icewind Dale II Preview Wednesday, March 27, 2002, 05:22 \| MageDragon The programmers swear that they completely re-designed the old Infinity Engine, which seems to be quite true judging by the pictures. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine what it is that they really had to change. Some of the possible things that could have been improved are the spell-effects, and the general artwork, and we certainly hope to see even more beautiful maps and monsters than in the first Icewind Dale. The programmers promised the game would play in 1024x768, and some even mentioned it might support 2048x1536. All in all, Icewind Dale 2 doesn't need new technology or visuals to be a good game, as the developers decided to focus more on the plot. This is great, as we saw what happened to Ubi Soft's Pool of Radiance-a, whose "innovative" engine turned out to be practically useless, and made the adventure come down to roaming around and slaughtering everything.

03-28-2002, 09:05 AM	#42
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Wednesday, March 27, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Wednesday, March 27, 2002, 19:52 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Placing flags on journal mapsYou will have the ability to place "flags" on area maps. Movement issues: I suggested that Landsknechts should have a measly 1 point movement penalty. From the reaction I got, one might think I had kicked all the forum readers in the groin. And a halfling doesn't just have a 1 point penalty. He has the equivalent of a 2 or 3 point movement penalty (20'/round vs. 30'/round). Many people would have evacuated their bowels in sadness if they booted up IWD2 and saw their halflings, gnomes, and dwarves shuffling along at 66% speed. The limitation is actually less annoying in PnP since you typically only care about movement in combat. The DM doesn't wait to narrate things to you when you move around town. Designers that worked on PS:T and dialogue: Chris Avellone, Dave Maldonado, Rob Holloway, and John Deiley all worked on Planescape: Torment. They are all doing a lot of area design on Icewind Dale 2. You know why we haven't shown any dialogue? Because dialogue takes place only in the full-frame interface. Our interface is still being implemented into the game.

03-30-2002, 10:33 AM	#44
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Friday, March 29, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Friday, March 29, 2002, 19:28 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. Doug Avery (Associate Producer) Making the strategy guide: I don't think so and I'll be hiding if anyone asks me to. That took up way too much of my time during the end of Tales. Matt Norton and Mark Pfeiffer handled the worst parts of it, I just chimed in periodically with corrections or got them maps to use. It was definitely an experience though. Right now we usually contract out all of our strategy guides and help the authors out whenever possible with maps, playing tips, etc. That formula seems to be working really well and it frees up more of the dev. team's time. Kevin Osburn (Line Producer) Game length: The reason why we were saying is that we expect 40 hours of gameplay is that was the rough estimate we came up with at that time. Since then, some significant changes have been made to the game, and last time we talked to QA they said they expected it to be longer than IWD originally was. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Inventory slots and carry weight: In IWD2, you will have 24 inventory slots per character, as opposed to the 16 per character that you previously had. 16 x 6 = 96 24 x 6 = 144 Weight will be more of a limiting factor than it was before, especially since melee characters can hold their own in combat with lower strength scores. Let me take this moment to laugh a little laugh at the fate of the mercenary kit. Ha, ha, ha. Don't worry, though. There is a feat in IWD2 called Strong Back (sound familiar?) that increases the character's carry weight. Elementalist-y feats: The elementalist-y feats will have spellcasting prerequisites. E.g.: Aegis of Rime will require the character to know three of the following spells: Frost Fingers, Ice Blade, Cone of Cold, Chill Touch, Conjure Air Elemental, Conjure Lesser Air Elemental, Fireshield Blue, Ice Knife, Ice Storm, Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, etc., etc. Design update: The programmers have finished most of the multi-classing goofiness, including weird interface issues and file format malarkey (?). Right now, they are implementing skillz and feats. The designers are tightening up area design and/or redesigning portions of their areas for greater consistency. I would like to repeat my previous declaration that Rob Holloway is out of his mind. Rob is responsible for the Western Pass and Dragon's Eye in