Exploring the footsteps of the Auren Society of Weavers! Circe Steel is a very unique member of the Auren Society of Weavers, who finds herself in a new realm of existence upon arriving in the Land of the Dead after the events in Shadewood. Sporting a mean looking facial tattoo, hair pulled tightly into a ponytail, and putting aside her membership quarterstaff for a greatsword, she's not one to mess with. Barbarian blood flows through her veins, perhaps from a time before arriving at the High Tower for training in the arcane arts, and it fuels her in battle with the Weave of the Auren Society of Weavers, in a supporting role.  It's been interesting taking a look at all the player characters and database files sent in the past month after the initial shout out request, and it has given me some insight into the minds of those who have trained at the High Tower as members of the Auren Society of Weavers. Circe Steel is the only multiclass character sent in, and the first I began testing with. Yes, she's tough! Yes, she's died. The latter is important to note due to the high number of hit points she's attained in her travels (44). Circe has a strong damage range [2d6+4 (+5)] that can sink creatures a normal Wizard or Sorcerer could have trouble with. She has, on average, a +3/+4 higher attack bonus (AB) then most. Adding the ability to summon a creature, Circe's a beast! Having her die even after all that has been mentioned is a cause for concern when attempting to create a level of comfort and balance for all members of the Auren Society of Weavers.  What I've really been excited about going through, are the choices players made through their journey, as well as the selection of gear characters are wearing at the time of their death after destroying the portal in Shadewood. In death, material goods do not make the trip. What one's wearing at the time of their death in the Land of the Living, is what one carries over in the Land of the Dead, and it becomes the projected image of yourself. Let's take a closer look at Circe Steel's equipment and where they come from.  - Cloak of Undead Protection [Shadewood] - Sinkers [Almraiven] - Amulet of Battle [Almraiven] - Ring of the Warrior [Almraiven] - Twisted Bone Band [Almraiven] - Hands of the Fire Demon [Almraiven] - Ruby Set Belt [Shadewood] - Auren Society Robe [Almraiven] - Sling Stones [Shadewood] - Striking Sword [Almraiven] So we know Circe Steel was not wearing her Auren Society of Weavers Ring, a band that allows one to store spells into it at a higher level than they can be cast normally. When you wield a greatsword, the Auren Society of Weavers Quarterstaff isn't required, even though it offers a bonus second level spell slot. Lost amid the rubble and ash of the One Copper Inn now.  But what of her time in the Land of the Living? What did Circe Steel do, to whom, and will it have an effect in the Land of the Dead? The souls of those killed remember how they drew their last breath. Will Circe Steel have to look over her shoulder? Let's indulge ourselves. - Circe Steel has a close companion in Annex. - She summoned forth Halav as a laboratory assistant. - Her choice to save Darwien instead of Wundra, means Falis Goodmane was killed by her hand. - Circe Steel doesn't take well to threats, and killed Chelles, as well as his men on Cuttback Kat Alley. - Members of the Shadowed Pangurk at The Shed were taught a lesson too. - As was the Werefolk Captain on her way to save Darwien. - While searching the Spider Swamp, Circe Steel killed Maraba Slingtoss. - Put an end to Razormaul and his Kobold crew. - And even went toe to toe with Zoetia the Vampire in the Deadwood. - But she does have a helping hand, assisting the Midnight Alley Ghost on The Strip. - As well as Magnus Magicus, from Arra's Haunted Home on Horseshoe Lane. - And the spirit of the Mountain Pass in Myth Unnohyr.  I'll examine more members of the Auren Society of Weavers in the days to come. |
| Circe Steel | 03.04.13 |
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8 comments:
Ow,
If only I knew I'd had her wear the posh helmet as well....
Jokes aside, you've done a great job describing her, as if you were in my mind.
The idea was to have a sorcerer that was of humbler origins (i.e. barbarian) that let her fighting side loose when away from the tower. My intention was to have her gain a barb level every 4 levels.
I was surprised how much easier were most fights with her, especially Zoetia & the final fight. Note with Zoetia that you get full experience points each time you kill her. If I had more healing potions I could easily harvest points there (it would ruin RP, but some people would prbly do it!).
The greatsword is brutal at low levels and she cleaved her way through most fights easily enough.
Looking forward to seeing what she can do in your final installment!!!
All the best,
Sav.
"Circe Steel is the only multiclass character sent in"
Really? Crap, if I'd noticed the request - and if my old machine hadn't had its little fit and lost half its hard drive contents - I'd have sent my dwarf fighter/wizard in.
That said, these would've been much better with less of a need to peek at the answers to figure out what the hell was going on. The medusa maze was a cute idea but the implementation was abysmal. That was the point where I decided that if the author wasn't going to play fair, I didn't need to either.
That is quite harsh. I run both Almraiven & Shadewood without looking at the answers in my first run and finished with about 80% of the quests done. I had used the same character.
