#Blackpit Lock

[hepdenerose]

Crow Nest West to East

On a mid-May Saturday, we made our way up to Palace House Road to wend up pretty paths.  Even the racket emanating from an event in the park didn’t spoil our enjoyment of the resplendent floral display.  Golden poppies reflected the bright sun, bluebells drooped in the heat and dandelions were heavy with seeds.  Careful of our footing over the pesky old round beech nuts, we braved the tricky west…

[ddarker-dreams]

Lock! What other games would you recommend to a fellow bg3 and disco elysium enjoyer?

Hello... you have come to the right place... i am a CRPG Fan™ so i'm more than happy to point you in the direction of some games that hit similar beats to bg3 and disco elysium (which happen to be my favorite games of all time).

planescape: torment —

a true classic. the writing in this game is brilliant. the game's setting comes from dungeon and dragon's planescape campaign, so some of the terminology you've seen in bg3 will pop up here (specifically the githzerai, who, unlike githyanki, don't follow vlaakith). if i had to pick the game's core element... i'd say it's interacting with various philosophies/belief systems. even the most random NPCs have interesting things to say. the factions in the game's main area, the city of sigil, are based on real world philosophies (nihilism, hedonism, and anarchism, to name a few). the faction known as the society of sensation is actually what inspired elements of nexus!

the story has you hooked from the opening cutscene until the final potential endings. a protagonist with amnesia might not be anything new, but i don't think i've ever seen the trope explored in the way planescape does. the side quests and characters are all memorable too. you can just tell that so much thought and care went into the writing, it has such a distinct personality.

that being said ... fair warning. the combat in this game is notoriously scuffed. i highly recommend playing on the lowest difficulty to help circumvent some frustrating encounters. it isn't awful, but it can feel tedious at times. there's no real incentive to level up/minmax characters. everything else about the game goes hard though.

divinity original sin 2 —

WOOOO BABY larian studios know how to make god tier RPGs. i replayed do2 recently and man. i love this game. beautiful graphics, an interesting story, lovable characters, and the combat. omg. it's almost overwhelming at times how many approaches you can take to each fight.

except for the blackpits fight. all my homies hate the blackpits fight.

anyway ... you should feel right at home when booting this game up if you've played bg3. the combat is turn-based, although do2 uses slightly different mechanics (action points and spells/abilities replenishing based on turns rather than rests, for instance). it's fun, engaging, and has lots of charm.

pillars of eternity —

pillars of eternity holds a special place in my heart... it's the very first CRPG i ever played. some of the people who worked on it wrote fallout: new vegas and the aforementioned planescape: torment. as such, you can expect quality writing and worldbuilding. POE has a more somber tone than the others on this list, which i personally liked. i spent hours getting into the cosmology and pantheon from this game's world, reading everything little thing.

the worldbuilding impressed little lock so much that it went on to influence how i write/create settings. HWR was in its infancy stages around the time i first played the game, which inspired the home continent i made for the story.

also. you can build a jail on your base and throw people in it. i really enjoyed doing that.

[hepdenerose]

Wood Top Heritage

A patchily sunny mid-February Sunday, we walked through the park beginning to bloom with almonds and cherries, up to Wood Top, in search of new lambs. On the ascent, recent research enabled us to place the long-gone Victoria Mill and the station warehouse and further up, to speculate on the origin of the farmhouse. Date stamped 1657, tall arched doors either side signified it started out as a…

[hepdenerose]

Blossoming Out (Wood Top to Mytholmroyd)

Realising roadworks would make for a slow ride, later in May, we again ditched the idea of catching the Colden bus, bought co-op meal deals and proceeded up Fountain Street awash with poppies, to the towpath, awash with marguerites.  Painter Friend strolled over Blackpit Lock. “Have you finished early?” I asked. “Yes; I started early. Six hours painting windows – boring!” “I know. I’ve been doing…

[hepdenerose]

Go Slow to Old Chamber

Go Slow to Old Chamber

A breezy sunny Friday mid-June, we crossed the main road to the Methodist church lawn searching for a pair of goslings to find one asleep and the other hidden beneath a parent’s wing.  We paced ourselves on the slog up to Palace House Road and turned up the lane.  Awash with riotous flowers, a bee buzzed from one towering foxglove to the next.  We rounded the next corner where rhododendrons…

[hepdenerose]

Birthday Ellipse (Sustrans to Crow Nest)

Birthday Ellipse (Sustrans to Crow Nest)

Phil’s lockdown birthday started grey, but the sun made an appearance in time for a mid-afternoon outing.  Having come up with a short-list of possibilities, we dithered at the end of the street then opted for a visit to Crow Nest wood via a circuitous route.  At the traffic lights, we exchanged cheery greetings with a friend walking her dog and crossed to go through the busy memorial garden and…

[hepdenerose]

Festooned (Canal and River)

Festooned (Canal and River)

In the post-Christmas bleakness, we wrapped up against the bitter cold to embark on a chilly walk along the canal.  The towpath busy, we stopped often for lumps of people to pass.   That would teach us for having an unoriginal idea!   Mind you, with a plethora of strange sights to peruse, we didn’t begrudge the delays.  A bizarre collection of carnival animals stood outside the Hebble End…

[hepdenerose]

Confined walks 4 – Canalside

Confined walks 4 – Canalside

Early May, we struggled to leave the house before later afternoon.  Thus we did not get further than the canal.

At the start of the week, Phil cast about for an excuse to go out.  With no shop requirements, he suggested going to look for goslings, snapped by a fellow photographer on the marina.  Hoping they’d still be there we set off late Wednesday afternoon. We waited for a neighbour coming up…

[hepdenerose]

Confined Walks in Crow Nest and Environs

Breaking the confines of the town centre, we took two small walks on successive sunny Wednesdays, in and around Crow Nest.  On the first of these, we set off quite a bit later than planned, due to mislaid keys.  Ambling down quiet streets to the main road, we waited to cross at the zebra.  An impatient driver beeped us; obviously frustrated at having to slow down from 100 mph on the clear…

[hepdenerose]

A Quick Blast

The harsh winter of 2017-18 showed no signs of letting up.  On the last Sunday of February, the cold persisted despite the sun, but I was desperate to get out of the house having been ill in bed the previous week.

We set off on a short stroll along the canal.  It felt arctic on the aqueduct with the Siberian blast hitting us straight on.  Phil said it was officially the coldest part of town…

[hepdenerose]

New Road through Erringden

New Road through Erringden

The last Sunday of June, we ascended Palace House Road planning to go straight up to Crow Nest wood.

Initially taking our usual path upwards, we made frequent stops to admire foxgloves in various shades of pink, purple and white and tried to capture bees on camera as they foraged for nectar.  Halfway up, I noticed a footpath leading off from the right with a sign pointing up to ‘Bar Cliff’ and…