hi im new to the forum nd have played DoD for about a month and a half(damn its addictive, i even put my ps3 control down to play DoD ) but the one gripe i have with this game is several skills have innacurate or irrevelant names, e.g promethean magic(has nothing to do with prometheans, prometheans being the "people" of prometheus made from clay in greek mythology), fleshsmithing(nothing to do with SMITHING whatsoever, well aside from meatshield but the shield isnt even smithed) and golemancy (only one skill in the entire tree is technically a "golem" the "blade golem" is just a mages trap and the "moustache golem" is a closer reletive to the red hair monster on looney toons than an actual golem) aside from these details DoD is rather well done
Golemancy also has the mortal machine, and fleshmithing lets you "manipulate" meat in many ways, like sewing yours or ripping your enemies'. As for promethean no idea, never actually stopped to think about the name
While Promethean Magic has absolutely nothing to do with Prometheans, it has everything to do with giving fire. Well, Prometheus gave fire to mankind, and you're giving it to your enemies, but I guess it's kind of the same thing. Still, though, Promethean Magic (IMO) is a way cooler name than something as generic as Fire Magic or any of its other alternatives.
Yeah, I read "Promethius" and thought "Fire". I figured most people would do the same, given that the skill talks about fire, and has the Hero dressed up like a Red Mage, shooting fire as the icon. These are not-so-subtle hints.
Golemancy also has the mortal machine, thats the one skill that actually lives up to "golem"ancy as it is technically a golem, a moustache is not a golem, a razor is not a golem, thaumites are not golems, a wall is not a golem, WHERE ARE MY GOLEMS!? and for the promethean magic i think it should be called draconian spellcraft or dragonic emulation or something, but fleshsmithing has no "smithing" as such
If a "smith" is "one who forges", then a Fleshsmith is one who shapes or forges flesh. It still works. "Smith" traditionally is associated with metals, but when you put "flesh" before it, the meaning is altered, is it not? Also, Golems. These can either be "a figure artificially constructed in the form of a human being and endowed with life," or "an automaton". So, you have a mustachey-thing that's being animated: a golem; and the Mortal Machine: an automaton if ever there was one. Sure, the other spells aren't necessarily textbook-definition golems, but that's done for balance and variety reasons, same as all the other schools of magic in the game - there's about 5 different spell types in the game and each school typically has at least 4 of the 5 in there somewhere. You're taking a game that enjoys poking fun at itself and it's genre, and language in general (necronomiconomics, anyone?) far, far too literally.
lol yes, but aside from the mortal machine there is no "actual" golem in the game. Golem definition: being of wood, clay, dirt, stone or other earthy/natural materal animated via a scroll made from the animators blood, or there is the other myth(i believe its jewish, correct me if im wrong)where the golem is first crafted from clay then a word (i believe its spelt emet or mete) is engraved into its head the word meaning life etc, but point still stands the mortal machine is the only "golem" in the game, and for promethean magic it has nothing to do with prometheans, so where does that fit in?(the only connection is that one of the things prometheus did was provide fire to humans, and the promethean race is a much better example of prometheus's mythicological work) and a better use of a "fleshsmithing" class would be to create armor from flesh chunks\fallen enemies e.g diggle pelt helm(id love me one of those! )
The Golem originated from the Talmud, and there have been jewish folktales that involve Golems. It refers to, in general, an animate being created from inanimate matter. A robot could be considered a type of golem, and, in fact, has been described as such in some science fiction. Frankenstein was a kind of Golem story -- an animate creature created from dead flesh. Karel Capek's "R.U.R.", one of the very first stories to feature robots, was based on the Golem legend. So the term Golem has a wider meaning than it's origins may imply. Prometheus is actually most popularly known as the individual who stole fire from the Gods to give to mankind, and then was punished by being chained to a rock. I am no expert on greek mythology, but I had never previously heard of 'Promethians'. Considering that we are talking about a video game and not a graduate-level text book, I'd say that the devs made a pretty good choice in the skill title.
Promethians in greek mythology were the sons of prometheus or the "people" prometheus created out of dirt, but zeus/gaia/insert correct god here(really cant remember) wanted to start over with the creation of man as the prometians were unsightly, had no soul/heart and they were not self aware but point stands that some things should be renamed, and perhaps added in as a new skill tree, e.g golemancy renamed to anamationatomy or something, then a skill where ingots(alot of ingots) and a life potion can be used to create a golem/automaton of that metal/metal blend e.g 10 brass and a life potion into the "golem mould press" out pops a brass golem pet and still with the fleshsmithing skill aside from the meatshield where is the actual smithing of armor/weapons/tools
You are being a bit of a nitpicker here. It's like the term "Herculean", which is used as an adjective, not a noun, to be something similar to the legend of Hercules (in this case, the tasks he was beset with). Promethean, as an adjective, means something from the Prometheus legend, and obviously refers to his gift of fire. Like Hercules, there's more to the legend than just the gift of fire, but that's not really an argument against using it as a title for the skill.
fair enough but with the fleshsmithing and golemancy would it not be better to have those renamed and a new skill tree with that name be added, for example "new" fleshsmithing could allow the crafting of armor or weapons from fallen enimies e.g blobby gel shield or diggle beak lance/club and for golemancy creation of golems though the use of ingots would be a rather usefull skill tree in my opinion
How about this: Promethian is not referring to the sons of Promethius or the people of Promethius... it's using "ian" as an adjective. As in, "The Magic of Promethius". That would be fire. Promethius gave humans fire; Promethian Magic gives YOU fire. I also don't understand this obsession with Fleshsmithing having to be able to craft things. Fleshsmithing is a fancy way of saying "you can shape flesh, be it yours or another's", not "you can peel off someone's skin and make an item out of it".
Okay, I can picture people having their nitpicks about how skills work, if a certain skill line is br0ken, how should things be buffed or nerfed but... Complaining about the NAMES ? Come on!!!! Sheesh. Sometimes I just can't wrap my head around certain things.
You do realize that a smith may craft more than just weapons and armor, do you not? As such, fleshsmithing is not a misleading term. In fact, I knew well what it was from the name. A fleshsmith is one who shapes flesh. It's quite effective at relaying exactly what it means. I feel the same for Promethean magic, and golemancy. I think that, perhaps, you are a bit too rigid with your interpretation of these titles. Words are, by nature, quite fluid. As well, this game seems rife with puns, which tend to stretch word meaning even further than usual. I happen to like puns, so maybe I am biased. I am wondering though, what excludes the mustache golem from being a golem?
@Vykk Draygo "I am wondering though, what excludes the mustache golem from being a golem?" Unless your mustache hairs are animate like Medusa's (if she/it had a mustache), mustache Golem fits the definition of a Golem very precisely. I actually love the picture it inspires in my mind.
@jofadda You are being a bit too nitpicky. And since I am known by my friends and family for being the Nitpick King, I must challenge you to a fight to the death for the title. Nothing personal. That said, Golems are not just made of clay. So, the Mustache golem counts. As pointed out, Fleshsmithing does not mean what you think it means.
"Raspberry Jam" -- is that what blob puddles taste like? Wow, a blast from the past. It's been so long since I've seen that that I completely forgot about Jack Nicholson being in it (probably didn't know who he was when I first saw that).
I'm surprised neither of the wikis have a section that explains the inside jokes and cultural references.
