Baldur's Gate 3 Early Access recently added Druid as a class one can play, and it is wild. You can shape shift into a cat, and a wolf, and a badger! And more!
But Druids aren't the only nature-loving faction in the world of Baldur's Gate 3. When exploring the Druid Grove, you discover the existence of Harpers, who are depicted in a beautiful mural. Not so beautiful are the Shadow Druids. The book Secret Societies of the Sword Coast: Exposed has entries for both of them.
Shadow Druids and Harpers
Might we be able to join one of these factions as a Druid? We shall have to wait and see.
But there's more. Some secret societies hide in the shadows for malevolent reasons.
Dark Justiciars and The Order of Klurd
The Order of Klurd reminds me of the Dark Brotherhood. If you've joined the Dark Brotherhood in Elder Scrolls Online, you know that there can be a lot of camaraderie within the, admittedly bloodthirsty, organization, so this could be a cool order to join.
Of more immediate interest to the player character are the Dark Justiciars. They are a formidable force, and they are believed to be lurking along our path through the Underdark, which is already a difficult and scary place. Also dark.
Very dark.
Baldur's Gate 3 (at least so far in Early Access) provides a myriad of choices for the player character, giving you an amazing amount of agency in determining how the plot unfolds. You aren't required to risk the Underdark, you can choose to travel overland.
However, two of the companions, Astarion and Shadowheart, are interested in the Dark Justiciars. And I think we've established how I feel about Astarion.
I particularly love this book because it breaks the fourth wall as well as gives you pertinent in-game information.
Kingsley Harp made his deal to become successful and famous with an "entirely lewd piece of drama."
I can understand that. **cough cough** romance writer **cough cough**
But beyond the amusement and relatability factors, this text is yet another piece in the Baldur's Gate 3 world tapestry informing the player that making a deal with a cambion is not an uncommon thing in this universe. And making such a deal with a cambion -- or rather the pros and cons and complications of such a deal, are very relevant to you:
A cambion is half-human half-demon. But it looks like a devil, and deals with the devil go back hundreds of years, at least as far as the late 16th century. Humans don't do well when they interact with the devil, unless you're a phenomenal fiddler:
or you have a phenomenal lawyer:
Daniel Webster was a real person, an American lawyer (1782 - 1852) who lived in, worked in, and represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He was considered the best orator of his day. His speeches were studied in schools - even during his lifetime. So it's a huge, and believable, compliment that he could out-talk the devil.
I've never actually seen or read The Devil & Daniel Webster (it started out as a short story). But I've seen the animated Devil And Daniel Mouse. Anyone else seen that?
Anyway, if we make a deal with a cambion in Baldur's Gate 3, will we permanently lose our soul or will we be able to smooth-talk our way out of it later?
Or will we be able to find someone offering a better deal to save us? Only time will tell.
This book, Curse of the Vampyr, can be found in the library right before the bridge to Minthara. Since Astarion is my game crush, I had to pick it up.
Cold beauty? Check.
Pale noble? Check.
Charming, with a bite mark on his neck? Check.
Yep, that's Astarion. 😊
Actually, that's Cazador.
Cazador is Astarion's vampire sire. Astarion is only a vampire spawn, while Cazador is a cruel, evil vampire. Not sexy. Not sparkling. Cazador is a psychopathic serial murderer.
And we Astarion-lovers can't wait to kill him, as he was not kind to his spawn.
Astarion's very real fear of returning to Cazador makes him the only companion who approves of continuing to use your special powers, even when negative side effects appear.
One of those negative side effects is terrible nightmares. In Astarion's case, nightmares of Cazador:
If you've watched any of the many (many!) videos of Astarion out there, you will have noticed Astarion is a very unique sort of vampire.
"It doesn't look broken. Then again, none of us do."
Astarion is both giggly and sardonic, proud and self-effacing, insulting and sometimes kind, thoughtful and chaotic, brave and fearful, intent on saving himself and interested in the rest of his companions. He's multi-faceted and fascinating.
And he's actually more of a vampire than Cazador.
Or rather, Cazador is a modern literary vampire. He is a threat, as in Dracula (1897).
