Here's an honest idea that I hope someone at Larian takes a fancy to:
A US Army squad enters a cave in the Balkans, touchs a glowing stone, and is suddenly transported into a Divine Divinity-esque setting, facing off monsters, wizards, with M16s etc. Sorta like Jagged Alliance meets Diablo, but with a story line like Baldur's Gate... They have to find the right wizard, glowing stones, etc... to be transported back to their own plane of existence. I wonder what the M2 Barrett would do to the demon Samuel? So Larian, PLEASE... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
As for the stats issue, I agree. There really isn't much need for all of the fluff unless you really want to get into the minutia of it. Just Conan the thing and it's OK. I would have liked to see more magical stuff like telekinesis (especially in the Citadel's Arms Shop) but only for those that play as magic wonks. It would not be available to the warrior, but maybe the thief (who would have to distract the shop keep, and then quickly pick a lock). This would make the character creation process important in that it would have a real effect in the game.
As for stats and skills, there are a multitude of things that most fantasy RPG have never explored; I would like to see clairvoyance, mind reading, mind control, being able to drug someone's drink, using intimidation as a factor in how NPCs respond (like if Conan vs Harry Potter is asking you to give him your seat, who would you give it to without hesitation?). I'm frankly also surpised that just about every RPG gamer has to dress the same way. Armor, Shield, Helmet, Belt, Two Rings, Necklace, Gloves and Boots. What about stuff like the "Far Sighted Monocle" to see through walls or the "All Hearing Earring" to eavesdrop? How about a metal smithing skill to blend the properties of armor or magical jewelry? BD tries to acknowledge this with the embellish and sharpen skills, but does not go far enough. How about crushing Five emeralds, mixing with sulfer, and applying it to your armor to make it poison resistant, and if your skill is not good enough, you risk degrading your armor? This is just off the top of my head but the list can go on...
These fantasy RPGs have been stagnated around a formulaic approach that no one wants to venture from. And I agree, there MUST be a compelling story line or else the thing is a D2 clone. Kill monster, move to next level, kill more monster, move to final level, kill big monster. Thank you, that'll be $49.95 please. Fresh ideas are not really coming out from developers and I find it very disappointing.
Ralph
