RPG Progress Report

[BoneSnapDeez]

The whole Xeen thing confused me. Is this one game or multiple entries? A compilation?

[MrPopo]

Might & Magic IV - Clouds of Xeen
Might & Magic V - Darkside of Xeen

If you install IV and V together then they combine into a single game known as Worlds of Xeen. This consists of some postgame content after you finish the main story of both entries, plus the ability to freely travel between the two games.

Some guys did a romhack of the engine and called it Swords of Xeen. The main devs picked it up and added it to compilations.

[Ack]

Unfortunately, Swords of Xeen suffers from game balance issues and a big, empty world, while towns and dungeons are small, few, and far between. Likely you'll get through Swords at level 30 after starting at 10, but the fights in the final dungeon are ridiculous.

Conversely, I have started playing Might & Magic 4, and while the world is small, it feels packed with stuff to do, and both cities and dungeons are much larger. If you have any interest in playing Swords, I recommend getting to it before playing 4&5. Otherwise, it's gonna feel like moving backwards in a barren landscape. It's not so bad from 3 because of some small additions that feel like little upgrades(such as the town guards who speak to you at the gate) as well as 3's island structure, which also makes it largely barren.

[Ack]

You know what I like? A hearty adventure, complete with a bunch of ne'er-do-well companions just as capable of saving a bus full of nuns as they are then turning around, ransoming those nuns to an orphanage, and then burning the orphanage down once the reward money has been collected and the nuns safely returned. So as I began my journey into Might and Magic 4, I decided I needed a party of ragtag cutthroats to really get the game spirit pumping:

Ack - Human Knight
With long flowing locks and a jawline so masculine it makes damsels swoon at 200 yards, the party leader and tank has been established.

Popo - Half-Orc Barbarian
Sometimes the hero/anti-hero needs an enforcer to offer sage advice, mostly about smashing things. I'm honored to once again bring Popo into the fray.

Elkin - Half-Orc Archer
He's a filthy perv who can spot hentai a mile away...and then hit it with an arrow. This is Elkin's first time aboard the pain train, folks. Wish him well!

Exhum - Human Robber
Who better to backstab somebody than my favorite smarmy pigsticker? Exhum returns to be the reason we all keep ending up in jail and breaking back out again.

Sarge - Gnome Cleric
I need someone in this group to keep a level head, to keep the party going, and to turn a blind eye to all the nasty, bloody business we're about to get into. Sarge was just the perfect man for the job.

Bone - Elf Sorcerer
Bone's intense knowledge of the arcane history of RPGs makes him a natural fit as the guy who is gonna make things go boom. Welcome back, Bone.

Sadly, yes, this means a few personal favorites are not back:

Key, we will miss you and your talents as a bringer of pain and misery. If there had been seven slots, I'd have happily brought you along, but I felt some fresh blood was needed to add to the mix of my usual ragtag group. I wish you many happy returns incinerating your enemies. Preferably whole villages of them. With their children. Their screaming, immolated children. God, I miss you already.

Noise, or Binky as we unaffectionately refer to him...well, we are the pain train, not the other way around. I just couldn't bare your sniveling for this adventure. Now don't worry, we may bring you back as necessary depending on how tired I get of Elkin constantly spotting half-naked anime girls in the woods while wearing a loin cloth. Not because we like you, but because we need someone to be the butt of all the party jokes. I respect the rest of these guys and Key too much.

[Exhuminator]

smarmy pigsticker

I accept this mission. Though, I may have to slip a shiv in Elky's spine if he tries to hoard all the ecchi babes for himself. Fair warning!

[Ack]

Excellent, the interparty fighting begins...

[BoneSnapDeez]

I am honored once again.

[Sarge]

It helps that I also like Cleric classes. Thanks for the inclusion in your merry band.

[marurun]

I look forward to regular tales of the misadventures of this motley crew (ue) you have assembled.

[MrPopo]

I'm starting a pool for how long before Ack goes crazy from the voiced lines at dungeon entrances.