IWD2. Some of his puzzles are so nuts that even the die-hard Durlag's Tower enthusiast may be bewildered by them. I have a feeling that the final level of Dragon's Eye will be one of the most well-remembered areas in IWD2. Chimeras: The chimeras also have a... "symbolic" role in the story. Dialogue and splattering corpses: As Dave mentioned in the DD (though you may not have been beaten over the head with it), Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate are going into the game as skills. All of the designers are going through their areas to make sure that each skill is used for tangible rewards at least once per area. The player should get the feeling that using their fancy talking skills has clearly given them an advantage in the situation. E.g. (SPOILERS FOLLOW): In Targos, you meet a group of jerky adventurers (mercenaries) lounging around in a tavern. A dude asks you to go get them to help with a given task. No matter what you say to them, they respond with jerkiness. Later on, a Targos "official guy" asks you to go get them so they can, you know, actually help defend the town. When you talk to them, you can use Intimidation and Bluff to convince them that not helping defend the town will be bad, bad news for them. Of course, you can always insult them and splatter their corpses all over the tavern, but scaring them into actually doing something helps you with a later battle (in which most of them die, thus allowing you to take their loot anyway). Seeing the options: Oh, I almost forgot: when you get options based off of race, class, subrace, alignment, ability scores, or skills, you see the listed attribute in parentheses after the reply string. E.g.: A response requires that you are not a paladin and have a bluff skill of 5 (ranks + Cha mod). If you qualified, it would show the following: 1. Besbus Durth? I heard that guy has some big problem with the job you're doing. I heard he was going to rip your head off if you didn't report to him soon. (Not Paladin, Bluff)

04-02-2002, 09:46 AM	#45
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	On the Black Isle Developer Boards Monday, April 1, 2002, 18:26 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Intimidate skill: As I posted, you will be able to use Intimidate to worthwhile effect at least once (if not more) in every area in the game -- the same applies for Bluff and Diplomacy. I think this puts them on par with skills like Find/Remove Traps, which are used less than frequently, but are still very worthwhile when used. Spell Focus: Spell Focus is in for Invocation, Enchantment, Necromancy, and Transmutation. The other four spells don't have enough "save vs." instances to justify their feats. Spell Focus is Arcane Focus. Greater Spell Focus will give a total of +4. Skills: The skill list has now been finalized on the front page. You may notice that a few of the lore skills got shifted around into other things. You might also notice that the balance of the lore skills is kind of stupid. That would be an accurate assessment. Haste: Haste was its normal, goofy 2nd Ed. version because of engine limitations that we have thankfully overcome in IWD2. For the record I wanted to have Haste removed from Heart of Winter because it was so unbelievably powerful. War Chant of Sith: War Chant of Sith's healing benefits are laughable in combat. 2 hit points a round? A Barrow Wight did between 15-25 per hit, and it got multiple attacks per round. If you're trying to tell me that 2 HP regeneration per round makes clerics with Heal and Cure Critical Wounds "obsolete" -- sorry, I'm not buying it. War Chant of Sith doesn't replace healing spells in combat, and it can't match a cleric's buffing ability. Sorry, it's simple math. If given the choice between my fighter getting 10 hit points back over five rounds or getting 95% of his hit points back in one round, there's no question which is better. Bless + Prayer + Recitation + Emotion Control: Courage + Defensive Harmony + Righteous Wrath of the Faithful (which was still in IWD and HoW, but not in IWD2) = +8 to hit, +9 to damage, bonus AC, +6 to saves, and an additional attack per round. A bard can buff the party pretty well, but not as well, and he certainly can't heal my fighter back to full hit points when a monster is shredding him to pieces. If you want to argue that clerics are the underpowered cousins of every other class in D&D, I'd be interested to hear your arguments. If you want to argue that it's because you can't be bothered to actually use their powers when appropriate, that doesn't seem like a very good argument. And Kaylessa's Elven Chain +3? That's a 2 AC, which is easily beaten by almost any decent armor/shield combination in the game. Clerics could have ACs well below any bard in IWD and HoW. Game balance and clerics: The number of enemies in IWD and HoW that used Dispel Magic was