Alehazar

The Broken Circle Quest is one of my favourite parts of DA:O; I just love the part where you get sucked into the Fade and have to Island-hop to get out again. If there were a part I would want to skip it's the Korcari Wilds. After having played that bit through with every Origin character it gets to be a bit of pain having to "go through the motions". Whereas the Fade stays fun -well, for me it does. Alehazar

So your party members are basically all YOU? I like the idea, but I think it'd be lore unfriendly if you would have both the dwarf noble and the dwarf commoner combined; playing a commoner you can overhear a bit of conversation that states how the Dwarf Noble is to receive his first command in a day's time. It seems to me that Duncan would either choose the Dwarf Noble or the Dwarf Commoner, but not both. As he came to Orzammar to find one recruit. Other than that it sounds like fun! Alehazar

That's usually the way it goes. But these socalled RPG's would be more fun if the roleplaying element would be emphasized, instead of neglected. That way moral choices would lead to a higher degree of immersion. It's usually quite obvious what dialogue options will lead you on to the path of righteousness, or the path of corruption. It'd be more fun -in a roleplaying sense- that the dialogue of NPC's would rely on a series of prerequisites. As in Neverwinter Nights, a high or low charisma had much more of an impact than it seems to have in Fallout 3. Your decisions to either pursue good or evil had a more profound impact on the people you would subsequently meet If the NPC dialogue would be more cued to a variety of variables you'd really have to work to get a high success rate in solving quests. I think it would be quite interesting that if my character was asked to free some hostages or slaves and I would not be a very smooth talker since I invested my skillpoints in other areas, then perhaps to complete such a noble task I'd have to do some really sneaky and despicable things to get the job done; you know backstab some people, break in to places, steal, get caught, being forced to kill some good guys in the process while I try to escape and save my skin. If my character would truly be subjected to the elements -either in natural environment or in human nature of NPC's- then my Player might be forced to forego the path of righteousness at times, simply to stay alive. Trying to decide whether the evil I perpetrate is done to achieve a greater good. Those are choioces that could spice up any RPG. That's why I liked The Pitt so much, because regardless which side you pick, in the end I still feel like a total male without a father; either a lot of slaves die and they will be forced into submission through even harder methods for an indefinte time. Or I hand over an infant to a man who quite evidently does not care for the child's wellbeing, other than keeping it alive to experiment on and produce a cure. That I considered to be a tough moral choice, that had tainted implications regardless of the final choice. Now if Bethesda could create a follow-up of that decision -or simply update your quest log some X amount days after conclusion of The Pitt with a random message based on your choice. That Wernher got frustrated and the babby died due to rough treatment, or that the babydied of some other, more mundane disease and the slaves would never be cured, so now they need to keep this info from spreading through the slave population. Then another random update that the word got out and the slaves rebelled for a second time. Another random update whether the slaves were crushed completely and the Pitt society -without its slave labour- would slowly collapse. Maybe those random updates could be accompanied by those slideshow supported comments narrated by Ron Perlman when the Main Quest ends. Show me that my actions have consequences -either for good or for bad. How much evil must I perpetrate to achieve a noble goal -a greater good. How many good deeds of mine will ultimately result in mayhem and senseless slaughter? Now that would be interesting role playing -in my opinion. Though I doubt it would make for popular games. People either simply want to feel good about playing through a game and getting to be a hero when the curtains close -having saved the day, yay!. Or they simply want to shoot/stab/slash/kill almost everything that has a pulse or is still breathing -and vent some anger and frustration. Either end of the scales does not require game designers to put a lot of backbone into their games. As long as it looks great, is mainly bug free, has a player friendly interface, a cool arsenal of weapons and has some nice killing blow animations -and meets more of such things a game is measured by- a game can become a huge hit. A little more novelties and innovations and some sense of originality seems to have some kind of appeal -somewhere. It'd be nice for game developers to release a game that would have more alternative routes to reach your main quest goal. A concept that was incorporated into the Hitman series; the goal is simple: kill the target within the specified parameters. Many solutions, many various results -i.e. "ratings"- if you get the job done. Of course, this type of concept is not so easily implemented into games as Fallout 3, or Dragon Age Origins, but surely some creative brains can come up with something a little more challenging than simply "go there, get this, give object to, kill him, save her, show mercy, annihilate all, shoot to kill, etc.". If the only way to spice up the game is changing the difficulty setting to "insane", so that enemies are harder to kill and allies more difficult to heal and that more enemies swarm around the battlefield and enemy weapons can do more damage and allied weapons wreak less havoc...... Alright, enough already. Bottomline, let my actions or inactions have more profound consequences and/or repercussions; make dialogue options not so blatantly obvious, give me something to contemplate, so I can rack my brain as to what kind of ripples or waves my choice of words/response might cause. Back to basics like the Quest for Glory series; Fight, Sneak or Use some Magic and start running when your out of mana -or create a feeble hybrid. (I'm going to shut up now).

