Interview Electric Playground interviews on Undrentide

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide

Yet another <A href="http://www.elecplay.com/interview.html?article=10827">interview</a> about <A href="http://nwn.bioware.com/shadows">Shadows of Undrentide</a>, this time at <a href="http://www.elecplay.com/">Electric Playground</a>. It covers the plot, and various other questions which are both fun and exciting, for sure!
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<blockquote><b>ElecPlay</b>: Any particularly interesting NPCs and new settings we should know about? If you can't be specific, tease us with some hints.
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<b>Darcy Pajak</b>: The player's mentor is Master Drogan, a high-level Dwarven mage. Drogan has an old friend named Ayala, who arrives in the town too late to stop the theft, but will help the player in any way she can. The player will have run-ins with many NPCs from that point forward; everything from humans to kobolds to dragons.</blockquote>
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In true fashion and form, one large, famous dragon from Forgotten Realms lore will have the duty of being a arrow sign on a fence post.
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Spotted this at <a href="http://www.homelanfed.com">HomeLAN Fed</a>

 

[Spazmo]

A dwarven mage? It's possible within the rules, but they had better do it right. Dwarves hate arcane magic. They really dislike it, so much so that they've developed a special resistance to it. Any dwarf that becomes a mage had better be an outcast. A dwarven clan would only really accept a dwarf mage if he enchanted items for them. Otherwise, clerical magic does them just fine.

 

[Volourn]

Spazmo, you better check up on the 3E rules. Dwarves still aren't the biggest fans fo magic as a race; but they no longer hate it. In fact, the dwarven creator god encourages it and also made it possible for dwarves to use it. 'Tis the way it is..

 

[Spazmo]

Well, fuck me. I don't doubt what you say, but it still surprises me. Did this happen specifically in the Forgotten Realms? If it did, was it at the same time as Moradin's Thunder Blessing?

 

[Volourn]

That's basically a big part of Moradin's Thunder Blessing. Of course, the blessing is a FR specific event to explain the changes; but I would presume it would work in all dnd worlds since Moradin is everywhere.

Still, this doens't mean dwarven mages are common. Plus, as you pointed out, there probably still is inherent distrust of arcane magic amongst dwarves (espicially the older ones) as that doens't disseaper over night; but no mass hunting of the wannabe dwarven mages. Heh.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

That's a rather gimpy change. I have to agree with Spazmo, Dwarves were a lot more cool when they completely distained casting arcane.

 

[Volourn]

I agree as well. But, I'm just reporting the facts; not agreeing with them. It's definitely one of my biggest complaints about 3E - espicially since dwarves are my favorite race.

 

[Azael]

I agree as well. But, I'm just reporting the facts; not agreeing with them. It's definitely one of my biggest complaints about 3E - espicially since dwarves are my favorite race.

Really, dwarves are your favorites? I had no idea...

 

[Volourn]

You must be a n00B then.

 

[Azael]

You must be a n00B then.

GO VOLOURN GO!!!

 

[Volourn]

Anyways, wrong forum. This isn't Interplay. Let's remain on topic, and no spamming.

I'll say one thing the desert screenshots look very good. The new skills, feats, and spells all look promising. While the story doens't look that bad; it sounds like a story an evil character wouldn't be the first to jump in there. I hope there's an explanation why evil characters would take part in this. Probably not anything more than ther'es reasure involved. Heh.

Still don't care for the PrC. If they're gonna go down this route; they should at least pick ones I actually like.

 

[Spazmo]

Well, Volourn, the Thunder Blessing only happened in FR since (as far as I know) that's the only world in which dwarves were slowly dying out owing to the massive wars with orcs and goblins. I don't know how they explain dwarven mages in other settings, aside from them being outcasts or item enchanters. The usual thing for a dwarven mage would be like that one NPC from Arcanum. There was a dwarf that you picked up in the elven city (Quintarra?) who was a mage and wasn't welcome in the dwarven clans anymore.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Anyways, wrong forum. This isn't Interplay. Let's remain on topic, and no spamming.

Yes, let's.

I'll say one thing the desert screenshots look very good. The new skills, feats, and spells all look promising. While the story doens't look that bad; it sounds like a story an evil character wouldn't be the first to jump in there. I hope there's an explanation why evil characters would take part in this. Probably not anything more than ther'es reasure involved. Heh.