woefully small. However, the fact that it didn't allow a save is lame. That has been remedied in IWD2. A LOT of things have been remedied in IWD2. And whatever taunting you want to lash out with about the balance in IWD and HoW -- that's fine. For a variety of reasons, I don't always get my way when it comes to balancing things. But, above all else, arguments about IWD and HoW balance aren't salient to this discussion; we're talking about balance in IWD2. Clerics in IWD2 are really powerful as written. I don't think that spending feats for domain spells makes them any less cool. They still would get their domain powers for free (which is half of "the point"), and could have access to domain spells if the player wanted to. YES, I understand that wizards and sorcerers get most of the flashy offensive spells. They also get low hit points, one good save, and no armor profs (and arcane casting failure on top of that). Do you not believe that a high level cleric of Talos would lay waste to any other wizard or sorcerer of equal level in terms of overall ability? Let's not get into any "cleric of Talos fights wizard" scenarios; I trust you understand what I'm getting at. Dual Daggers: For an assassin with Weapon Finesse, it should be a nice combo. Attacks per round: You will have a maximum of five attacks per round in IWD2. Five attacks should be more than enough. Even though you won't be getting additional attacks, your five attacks per round will still be increasing in attack value. To the best of my knowledge, it IS an engine limitation. I have seen no evidence that, in the IWD2 engine, a character can gain more than 5 attacks in a single round. However, I have seen plenty of evidence that the engine cuts off the maximum number of attacks at 5. The exact "hows" and "whys" of this are unknown to me. I honestly don't understand why this is such a concern. I like the fact that there is currently a limit of five attacks per round. Only exceptionally high (Heart of Furyish) characters would even enter into this realm of insanity. I don't know if it's worth wrenching around in the engine just to unleash hideous numbers of attacks for ultra-high level characters. You will max out at four attacks per round with a single weapon. Adding an off-hand weapon can add an additional attack. Using Rapid Shot with a bow will add an additional attack. The use of haste and other spells to increase attacks beyond five per round will not do so. Any class using any weapon: Yes, any class can use any weapon, armor, or shield. However, if you don't take the proper proficiencies, you'll regret it.

04-03-2002, 11:41 AM	#46
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Tuesday, April 2, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Tuesday, April 2, 2002, 21:08 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. Kevin Osburn (Line Producer) Multi-class and 30th level limit: Yes, in that situation it would be 15/15. Export character text file button being on the new interface: Sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. But it's going to stay in there. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Spell lists: BTW, bards, paladins, and rangers now have their own spell lists. HOWEVER, note that in 3E, these lists are pretty small and kind of restrictive. We've tried to give them good access to a variety of cool spells per level. Bards have the most significant changes; most outright offensive spells have been removed from their list. In 3E fashion, they do have access to the various Cure X Wounds spells, which makes an awesome difference. We are still adding spells to the bard, paladin, and ranger. After all, the Player's Handbook can't account for spells that exist outside of it. Playing a Bard: Ha, ha, ha! I put forth the same questions to you that I put forward to Morc: you never use Mirror Image, Haste, Confusion, Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, Hold Person, Sleep, or any of the Emotion spells? Haste and Confusion alone are worth the price of admission, and the Emotion spells are lower level for bards than they are for wizards or sorcerers. I can give you one argument from PnP to CRPG that should have some relevance. Steve Bokkes played a bard in my 3E campaign for almost a year. In that time, out of all the battles that the party fought, his character never fell, and frequently was responsible for the majority of enemy deaths. He was the only PC that never fell. And this wasn't due to some wacky spells he used that aren't in IWD2; it was through the use of Mage Armor, Mirror Image, Invisibility, Confusion, and Haste. Bards are good melee combatants. They have the same BAB as clerics, rogues, druids, and monks. If they aren't your thing, that's fine. But to write off the whole class as worthless because they don't fit your play style is kind of ridiculous. In one battle, he killed