Taking prolonged looks at Lady Isolde's dress, I can only ascertain that the "fishnet structures" across her bosom is not a see through type of dresstop. Can someone "erase" the "white spaces" between the reddish "lattice framework", to create an obscured view of her breasts that will show her skin underneath? That would make the dress more sexy -in my own personal opinion of course. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to give it a go, Alehazar

Alright, here's a thought -that will leave all the Orzammar Quests intact as far as I'm able to ascertain. I don't know whether it is feasible, but here it is anyway: Upon entering Orzammar, the main character can be offered a dialogue option -after the prerequisite of being put down, or otherwise ostracised is met- to leave the company and return to camp. Alistair will then become the lead character, as he is the only other Grey warden and one more party member can fill the empty spot in the roster. Of course this requires that dialogue is altered to have the Grey Warden addressed properly -and all references to the casteless Grey Warden are removed. It seems to me that the option to leave the current party can only be brought to bear after the castless Grey Warden meets Rica and has talked to Steward Bandelor and both Vartag Gavorn and Dulen Forender. Disliking all offered prospects, the casteless Warden leaves the company and returns to camp and the switch is made. As for the Dwarven Noble Origin tangent; like I said, add a coercion (presuade, as inimidate seems improper) line to dialogue options, to see Harrowmont first, then enter the Provings -as for the life of me I cannot imagine my Dwarven Noble siding with Bhelen. The game content and story development stay intact and I don't have to grit and gnash my teeth, wishing the game would have a button to unleash the Blight when Ferelden is still much unprepared. If anyone else has another option (or set of options) that might contribute -and not detract- into establishing a mod that could accommodate all of this, I'm open for suggestions.

So, at least add some dialogue options that will allow a character to coerce some bl**ding respect out of potential allies; if they want my help, do they really expect it's realistic they'll get it by humiliating me at every turn. At least with the Dalish Elves there's an option to sway -I believe it is- Zathrian to stop his clan from b*tching and moaning and end their tireless diatribe of paranoid animosity towards me even though I'm trying to save their tribe. If -as a casteless dwarf- I side with Bhelen, it would be appreciated if the would-be king would instruct his followers to start treating me with some godd^mn respect, instead of constantly inundating me with their evident disgust and loathing -it is annoying and grating and it really does not inspire me to save the bl**ding world, or at least Orzammar. If -as a dwarf noble- I side with Harrowmont, it'd be nice if he instructed his followers to stop treating me as The Exile who is reviled and treated with contempt. They don't need to bow dpwn and kiss my feet, but they can show some appreciation of what I'm trying to do. Also, it'd be nice to have a dialogue option with Dulen Forender, to coerce him into seeing Harrowmont straightaway, talk to the man and then still enter the Provings in his name. Just having those options allows me to actually care about saving Orzammar and quell the Blight. If they can only show themselves to be ingrates, I want either an option that will negate such ungrateful misconduct, or an option to tell them all to jump in the lake (of lava). Since you are correct that being able to walk away, will render a lot of the game useless, there surely has to be some middle ground that will accommodate the game's intentions while at the same time it does not discourage my dwarf into wishing to abandon Orzammar and leave Ferelden to perish under the Blight. If Dragon Age is just another game where the main character can only bend to the whims and wishes of others, I'll just shelve it and wait for a game to be released that actually has more potential. It was so promising, when I discovered I had the option to leave Redcliffe to its own devices- everyone but Teagan dies and once inside Castle Redcliffe you have to fight more enemies, namely the villagers who'd been dragged off to the Castle during the assault. That's a trade-off I find acceptable. If the game designers truly expect my character to be nothing more than a goody two shoes, flawless and heroic despite the odds, they seriously miscalculated. If i'm being forced into becoming a Grey Warden and they expect me to save the day, they should at least stop treating me like sh*t. That Loghain and his cronies do as such, is understandable; they are the opposing forces who believe the Grey Wardens are not needed to quell the Blight. It's Loghain's hatred for the Orlesian Grey Wardens and their forces and the very thought that his beloved Ferelden might be saved by the very people he hates, that makes him a good opponent. But the dwarves and elves only have to gain if my character is willing to help them settle their disputes -one way or the other. It's like my character said to the imprisoned Jowan: "Beggars can't be choosers". Whereas I like to think that if the dwarves/elves can treat my character with nothing more than disdain, than my character can decide that he/she can ignore the plights of those dwarves/elves. Just because Wynne says a Grey Warden has to serve men, does not imply I have to agree with her either. 'Nuff said.

