Recent content by Alystrai

Same comment as Insanelich made @ 28: We were talking about Civ, and not Sim, right?

Pretty much any, but specifically the University, from Zork: Grand Inquisitor. That was a fantastically awesome game.

A Silver Dragon, a zombie horde. I know where I'd put my money. He can fly, breathe cold energy, can't be hurt by anything less than magic weaponry (or maybe bullets), and has a tail, legs, and head that can probably smash anything less resilient than a tank in one hit. I think I'm set. Thanks...

There is a wonderful quote in the book The Veil of Snows, by Van Allsburg: "You would have died rather than abandon the old songs?" "Yes." "But life is so precious." "Yes." "It is paramount." "No." "No? Then what is?" "Love," I said, "and honor." Thereby, my response. I would die...

This is a very interesting problem to address. As several other people have said, the opening needs not so much to be based on what you think will "work" and draw the Most(TM) people in, but what the rest of the book feels like and focuses on, both aesthetically and content-wise. Action...

"Pain is like water - it takes an infinity of forms, it can be vast or infinitesimal, it exists in our world in great abundance, and it fades away with time and between friends." - Anonymous

There's a long, long list I could throw your way with a suggestion-request as broad as that. So, I'll break it down a little: If you like classic high fantasy - - Anything R. A. Salvatore (Legend of Drizzt, Cleric Quintet, Saga of the Lost King, etc.) - The Name of the Wind, Patrick...

Let's try Fenix, from Starcraft. You can't get much better than the Protoss, and he's about as good as it comes. Though Zeratul has his moments when he stops bemoaning the fate of his people and actually blows things up, too, so I could go for him.

I play the violin, have for about 5 or six years now, love it.

My personal favorite is undoubtedly fantasy. Occasionally, if I really like the theme or story, a sci-fi setting will be as-good, but for me mages will always be more cool than snipers, or lightsabers, or tanks.

An interesting thread, I'd have to say. Look at my Escapist username here on the post if you want to know the one I use most often (I play fantasy a heck of a lot more than I play anything modern/future), but in other cases I invent on the spot. I'm usually a fair hand at it and get something...

Hands down, D&D is probably one of the most high-return nerdy investments you can make (for me, in terms of fun as well as Nerd Points). So, there you have it (though I can't make the yet-more nerdy claim of having played some of the older editions, joined too late for that. Just the 3.5 core...

Well, I'll add my two cents to the unanimous opposition this article has gotten: I've DMed D&D for about 5 years now, gotten about 12 or 13 people started on it (including my brother), and probably have invested more ($ wise) in it than any other hobby (if you discount the price of a computer...

Since I happen to tend more to old school tabletop games than videogame RPGs (mainly because my PC can't handle half of the decent ones), I'd have to say I'm usually Neutral Good, and occasionally Lawful Good if I get tired to everything being easy to justify. On the off day that I do play a CPU...