Last I checked NWN 2 was released in 2006 and Dragon Age: Origins in 2009....that should be the other way around.

I am aware, since Selene said she hadn't played any further into it, I was thus comparing it to something she possibly had

New idea.

Make TES:VI as they will, but then, at the last minute, put handlebar mustaches on all of the NPCs and some of the Dremora.

That's very advlt, but younger players could still understand what was happening if they focused. It's widely believed that children as young as seven can properly assess up to five on-screen mustaches; it then becomes the job of the parents to explain why they are there.

P. S.

Can we agree that people who have to kill for a living would become less emotional, not more? No maniacal laughing in the DB unless it's just one guy, and at some point in the story he should get caught for being reckless.

I can agree to an extent but I think it would ultimately depend on how in touch with reality a particular character is. A character with a fair amount if reality testing would likely emotionally dissociate from their murders and/or habituate to them in a way that they would become very cold and business-like in their approach. Some might also find a way to rationalize their murders as well, to where they'd feel that their victims deserve it or have it coming, thus cognitively reducing any likelihood for perspective taking and rendering them less prone to any emotional contagion of the situation. The propensity to do this would probably depend on how emotionally unreactive the person is to begin with, though.


However, killers that didn't have an adequate perception of reality, or where they were unable to grasp the consequences/effects of their actions could probably maintain a degree of... color to their personalities, although, even rational, heavily psychopathic people are often able to talk about their acts just like we might talk about our favorite videogame experiences.

Yes, but I wouldn't expect such an individual to be very successful for very long--that same lack of grasp on cause-and-effect is likely to lead to reckless behavior, overconfidence, and delusions of invincibility. And unfortunately this describes the entire Dark Brotherhood, who by any rational definition are more of a murder cult than assassins' guild. Cf. the Morag Tong, who remain detached from their victims and consider themselves more as executors of justice who prevent inter-House warfare than hired killers, or Mass Effect's Thane Krios, who considers himself merely a weapon in the hands of his client--one would expect that any successful professional killer would form that kind of detachment and rationalization in order to remain sane.

Yeah, typically they would be more reckless/impulsive, more dysfunctional, and more prone towards getting caught or things not going according to plan. But really, I'd say considering some of the events of Skyrim, it seems that's basically what has befallen the organization. I think we'll definitely see an alternative assassin guild or perhaps a more refined dark brotherhood, learned from their past mistakes.

The demise or reformation of the Dark Brotherhood is certainly something I for one would welcome. Morally grey or even quixotic good characters can join the Morag Tong with some kind of rationalization; the Dark Brotherhood, by contrast, is just nonsensically evil.

I pretty much agree. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded it if it weren't for the fact that there's not a more serious/professional alternative. Otherwise, they could have been just a crazier flavor of murder.

I can't be the only one that likes the "merry band of assassins" style Dark Brotherhood? I'm all for a new assassin's faction with a new spin, but the Dark Brotherhood questlines and characters were some of the most entertaining in Oblivion and Skyrim. And given the setting, it never really felt out of place.

I'm just not a big fan of all the Sithis worship. I would like a local guild of assassins to take the place of the Brotherhood. Since the DB was having near extinction problems prior to the events of Skyrim, others would step in to fill the void (no pun intended) in the other provinces.

I just think variety in guild "types" would fix this issue. I enjoyed them in Oblivion, although sometimes I felt like they were a bit too evil for the character I had in mind at the time. In Skyrim I felt a bit tired of it, though.

I agree, and Morrowind is an excellent example. Mages have the Mages' Guild, the Temple, the Imperial Cult, and House Telvanni to choose from; fighters have the Fighters' Guild, the Legion, and House Redoran; rogues have the Thieves' Guild and House Hlaalu; assassins, of course, only have the Morag Tong--but several Morag Tong quests show that they don't tolerate competition, freelance or foreign. Of special note is that whether your interest is politics or religion, all three major playstyles have at least one foreign and one native option. More variety for rogues might be nice, but on the other hand it's made pretty clear that the Camonna Tong doesn't accept outsiders (they do accept sticking knives in outsiders) and the Thieves' Guild is in a bad way. And, of course, joining either House Hlaalu or the Fighters' Guild is getting involved with the Camonna Tong.

It would be great for the DB to be wiped out after the events of Skyrim. The existence of so many stupid people all breaking the law from one hideout is just not credible; it makes the game world suffer a bit.

A new guild (or two) would be fantastic. A constantly relocating, Sheogorath-worshiping guild would be cool. They might murder in the forms of strange, lethal pranks. Some of the jobs could even be about destroying someone's reputation, or embarrassing the nobility. There was a group of Sheogorath-worshipers in Morrowind that thought fighting was dancing, and didn't care whether they lived or died. I think this was the shrine where an Orc thought he was a cat and asked you if his tail looked good. It was very great.

Then there could be the business types, the ninja-like people who aren't seen or heard, who like money and don't care about feelings.

You sir or madam are talking about Ald Daedroth!
http://uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Ald_Daedroth

Sigh, memories.