four Malarite archers by closing to melee and stabbing them to death with his rapier (his Mirror Images and Blink absorbed their attacks). He then raced back across the battlefield, Confused a pack of reinforcements, used Cure spells to bring his mashed up allies back into the fight, and still wound up dealing the killing blows to a Malarite werewolf cleric and a displacer beast. Two party members died, three fell unconscious. He was unwounded, despite being attacked several times during every round of the battle. Bard offensive spells: No, most of these are absent from the bard spell list. The bards lose most "I DESTROY YOU" spells, retain almost all of the "I mess with your mind" and "I create fancy illusions" spells, and gain access to the various Cure X Wounds spells. Have you even played a 3E bard? Are you writing with the experience of someone who has used the character with that range and selection of spells and found it to be lacking? Have you, Jeriko? 1st Level: Charm Person Cure Light Wounds Friends Grease Identify Mage Armor Protection From Evil Sleep Spook Summon Monster I 2nd Level: Blindness Blur Bull's Strength Cat's Grace Cure Moderate Wounds Delay Poison Hold Person Invisibility Luck Mirror Image Power Word Sleep See Invisibility Silence Summon Monster II Vocalize 3rd Level: Blink Confusion Cure Serious Wounds Dispel Magic Emotion: Courage Emotion: Fear Emotion: Hope Emotion: Hopelessness Haste Invisibility Sphere Magic Circle Against Evil Remove Curse Remove Disease Slow Summon Monster III 4th level: Cure Critical Wounds Dimension Door Dismissal Dominate Person Hold Monster Improved Invisibility Neutralize Poison Shout Spirit Armor Summon Monster IV 5th Level: Phantom Blade Shadow Monsters Summon Monster V Summon Shadow 6th Level: Greater Shadow Conjuration Great Shout Improved Haste Summon Monster VI Those are good spells. Unless you define "good" as "reducing creatures' hit points". Are spells only interesting to you if they do hit point damage? There's no hidden power to Hold Person; it hits a character and they're paralyzed, effectively ending their involvement in the battle. There's virtually nothing better for taking out fighter enemies. And Confusion? Man, read the books you have. Try using these spells in combat. They are effective spells. If all you're looking for is for bards to have access to spells that make a lot of bright flashes on the screen and cause hit points to fall, sorry, no dice. Blink spell: 3E Blink isn't the same as 2nd Ed. Blink. Here's how it works in our game: Blink (Transmutation) Level: 3 Range: Caster Duration: 1 round/level Area of Effect: Caster Saving Throw: None Through this spell, the caster is able to enter a state where she is constantly phasing between the prime material and ethereal planes. While in this state attacks against the caster are 50% likely to outright fail, but the caster's attacks also suffer and are 20% likely to fail. In addition, spellcasting is 80% likely to fail when under the effects of this spell. It's a great "final spell" before wading into melee -- right after Haste, of course. How Justin Sweet’s portraits come to be: BTW, all of Justin's portraits for IWD2 start off of a text description that I give to him. He comes very close to what I have pictured in my mind. This drow portrait was supposed to show a character that had survived as a male in the typical drow matriarchal society, and somehow escaped to the surface. I try to imagine what Drizzt must have looked like when he emerged from the Underdark after all of his experiences in Exile. He probably wasn't ready to go to any social engagements. And yes, the drow male does intentionally look less physically intimidating than the drow female. To whet your appetite, here's the description I gave to Justin for a portrait he just finished. When it's posted, let me know if it matches the image you made in your mind when you read the following: Male Human Paladin Much more sombre and melancholy than most of the other characters, this man is a devout religious knight living in a world of heathens and heretics. An ascetic, he dresses simply and frowns on vanity. His warm brown eyes are dark-ringed and sunken with sorrow. His long brown hair, parted in the middle, is tangled and somewhat matted, pulled back simply to keep it out of his face. His beard and mustache are long but clean; it is obvious that he does not groom them meticulously. His plate armor is clean but not gleaming. In fact, it looks somewhat run down. Lacking engraving or pretty enamel, the plate armor is simply serviceable. A simple broadsword sits at his side. In his armored hands, he reverently holds a book similar in size and style to a bible. The paladin's humble gaze is directed down and to the side, as he is deep in thought. Wood Elf Female Ranger/Druid A thin but muscular, feral woman, this scout and