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That is an inaccurate statement. Luca is the one who has more power -- the amount of energy it would take to bring back the dead is immense. Duvalier just keeps a reign on that energy after she releases it and makes sure it "fits" into the mind being revived.

Also, what, are we supposed to not feel any emotion in the scene where Luca fights so hard to free her husband only to find he doesn't even remember her? Who cares, right? She's just a soulless construct, she doesn't actually have any real feelings or personality.

Alright, a compromise, then: Perhaps some spirits really are the minds of the dead, while some are formed from thought impressions.

I still think that Iblis isn't a construct though. His tale is vague in places, but he was very terse and didn't take the time to explain a lot of things. He sounded like he knew more than he said, he just didn't bother to tell Duvalier. And it is remarkably specific compared to the other spirits we see. There are just too many complexities to account for him being a figment of peoples' imaginations.

Also, re: the bandits thing: he's pretty deep in the cavern, and the scorpions probably menaced the bandits as well. It's probable that the bandits simply never got that deep.

Ah, I see, so the theory is that spirits are constructions that can interact with the rest of the world, not just in the telepath's own head... That does make the theory harder to refute.

However, I still think that there are holes in this theory. Why would Iblis have a complicated backstory? He talks about wandering the desert endlessly until he finally found the statue, and also rants about "her", who somehow "betrayed" him. How and why would the laborers make up such a complex personality? And why would they be afraid of a "her"? The high-standing members of the Cult are all men.

Also, we don't know how long the tunnel was blocked. It's possible the bandits just never went down there -- or they blocked it off when they found Iblis. I think a more likely explanation is that Iblis was a wandering Jinn who only came to inhabit the statue recently. That would match up with his story.

You can recruit soldiers from a number of different factions. I was just wondering, do the types of soldiers impact anything? For example, would the 500 psy academy soldiers be worth more than Ravinale volunteers in the final battle, or just as much? Festus seems to imply as much when he offers you troops, though of course you never get them, so that theory can't be tested...

I was wondering about that too, actually. What effects do the soldiers have? I assume it decreases the number of soldiers/reinforcements you have to fight?

Also, does donating more gold to Elan have a greater effect? Is it worth it? (i.e., could you buy the same amount of soldiers from Helena with the same amount of gold)

I don't follow. Fury and Stimulate work by physically stimulating centers of the brain to release chemicals. Spirits have no physical brains to affect.

I thought that book's theory was rather explicitly false? All the spirits we meet in the game have the same personalities regardless of Duvalier's personality, so he can't be conjuring them himself. Spirits can also interact with other spirits, and can even affect the living. Duvalier's group also fights numerous hostile spirits even if Duvalier is nonviolent.

Also, Iblis says that he doesn't know his name, just that "someone called me that once", which seems to imply he's been down there a long time -- longer than the laborers have.

[Deep Pierce]

Okay, so, uh, how about this?

Deep Pierce
Through careful training, Rajav is able to use the intangibility of his spear more effectively, bypassing his opponents' armor and inflicting a more grievous wound.

Element: Physical
Range: 2
Cost: 10
Damage: Strength + Psy Power + (Deep Pierce level*2)

I actually thought the backstab damage from the barriers' shock was intentional. Though it is rather odd, since no other area attack (except for linear ones like Frost Blast) can get backstab bonuses, if memory serves...

That does sound more plausible...but then, how do you explain how greater ghosts are completely immune to physical attacks?

And also, if that's the case, we come back to the problem of how Rajav is able to physically attack things with a spectral spear.

(It also seems odd that spirits appear to have material possessions... Luca is clearly in a dress, and Rajav has a cape and shield in addition to his spear, all of which have in the same spirit texture. Perhaps it is because the image spirits project is linked to their own self-perception? So they would look like they view themselves, clothes and possessions included.)

Oh, and, uh, sorry for derailing my own thread, Ert.

It seems like ghosts can influence aspects of the physical world, though. Baz mentions poltergeists in the first mission briefing. It's possible that his spear can partially solidify or transfer into the material world to harm opponents. Though the telekinesis theory would also work.

I do admit I am quite curious as to how Rajav's strength training works. How would it be different from his psy power? How can a ghost get stronger muscles? I really don't know. D:

Heh.

Well, it doesn't have to be very specific, does it? Just use the same damage formula as Trueshaft and/or Double Strike. Though I suppose it could be a ranged attack...perhaps a more powerful throw? I think that would suit the dynamic pretty well. Griffin's attack has a range of 1, Rajav has a range of 2, and Rahel has a range of 3.

Hm, I see. I guess a generalist would be kind of gamebreaking if you're trying to focus on more specialized unit types. I just felt that the elemental kineticists might be a bit too specialized -- I can't really see much difference between them beyond just elemental swaps, and it doesn't seem like they'd have a wide variety of attacks... I haven't seen the finished version, though, so I'm sure you have something planned.

I know that this is kind of late to be suggesting things, for obvious reasons, but what I'm suggesting is minor, so hopefully it is feasible to include in a patch.

Griffin, Rahel, and Arman all learn upgraded versions of their attacks that have much higher damage multipliers, but greater costs -- Double Strike, Trueshaft, and Mega Stab respectively. However, Rajav, who is mostly a simple melee unit, does not get anything like this however. Would it be possible to give him some form of equivalent? He really isn't good for much else, and since he and Griffin are so similar, it seems a bit imbalanced to only give one of them a major damage attack.

Yes, Impale doesn't seem to be affected by physical resistance, which is odd.

Also, a bug: Luca can donate more PsP than she actually has with Transfer 2. I'm not sure what triggers it; sometimes it won't happen, sometimes it will. This will drop her PsP counter into the negatives, though she can still use Soul Suck to recover it.

Aw, it's no fun if you just go with "the universe works in mysterious ways!" :p (Though actually, in that particular case, there's a very easy explanation: his spear is clearly spectral as well, so it makes sense that he is capable of interacting with it as if it were a normal object.) We should fanwank to come up with a plausible explanation!

I'll throw my wild guess into the ring: The skills work through a placebo effect of sorts. Spirits have strong memory impressions of who they were when they were alive, and though the skills cannot physically induce chemical highs, they can recall a memory of what it would be like. Since memory and self-perception clearly affect spirits a great deal, this is what heightens their powers. So the skills would somewhat similar to hypnosis in that case.