Sofar I've been unable to tell the dwarves of Orzammar that I don't care about their political shenanigans and if they believe that waging a power struggle outweighs the threat of the Blight, that I'm simply leaving, hoping that the darkspawn will emerge from the mines and raze Orzammar to its foundations. Arl Eamon won't accept the fact that I do not recruit the dwarves' aid and so the game will not progress. Similarly, I want to tell Zathrian of the Dalish elves that he either fulfills his end of the treaty or I'm leaving. Basically, this is simply due to my own feelings of game immersion. My character is simply tired after Ostagar, Lothering, Redcliffe and the Mages Tower to jump through every hoop that is held up -even when it comes down to Redcliffe I have more options of either helping or refusing tot help Teagan. My character simply will not bow to those forms of blackmail; that I will first have to take care of their business, before they will aid me. With the dwarves I'd like more dialogue options, where I may say to either Dulen or Vartag that if they won't give me the aid that I need, if they keep stonewalling me, I'll take my business to the other candidate -and if they won't help me either, they are on their own. As said in the topic description, that is not a very wise move, as I will not be able to call on those forces that I might desperately need, but I simply hate -HATE- being given the runaround time and again. Especially playing as a dwarf I simply get fed up with everybody referring to me as the Exile or the casteless thug; they respect the title of Grey Warden, but do not hide their contempt for my heritage. I'd simply like the option to let the dwarves stew; so in the epilogue slides you can get something like: how the dwarves went to civil war and whoever came out on top, was weakened to such levels that when the darkspawn emerged from the deep roads they razed Orzammar to its foundations. As for the Dalish Elves; I simpy want the option that I do not care about their plight and if they don't wish to honour their end of the treaty, then to hell with them. And then Arl Eamon will have to accept that; or add an option that if Eamon wants the dwarves and elves to fight against the darkspawn, that he is free to pay them a visit and jump through their hoops if he wants to. My character simply wants the option to REFUSE -while the game can still progress. If the game actually has the option of not acquiring the dwarves and the elves, can someone let me know, what it takes to achieve that; as one of the Achievements (PC) is for acquiring all of the potential allies, this sort of implies you can also fail in acquiring all allies -but sofar I've been unable to fail. Alehazar (game patch 1.02a)

To any and all interested parties, Far Song is a Long Bow that has several enhancements/enchantments that make it my most favorite Long Bow of the entire game. The bow is only available as a stock item in the inventory of the new blacksmith of Redcliffe Village, i.e., Owen the original Redcliffe blacksmith has to die first before it becomes available; you either kill Owen yourself, or you accept his quest to find his daughter Valena and you subsequently fail the quest -and Owen kills himself out of grief. My request is this: Can anyone create a mod that will make Far Song available in Owen's inventory, but only if you succeed in rescuing his daughter, Valena? If Owen dies, the bow should still become available from the new blacksmith of course, but through this mod, your choice to either kill Owen or not, will no longer affect the availability of Far Song. One more tricky bit, even if you kill Owen, you can still rescue Valena; how this affects the equation I am not certain. Thanks in advance, BTW, I have my game patched to 1.02a. Alehazar

You can always resort to wearing the Vault Utility Suit; it boosts your repair and lockpick skills by +5. Or you can try a chemical drug named Mentats to temporarily boost your Perception and Intelligence -there is a downside to chems though; one, you can get addicted, which negatively influences your SPECIAL stats until you get cured by a doctor. Two, if you permanently perk up your SPECIAL attributes, the higher you manage to make 'em, the less effect a chem will have. As for Rad roach legs; I think there's a relative difference between targeting radroach legs -which are thin sliverlike articulated stalks- or targeting a fleshy leg of a Supermutant. Sure you mayhave a 94 percent chance to hit in both cases, but it takes a marksman to shoot the wings off a fly. Whereas any gun wielding fool can hit an elephant that's already lying dead on the street (what an elephant would be doing on a street in the first place, I really don't know, but that's beside the point.) Besides, a high percentage to-hit chance doesn't mean you will always make your shots count. I once had a 95 percent chance to hit a Supermutant in the head and I had enough actionpoints to empty a full clip of seven .32 rifle bullets into his ugly mug. Only one connected and did minimal damage. The other six shots never hit anything -well, at least not any part of the Supermutant. So I had one seriously p*ssed-off Supermutant charging at me with a Suoersledge and I was fresh out of action points. By the time I managed to switch to a weapon that was more effective on short distances, my head was nearly crippled. And for me personally, after I have left the Vault I never target rad roaches in VATS anymore -well ,maybe only to get a fix on the roach, then I exit VATS and use my right mouse button for aiming mode and simply pop the little sucker with a silenced 10mm pistol. Should I encounter only one or two roaches, I use a small melee weapon in VATS and squash 'em good. Out in the Wasteland roaches are just a little nuisance that you don't want getting too close to turn hostile. Other than that, they're a waste of ammo. As for lockpicking in Oblivion vs. Fallout 3; they use two different systems. Lockpicking in Oblivion raises your lockpicking skill regardless of success or failure and when it's time to level up you can allocate more points to the governing attribute. In Fallout 3 only your successful attempts at hacking, lockpicking and killing net you some XP. It doesn't improve your skill though. Only when it's time to level up you can choose what skill to boost; but you don't automatically boost your SPECIAL attributes as well -you can choose a perk for this or find a bobblehead, and such stuff. Although there are certain similarities between the two games -apart fromr the obvious ones- Fallout 3 is not Oblivion with guns instead of swords and arrows. Well, that's of course just my personal opinion. But then again, just as with Oblivion -and any other PC game of recent years- I make many restarts to get the feel of the game and develop my personal tactics for dealing with the situations and events thrust upon my main character. Give it some time and those roaches will seem pretty insignificant.