But Astarion is closer to the ORIGINAL literary vampire, seen in Lord Byron's Fragment of a Novel (1819) -- the Cool Best Friend.
The Byronic vampire is the fascinating, talented guy everyone wants as a friend, and if you're lucky enough to become his best friend, you feel flattered and honored that he chose you.
The bond this type of vampire shares with his (male in this case) best friend is the most important part of his life (un-life). His human is sworn to keep the secret of his vampire-ness, but honor is all that binds them.
You'll notice this is the opposite of a Dracula-type vampire. No hypnosis. No madness and eating bugs a la Renfield. (You'll also have noticed Cazador treats Astarion in precisely this Dracula-defined manner, controlling his body, forcing him to eat rats and insects.)
The Byronic vampire may eat blood, but we never see it. It's not particularly important to his story. They are buddies who travel around together. That's the story as Byron wrote it.
And that's precisely what Astarion offers.
So if Larian allows the player character to affect their companions' alignment in Baldur's Gate 3, this will fit in perfectly with vampire canon.
Swaying Astarion to evil, like Cazador, would make him a Dracula-type vampire. Swaying him to good would make him more of a Byronic vampire.
I look forward to having a Byronic vampire at my side.
Now, being a HUGE Bioware fangirl, the first thing I thought of upon reading this was....
Commander Shepard's SPACE HAMSTER!
If you had Space Hamster as a pet in Mass Effect 2, you can find your hamster in Mass Effect 3 as well. Space Hamster is even in the Citadel DLC!
There is also a Space Hamster in Mass Effect: Andromeda.
So how could you NOT think of Bioware's Mass Effect when you think of Space Hamsters?
As it happens, this is PRECISELY WHAT YOU SHOULD THINK OF.
Back in the day, Bioware was the first studio to develop Baldur's Gate games. In both Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, a ranger named Minsc has a "Miniature Giant Space Hamster" named Boo in his pack.
It is believed that this Baldur's Gate character, Boo, inspired Bioware to include a Space Hamster in Mass Effect.
If you watched the Citadel DLC video above, you heard Shepard tell his hamster to "Go for the eyes." This is what Minsc used to say to Boo.
Space Hamsters. From Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect to Baldur's Gate. The ouroboros Easter egg.
No, Volo. You are not Jaskier. You cannot seduce everybody. No.
This book is found on the bench in the room where Volothamp Geddarm, the bard known as Volo, is imprisoned by the goblin Gribbo.
She is indeed delighted with his singing, but as she also intends to eat him when she gets bored of him, I believe Volo has severely misinterpreted her interest.
On a related note, apparently there actually are half-goblins in Dungeons & Dragons (the source material for Baldur's Gate 3). So Volo is not alone in his interest in... 'marrying' a goblin. In fact, kudos to him for actually being willing to marry her.
Because... yeah.
Most half-monster (half-orc, half-goblin, etc) children are generally products of rape. They don't have to be, but it's acknowledged in D&D descriptions that they probably are.
On the positive side, you could use this backstory to create a complex, multi-dimensional character like Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU.
But as harassment of female players and in-game rapes have been a bit of an ongoing problem for D&D (not just in the Bad Old Days, this is from 2019), dissections of who is having sex with whom and who is raping whom to produce which can be... squicky.
And no, you can't just 'not think about it' because 'it's pretend'. Women are very aware of how they get pregnant. Women are very aware of the violence that can be perpetrated against them. If you willfully ignore that reality, even in fiction, you are creating a space that tacitly tells women their lived experiences are secondary to your fun.
So how to deal with this?
Back to goblin marriage rituals.
In Baldur's Gate 3, goblins are referred to as vermin (by Astarion as I remember) and much is made of how the Absolute has managed to make them a coordinated fighting force. But if you wander amongst the goblins, you'll note they do seem to have a society. Care and training of children. Male and female warriors of equal standing. Worg buddies.
There's even a book of poetry. Okay, maybe that one was mostly lewd sketches. But humans are known to underline the "dirty words" in dictionaries so we have no moral high ground here.