warrior is alert and poised for ambush. Her exotic olive skin strongly contrasts her long, copper red hair. Practical about her duties, she keeps the front side strands of her hair pulled back into a tail. Her light green eyes are narrowed in suspicion. The woman's dress is practical for her humid home climate. She wears cured layers of deerskin over her torso, with a short, split side skirt affording her minimal protection but maximum mobility. She carries a leather satchel strapped across her body, resting near her hip. In her hands, she lightly holds a primitive but effective spear. The only other distinctive markings on her body are henna brown tribal tattoos on her forearms and shoulders. Deep Gnome Male Fighter Standing a little over three and a half feet tall, this bald, grey-skinned man has a serious expression as he gazes at a smooth lump of rock in his calloused hands. His eyes are a warm, very dark brown, like burned parchment. His face is drawn and dour. He is dressed in a chain shirt that ends at his mid-bicep and mid-thigh. His arms and legs are covered with a thick patchwork of leather from a variety of Underdark creatures. He wears sturdy boots meant for climbing over and up rock surfaces. A broad utility belt at his waist carries small picks, hammers, spikes, and a sheathed shortsword. His hands are cupped on the stone as though he is molding clay. A very slight, warm glow radiates out from where his hands touch the stone. That's all I'll share for now. Oh, okay, one more: Male Ghostwise Halfling Fighter/Thief Standing calmly, with a placid gaze, this small man's blank expression is covered by grim facepaint. At a height of 3'2", he is dwarfed by the stumps and cattails that surround him. His leather armor is thick and well-padded. His long leather gloves are missing two fingers on his right hand, to allow easy use of the shortbow he holds in his left hand. Peeking over his right shoulder is a quiver full of arrows fletched with distinctive quail feathers. Over his left shoulder is a scabbarded long sword with a practical hilt, grip, and pommel. He wears a broad, detailed belt that supports three or four weathered pouches of different sizes. His dark brown hair is long, but most of it is pulled up into a topknot. Dark brown eyes innocently watch out from what would be a cherub-like expression, were it not for the pitch black and chalk white jawbone facepaint that covers his lower face. Dave Maldonado (Designer) Background art: The backgrounds are first constructed in 3D Studio Max, textured, and rendered out as 2D images - in other words, they begin their life in 3D. An artist then pops the rendered 2D image into Photoshop and makes many, many, many little touch-ups, both corrections (filling in missing polygons or incorrect shadows, etc.) and enhancements (inserting broken tiles, cobwebs, trails of blood, etc.). Those touch-ups are what have been giving the 2D backgrounds their aesthetic "edge." In time, 3D engines will be able to replicate them. 3d avatars into a 2d world: I'm not your man for this sort of question. That being said, though, I asked about same at one point and was told that it's by and large impossible from an "integration" standpoint. Sure, it could be done, but it'd require such gross quantities of ripping and replacing that you're pretty much talking about a different engine at that point. You'd have to go into where the current 2D avatars are rendered and put in some wacky bypass system to your new 3D snazziness. Simple enough, maybe. But where it gets SUPER WACKY is the way all the resources are used... the animation routines and, more importantly, the artwork for equipment. The engine uses this 2D overlay system - like a character's helmet sprite is smacked in place over the character sprite's head - which is why many avatars have those very similar, somewhat stilted animations... it's not easy designing all those pieces to lay nicely over animated character sprites. Anyhow, you'd have to replace all of that with some crazy new system that uses various 3D attachments (new head when you put a full helmet on, weapon when you swap your sword for a mace, etc.), skins (for different colored equipment), and so on and all of that would have to still work with the current inventory interface for changing your gear. None of that - and I mean none of it - even sort of kind of exists and while it's possible to code up eventually, who knows what sort of gremlin-induced mystery problems will crop up as a result of slapping it all into an existing system that wasn't built for it. So basically, you have to make some significant changes to the way the whole engine works, not just how characters are rendered onscreen. It's madness, I tell you, UTTER MADNESS. Of course, I might have been lied to and it's really like that old standby joke: [Program Options] SetUseCool3DModels=1 Wooo!