- I guess Bethesda uses the same principle of non-potable water in some mediterrenean countries -or a lot of South-American countries. If you drink water from a faucet you will probably get violently ill; diarrhea, vomiting, etc. In those countries you need to buy bottled water if you desire potable water. So basically, whether you drink from a faucet or from a urinal doesn't really matter: both ways will make you seriously ill. So back to Fallout 3; it is my educated guess that the same principle applies. Megaton's purifier is already very strained and I reckon that purified water -for consumption only- is bottled. Water for washing your hands is probably still -slightly- irriadiated, because it would be wasteful to use purified water merely for that purpose. Megaton's purifier is most likely a more decrepit bit of machinery than the purifier in the Vault you came from. It's basically why the showers installed at some Dutch beaches -to rinse off the salt water after a swim in the North Sea so you don't get sunburn that easily- use water that is definetely NOT for consumption. It would be a waste if it had been purifed. - You need a skill of 25 to pick the Easy lock. Below 25 is the Very Easy lock. - When escaping from the Vault you can come across some bottles of purified water; kill Butch, he has some in his inventory. Search the rooms opposite the huge Vault door and you're bound to find some bottled purified water. - With the Bloody Mess Perk Rad Roaches have a higher chance of exploding; although these explosions are not as spectacular as a humanoid exploding. It's a bit like the face of a Mirelurk that explodes -a cloud of vapour and viscous bits. Sometimes you don't need VATS to have enemy body parts explode. When trying to test Moira Brown Molerat repellent, I venture into the Tepid Sewers. When I enter the mined corridor with the Raider named Rocksalt, I stay crouched low, I don't run when sneaking and I use a sniper rifle. I simply use the scope, line up the crosshairs with Rocksalt's head as best as I can. Then I simply wait for it, trying to time the sway of the rifle with the approximate moment it lines up with Rocksalt's head -then I squeeze the trigger and Rocksalt's head explodes almost every time I've tried it. Though sometimes -in VATS this time- I score a critical hit on a Super Mutant whilst sneaking and he just keels over; no exploding body parts, just a small wound where the bullet struck. And the mutie goes down in slo-mo. That's it. So don't expect Roaches to explode every time you hit one. It also depends on your (weapon-)skill level and the perks you have. As for the rest; there is a mod available on the Nexus that slowly turns Confessor Cromwell into a Ghoul; http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8698.

Why would a Vault be more preferable? The only things that would make a Vault first preference, are the water purification plant that is able to sustain the vault populace and the protection from most Wasteland critters -including raiders, Super Mutants, feral ghouls as well as Slavers- and they are extremely self-sufficient with their food supplies and other materials that are a required necessity to ensure survival. The Vaul-Tec technology has equipped the Vaults with devices that keep the air clean, the water pure and can provide heat and comfort. Also the door to a Vault seems pretty impervious to pretty much anything that people can throw at it. It was designed to withstand a direct hit by an atomic bomb, with a very low percentile failure probability. Rivet City offers the same kind of protection -with its retractable swing bridge that either allows or denies access- but Dr. Li is not making a lot of headway in her hydroponics and purification experiments. It's also a large rusting hulk, that isn't considered to be very seaworthy. So basically it'd be a sitting duck if anyone would have the means to lay down a barrage of mortar fire. That really does not make it an appealing place to raise an infant. Megaton has its own purification plant. And both Walter in Megaton and Stanley in Vault 101 have to really outdo themselves to keep those things running. But Megaton relies heavily on the traders from Canterbury Commons and other scavengers. And while the walls offer quite some protection, they still have to be ever vigilant that their perimeter does not get breached. But it also has an undetonated bomb in its center. So I'm guessing that would be the number one reason against raising your child in Megaton. Also the food that is served in the Vault is not contaminated with radiation, contrary to the diet of Wasteland settlements. - - - - And it has been mentioned before that while dad shows to be in possession of extreme survival skills, he is unable to win back the Project Purity facility from some Super Mutants? Anyone who can survive the repeated devastating blows of a Yao Guai with such ease, can easily stand up to those green muscular mothers. But that's another forum thread.