Second run I did with the abovementioned Sorc and I did look at the answers resulting in finishing almost all quests.
I did the second run purely because I was bored with waiting for the 3rd installment, I'd happily go with my 1st Char (and I'll probably do a 3rd by the looks of it!).
If you did not enjoy it or found it too hard, maybe you should look at whether your style of play was not suited for these mods.
All the best,
Sav.
There's certainly an argument to be made along those lines. However it can obscure something I am seeing as increasingly important.
There was a LOT that I admire in Almraiven - it felt like a living and real city in a manner very few other NWN modules have managed (Honor Among Thieves and Agrenost being the two that stand out in this regard, to me). And I obviously can't expect the author to suddenly go back and rethink all the interactions and logical flows unlocking interactions and plot points at this stage. That said, since this is an interesting topic for me:
Aside from the medusa maze (which I insist was not a good implementation of the underlying idea for the puzzle), what I found off-putting about Almraiven was the sense that there was a sidequest hidden in every random passerby and if I didn't stop to figure out how to unlock them all I was going to miss around 70% of the content. (This sense was due in part to my first looking at the walkthrough when I hit the medusa maze and realizing just how much of the sidequest stuff I had gone right past without even realizing it was there.) One can argue that stopping to interact with the environment and surrounding society sufficiently to trigger a majority of this content, rather than just charging straight ahead with a narrow focus, is a matter of gameplay style and preference. However that's not all it is.
For example: people who played Ultima 4 when it first came out rave about it; if you try giving it to someone today - even someone the same age as those early adopters - who never played it then, and tell them that they're expected to keep notes in an actual paper notebook about things in the game to keep clues straight, they will ... not do that. And very shortly, they will not be playing the game anymore either. This is a matter of play style, but it is also a matter of the modern design of games enabling better features and implementation to make the obsessive hassle aspect much less of a factor - to put it simply, making the game easier to enjoy. It may be a play style to be willing to overturn every single rock to see what's underneath; but it isn't a design flaw to make overturning all the rocks unnecessary and allow the player to encounter the content, including optional content, by behaving in a mostly sane fashion. (Go to your local mall and see if you can spot anyone stopping every single person in order to ask if they need help with anything.)
("too long" error, continued in next)
Basically, the clear and unarguable benefits (in terms of XP, at the very least) for poking around everywhere vastly outweigh the benefits of focusing narrowly on any primary and supposedly time-critical objective. The consequence is that it is impossible to balance the outcome between the poke-everywhere player and the "I'm actually doing what I'm told is important" player, because the poke-everywhere player has (potentially) so much more XP. That's the design issue that bugs me: there is a disconnect between what the story supposedly is to focus on, and what the player actually does because of what the player is actually rewarded for doing (and this is not a matter unique to Almraiven; that's just a particularly clear example).
What I'd like to see (speaking entirely in hypothetical and wishful thinking terms, I'm hardly expecting the existing design of the Auren module to get upended in any way at this stage - honestly, I just want it to come out with whatever flaws so I can play it already) is 1) more of a focus on the quests coming to the player in the course of performing other natural tasks, rather than via poke-everywhere, 2) more either-or exclusivity, both in terms of which quests are even available and what the outcomes are, where the player has balanced choices with qualitatively different benefits and drawbacks, and chooses on that basis, instead of simply doing everything they can find.
It seems to me that would result in a much more natural flow of activity, still enabling the detail-oriented people to dig up interesting and rewarding stuff, while not locking others into situations where their choices about how to play the game seem limited.
I agree on many points, especially the medussa one which I also found frustrating.
But, and it is a bit but:
I cannot help but think that the only reason for your frustration when it comes to the sidequests is that you are "wired" to think in that way. There is a clear spine to the story line and it is up to you if you want to branch out. The XP penalty is minimal by virtue of sidequests producing *very* little XP rewards. You don't have to go for every single one of them; you may think so, but it is not the case and there are cetainly people that played these mods that did not think like that, including me.
When it comes to Almraiven, you are thrown into a foreign city; the implications are obvious. Yes you will feel lost; yes, you will feel overwhelmed.
In Shadewood, all the sidequests apart perhaps from the lost Elven City ones are right there, you invariably come accross them.
Think of the alternative; people would be moaning (as they always do) that the mods are too linear; too scripted; too tightly knit.
I actually found this sense of freedom quite reinvigorating, taking my time and thinking about possible outcomes; not barging in situations unprepared.
That is what roleplaying is supposed to be; choices based on character.
All the best,
Sav.
I just went straight rogue and relied on UMD...poor Bakadah was too senile to notice that I never actually learned any magic in all those years <_<;
lol.
A rogue masquerading as a wizard could work. I think I'm gonna do a Wizard-rogue next. That would be interesting!
all the best,
Sav.
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