No real fights without tons of potions.

[Dr Dragon]

I think epic fights using potions could be changed if people had epic duels to the death without potions!

[Raposa_Fox]

The vast majority of normal "duels" are without potions or spells, so skill at leveling and building comes into play far more than affording potions.  As for "all-out duels" there are tons of ways beyond just potions to get a pretty wicked advantage if you just think about it.  I had a char that won a lot of various types of duels with a wide variety of techniques, items, and strategies.

And if it's just regular old kill-or-be-killed PvP, then there are countless more ways to be effective.

I have never seen an important duel or events without potions or trinkets. Like DeSonnac's, and some others. Or that tournment day against beasts, most characters won then because of potions, while the beasts would just eat them without the potions. Like the 'Wyvern Slayer' for instance. In 'Blood for Targus' the almighty greatest warrior of the island Vlad showed the great power of arcane potions, even being a man of 'Ze Old Vays'... Yeah, well, there are trinkets that are used too, I would put them in the same cathegory of potions.

Then again, as I said, I am not trying to change anything, or asking for explanations of why it is like it is, I was just saying that this bothers me, and trying to find out if people shared the same opinion as me.

[Pup]

Yeah, well, there are trinkets that are used too, I would put them in the same cathegory of potions.

So you're saying that you'd prefer people to not use items of any kind?

[Raposa_Fox]

So you're saying that you'd prefer people to not use items of any kind?

No, I am trying to say that an item that gives any character of any class or race ghostly visage, for instance, is just as the same as a blur potion. Isn't it?

[Denko]

What I find utterly ridiculous is that drinking potions takes less time than using magic items. What can you do faster? Uncork a bottle, drop your weapon because you need a free hand, remove your helm,  drinking, then throwing the bottle away and picking up your weapon again? Or activate a magical item just by touching it, without even needing to drop the weapon? I can't believe the same guys who made the great game that is NWN made such a mistake. Then duels look more like two drunkards competing to see who can drink faster than an actual duel.

[Mort]

You're making fun at a character for roleplaying a fear of magic and not, obviously, understanding as deeply as YOU, a player, do.

For him, magic can be feared and dangerous when it is manipulated by another and he doesn't understand it very well.

When it is in passive form, such as a totem or a brew, an oil or a tonic, well, it can pass as medicinal and be understood for its applications.

Even if YOU, the player, KNOW its the same spell being casted in the two instances. The character can interpret them as very distinct experiences.

Uthgart (sp?) forsakes magic. Does his worshipers interpret it in different ways? Yes. Some see magic as the aid of spirits from the various tribes coming to help them in the midst of battle. Curative tonic are seen as medecinal...

[---]

Saying it's all due to potions and none of the character/player's ability is defeatist and just finding ways to attack anothers' success, or finding external reasons to why they won, and you didn't.

You'll never improve if you think everything is externally determined. Why? Well, because if it's externally determined and you can't change these factors too much.

But in the midst of battle, under stress, it's SO much more than that. Especially in pvp, a split second decision can be the difference between defeat and victory.

I remember when fighting Plopliblop with Agrael. Our first battle lasted 15-30 seconds. I tried 3 different tactics during that lapse of time to bring her down. None worked. Under the pressure, I made a few errors during that battle and the dice weren't on my side this day so I lost. I misclicked one disabling spell for another and forgot to equip an armor more appropriate to fighting her than the one I had. Also forgot to use a Divine Power potion (Go figure!).

When under pressure, nothing is simple. Raise the risks of any event, raise the pressure and people will make mistakes. I took responsibility for those errors above and they cost me a LOT, but at least I didn't feel hopeless and I knew I could rectify and learn from them.

[---]

But it's cool that you think consumeables play a large part in any battle because they do and should. This should also make you think that whatever your build, you can have a chance at being useful due to these very consumeables. Hence, feeding the arguments for Roleplay Before Build.