I'm not really impressed with the desert tile set. It just looks bland to me. Of course, there's not much they can do with sand, but it still looks uninteresting, IMHO. I thought the best tileset that shipped with NWN was the forest one, but that had more to do with the lighting than the texturing. The trees just looked like pillars to me too, which I didn't like. It just looked a little too clean compared to a real forest.

As for the evil characters, it's odd they'd include an evil class, considering they rarely have an outlet for an evil character to be evil. I really don't like the "Good Guy for Hire" style evil in NWN. It's just foolish.

Still don't care for the PrC. If they're gonna go down this route; they should at least pick ones I actually like.

Just tell me this, are the BlackGuard at least Lawful Evil paladins?

 

[Spazmo]

Blackguards are chaotic evil. They're the very antithesis of the paladin. In fact, if you're a paladin and multiclass into a blackguard, you can choose to sacrifice paladin levels for extra abilities: says the Dungeon Master's Guide: "There's nothing evil loves more than a fallen champion of good."

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

That's one of the silliest role playing mechanics I've ever heard.

 

[Psilon]

For starters, it's pretty unlikely that any Paladin will suddenly jump from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil unless the class change was preplanned. I'd expect more spontaneous gender and species changes than Blackguard creation.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

For starters, it's pretty unlikely that any Paladin will suddenly jump from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil unless the class change was preplanned. I'd expect more spontaneous gender and species changes than Blackguard creation.

Yeah, that's why I said it was silly. It sounds to me like a mechanic issue rather than a roleplaying outlet. You start off as a paladin because you know down the road you're wanting to be a Blackguard.

 

[Volourn]

Yup, I agree. To me, it's for epeople who wnat the power (if not more) than a paaldin with NONE of the responsibility or restrictions.

 

[Section8]

Or those who have fallen but crave power beyond their somewhat diminished combat skills.

 

[Storn]

Of course, all of this talk of Blackguards and Dwarven mages is pretty much moot if the DM doesn't want to have any of it. I'll get Undrentide, but I probably won't even play the single-player game that comes with it ...

As far as FR is concerned, I'm frankly sick of that setting. It's become too cliche' for me and is way overused. Elminster .. ugh (if I may digress, one of the best moments of BG1 came from Edwin who, when you clicked him enough said, "Elminster this! Elminster that! Bah! Give me 3000 years and a pointy hat and I'll kick his arse!")

Anyways ... I played in a custom campaign world once in which the orcs were all good and it was the elves that were evil. I also played in a different campaign world where arcane magic was strictly prohibited and sorcerers all had bounties on their head. In my own custom campaign world, I've tried to go against every FR stereotype I can think of - the most famous smith in the land is an elf and the most famous mage is a dwarf. Take THAT Forgotten Realms ... variety is good sometimes and the most fun I've had in D&D is playing in unique, non-FR worlds. (As a side note, one of the reasons I'm looking forward to ToEE is because it's NOT going to be in Forgotten Realms!)

I also can't stand prestige classes ... I didn't allow them in my PnP campaign, and I doubt I will allow them in my NwN campaign either


S.

 

[Walks with the Snails]

Yeah, I hate Blackguards. They pretty much get all the perks but none of the responsibilities of a Paladin, and all compressed into 10 levels to boot. There's so many advantages for ex-Paladins to turn into a Blackguard that they're basically just asking you to play nice for a few levels and then go rogue. If you don't sacrifice all your Paladin levels for Blackguard, you can also pick up some bonus abilities depending on how many levels you keep. They don't have to be chaotic evil, though, just any evil.

 

[Spazmo]

Storn, bad news. Greyhawk is even more generic than Forgotten Realms. It's pure white bread high fantasy.

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

Well, fuck me. I don't doubt what you say, but it still surprises me.

Shit!
Spaz, your 18 +3 Canadian racial bonus +2 DaC mod bonus roll failed?
I go that roll with my pathetic 7+2 Weight bonus +2 Age bonus!
Anyway, if there is a position possible, it should be roleplayable.
It's the entire purpose of roleplaying.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Storn, bad news. Greyhawk is even more generic than Forgotten Realms. It's pure white bread high fantasy.

More generic, sure, but lacking the cheese that makes Forgotten Realms what it's become today, really.

Then again, I can't really see the point in having both FR and GH since they're pretty damned close to one another, as opposed to Planescape or DarkSun.

 

[Vault Dweller]

More generic, sure, but lacking the cheese that makes Forgotten Realms what it's become today, really.

Tim Cain working with Greyhawk is more then enough cheese for me. :wink: