Dragon Age Poll: RPG-ness

**Veho Nex** · 11-08-2009, 22:03

There should be another option

5) I cannot wait for the stories to go on and there to be a Dragon Age 2... 3... 4.... 5....

**LeftEyeNine** · 11-08-2009, 22:10

Originally Posted by Veho Nex

There should be another option

5) I cannot wait for the stories to go on and there to be a Dragon Age 2... 3... 4.... 5....

That's what Option 1 stands for in essence.

**Zenicetus** · 11-08-2009, 23:26

I voted #2 because I have an opposite opinion from Froggie about the D&D rules-based character development in BG.

An important indicator of a great RPG for me, is being forced to make hard choices between options. Not just in the dialogs with party members and NPC's, but also in the way I can create and develop my character. Yeah, D&D is a complex rule system, but I think DA:O goes a bit too far in the other direction, so it can appeal to a wider audience. All the other classic RPG elements are in the game, but the leveling mechanics and skill/talent trees are streamlined. It's "RPG Lite," like Mass Effect.

To take just one example, think about what it means to have your starting stats locked-in with the BG/D&D system, vs. the free-form, "add points wherever you want" character stats in DA:O. If you rolled an initial Mage with strength of 10, and find out later that you want to wear light armor... hey, no problem! Just throw some more points in strength and away you go! That initial decision to put 10 points in strength when creating your Mage doesn't have any real weight behind it, when everything is mutable as the game progresses. That's especially true when you can actually buy extra DLC content (tomes) to add more points at any time to your initial build!

The game is still fun, but I think it could have been a much deeper experience in character creation and development, while still avoiding being a direct copy of the D&D rules system.

**AggonyDuck** · 11-09-2009, 00:21

The reason why I don't find Dragon Age to be quite at the level of BG2 in terms of combat is the weaker spell system. In Baldur's Gate the spell system was very versatile and you had to adapt your spell selection according to the opponent you were facing, but in Dragon Age you are forced to work with what spells you have selected, which really reduces tactical possibilities. For example I've largely specced Morrigan as a damage dealer, which means that she can't really provide me with buffs when I'd need to fight a dragon.

**Kekvit Irae** · 11-09-2009, 03:02

Presentation-wise, it's more along the lines of NWN than BG.
Character creation... it's AD&D without the alignment system. Sure, you can specialize, but you can never multiclass. Once a warrior, always a warrior.

**Vladimir** · 11-09-2009, 18:08

Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

Presentation-wise, it's more along the lines of NWN than BG.
Character creation... it's AD&D without the alignment system. Sure, you can specialize, but you can never multiclass. Once a warrior, always a warrior.

This I can agree with. More like a council version of NWN. Better than the original Baldur's gate, but not nearly as good as BG2. I mean come on people, you could become a god! I'm less into story and more into affecting the game world.

I prefer Morrowind over DA:O; and that was the Xbox version do don't say I'm biased. The first person controls worked well on the Xbox, and I got it on discount. I had several characters, each with their own personality. Each one very rewarding. I can't say the same for Dragon Age.