If you fight on their side, they like you a lot, regardless of your not being a goblin. You can get a dialogue where one goblin pledges to follow your leadership to the ends of the earth.
So if they experience loyalty, maybe goblins can experience romantic love. Maybe even with non-goblins. And maybe they have marriage ceremonies.
A quick google tells me Clerics can cast a ceremony spell for a wedding in D&D. The goblins have a cleric.
Maybe Volo is on the right path, renovating half-goblin ancestry to include love-matches consecrated through marriage rituals.
Will half-goblin become a playable race in Baldur's Gate 3? We'll have to wait and see.
Once you reach the Goblins' dungeon, there is a side quest which has little to do with goblins and everything to do with the deep world-building in Baldur's Gate III. It's fun, it's funny, and it's a bit kinky.
But thanks to the nearby book, it's also surprisingly compassionate.
First you have to find Abdirak, devotee of Loviatar. He's located in the center room, the one to the left of the room with Spike, the goblin Wyll is looking for (so you'll already be in the dungeon if you've recruited Wyll).
Loviatar is the goddess of pain. So Abdirak is dressed in the Mad Max meets 50 Shades outfit you might expect. There is a nod to S&M etiquette, in that there is a "performance" dialogue choice (you're yelling stop but you both know you don't mean it), but otherwise it has no relation to S&M (sort of like 50 Shades 😜). But really, we shouldn't criticize on those grounds because this isn't Earth, it's Faerun.
If you look at the image of Abdirak below, you'll see he's spattered with blood. This is his own blood.
Which subverts what you might expect in a dungeon, from a man dressed like medieval Marquis de Sade.
He also has a very sexy voice. If you wish to experience it yourself, press play.
Yes, Astarion is my favorite companion. How did you guess? *made certain to get all of Astarion's reactions on video*
So anyway, this is all firmly in the Exploit Sadomasochism For Kicks wheelhouse, right?
Well, if you read Abdirak's book, The Screed of the Willing (found on the second to top shelf of his stone bookcase), you will discover it is something else entirely.
"In Loviatar's name, I ask you to live." Loviatar counts all suffering, even the "ache in your soul".
So if you're depressed, don't give up. Loviatar loves you.
Subverting our expectations, Loviatar is a compassionate, positive goddess.
For her, pain is associated with life, not death. If you hide from heartbreak, you'll miss the joys of the world.
Embrace your ability to feel pain, it makes you superior to the gods. Only mortals can truly live.
It would have been easy to just plop this scene into a dungeon as a Kinky Encounter, 'Nuff Said.
Instead, with this lore book, we get actual reasons why someone might worship Loviatar, how this goddess referred to as the "Mistress of Pain" could be the center of a viable religion, not just a one-off kink.
This is relevant to a conversation you can have with a tiefling couple in the Druid grove. So then I wondered, what other cool lore is out there, lurking in books, just waiting to explain points of the game to me?
Hence this series.
NOTE: I am unfamiliar with Dungeons and Dragons (the source material for Baldur's Gate 3) so I shall be looking at these books and their subjects as presented in game, and only in game.
On February 2nd, Larian Studios quote tweeted the official Resident Evil twitter account, revealing the height of a certain fan-favorite vampire from their game currently in Early Access, Baldur's Gate III.
Many twitter residents were surprised or saddened to learn Astarion is 'only' 5'9" (or 175 cm).
Others considered 5'9 to be just right, since it was still taller than they were. Which is not surprising because 5'9 is not that short. In most of the world, it's considered average or even tall.
And this normally would be the end of the story. We have a canonical height, delivered by the official twitter account of the game developer.
But....
Pjenn found this dialogue lurking in the Patch 4 game files. It is UNRELEASED, UNFINISHED dialogue, so I'm only showing the frame containing the pertinent information.
You will see that here, in the game itself, Astarion's canon height is 5'11" (or 180 cm).
This is considered tall, no matter where you live. (Google it if you don't believe me.)
So, which is it? Which one are you accepting as canon?
I have a terrible time visualizing size, so I'm happy as long as Astarion is taller than I am. Which means I'm fine with either one.