04-03-2002, 11:08 PM	#47
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Wednesday, April 3, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Wednesday, April 3, 2002, 17:44 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. Kevin Osburn (Line Producer) Multiplayer performance: I will talk to the QA team today to see what's up with this. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Multiclass monk: Monk/anything almost always = levels that could have been better spent in the monk class. I played an awesome cleric/monk of Loviatar for a while. She was a cool character from a conceptual standpoint, but she was by no means a powerhouse. As a monk, she was way outclassed by single-classed monk NPCs we encountered, and as a cleric, she was woefully short on spells. Sorcerer/wizards: All classes have separate spell lists. If a wizard/sorcerer scribes a scroll with Magic Missile on it, he knows it as a wizard -- NOT as a sorcerer. The wizard portion of the character learns and casts spells as a wizard should, and the sorcerer portion learns and casts spells as sorcerer should. Never the twain shall meet. This is done to avoid clowny mcclown from getting around each class' primary limitations. Weapons for druids, rogues and monks: Druids start with proficiency in all simple weapons but crossbows. However, they do have the martial weapon proficiency: polearms and martial weapon proficiency: large swords. They are not prevented from taking feats for other weapons. I can't even begin to imagine the reasons why a druid could use a scimitar but NOT a longsword. Rogues start with all simple weapon proficiencies. Monks start with all simple weapon proficiencies. This is pretty much by the book. The only weirdness comes in the definition of "small blades" and "polearms". Daggers and spears are simple weapons, but short swords and polearms are not. We decided to make an even trade; polearms are a MW proficiency and small blades are a SW proficiency. Moonblades: There are no moonblades in IWD2 other than the Selunite/druidic kind. Sorry. Lightning bolt and Chain lightning: In IWD, we implemented the Lightning Bolt "family" of spells (which, I guess, was Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning) by the letter of the roolz. It bounced all over the dungeon, but it started where you wanted to start it (within range). In 3E, Lightning Bolt no longer rebounds all over creation, but it starts at the caster. Also, Chain Lightning arcs from enemy to enemy, instead of to the next nearest target. I'm assuming that the Chain Lightning change would be warmly welcomed. How about the Lightning Bolt change?

04-05-2002, 10:00 AM	#48
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Thursday, April 4, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Thursday, April 4, 2002, 20:34 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. Feargus Urquhart (President – Black Isle Studios) New interface: We are still working on them. I just edited the new Spell Book screen a bit and am going to send it off to get it rendered and made after Darren takes a look at it. As for you guys seeing stuff, it will be very soon. Kevin Osburn (Line Producer) Max hit points on level up: It's in there. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Cleric domains/faiths: Here are the descriptions for the clerics of each faith: Painbearer of Ilmater -- Ilmater, also known as the Crying God, is the god of suffering and perserverance. Taught that enduring the suffering of others is the greatest act of sacrifice, Painbearers of Ilmater can be found wherever the weak are oppressed. Painbearers are known for their charity, humility, and their unshaking faith during even the most trying of circumstances. Morninglord of Lathander -- Lathander the Morninglord is the god of the dawn and renewal. His priests, who share his title, can be found around the world helping communities grow and rebuild after times of trouble. Morninglords are known for their kindness and optimism. Silverstar of Selune -- Selune is often called the Moonmaiden for her connection to the silver moon that orbits Faerun. She is the goddess of the moon and travelers. Her priests, called Silverstars, travel far and wide to help the oppressed and explore lost places. Silverstars are known for their open-minded tolerance and their hatred of bigotry. Watcher of Helm -- Also known as He of the Unsleeping Eyes, Helm is the god of guardians. His servants, the Watchers, are always vigilant against invaders, thieves, and tricksters of all sorts. Watchers are known for their stern demeanor, loyalty, and uncompromising ethics. Lorekeeper of Oghma -- Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, is the patron of bards and the god of knowledge. Oghma's Lorekeepers are interested in recovering lost secrets, preserving knowledge, and spreading information freely. Lorekeepers are known for their honesty and their inquisitive nature. Battleguard of Tempus -- The Lord of Battles, Tempus, is worshipped by warriors across the Faerun. As war can be found in almost every civilzed part of the world, so too can the Battleguard