Let us journey back to those thrilling days of Yesteryear, to the time of Wizardry I, to the time of the Mad Overlord and His Proving Grounds. Twenty (20) characters (count 'em) twenty. And no matter where in the game you were, each of those characters could be brought fourth and played. Assembled at the Inn (some having slept in the stables the night before) the Heros' strod boldly down the block, paid their dues, and entered the Adventure of a Life Time.
Fast forward to Wizardry X (I skipped Wiz IX to save on a keystroke).
Thirty characters (count 'em) thirty. And each waiting at your beck and call. Well, almost. After spending hours (days?) creating each unique individual, you set them free... Yes! Free!... to Roam the world.
Meanwhile, your Avatar PC and 6 other PC's form a party (or not... more about that another time) and set fourth to... the local pub, tavern, inn, crossroad, city gate or wotall and read the postings for adventurers. Perhaps some one is in need of an escort of a fine, young, virginal lady. Or the city needs rat killers to go down into the sewers and kill beasties what been drinking alchemical wastes. Maybe the press gangs will get you and make YOUR party join the City Watch. No matter. In this non-linear world their are great intrigues and minor, grand schemes and Pub plots.
After awhile, as your party grows (and those other PC's grow at 1/3 the rate of your lowest rated party member) you may find the need for a good Ranger or perhaps a mellow-fellow Bard, depending on your next 'assignment'. Simply put out the call and the PC will meet you in any town, at any pub you chose. He/she joins giving other PC's a rest.
But, gasp!, you need someone that is Unique, someone you didn't think to create before! So, you post a 'Help Wanted' add describing exactly the traits you need (even down to hair length and street name) and hey! Presto, there he/she is, asking about wages and vacation time and the company dental plan.
So. The Party has formed and reformed, everyone is getting experience (and you are getting to play a much wider variety of PC's) when suddenly all the animals from the city zoo have escaped! Turtledragons and dungbeasts and cradlecats, oh my! Assembled at the Loot and Lyre (aka Ansto's Inn) you look each other in the face... literally. Using the Point Of View (PoV) button, you are able to look through the eys of any PC and see what they would see. Clicking on the Gnome, Pilf Mousetoe, you see the spindly legs of Cronewell the Elf, unlimbering his Lute. Clicking on Cronewell, you look down to see a flim-flamming Gnome hiding beneath your cod piece.
In battle, each PC PoV is displayed while you chose that characters action. Should the Gnome throw those darts or is a certain cod piece in the way? After selection, you can watch the entire group in battle OR the PoV of each PC as their phase of the battle takes place.
As your party moves through town and village and country side, each screen shot is graphically active; grass sways, clouds scud, PC heads bob and glance back at you if saying something. No labourous minutes watching the party scurry up a road, just movement from one screen shot to the next. But each screen shot is active AND... you can tie a scarf to a limb or etch a sign in a tree to mark your presence here... and usually find it when you return. (Except maybe if you left a reeeeely expensive Gucci scarf wot is sure to attract unsavory attentions).
And mirrors. Preen yourself in the mirror, see just how striking that amulet looks on you... or how ugly those dungbeast bites on your nose are. Or look at yourself through the eyes of the other PC's. How DOES the beautiful Claudia Lifedancer see you? Warts and all or does she notice your glowing aura of heroness? And just how DOES a short, scrunched up Gnome view an arrogant Elf looking down it's long elegant nose at said Gnome?
So your Party, and Friends of your Party, (some of which just might find themselves in comfoatably high places where they can bestow favors on you and yours if you happen to be passing through) find their way in the world, killing rats, maybe, or slopping out styes to make ends meet until that Day when it all comes together and You receive the vital clue, the vital link, the vital... whatall, that will take your party into the most Dangerous of Adventures... in Wizardry XI!
Comments, anyone?
m.t.bear
cc: Sir Pentine Jade, Lady Claudia Lifedancer, Ansto Gladring, Pilfer Mousetoe, Q.K. Philander Doesticks, P.B. and Oliver Goldsmith Cronewell, the Elf.
"All that we can name
is but a Game within a Game".
m.t.bear, torn from the
clammy grasp of e.a.poe
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