The GWJ CRPG Club - Retirement Home

I'M BACK Female DoggoES

My unyielding march towards complete RPG club superiority took a hit when my over-ambitious plan to play Witcher 1-3 in sequence stalled during Witcher 2.

Well, I came back to Witcher 2 a couple weeks ago and powered through it. Now I'm ready to migrate my savegame on to Witcher 3 and complete the sequence. As of this weekend, I will officially be in progress in Witcher 3.

*Legion* wrote:

I'M BACK Female DoggoES

My unyielding march towards complete RPG club superiority took a hit when my over-ambitious plan to play Witcher 1-3 in sequence stalled during Witcher 2.

Well, I came back to Witcher 2 a couple weeks ago and powered through it. Now I'm ready to migrate my savegame on to Witcher 3 and complete the sequence. As of this weekend, I will officially be in progress in Witcher 3.

oo oo I just started a Witcher 3 replay

I feel like I must be approaching the endgame of Dragonfall: I've bought the best possible deck and drones (I'm a decker/rigger hybrid) and unlocked the final skill for all companions.

The doing-discrete-jobs-to-earn-a-bunch-of-cash structure of the middle act worked for me, allowing nice little cyberpunk vignettes that don't overstay their welcome.

I've completed Dragonfall. I really enjoyed the story, and the twists at the end, though I cannot help that it'd have had more of an impact if I was more familiar with the entirety of the Shadowrun setting, instead of just what I picked up in the Harbrained Studios games.

Unsure of spoiler policy for this thread, but this is the ending I got:

Spoiler:

I freed APEX, but killed Feuerschwinge and blew up the castle.

I read up on the other possible endings and the "side with Vauclair" one is really, really dark. Kinda wish I had gotten that one...

Math wrote:

I've completed Dragonfall. I really enjoyed the story, and the twists at the end, though I cannot help that it'd have had more of an impact if I was more familiar with the entirety of the Shadowrun setting, instead of just what I picked up in the Harbrained Studios games.

Unsure of spoiler policy for this thread, but this is the ending I got:

Spoiler:

I freed APEX, but killed Feuerschwinge and blew up the castle.

I read up on the other possible endings and the "side with Vauclair" one is really, really dark. Kinda wish I had gotten that one...

Nice work, Math! Congrats! I'll update your status now.

As much as I loved the game, the endings left me a bit ... empty.

14 hours into my Witcher 3 run, trucking right along.

I have slain monsters and seen tittys.

*Legion* wrote:

I have slain monsters and seen tittys.

This made me chuckle heartily. Could very well be a succinct Steam review of the game.

WITCHER 3 IS IN THE BOOKS. LEVEL ME UP Female DoggoES

I have crossed the war-tattered plains of Velen. I have sailed the wild seas of Skellige. I have navigated the grimy underworld of Novigrad. I have taken up sword in defense of home and hearth in Kaer Morhen. I have ploughed the fields of Merigold. I have ravaged the local economies by laying claim to everything kept in an unlocked box. I have committed ecological massacres in harvesting every plant to enter my field of vision. I have laughed in the face of terrible enemies as they healed me while slapping helplessly against my mighty bubble shield.

*Legion*'s Complete Journey in the World of the Aen Seidhe

WITCHER 1

Mods

Didn't use much, but one very important one.

* Increase Geralt running speed by 50%. No way would I play the game again without this. Especially having to run laps around the damn Vizima Outskirts.

The Key to Combat

Aard the f*ck out of literally everyone.

Choices made

- I helped Triss in the Laboratory rather than fight the Freightener with Vesemir. Triss is a redhead. I like redheads.

- I escorted Vesna Hood and we met up in the mill and we banged. Her auburn hair counts as a redhead.

- I helped Zoltan when he was getting accosted by racists. Turns out we were boys from way back. I can't remember.

- I did not give arms to the Scoia'tael. Nobody needs swords but me.

- I saved Abigail from the mob. I don't like religious nutjobs, and Abigail is a redhead.

- I let Siegfried fight with me in the sewers. He's an OK guy, but I went the Order path last time, so we weren't going to be boys this time around. Sorry Siggy.

- I gave Alvin to Triss instead of Shani. This was one of those tough redhead vs. redhead choices, but Shani is kind of a scrub. Triss has magic and better equipped to deal with Alvin. Shani is whiny. She's just baby crazy I think. Sorry girl, gonna have to find that sh*t somewhere else.

- I gave Triss a ruby ring and we made sweet love. Triss is best redhead.

- I saved Thaler. Interesting dude, and de Wett is a prick.

- I saved and cured Vincent the werewolf. Vince is an OK dude.

- I sided with the Scoia'tael at the Bank. Like I said, I was boys with Siegfried last time, not going that way this time.