of Tempus. Battleguards fight bravely and inspire their comrades to deeds of valor. They are known for their bravery and stubborn nature. Dreadmaster of Bane -- Also known as the Black Hand, Bane is the god of strife, hatred, and tyranny. The Dreadmasters, his priests, can be found wherever the strong and cruel prey upon the weak. They are known for their manipulative scheming and malicious attitude. Demarch of Mask -- The Lord of Shadows, Mask, is the god of thieves and shadows. His servants, the Demarchs, often help small bands of thieves in their efforts. Many can be found as advisors in thieves' guilds. They are known for their deceptive nature and their avarice. Stormlord of Talos -- Talos the Destroyer is the god of storms and destruction. The bane of many rangers and druids, Talos works his evil through the use of his priests, the Stormlords. Stormlords terrorize farming communities all across Faerun with threats of imminent doom if all do not appease the Destroyer. They are known for their abusive terrorism and their foolhardy nature. New lightning bolt: Yes, it will affect all enemies in the target area (anywhere the lightning bolt goes, targets in the path will take damage). No, it will not burn thin doors and light things on fire. It's not so much a "3D" issue as a dynamic object issue. If you want to deal with objects as real objects that have things like hit points and AC and hardness values, those have to be part of how the object is defined. If you've ever used Worldcraft or any FPS editors, you may know "dynamic objects" as "entities". In a Quake level, for instance, anything that you can do stuff to (doors that actually open and close, ammo you can pick up, teleporters, explosive barrels you can detonate) are dynamic objects. They have data associated with them that defines how they ACT in the environment. A quick way to separate dynamic objects from static objects (world geometry that doesn't really do anything) in most 3D engines that use shadow maps is to look for the "Scooby-Doo Effect". You know how, in Scooby-Doo, you can always tell when a secret panel is going to open or when one of the five statues is going to move? It's usually a different color than the surrounding stuff; it sticks out. In most 3D engines with static lighting and shadow maps, it's easy to spot the objects that can move or be thrown out anywhere in the environment. When the developers make the level and burn the light maps, all dynamic objects are ignored for purposes of making the maps. Because the dynamic objects can move or disappear, it doesn't make any sense to have them receive or block static lighting or shadows. Ergo, they receive none. That's why it's easy to spot dynamic objects in most 3D engines. Why did I go off on this tangent? It is a mystery. A high IQ player can't hold his melee characters back for the three seconds it takes to cast the spell? Lightning Bolt does not reflect off of surfaces. Chain Lightning does not arc to allies -- EVER. But, beyond what the rulebook says, there are very practical reasons for making these changes. In the Infinity Engine, the manner in which Lightning Bolt reflection is calculated works off of the search map. The search map is a blocky bitmap that the player can't see, making reflection, for all intents and purposes, random. Maybe it will bounce back to you, maybe it will bounce off at an angle. It isn't a tactical decision; it's just a risk. Casting a Fireball at a certain distance, that's a tactical decision. You have to use your judgement about the environment. There is no way to predict where a Lightning Bolt will bounce -- there's nothing "tactical" about making the decision to cast it. Removing Lightning Bolt's reflection makes it much more useful. About as useful as other 3rd level spells, which is what it should be. Chain Lightning is a 6th level spell. It does d6 damage per level. However, with each arc, that damage decreases by 1d6 until it sputters out. For it to be valuable as a 6th level spell, it cannot be as haphazard as it was in IWD. Furthermore, it is not supposed to arc to allies in the first place. Fireball: In 3E, Fireballs also do not deform their sphere shape to fill a volume. Sorry. Problems with tiefling avatars: The problem with having 2D avatars that Barbie Fashion Designer tails, legs, horns, etc. is the same problem we have with tacking on any new graphic for equipment displayed on the characters. Well, except for the whole "legs" issue, which would require new models entirely, not to mention new armor/weapon overlays for those characters. And, if we were able to only implement a few of their features, like wings and horns, there invariably would be people who cried out, "WHHHHHHHYYYYYY WINGS AND HORNS?!? MY TIEFLING HAS A TAIL AND GOAT LEGS!11!" Yay. Tieflings and aasimar have their own skin and hair palettes. You can make wacky red-skinned tielflings and gold-skinned aasimar if you want to. No Rogue party: You should be able to do it. Rogues aren't quite as niche-y as they used to be. They are the best characters for "thiefy" things, but they can be pretty good in combat as well.