One mistake that I upheld for a long, long time was that I always snatched keys and passwords whenever I stumbled upon them. That way I could no longer attempt to hack or lockpick -possibly missing out on some XP if I did have the required skill level to deal with the lock or terminal. Nowadays -whenever a door is locked and I have both the options of either picking the lock or hacking a terminal to disengage the lock- I try to do both. If I can crack both the terminal -after a successful hacking attempt I do NOT choose the option "Disenage lock"- and pick the lock, I get more XP. If I fail to hack a terminal then I pray I can pick the lock. If I fail that, I have to remember where those passwords and keys were left behind.

Did dad really think that him leaving Vault 101 wouldn't have somekind of consequences or repercussions? "We're born in the Vault, we die in the Vault". That phrase was drilled into every member of Vault 101. Moriarty sort of corroborates that. And if you checked dad's terminal in the clinic -prior to the G.O.A.T.- you could have read that the Overseer demanded he be present during Amata's examination. That should've told dad something about the general state of mind of the Overseer. Even some of dad's holotapes -the one behind the famed bible quotation in the clinic of Vault 101?- have an observation by dad concerning the Overseer. Dad's comments on Jonas joining him in his experiments (clinic terminal); he wonders whether Jonas truly knows what he got himself into having decided to aid dad in his experiments. So it seems implied to me that dad knew that the Overseer -an overbearing, distrusting bully- would not take too kindly when he'd discover that dad left the Vault. It only stands to reason that even in a mild case scenario, the Overseer would have made your life hell if you'd been allowed to stay within the Vault. Old lady Palmer comments during your tenth birthday party, how this Overseer is all rules and secrets. Surely dad must have picked up on that. I think that dad's decision to leave Vault 101 was more of an impulse than a carefully planned event. He saw his child grow into an adult and figuring his parenting days were done, his dream of the waters of life -that had always stayed with him, hence his continued experiments- could engulf him completely. With you all grown up, dad's goal of raising you in safety came to an end and with nothing else that could hold his interest, he gave in to his desire to see Project Purity -his lifelong obsession- reborn. So I think dad simply set his sights on his re-newed goal without much thought of what his actions would entail. Had he thought things through in a cold rational way -which was probably impossible in his fevered emotional state to resurrect his pet project- I think he'd have concluded that his decision to leave would have serious repercussions. Then again, it is my opinion that if dad had truly loved his project so, he should have decided not have children in the first place. Had he given any thought to what it would be like to have and raise a child, he could have anticipated that he and his wife would not care very much to do that in the harshness of the Wasteland. Which would mean that he'd have to abandon the project sooner or later, to take proper care of his offspring. He and your mother even discussed -after she was pregnant- what they should do after the birth. And that was to get the child to a safe place. Ergo, abandoning the project was inevitable. So I can only surmise that either the pregnancy was not planned, or that mom and dad had not really given much thought to what it would take to actually raise a child. Then things were compounded when mom died during childbirth, leaving a grief stricken dad with a motherless infant. I can only imagine that dad's consequent decisions were more emotionally based than rational. Or maybe dad conceded to having children out of love for his wife -maybe she had a child wish, whereas dad'd rather finish project purity. Who knows. That all belongs in the realm of pure -yes, pure- speculation. But the fact that dad could've anticipated that his action of leaving the vault would have serious repercussions, is something that is supported -not proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, but still supported- by all I have written above.

I do get to tell him something along the lines of "You know what, f*ck you dad!" -and then he replies he is sorry I feel that way. Then I can end the dialogue by saying "I have to go now" and he wishes me well before making his epic journey back to Rivet City. There's no satisfaction telling him to take a flying f*ck to the moon, if I have to end the dialogue with a pretty lame "I have to go now". I wish they'd changed the storyline for people who feel disgruntled with dad. Allowing the player to decide NOT to aid dad in his quest to retake Project Purity from the Super mutants. It would've been nice if Bethesda would have opened some story tangent that the player would be abducted by the Enclave. And letting Eden and his cronies exploit the player's resentment towards dad and have the player work for them. Then some sort of power struggle between the player and colonel Autumn could ensue. If I play a goody two shoes, it makes sense that I help dad with Project Purity. If I walk the bad karma path..... still, that's probably another forum thread.