Although if I ever write fanfic with Astarion.... I'll probably go with 5'11. My husband is 6'1 and they do say 'write what you know.' 😜
If you are playing Baldur's Gate III Early Access, as I am, you will have noticed in Patch 4 there is a new scene with Lae'zel and that adorable tiefling couple. The tieflings are talking about having a cat as a pet, since dogs aren't allowed in the city of Baldur's Gate, and Lae'zel asks what a cat is.
Watching this, you might wonder, why aren't dogs allowed?
The answer to this question can be found among the books in the Arcane Tower in the Underdark:
No animal larger than a peacock may gain entry to Baldur's Gate.
It's a city restriction, and it seems to be unpopular, at least with bear owners. What they will do if you're a druid and turn into a bear or a badger while in the city is anyone's guess. 😉
Obviously there are no toy dogs in Faerun, thus no dogs allowed in Baldur's Gate.
Long, long ago, when Elder Scrolls Online first appeared (2014), I fell in love with a character named Darien Gautier.
(Darien is voiced by Jon Curry, of Zevran Arainai fame (he's also the American-accented Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition, and you've probably heard his voice in a bunch of other BioWare and Bethesda games). So if you easily fall in love with voices, like me, you know where I'm coming from here.) And---miracle of miracles---he fell in love with me!!!
(YES, although Zenimax won't let you flirt with ANYBODY ELSE, you CAN flirt with Darien. Bless the person who made this possible by working in some flirt dialogue choices. You are my hero.) So when y'all are about to go up against the huge, final boss, you can get dialogue like this:
(happy sigh) And you get dialogue about what we're going to do when the fight is over:
As the "beautiful hero of Coldharbour," I was definitely looking forward to a drink and a neck massage. And there was no reason to expect I wouldn't get it. From the moment we became a couple, Darien had been saying we'd be together, that we'd find each other after the battle, no matter what:
So my character is quite invested in this relationship. As well as saving the world, of course. Y'know. That, too.
*big, dramatic boss fight* *yay victory*
And then.....
DARIEN DIED.
*sobbing*
Except we couldn't find his body so THERE WAS HOPE.
I played all the different sides of the ESO conflict, and I waited.
2015
One day, I was reading all the books in Orsinium, because that is something I do. (There is Important Lore to be found. Shut up.)
ANYWAY, in the library of the Temple of Ire, I came across this:
Me: *high pitched dolphin shrieks* THIS IS DARIEN ISN'T IT IT'S GOT TO BE DARIEN OMG
*turns over page*
Me: *more high pitched dolphin shrieks* IT DARIEN!!!
I told everybody on Twitter. Darien was trying to come back to me.
And I kept the faith.
2016
I wander into a Mages' Guild library in Anvil, and there is fellow Darien fangirl Gabrielle Benele, looking for Darien. I'm all like, "I HAVE A CLUE FOR THIS!!!"
So it's not just me. A Darien rescue could be on the cards.
And since then I've been waiting.
Waiting.
2018
In 2018 came the release of ESO Summerset. I was really hoping I'd learn more about Razum-dar, the charismatic Khajiit. Maybe even be able to flirt with him!
But no.
Nope.
Raz is present, but there's very little personal interaction.
And then I heard the Golden Knight's voice and I was like.... Is that...??!!
IS THAT...??!!
Meridia herself confirms that, YES, THE MYSTERY IS FINALLY SOLVED.
Now, you can see by this timeline that Zenimax Online has been playing a very long game here. Respect. I'm disappointed I still cannot flirt with Razum-dar, but RESPECT for remembering that there are Darien fangirls awaiting Darien's return. And for giving us some love:
It was truly nice to interact with him again.
So I did NOT expect him TO DIE AGAIN.
Even though it's been long enough that none of this should be "spoilers," I'll skip over exactly HOW he dies and just mention the important bit: THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO BODY.
I'm like, NO. YOU CANNOT DO ME LIKE THIS, ZENIMAX.
So I hold out hope that somehow Meridia will give him back to me.
Then, at the end of Summerset, I hear a mysterious book has teleported to the victory celebration.
