redface on 2/10/2011 at 12:02
His evil twin, Garfunkel?
242 on 2/10/2011 at 13:07
I hope T4 won't be 'as good', HR is pretty boring and atmosphere-lacking.
jtr7 on 2/10/2011 at 17:28
To reiterate what's been discussed a bunch: The Hand Mages have a corrupt splinter group and unfulfilled prophecies, and the Barony has remained very much in the background. I don't want to see the Baron, but I can easily imagine a duped Baron, political upheaval, and martial law. The war with Blackbrook, and the war between Cyric and Bohn, could be economic and class factors from the past, rippling through the present. The City is blighted with necromantic phenomenon. I can imagine Azaran's followers making a power grab in the absence of the Keeper Order, now blinded and bereft of their tools, except knowing things about The City few others do. I wouldn't want to see zombie hordes or a scene from Ghostbusters, but I imagine the necromancers approaching the nobility as exterminators, offering to finally clean up the necromantic plagues.
There is a corner of Karath Din never accessed, and I'd imagine KD was no longer hidden from the public at all, but fully excavated and open (we wouldn't have to revisit the whole place, just that whole corner and look over onto familiar structures nearby, thus, avoiding a retread while maintaining that history, and bringing meshes and textures to the modders), not being the only Precursor city to have been discovered and excavated as the fiction already suggests, with that corner structure's secrets still undiscovered, perhaps locked within, or the artifacts taken for study to another location.
The Hand Mages would play a part, so we'd get to see all of them and their powers again, as they have the best answers for Garrett's grudging questions regarding Azaran and the Book of Ash and the Necromancer splinter group. Having come to The City from the East, not of The City, avoiding The City, seeking elemental knowledge, they would still be aloof, but they have Commoner servants and Officers working for them. They prophecy The City will, metaphorically or not, experience purifying fire, and come out of its current chrysalis. I'd hate to see all of that never dealt with in the fiction.
I imagine a half-explanation for all the necromancy, hearing the populace remark on what a blessing it is to have relief, and to know their loved ones will actually get to rest in peace and their enemies/victims will stay down. I imagine the Necormancers bringing some knowledge of how and why the undead rise, while maintaining the mystery overall, and new ways of approaching gameplay that feel like an upgrade of knowledge, without really being an upgrade, like the vine arrows were to rope arrows--a different perspective on the same thing that builds on the mythology. The Necromancers would be about immortality, but not of the flesh, like people would first believe, so there would be no rehash there, and of course, enslavement. I loathe the idea of the Necromancers raising a demon, and hate that part of Thief 2 Gold's structure, and would like to avoid that entirely.
I imagine it all coming together in the final mission, the Barony and frightened nobility getting slapped back into stability and a tolerable state, perhaps the current Baron is replaced witha Balanced one, and the Hand Mages' splinter group getting wiped out, with the populace almost happy to see undead return, and that they have new ways of dealing with it, except the Hammers, who would've been tempted to take the Necromancers' offer, but wouldn't, but coming close.
It's too much, but if there was a way to have The City reborn through purifying fire, however that could happen, it would probably not occur in a video game, and certainly not the engine.
I want to see Garrett regret he ever wished the Keepers out of his and The City's life. I want to see him terrified and humbled about some things before he leaves the series, while still being an arrogant Master Thief and loner. I want to see the proverb played out: Be careful what you wish for, it may come true. The irony of myself saying that is not lost on me.
Captain Spandex on 9/10/2011 at 11:43
Quote Posted by Springheel
So who exactly would be a credible antagonist for Garrett at this point? He's already defeated a cult leader with killer robots, an entire secret society with telepathic assassins, an ancient demon-creature, and even a god. What could he possibly face in a new story that wouldn't be terribly anti-climactic?
Well, if each game so far has been about one group or another going out of balance, it seems an obvious eventuality that - with the weakening of the Pagans, the Hammers, and now the Keepers - the checks and balances on the City's ever-present 'corruption' aren't as strong as they once were. Which would likely mean the City's underworld would get a bit high on the hog, particularly with the City Watch still reeling from the disaster with Gammall and Truart before that. And, now in a position of leverage, they'd likely want to exact revenge on Garrett. If the Baron is still away during the events of Thief 4, that would make even more sense. In a gameplay context, it would provide adequate impetus for Garrett to enter sprawling, heavily booby-trapped mansions filled with loot and criminal political intrigue. From a narrative standpoint, it's unique in that it illuminates Garrett's own fallibilities, showing how far he could fall if he really were just about thievery and self-interest.
jtr7's got some great ideas. I'm just throwing in my two cents. The Hand Mages would be great, too.
Beleg Cúthalion on 14/10/2011 at 10:53
Your mention of booby traps makes me wish for Thief IV that they use magic, technical gadgets, monsters and other freaky stuff as believable and organic parts of the world and not ends in themselves.
scarykitties on 17/10/2011 at 21:39
I think that the Hand Brotherhood has a lot of potential, as jtr7 said. Hell, I basically designed a faction for an original Thief 2 setting that was much like the Hand Brotherhood without me realizing it. This was back before I actually had seen those "special" Thief Gold missions. I was surprised that the Hand fit very well into my setting. So clearly I already have a fondness for the basic idea behind the Hand.
I hope that they drop that ridiculous elemental magic stuff, though. Either that or refine its concept so that it's not completely silly.
Koki on 18/10/2011 at 06:08
So you want another Thief 3? As expected from someone who puts a space before an exclamation mark
Renault on 18/10/2011 at 14:31
And it only took Koki three months to come up with that winning quip.