One scene I remember was inside the Arlington Library, the room with the BoS troopers moving in on the lower floor, getting ambushed by raiders from an elevated position. I used my scoped rifle and entered VATS to sneak shoot one of the raiders. I scored a critical hit and instead of exploding into a bloody mess, he was catapulted over the bannister and dropped down to the floor below. Had I recorded that particular moment by using Fraps, it would have looked like some professionally shot movie scene. It was too beautiful to be believed. At another time I was tossing grenades at a couple of raiders -in VATS. One of them was launched straight into the air in beautiful slo-mo, as if he had used a trampoline. His health was almost gone, but so were my action points. VATS ended and suddenly the crippled, near death raider was standing firmly on the ground, about nine feet from my character, firing his assault rifle at me. It was like he never went airborne. It resembled a scene of one of my recurring nightmares where I think I have vanquished some WWII Nazi with a submachine gun -and suddenly is shooting burst after burst at me, from close ranage, as if I never damaged him at all. The similarity was uncanny. Another time I beleived I had a sure win over a Super Mutant Master. As I entered VATS, I had a 95% chance of hitting his chest. With my AP increased by Action Girl Perk and a nice shot of Jet I racked up seven shots in succession with my scoped rifle -a custom weapon that usually shreds any enemy at higher player levels. Of the seven shots, only one connected, doing minimal damage. The rest went high and the mutants Chinese Assault rifle cut me to ribbons as I fumbled to change my weapon for a combat shotgun. It was one of those moments I wish I'd recorded, simply because I couldn't believe that most of my shots missed, while I'd anticipated to simply decimate the Mutie. Ouch. Another scene that looked very cool, was a couple of raiders trying to discipline one of their own -or maybe an enemy raider, I don't know. I used VATS to toss some frag grenades at one specific raider and they all went up in the air and were dead before they hit the ground. That's one of the reasons I like to invest in my Explosives skill.

I was about level 19 character and I was making my way from Little Lamplight to Girdershade. In the distance a lot of red ticks appeared on my compass. Using my rifle scope I checked out what was going on and I saw some raiders battling a Giant Radscorpion. I decided to pick off the Raiders one by one to get some extra XP before annihilating the Giant Radscorpion. As the last raider fail, the scorpion started crawling towards me. But it seemed it was bringing along its friends and family. About five or six Giant Radscorpions were hurtling towards me. I didn't have the Grim Reaper's Sprint yet, so my Action Points were rapidly depleted and I had to contend with one seriously injured scorpion and five others that didn't suffer too much damage. Furthermore, there was a long ridge behind me -I had crouched leapt from it earlier on and now it was blocking my escape route. So after my painful demise the game reloaded my last save and this time I only had one rad scorpion to deal with. Just to be on the safe side, I let it deal with the raiders and then I took it out with a couple of blasts from the victory rifle. Victory at last. That was some freakish encounter. One of those moments that I wished I had turned on Fraps to record the scene.

Tried that once. I told Sarah Lyons there was no way in hell I was going to step into that irradiated room, so she stepped up and asked me the activation code. I told her with a smirk she couldn't have it. [small dialogue about how I would kill us both and more Wastelanders if the purifier would blow -ergo, no fresh clean water. I told we'd all burn in hell then.] Then I just waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally the message came that the purifier had to be started NOW. And so I waited. And waited a bit more. [i had plenty of time to check the doors to the rotunda, but they were -like you said- closed and locked]. And finally the damn thing blew up. It only resulted in my own demise and even though I had Broken Steel installed, that sh*t wasn't going to fly. So I got to watch the Credits. Another day, another demise, another reload [sigh.] The only way to get Broken Steel to kick in was either go it myself (and wake up two weeks later with Sarah still in a coma) or let Sarah be the hero. She'd die and I would wake up two weeks later. I could only corrupt the purifier by releasing Eden's FEV. It seriously f*cks up the Aqua Pura; but you can't drink too much of it yourself if you got the mutation perk while doing the Wasteland Survival Guide Get Irradiated Quest. Still ,there you have it.