IT'S DARIEN I KNOW IT'S DARIEN
You may want to mute the sound on this clip as you read. That's Rigurt's laughter in the background. (I adore Rigurt the Brash, it was so cool to meet him again, though his maniacal laughter can be unsettling in this context. The context of IMMA STAB THAT DAEDRIC BITCH.)
All I can say is this better not be the end of Darien Gautier.
Bethesda has announced the upcoming release of ESO ELSWEYR in June 2019. I have wanted to visit Elsweyr since Oblivion (2006) so, yeah, I'm gonna be there.
And my two greatest hopes for this expansion are:
1) I GET TO SHIV MERIDIA. IN THE FACE. TAKE THAT, GLISTER WITCH. GIVE ME MY DARIEN BACK.
2) I get to flirt with some Khajiit. Preferably Razum-dar. But, hey. ANY flirting would be nice.
Because, on that second point, I don't understand why I can wander the open world killing everything in sight, but I can't flirt with anyone. WTF, Zenimax Online/Bethesda?? What's up with that??
I mean, there are tons of games on the market where I can kill things. And some days, that's all I want. Give me a bow and point me toward the draugr.
But what makes an RPG game like Elder Scrolls endure, what makes it re-play-able, what gives it legs and positive word of mouth, is Emotional Investment. I want to care about the characters and the storyline. Throw in some flirting/personal stuff so I can pretend it's not just a linear path, it's something I chose, and thus I affected the world, or our little corner of it.
Solas: No I didn't. I'd never have sex with you under false pretenses.
Inquisitor: Yeah, you didn't TAKE me---like you PROMISED, by the way---instead you TOOK ME IN. TOTALLY BAIT AND SWITCH.
Solas: I never promised to have sex with you.
Solas: Okay. Maybe... that MIGHT... have implied we were going off to have sex. But---
Inquisitor: And when we walk off screen, what happens? THIS:
Inquisitor: I think we're going for romance but instead you tell me something I valued IS CRAP and then BREAK UP WITH ME FOREVER. I mean, I know you're a Trickster God but that is some Fade-level deception right there.
Solas: I do have a beautiful voice, though.
Inquisitor: Yes. Yes, you do. You bastard.
Solas: So you're still going to romance me again on your next play-through, right?
So y'all already know I'm re-playing (for the umpteenth time) Dragon Age: Inquisition.
Whenever you begin a game, there are a few training quests you have to do, to familiarize the player with how everything works. One of these quests involves the quartermaster, Threnn.
Threnn is a Loghain supporter. In her dialogue, she talks about how Loghain was a hero---he didn't betray the Grey Wardens at Ostagar, he saved his own troops.
Me: No, no, no! That's not how that went!
Because, y'know, I played Dragon Age: Origins. I was there! But that's just one crazy bitch person. Doesn't matter. Shrug it off.
Then Solas gives us a "both sides" viewpoint on Ostagar.
Both sides are the truth??
Me: NO, SOLAS, YOU LYING SACK OF WEASELS, THAT'S NOT HOW TRUTH WORKS!!
Again, I was there. Loghain didn't withdraw his troops to save them. He withdrew his troops as part of his betrayal of the Grey Wardens.
This pet peeve has grown, and just become more irritated, over the years of my playing this game. (And maybe it's been exacerbated by the real-world war on facts and truth and both-sides-ism.)
ANYHOW.
One of the play-throughs I currently am running (yes, I said "one of," don't judge me, shut up), has Anora ruling alone as Queen of Ferelden, Alistair dead (or drunk), and Loghain as the Grey Warden who helped end the Fifth Blight.
Aside: Do you ever get that loading screen that says something like, "Experts disagree if the Fifth Blight was truly a Blight"?If you do, do you also yell, "It was SO a True Blight!" at the screen and feel personally offended?
So anyway, Loghain Mac Tir is my Warden. This means all-new cut-scenes for me, new dialogue. WHOOT!!!
Then suddenly, THIS:
You can imagine my surprise. After all this "Loghain was a hero" crap, LOGHAIN HIMSELF ADMITS HE BETRAYED THE GREY WARDENS.
