# recommend an RPG to me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072 "2004-04-09T00:27:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/41 "2004-04-11T07:41:14Z")
Always gotta give a shout-out to my favoritest but oft-overlooked RPG, **Wizardry 8**. Probably the most polished game I’ve ever played. My only gripe is that it’s hella difficult once you escape the initial dungeon, as you can end up with something like 60 monsters chasing you, when even three or four would be a tough fight. But once you make it to the next town, it’s not that bad. Cheers to **Paladud** for mentioning **Betrayal at Krondor** , the game that held the throne of “Best RPG Ever” for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/42 "2004-04-11T08:06:16Z")
As a long dead site of ill repute once pointed out, driving your car is quite a lot like an RPG. Every mile you complete brings you more odometer experience. But don’t let that gas stat get to low before heading for an “inn!” It’s all the fun of watching numbers slowly increase, but without the confusing user interface. And you want open-ended gameplay? Damn! Seriously though: you want one of the best RPG experiences you can have, with all the boring, complicated elements stripped away? Try Progress Quest. Just download, install, and get playing: read the manual later. Freaking awesome RPG, and any modern system can handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2004, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/43 "2004-04-11T08:08:39Z")
Oh, linkage. Go here: [http://progressquest.com/dl.php](http://progressquest.com/dl.php) My favorite part of the game is the “terms of use” agreement: > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, the terms of use of all versions of Progress Quest software are presumptive. As such, the following conditions hold: > > There are presumed to be terms and conditions of use of Progress Quest, and they are further presumed to be exactly what they may reasonably be presumed to be by you, the user, and myself, the developer. > Where there is a difference between what the user and myself presume in this regard, my presumption takes precedence. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/44 "2004-04-12T17:23:48Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Try Progress Quest. Just download, install, and get playing: read the manual later. Freaking awesome RPG, and any modern system can handle it. Good luck on getting the #1 high score. You’ll need it. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/45 "2004-04-13T12:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Can’t go wrong with a Stinger missile! Somehow, this comment is so descriptive of the SDMB. SOmeone asks for an RPG and you give them other, possibly helpful but totally unasked-for informaiton. 🙂 > [@](#): > > Morrowind bleh. They confused non linear wide open worlds with wayyy too little information to do things. “go to X and get Y” erm ok. I have no idea how to get to X. Thanks. Some quests didn’t even seem to work right. One quest right off had me escorting a woman to some place. I brought her there. No dice. I drug her stupid ass all over the island trying to find the trigger. No dice. I talked to her fifty times trying to get her to say something like “I need to be 2 inches from the sign right there in order for the quest to be finished idiot” Was it that hard to go stand by the sign? You don’t even have to be all that close. I’ve done that quest four times and never had any problems. But the basic fact of the matter is that Morrowind does not hold you hand. Sometimes, information given to you is even blatantly wrong - NPC’s don’t always have the latest scoop and they aren’t geniuses and you can do the quest pretty much however you like. > [@](#): > > Oh, and so far the only problem I had with a quest is when I somehow missed a signpost and went off in the wrong direction. That’s when I ended up helping a pilgrim in search of a shrine near a farm. Once you find the shrine, stand right next to it and she’ll happily thank you. I did that quest two days ago. Its quite easy you paid any attention to what she said or read your journal. > [@](#): > > (this one bugs me. If Morrowind is the only game that embodies the traits you mention how can I ever provide counter examples of games I like that have those traits?) Aside from Daggerfall, i can’t think of any RPG that lets you do all that. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/46 "2004-04-13T13:15:11Z")
> [@quixotic78](#): > > Always gotta give a shout-out to my favoritest but oft-overlooked RPG, **Wizardry 8**. Absolutely! This is an awesome old-school game. I’ve played almost all of the RPGs listed here. I still don’t recommend Morrowind as an intro into hardcore RPG games. I’d go with something more like the Baldur’s Gate series or Neverwinter Night before jumping into the overwhelming open-endedness of Morrowind. Divine Divinity is a blast, and a sorta sequel is due out this month (Beyond Divinity). The developers are just awesome. When users complained about some of the features (and the hideous voice acting) in the demo, they went back and fixed those problems, including redoing all the voice acting. I found Sacred to be just plain boring, and I have no desire to continue playing it. It does have cooperative multiplayer, however. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/47 "2004-04-13T15:30:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Was it that hard to go stand by the sign? You don’t even have to be all that close. I’ve done that quest four times and never had any problems. So I was right in assuming she had to be by the sign. I never solved that quest she wouldn’t trigger for me. I drug her over every inch of that farm read the sign 5 times even tried to get her to brush up against it and she never did anything. > [@](#): > > But the basic fact of the matter is that Morrowind does not hold you hand. Sometimes, information given to you is even blatantly wrong - NPC’s don’t always have the latest scoop and they aren’t geniuses and you can do the quest pretty much however you like. I don’t need the game to hold my hand (worst comes to worst I can look at a walkthrough though I am loathe to do that until I finish it once on my own) and I’ve played RPGs with NPCs that lie. However the game has to be compelling enough to make me want to go through it. Morrowind didn’t. > [@](#): > > Aside from Daggerfall, i can’t think of any RPG that lets you do all that. I still think this isn’t true. Morrowind and Daggerfall are not in a vacum. Sure they might be on a larger scale or implemented differently but there’s plenty of games with those traits that I enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/48 "2004-04-13T17:40:23Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Once you find the shrine, stand right next to it and she’ll happily thank you. I did that quest two days ago. Its quite easy you paid any attention to what she said or read your journal. Yeah, the pilgrim and I eventually found the signpost that I had missed. Must have passed it in the fog. Right now, I’m just wandering around Vivec looking for odd jobs. I’ve already picked up the Chronicles of Nchuleft. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/49 "2004-04-13T19:13:10Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Oops! I take it that RPG means ‘role-playing game.’ I thought you were looking for a rocket-proprelled grenade launcher… And here, I thought this thread was going to be about compilers. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/50 "2004-04-13T19:15:27Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > [Gearhead!](http://www.geocities.com/pyrrho12/programming/gearhead/) It’s an ascii-based mech-based roguelike game. A Rogue-like game with battlemechs? What, are there Potions of Raise Ammo and Scrolls of Enchant Missile Launcher littered around the battlefield? ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/51 "2004-04-13T19:34:10Z")
I got a message in my email from IGN about Sacred, but I ahven’t had time to download it. If I really like Diablo II, am I going to like this game? Is the multiplayer free? ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072/52 "2004-04-13T19:59:24Z")
Yes, the multiplayer is free. If you really like Diablo I/II, then yes, you might well like Sacred. But, I didn’t like it, even though I did enjoy the Diablo series. Something about the game just bored me to tears. I found the regenerating monsters to be very, very annoying, since the shopkeepers didn’t keep unlimited potions. So what would happen is this: you go to town, buy as many potions as you could, then try to head toward your quest, only to run into almost as many monsters as before. You end up using a lot of those potions before you ever even get to your goal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-an-rpg-to-me/239072.md?page=2)