I decided to start anew and and try to base my own responses more on the replies I would get from NPC's I started out as the regular goody two shoes as I always do. By the time I reached level 7 I was more or less reduced to a more hardened merc attitude: you want something from me, then what do I get in return. For instance, when I visited Arefu and got "nearly blasted in two" I gave Evan King a piece of my mind as to what I thought of his itchy trigger finger. Who was playing tough with whom? Me wioth King for telling him that he'd better not miss the next time; or King with me, trying to intimidate me with the "fact" that he was already wielding a gun when I was still an itch in my daddy's pants? Anyway, I waited for the dialogue to continue and tried the speech challenge as to what had him so spooked. Had he decided to level with me, I wouldn't have minded extending a helping hand. Instead he rather brusquely told me off. So I asked him whether he was a whimp or something. And he quite earnestly informed me he wasn't going to get his *ss shot off trying to be a hero. So I figured, why the hell should I? Then he had the gall to ask me to be the hero and help them out. So I said that acquiring my help would cost him. Whereupon he said he didn't step out of Tenpenny Tower. So I said that he was pretty much scr*wed then. That's when he impolied for me to p*ss off. And it's when I decided to put King's self acclaimed fighting prowess to the test. He lost. Then I broke into his house, ransacked the place for some goodies and moved on. - When I stumbled into Big Town I asked Pappy what became of his friends. And the conversation shifted in a direction where I was offered a reply to state that when he didn't care about the fate of his friends I wouldn't bother to rescue them. He quickly recovered and I told him it wouldn't be for free. He was seriously hurt and pretty indifferent about my merc attitude. Fine, if I was going to rescue his friends that at least I didn't have to pretend I was doing them a favor. I figured to rescue them anyway, inspite of his defeatist demeanor. When I got both Red and Shorty safely back I asked for my reward, took the speech chalenge to whether saving their lives wasn't worth something more. I failed it and then Red had the gall to ask me for my help again. So I told her off, survival of the fittest and all that and the quest ended. - When following the Main Quest I asked Dr. Li whether she could spare some kind of aid and she refused. Having already played the Main Quest through to the end I knew that later in the MQ she would want my help to aid Garza. And I figured I would solve that particular problem by shooting him. Only that problem solved itself before it became an issue. Having convince James Hargrave to run away I got this message from a Rivet City guard that CJ Young was missing. I just went about my business and upon my return to Rivet City through Anacostia Station, i stumbled into some Talon Mercs -guess I was doing some good after all. I decided to toss some grenades at them -it's wonderful whata a couple of well placed explosives can do -if your skill is up to par. Unfortunately that really upset CJ Young and she was flagged as hostile. Anyway I made my way to Rivet City to get some sleep in the common room. When I left, CJ Young spots me, is scared out of her mind and everybody around me turns hostile. So I have to shoot my way out of Rivet City. I had to kill two guards -loss of karma- and apparently I also shot Garza; who came at me with a knife. So that issue was resolved. - I didn't talk to Mr. Burke until I was level 17. And I figured if I failed the speech challenge to get double the pay I would approach Lucas Simms instead and see whether he would ante up. To my surprise Mr. Burke agreed. So I went to see Simms anyway. I reckoned if he were to meet my demand for more money -still only half of what Burke had promised me- I would defuse the bomb instead of rigging it to explode. I fully expected to fail the second speech challenge, but like Burke Simms agreed. So instead of blowing up Megaton I saved the town. - Stumbling upon Agatha's house I sort of humored the old woman without becoming too mushy. But being a merc I asked her what would be in it for me if I got her the violin. Only her frequency? So I tried the speech challenge that this was going to cost me. I had a 44 percent chance of success -which is unusually high for my character. About eleven times more than it is most of the time. But I failed it anyway. So I left -and this is perhaps a bit of a cheat as Agatha never told me the location of the violin, so basically my character doesn't know where to look for it. But since I'd already finished the game multiple times I pretty much know where to find most quest items- went to Vault 92, got me the fiddle and sold it to Abraham Washington at Rivet City. I tried his speech challenge for an additional 100 caps and succeeded. Scr*w you, Agatha. You want to play it cheap, you lose. This kind of behaviour is already quite an improvement to my regular response of merely shooting Agatha when she doesn't want to pay up. So basically I decided what to do, based on knowledge I had acquired on previous playthroughs of the game. I knew what I could expect from most of those NPC's and decided what my response would be if I would fail a speech challenge, before it would show up in dialogue. That way I'd commit myself to a certain course of action -simply leave, shoot and loot, or help someone out of a tough spot instead. I must say that this strategy has been the most satisfactory way of playing sofar. I don't merely blast away everything that has a pulse like someone in a constant state of psychotic rage. But I don't offer my help for free either. Whoever pays up, is going to be the winner. The same with Crowley and Tenpenny. When Tenpenny refused to pay me more for not shooting him, he was dead meat. Had he met my demands, Crowley would have gotten a bullet instead. Like Colin Morisrty said: "It's called economics, kid". So if my Merc attitude gives me bad karma, so be it. If I get to do some good on the side, well, okay. Sofar it has netted me more good karma then bad karma, but let's wait until the end of the game. Good or evil? I'd rather think of it as business; I get paid what I want, then I'll help out and if that's considered doing good, fine. If people refuse to meet my monetary demands, then they're on their own. If that's evil, well, tough t*tty to them. And if you think thast money is the root of all evil.... let's not go that way, shall we?

Before I even find dad in Vault 112, there's this power armored Enclave soldier hanging around near Dukov's place -it's the road that leads away from the river, opposite the Anchorage Memorial. He keeps respawning and is extremely hostile, Is he supposed to be there, this early in the game?

But you can terminate most Mirelurks by a "noiseflush", using one of the terminals in the living quarters section (men or women's dorm), or using the security terminal on a lower level. Of course your hacking skills need to be adequate enough.

Well, so does Three Dog. Knowing he has the info on dad's whereabouts, he blackmails me into getting his relay dish from the Super Mutant infested Museum of Technology. When I tell him I'm not fetching his stupid dish and accuse him of what he's doing is simple blackmail, he blatantly admits that he will do whatever it takes to keep on broadcasting. "Whatever. It. Takes." But then again, it seems that most Wastelanders have no qualms in employing my talents to do their dirty work and paying me d*ck in return. It's "the end justifies the means" for almost everyone in the Wasteland. (Though usually those "means" tend to become an "end" in themselves).