And later in the Fade:
Loghain AGAIN admits his guilt in everything that happened to Ferelden in Dragon Age: Origins.
I'm like, YES!! FACTS ARE FACTS! IT IS POSSIBLE TO KNOW THE TRUTH! THANK YOU, LOGHAIN!
Loghain knowing he is guilty and having repented is kind of touching. It leads to Loghain getting the best send off as Person Chosen To Fight The Nightmare.
Is that beautiful and heroic or what? In his end is his beginning---once again a noble, self-sacrificing warrior. And most people would never hear this because, I'm thinking, for the majority of players, Loghain didn't survive Dragon Age: Origins.
As far as epic farewell lines go, the only other one that comes close is Sarcastic (Purple) Hawke's, "WHY IS IT ALWAYS SPIDERS?!!"
But getting back to Loghain, his being the best send-off is especially cemented by Varric speaking his epitaph:
I rest my case.
Also, if you're wondering what Varric is talking about when he refers to Loghain's early life, you need to read The Stolen Throne. Loghain was a hero before he became a villain. (The books also explain why Loghain hates Alistair, something poor Alistair doesn't even know.)
I just like this clip because of the truth of the lore. No one alive remembers the Deep Roads at their height, thus even the dwarves don't remember the dwarves.
I giggled when I heard the surgeon NPC say this. Surely someone, somewhere has used this as a smutty literature fanfic prompt? I just adore Bioware. (And Dragon Age.)
(Sorry it's so dark, but it's the words that are important.)
Recently I decided to replay Dragon Age: Inquisition and, amazingly, since I've played it through SOOOOO many times (over 20 and I stopped counting), I'm actually finding new cut-scenes.
For example, I never got this scene before, so thought I'd share in case anyone else was like me.
I generally don't get Vivienne's personal quest until late in the story, and apparently I never speak with her after Bastien dies, after the scene where she talks about funeral planning. I just go straight for the main story ending. I didn't realize Vivienne had more to say. And I thought she liked me....
Large cell stomach cancer. Had it been small cell, he'd have a good chance of recovery, they said. But this is large cell.
Stop talking about What You Could Have Done If It Were Different and TELL ME WHAT TO DO WITH THE REALITY I HAVE, I thought.
This was the beginning of December. They said I could start him on chemotherapy, but it would be more a Quality of Life thing than a fix. Especially as he also has a thyroid problem. And arthritis. They hinted I might consider euthanasia. They said he would be dead by the end of January.
My cat is still alive.
Through the first couple chemo doses, I stayed up with him all night. Making sure he had fluids. Making sure he ate a little every few hours. Making sure he kept the food down and giving anti-nausea pills if he could not.
He has a cream for his thyroid and I give him shots for his arthritis, and vitamin B12 shots as well.
He tolerates this as well as can be expected. Some days he's more annoyed than others. But he's still plugging away. His brain is still sharp as ever.
You have to understand, he was my first cat. I found him at a shelter. He'd had bad experiences with humans so it took some time for him to trust me. Since my previous pet experience was my family's pug (a very cat-like dog), I inadvertently approached him as such. I taught him words.
This cat has as large a command vocabulary as my pug had. At feeding time, I'd tell him to go sit and he'd go to the kitchen and hit the specific mark where he's supposed to sit. If he's not precisely on the mark, I can repeat the command and he will scoot over the inch or two to be precisely on his mark.
He knows how to heel without a leash when we go on walks. I can allow him to get ahead of me to explore and then call him back and he'll come. He'll complain at me ("Meow, meow, meow!"), but he'll come.
He also likes to play games on tablets and phones. But only if he can win. He doesn't like games that go on forever, he wants a Decisive Victory. It's pretty funny.
The vet techs at the cancer center are constantly amazed by him, his good nature, his chill personality. We go in without a carrier and hang out. He purrs.
Now we are approaching the end of his chemo. He gets an ultrasound next Monday. I am hoping for Full Remission. If it's not gone, he'll have to undergo a second round of chemotherapy treatments.
And yes, I've already decided that's what we're doing. If we have to, we're going down fighting.