- I helped the village and Vodyanoi compromise and it made the Lady of the Lake happy. Then I made her even more happy, even though she isn't a redhead.

- I spared Tom Berenger. I mean, the witcher Berengar.

- I saved Princess Adda. Adda is a redhead.

- I went neutral at the end. Honestly I had planned to go Scoia'tael in this run, but they are just such scrubs.

- I fought the King of the Wild Hunt. You leave Alvi... I mean, Aldersberg alone.

WITCHER 2

Mods

Given that I had multiple false starts with this game, I figured some quality of life mods would help me finally get over the hump.

* Autoloot: having to click on everything yourself is tedious, this grabs everything in whatever container you open
* Carry weight elimination: carry weight is dumb
* Always highlight lootable items: having to click the stick to do the witcher's sense pulse is just time wasting
* Fewer slo-mo finishers: cool on occasion but otherwise they get old and slow the game down
* Mod to fix the bug that makes persuading King Radovid in a conversation in the final act always fail. Radovid is not the clever one, this bug cannot stand.

The Key to Combat

Aard the f*ck out of literally everyone.

Choices made

- I killed Aryan La Valette. Little sh*t had a big mouth. This decision also gave me the opportunity to see his mom's boobs, and I love me some Temerian MILFs.

- Cooperated with Roche. Vernon and me were boys. Most of the time, at least.

- An alchemist gave me a strange potion and told me to drink it so he could study the effects. I never turn down free drinks.

- I rescued Malena from the mob that was going to kill her, and investigated her claims. Female Doggo tried to lead me into an ambush! No elf titties were seen that day. Malena was a redhead. :'(

- Elven bathhouse sex with Triss. As if any other option was on the table. Triss is best redhead.

- I helped the bridge troll by bringing justice to his wife's killers.

- I gave Iorvath his sword when the Blue Stripes ambushed. Sorry Roche, Iorvath was playing ball and you shoulda run this sh*t by me first. We're still boys but know your place.

- Sided with the Blue Stripes at the end of Flotsam, even though Vernon Roche was a whiny Female Doggo about me giving Iorvath his sword. I told you we were still boys, Roche, but no more doing sh*t solo.

- I battled Ves in the arena and respected her as a legit warrior, and then we made sweet love afterwards. Don't tell Triss.

- Henselt has a big obnoxious mouth. I let Roche stab that fat f*ck.

- In Loc Muinne, I went straight for rescuing Triss instead of helping Roche. Sorry Vernon, but you knew redheads came first when we started.

- I pulled out the megascope diamond before it could kill Sile de Tansarville. Someone tried to do some murdering without running it by me.

- I let Letho live. I should have killed him for trying to kill Sile without my permission. But he wasn't raring for a fight and I had a whole other game still to get to.

WITCHER 3

Mods

Again endeavoring to keep momentum through such a huge content-filled game, I went with a few quality-of-life mods to streamline the parts that would otherwise drag me down.

* True Autoloot: no longer content to just have it autoloot containers I open, now the mod auto-loots everything within a set radius from me, no container opening needed (except quest-related ones)
* Carry weight elimination: carry weight is dumb, and true autolooting makes this a necessity
* Fast travel from anywhere: can still only arrive at signposts, but can initiate from anywhere, cutting out tedious return travels after a quest (which some quests do automatically for you anyway)

If I were to do it all over again, I would definitely keep these mods, though I might tailor the autoloot to use a narrower radius. Running through a populated city, you could grab a whole lot of beers just from passing by buildings.

The Key to Combat

Max out Quen and Fleet Footed. Quen and dodge and Quen and dodge and never take any damage, and Quen bubble shield to get healed whenever you do take damage.

Choices made

- I didn't fight the Bloody Baron's men at the Inn. I was busy and didn't want to listen to Vesemir go all disappointed dad on me if I fought someone I didn't need to.

- I brought Annabelle's bones to Graham. Oops! Shouldn't have been such a scrub, Graham. You gotta keep your women happy. Ask Triss.

- I helped Keira, and sent her to Kaer Morhen. She showed me her boobies first. Don't tell Triss. Keira is not a redhead so this will just be our little secret.

- I smoked the Godling Sarah out of the house she was haunting. She was a whiny child. I don't like whiny children. That's why I like being a witcher. Sterile, baby.

- I killed Whoreson Junior. He hurt all those beautiful booby-havers. Asshole.

- I let Menge's guys start to interrogate Triss, but Menge was wasting my time, so I pretty much jumped right off that path and cut everyone down. Why did we even bother with the subterfuge? Triss was all "that place is a fortress" but I had no problem cutting them all down on our way out. Silly Triss.