In Dad's holotapes he mentions that the Geck is unstable technology at best -and Braun (when questioned) can only verify this. So what Bethesda is trying to imply -in my opinion- is that the Geck is not functional. So dad wants to use parts from it to further Project Purity. Which makes sense in a way. The Geck probably has a lots of gizmo's and hoodickeys in it that cannot be found anywhere else. And that might prove to be the missing pieces of technology that could make Project Purity work at last. The Enclave probably learned from Dr. Li's team member -Anna Holt? Anyway she was taken prisoner by the Enclave, but she was so enthralled by the technology the Enclave has at its disposal that she was happy to defect and help them out, telling them everything they want and need to know- that a part or more parts from the Geck were needed. That still left the activation code to start the purifier, which is where you come in.

That's why I liked The Pitt; either helping the slaves who seem to have no qualms of using a babywith apparently no holds barred to get a cure. Or to help the guys who oppress the slaves and are working on a cure, but only if the baby is not harmed in any way -so it may take an eternity before a cure is distilled and can be produced en masse to help cure the slaves. So how many will die because of this? So am I morally restrained that I cannot let a defenseless infant be abused, or am I willing to sacrifice one person for the greater good of a community? For some reason Ashur and his cronies seem more reasonable -or more sane- than Wernher and his flock. So my charatcer has very little reservation of joining with Ashur, but when I defend myself from the attacking slaves, whenever I kill one I lose karma. Usually I start out as a good character -not the holier than thou kind of twit that seems to be a little over enthusiastic when receiving a poem as a birthday gift- but once outside, the ugly sides of mankind quickly wear me down -and wear away the tthin coat of veneer of civilized behaviour. And soon it all boils down to survival. By the time I get to Arefu I want to see some caps in my hand if Evan King wants to enlist my help. But no, he expects me to do his dirty work for free. And when I ask him what has gotten him so spooked -and I fail the speech challenge- he just blows me off. If he's unwilling to share -be it information or caps- then it's Adios Amigo! And not just Evan King. I offer Tenpenny a chance to keep on breathing if he forks over more caps than just the double amount of what Crowley is paying me. He almost literally says he'd rather die than give me the money. Alrighty then, time to die Tenpenny. If both Lucas Simms and Mr. Burke refuse to pay me more than what they intend to give me if I comply with either disarming the bomb or rigging it to explode, then they can find another idiot to help them out. Why does everone in the Wasteland come knocking on my door to clean up their cr*p and then try to pay me with peanuts? It's their laziness and selfrighteousness and their inbred avarice that make me choose to only look out for Numero Uno: me. And if the BoS cannot be bothered to further research Vault 87 and the backdoor that leads through little lamplight, why should I even bother geting into Little Lamplight when MacReady is making such a fuss about letting me in or not. If those snotnose brats cannot be told the importance of letting me through -namely fresh clean water for everyone- than why the hell should I bother trying to gain access. I can fight to survive, I can claim purified water from those that are unable to defend their stash. If the majority of Wasteland population is only trying to scr*w me over, then I'm not about to risk my life a million times over just so they can all have clean fresh water. Bethesda should've offered an alternative ending where you can decide not to bother with the purifier. No decision about whether using FEV or not, but simply refusing to make the purifier operational. Or simply let the BoS and the Enclave fight over it all and me just watching from the sidelines. F*ck if I care.

In one of his bulletins Three Dog is praising the Brotherhood of Steel. In another news flash he berates people who are bigots, because they tend to treat Ghouls like second rate humans. But I learned from Winthrop in Underworld that BoS are bigots too, as they tend to take a few shots at Ghouls whenever they see them. But that doesn't seem to bother Three Dog. No berating comments on how the Brotherhood has bigots amongst its ranks. I guess Three Dog is soiling his pants at the mere thought that the Brotherhood might pull its GNR garrison if he even dares to criticize them. Yay for Three Dog, what a hero! He can preach his selfrighteous dung and accuse me of everything that is wrong with humankind..... that's why I usually splatter his brain all over the walls at GNR when he tries to blackmail me into getting his relay dish. If the end justifies the means, how much better is Three Dog compared to Eden? Oh and one more thing, I recently restarted a new game. I wasn't even level 7 when Three Dog was giving his "it's been two weeks" little speech.; how the BoS had kicked the Enclave's butt and reclaimed the Purifier. How they had contracted the Rivet City Police Force to help them distribute the new Aqua Pura. WTF? I hadn't even bothered to make inquiries about Dad in Megaton, and here Three Dog is yapping about how fresh clean water is slowly turning the Wasteland back into a world he always envisioned. Yeah, right.

Did Bethesda intend to use Sydney as a follower at first, because within the Geck I can find Sydney's Ultra SMG also as a follower weapon version?