04-07-2002, 06:38 PM	#49
Larry_OHF Ironworks Moderator Join Date: March 1, 2001 Location: Midlands, South Carolina Age: 48 Posts: 14,759	Friday, April 5, 2002 On the Black Isle Developer Boards Friday, April 5, 2002, 17:31 \| MageDragon From the Black Isle Developer message boards. J.E. Sawyer (Lead Designer) Elemental swarm spell: In our game, this is what it does: Elemental Swarm (Conjuration) Level: Drd 9, Selune 9 Range: Sight of Caster Duration: 1 turn/level Casting Time: 1 round Area of Effect: Special Saving Throw: None This spell allows the caster to summon four elementals, one from each of the elemental planes, to do his or her bidding. The spell always summons 16 hit dice elementals. The elementals will fight on behalf of the caster until the spell duration expires or they are destroyed. It's pretty effective. Fighters wisdom: I consider a fighter's wisdom to be one of his or her prime stats, given their asstacular Will saves. Point-buy system: Discussions of what it should "feel" like aside, the point-buy system is not weighted because the mathematics in the DMG's scale don't make sense. The system attempts to convince the player that in some cases, +1 = 2 and in other cases, +1 actually = 4 or = 6. Wizards: Wizards get a bonus feat at first level and a bonus feat every five levels after that. By 15th level, you could have a wizard with Greater Spell Focus in multiple schools (+4 to save DC). Sorcerers do gain additional skill points, as listed in the rules forum. Summoning spells: Summoning spells that last eight hours? They barely last eight rounds. The duration of most summoning spells in 3E is pretty short. Animate Dead produces some pretty scary dudes at high level. Dragon’s eye: What makes you think that after descending to the bottom of Dragon's Eye that you will go back up? Domains: Here's a task for you, if you'd like to understand where we're coming from. Find two domains in the PHB or FRCS that have domain spells that are all in Icewind Dale or Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter. It's rhetorical; there are no domains that have ONLY spells that we have in Icewind Dale 2. If we can't even find ONE domain that has all bases covered, finding nine or ten full domains (which still barely scratches the surface of possibilities for FR deities) is impossible. The deities listed were the ones whose domain spells could be most easily represented by what we have -- one per alignment. Oghma's a bit of a stretch, but he is one of TWO neutral human FR deities (if you discount the various elemental lords). At the higher levels for some of these deities, I was just leaning back in my chair, looking at our spell list, and rubbing my temples in anguish. Contest: BTW, I'm writing up an IWD2 contest for the near future, so that will hopefully draw many people to re-examine what we are making. It worked like a charm for Neverwinter Nights. Man, that was a difficult contest to judge. Chad Nicholas (Sciptor) Key rings: Nope, sorry. I asked for this as soon as I started working on IwD2. Familiars: I just know that it was decided to not have familiars early on in IwD2's dev cycle, and that decision hasn't changed. Once all of you see the changes we've done to the entire game, I don't think you'll feel that anything is too hard to do (how much time we have is another matter).

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