I have two characters planned for this game. My first playthrough is going to be a classic hothead with a sword and shield. No bulls**t, just straight up heavy combat character, with some arrogant bastard thrown into the mix. I plan to enjoy the combat with this character.
My next character is going to be radically different. As the title suggests, it’s going to be a diplomatic manipulative “bard”, who likes to make other people fight for him/her. Maybe with a little sharp thing to stab people in the back with.
Warhorse has talked about this a couple of times. Being able to develop the character organically, and play the way you feel is right. I’m just a bit worried about this. How does that translate into gameplay? A lot of games strive to accomplish this, but more often than not, it’s not possible to go through the game without becoming a very skilled fighter, and diplomacy ends up becoming obsolete.
The Elder Scrolls is notoriously bad at balancing diplomacy and combat. Skyrim is packed full with encounters you have to fight your way out off, no matter what, but there are almost no diplomatic encounters, and the ones there are can always be resolved with violence.
Neverwinter Nights 2, I feel, did a good job of stressing the necessity for social skills. With a lot of ways to bluff yourself out of dangerous situations. Even the very last boss, would reward diplomatic characters.
My hope is that it’s possible to go through the game, only drawing my blade, when it’s time to stab somebody in the back.
I want to play a character, who’s no better than a peasant in a fair fight.