- I helped the mages get out of Novigrad, then told Triss I love her and to go to Kaer Morhen after we bang. As if Triss vs. Yen was even a choice. Yennefer is a scrub and not a redhead.

- I helped Yennefer find the djinn and break our binding spell, and then told her that I don't love her. You're a scrub, Yen. I don't know how you thought being Female Doggoy and non-redheaded was the way to earn my affection. Take a walk.

- I helped Cerys get Udalryk un-possessed. Cerys is a redhead.

- I helped Hjalmar kill the ice giant and save some of his doods. His sister Cerys is a redhead.

- I helped Cerys become the new ruler of Skellige. Cerys is a redhead.

- I killed Sile de Tansarville when rescuing Margarita because she asked me to. I shoulda let her blow up in Witcher 2 I guess.

- I got EVERYONE to come to Kaer Morhen to help me. I'm just that popular. Now I understand why friendless nerds play games like these.

- I kiiled King Radovid for being a prick that wasn't even grateful for me rescuing his redhead wife Adda two games ago.

- I killed Dijkstra when he tried to have Roche and Thaler killed after we killed Radovid. How did that fat f*ck think I was going to let him kill Roche? Did he not remember me and Roche were boys? I knew Dijkstra was a scrub.

- I let Ciri smash up the elf dude's laboratory, and helped her bury her friend.

- I retired from witchering to settle down with Triss in Kovir. Triss is best redhead.

Impressive achievement to be sure, but you didn’t mention all the redheads so I can only presume you skipped out on the expansions.

And a true Witcher would also play Thronebreaker.

gewy wrote:

Impressive achievement to be sure, but you didn’t mention all the redheads so I can only presume you skipped out on the expansions.

Yes, I have not (yet) gone into expansion content. That might have to wait given how many club games I'm behind on.

Oh, one thing I neglected to mention in the W3 section:

- I skipped Gwent. All of it. Card games are scrub games.

I've started to annoy my (redhead) wife by calling her Triss and telling her that, "I'm a witcher".

*Legion* wrote:

WITCHER 3 IS IN THE BOOKS. LEVEL ME UP Female DoggoES

I have crossed the war-tattered plains of Velen. I have sailed the wild seas of Skellige. I have navigated the grimy underworld of Novigrad. I have taken up sword in defense of home and hearth in Kaer Morhen. I have ploughed the fields of Merigold. I have ravaged the local economies by laying claim to everything kept in an unlocked box. I have committed ecological massacres in harvesting every plant to enter my field of vision. I have laughed in the face of terrible enemies as they healed me while slapping helplessly against my mighty bubble shield.

Ho ho, that is a serious accomplishment. Most excellent work and great reflections.

Sorry for the delay, your game completion got stuck in our processing department, but we've leveled you up now. Congrats!

Bit of a belated post but I finally saw the ending of Pillars of Eternity. I skipped out on the White March Part 2 as I was just ready to be done, but boy was that a rough cut from breezing through White March Part 1 to getting utterly stomped a whole lot in that final battle. Finally got it after extensively reshuffling gear, actually using potions and even food for once, etc.

All in all, I think I dug the storyline and character arcs more than the mechanics, though I'm still a bit tempted to check out Deadfire nonetheless.

benign1 wrote:

Bit of a belated post but I finally saw the ending of Pillars of Eternity. I skipped out on the White March Part 2 as I was just ready to be done, but boy was that a rough cut from breezing through White March Part 1 to getting utterly stomped a whole lot in that final battle. Finally got it after extensively reshuffling gear, actually using potions and even food for once, etc.

All in all, I think I dug the storyline and character arcs more than the mechanics, though I'm still a bit tempted to check out Deadfire nonetheless.

I had the same rough cut - that final battle was tough! I can't imagine having been ready for it without White March 1.

benign1 wrote:

Bit of a belated post but I finally saw the ending of Pillars of Eternity. I skipped out on the White March Part 2 as I was just ready to be done, but boy was that a rough cut from breezing through White March Part 1 to getting utterly stomped a whole lot in that final battle. Finally got it after extensively reshuffling gear, actually using potions and even food for once, etc.

All in all, I think I dug the storyline and character arcs more than the mechanics, though I'm still a bit tempted to check out Deadfire nonetheless.

Leveling up now, most excellent work! And yeah, that leveling up from both DLCs was super helpful for the final battle, for sure. Kudos on getting there without it.

I lost a little bit of steam after missing the club deadline, but Banner Saga is in the books. That ending...wow. So grim throughout, but I loved it. I'd completely forgotten it was kickstarted until the very extensive credits, nice to finally get around to enjoying something else I backed long ago.

benign1 wrote:

I lost a little bit of steam after missing the club deadline, but Banner Saga is in the books. That ending...wow. So grim throughout, but I loved it. I'd completely forgotten it was kickstarted until the very extensive credits, nice to finally get around to enjoying something else I backed long ago.

