Being truly evil

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Regarding the whole "low reputation should cause fear" issue, in first edition AD&D the fear reaction is tied to powerful beings with extremely low charisma, and neither power nor charisma affect reputation in SOA. Don't know how it works in second and third edition, but my guess is it might be similar.

Personally, I don't think it makes much sense in a world full of low-level shopkeepers and powerful villians for shop keepers to give discounts to the very people who hurt their business. Either you kill them or you destroy their profit repeatedly and they starve -- they all know you evil characters will take ruthless advantage of them if they show weakness. Seems to me they tell a character with low reputation a high price in the hopes that he'll shop somewhere else. You're lucky they don't just refuse service entirely.

If you rewrite the files to make them charge you less, you at least ought to make sure that every time you get your "low-rep discount" the shopkeeper calls the guards on you when you're gone and locks the doors every time he sees you coming in the future. If you do get back in the store, you ought to write the tweak so that they no longer offer anything but basic supplies (having hidden all the good items that you would otherwise extort from them).

[This message has been edited by Bombur (edited May 07, 2002).]

 

Then we run into another problem: If things were more realistic, the CE berserker at the XP cap would just kill the frickin' merchant in question and take all his stuff. At that level, none of the merchants could stop you, not even Ribald. But the stuff isn't there after you kill them. Go figure.

 

Sometimes, in the Forest of Tethir when no one is looking, I like to cut up the little bunny rabbits that hop around with my katana. . . Is that evil?

And its not even for sustenance. I just like to see its little body parts splattered everywhere. No rep loss though. Oh well. Disintegrate spell on the bunnies is also loads of fun. Cheers.

 

LOL, Q.

Screw the rep indicator! Download the happy patch.