I was told by one disapproving person that they would have euthanized the cat at the beginning rather than spend the money on chemo. So I knifed them.
No I didn't.
Bloodstains are sooo difficult to get out.
But they are correct, it is expensive. So.... if you've been on the fence about purchasing my writing, or ever even vaguely considered maybe buying one of my books, I would encourage you that now would be the time to do so. You could think of it as a donation, with the book as your free gift. Most of my ebooks are the same price as one cup of coffee. You'd buy me a coffee, right?
Look what The Last Kiss Of Damaris made for me!!! Are these not the cutest Fallout: New Vegas plushies ever? Arcade's expression is just so him. And I wanted an uncharacteristically-happy Vulpes Inculta, and there we are.
The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is a cool place. It has animal art installations. Like this horse.
And some really big animal art installations. Like this giraffe.
And this year it hosted a really big games installation called PAX East.
This is PAX East.
Well, actually, it's the showroom floor, where all types and sizes of games are on display, from indie to blockbuster studio productions -- most of them future releases yet to be touched by the unwashed masses.
But touch them you can! You can play demos on the showroom floor. You can go over to the LAN and play computer games with top of the line NVIDIA tech.
Do I know what that tech does? No. Did Battlefield 3: Close Quarters look and play awesome? Yes! I got more kills than I usually do playing BF3 Team Deathmatch.
Prefer tabletop gaming? PAX has you covered.
They've got the tables and the games. Bring your crew or meet up with people there.
If it's a type of game, it's at PAX.
But say you're tired of gaming, and bored with all the chances for obtaining swag from the various companies. Say you want to craft something. And you don't want to pay for it.
Well, here are some tables where you can paint something and take it for free.
I don't know what they were - I saw the table from one of the ceiling cross-walks and I never got back to it on the floor. But I liked the concept.
Some of the upcoming games had giant displays. This one let you climb inside and experience getting attacked by Alien's alien. It didn't move or anything. But it looked pretty convincing.
Speaking of moving and convincing:
This Big Daddy's drill arm actually worked! He and his Little Sister were impressive.
In fact, all the costumes in Irrational Games' contest were impressive, as were the cosplayers walking around the convention. Fans put a lot of time, effort and love into their costumes, and it showed.
You don't have to wear a costume to PAX, of course, but if you do attend in one, expect admiration and frequent photo requests.
Where were we? Oh yes.
Other game displays showed only a mysterious front. You had to wait in line for the chance to see inside.
Umm...yeah. Should probably mention that a lot of your time is spent waiting in lines at PAX. It's not surprising. Each game station, each panel room, only contains a finite amount of space and there are a millionbillion people who want to occupy it. Maybe not that many. But you get the idea.
For a chance at the games, you have to wait. For a chance at attending a panel, you have to wait. And for popular panels, you have to get there ahead of time--possibly hours ahead--to make sure you're in the part of the line that fits in.
Had I mentioned that there are panels? Yes, you can not only play games, you can attend panels on games and learn about all sorts of aspects of the game industry.
One intrepid soul actually filmed the Plot vs. Play panel, which was one of the best panels ever (in my fan-girl opinion), and put it up on YouTube. (I already posted it on my blog.)
My favorite panel room was the (nyan) Cat Theatre.
(This still makes me smile. I am easily amused.)
Here we watched the original Fallout: Nuka Break fan film plus the entire first season of its web series.
A Q&A panel followed, with the cast, creators, and Chris Avellone (who has been intimately involved with Fallout through several apocalypses and whose Obsidian Entertainmentcreated Fallout: New Vegas).
I include this shot (from before the panel started) because you can see Chris Avellone is wearing a PIP-Boy!
It's a totally cool prop and was made especially for him.
Are you all properly jealous yet? ;)
One final observation: You remember the unwashed masses I referred to at the beginning? Attending PAX can mean you run the risk of catching PAX Plague. There always seems to be some type of super-flu which someone inadvertently brings along with them. And it has a very good time. I believe everyone I knew came down with some form of it. Including me. But it was a small price to pay for one of the most fun-filled weekends I've ever had.