Nice work, benign1! Glad you made it to the end. I'll level you up.

Is this group still going? If so, I just reloaded Dragon Age and started over as a dwarf noble rogue. Similar feeling to the human noble but a lot more backstabbing and intrigue so far (I’ve only made it out of the intro though).

My idea for this character is he’s sort of like Tyrion Lannister. Polite and charming when he wants to be but happy to plant a dagger in the back when he needs to. Very different from the “holy warrior” champion I rolled in the first go-round. Also romancing Morrigan cause want to go a bit evil.

At any rate, should I give regular reports or just a heads up when I’m done?

It's been quiet in here, but reports are definitely encouraged if you're so inclined!

It has been super quiet of late. I think everyone that's playing Outer Worlds right now has seen it through already. Haven't seen a GB sighting in any of the threads in a while, but I assume he's out there wrapped up in other stuff.

Main post updated with the full list eligible games, and I added The Outer Worlds early because it's going to be here in a week.

Necro'ing an old thread here, but this seems as good of a place as any to talk about really getting into cRPGs for the first(ish) time.

Fresh off of (finally) finishing off Pillars of Eternity, and wanting to keep scratching that cRPG itch, I decided to give Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition a shot. I don't know why I never played this game growing up. I certainly picked up and read over the box at CompUSA multiple times. I guess I was more into stuff like SMAC and RTS games at the time and I didn't get around to cRPGs until I finally played KotOR in 2008 and then Fallout 1 a few years after that. I attempted BG once before, I think back when it first showed up on GOG before the enhanced edition. That time, I made it to Nashkel, but didn't even finish the town screen before moving. I'm guessing I stopped due to something else coming out and taking my attention, because I don't remember disliking the game.

Anyway, I'm now past that point, in the Gnoll Stronghold looking for Dynaheir and having a great time. Things of note:

  • I started the game on easy but bumped it up to normal when the early combat encounters were generally over before my melee characters even got into range.
  • Even on a 4k monitor, the painted backgrounds still look real nice within a specific zoom range. Too close and everything looks muddy, too far out and nothing is readable, but there's a range where everything looks surprisingly good for such an old game.
  • I can't say the same for the audio -- I'm already tired of the general music that plays, and would probably say that I prefer the times when the music fades out and it's just the nature sounds playing as I explore some wilderness map.
  • Along the same lines, the constantly repeated character barks are starting to be annoying.

I'm past the mines now and hunting a bandit group to the east of The Friendly Arm Inn and still really enjoying myself. I'm kinda fascinated by the alternate reality in which I actually bought Baldur's Gate in 1999 rather than just reading the back of the box every time I was in CompUSA. Maybe I would have gotten real into these RPGs prior to just recently.

Your mind would have been blown. I preordered both BG games and their expansions. I really don’t remember why in the case of the first game, perhaps read about it in a magazine? They looked and ran amazing on my AMDK6-2, and were so far ahead of anything else at the time. I could only compare them to the two Ultima 7 games which, while amazing in their own right, were way clunkier, even for the time.

Baldur's Gate was something else when it was new. I had the same feeling the first time I played Pool of Radiance on my C64. There was nothing else like it and it was a huge step. Then I figured BG2 would be more of the same, and it was, but it was better in every single way. To this day I marvel at how good BG2 was.

One thing I've been pleasantly surprised by is that I find the combat much more readable in this than I did in Pillars of Eternity. I ended up turning the difficulty down to story mode in Pillars because I found it so difficult to tell what was actually going on, whereas in this game I'm able to follow the combat much easier and if I lose, tell why and be better prepared when I reload. I guess Pillars probably expected most players to have a history with these sorts of games and figured they could build on them.

I feel like Pillars fell into the "more is better" trap. The Baldurs Gate games had much simpler combat mechanics but designed the encounters that were meant to be meaningful so that you had to think your way through them. Pillars has so many options that even if the player can understand them, the encounters are going to be a mess because they are too complex to balance for challenge. I still don't really understand the nuances of Pillars combats. I just try to paralyze or charm everything until it dies.

Things have really slowed to a crawl in the Cloakwood area. Entirely due to the fact that the web spell effect lasts for what feels like a few minutes (it's probably not that long) after combat has ended. Now that I write this out, I wonder if I have a spell or potion that would make me immune to webs?

After reaching Baldur's Gate and struggling with some big-town choice paralysis, I took a Midnight Suns and Dwarf Fortress sized break from my Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition playthrough, but I'm back in now. Spent a few hours last night exploring the city, resolving a handful of quests, and getting a feel for where everything is.

Just marking this thread as I’ve never used it before and, er, I should probably know what’s going on in here!