NWN Neverwinter Nights (NWN & NWN2) Modules Thread

[frajaq]

oh it looks like it requires a bunch of extra stuff, maybe thats it?

 

[Sabotin]

Does it download everything as loose files and not haks or what??? I just tried it and it starts at 150k files for me too...

I guess it counts every sql entry a separate file or something, it doesn't download the same things as a manual install.

 

[frajaq]

got my entire party killed opening a trapped chest, bravo 10/10

 

[Gargaune]

Does it download everything as loose files and not haks or what??? I just tried it and it starts at 150k files for me too...

I guess it counts every sql entry a separate file or something, it doesn't download the same things as a manual install.

I think the Content Browser does indeed download everything into parallel SQL DBs, it doesn't use hakpacks. I'm not sure though, never used it myself.

 

[cretin]

do you guys play with party control enabled or not? I'm assuming modules arent really designed with it in mind since its a hidden option, but its also really fucking gay that I cant actually get my retard rogue to scout ahead instead of just following me like a dog.

 

[Gargaune]

cretin, definitely enable party controls. It's not that big an impact on overall balance, but it dramatically enhances your D&D build options.

 

[volklore]

do you guys play with party control enabled or not? I'm assuming modules arent really designed with it in mind since its a hidden option, but its also really fucking gay that I cant actually get my retard rogue to scout ahead instead of just following me like a dog.

Party controls aren't so deep that it ruins the balance. Unless you consider fighting with the henchmen AI a part of the experience.
I think Rogueknight advises to leave party control off when playing swordflight, because babysitting zarala is a part of the narrative or whatnot, but I humbly disagree after playing it both ways. The modules are way improved when taking stupid shit Zarala AI does (like walking into melee and triggering tons of AOOs for no reason) out of the equation.

 

[rogueknight333]

Swordflight was specifically designed with the default Henchman AI in mind, as I judged it perfect for simulating Zarala's folly and incompetence, though that is certainly a design decision many people ended up not appreciating. I would consider playing Swordflight with the party controls active to be effectively playing it on an easier difficulty setting, which of course you are free to do.

Most NWN modules are not balanced well enough in the first place for it to be a major concern.

 

[Pikoman]

I've not yet bothered with enabling party controls. Honestly, I've never had that much of a frustrating time with the default henchmen AI. Sure, it's fucking retarded at times and the options present are pretty barebones and clumsy in execution, but I've grown used to them and it's entirely possible to strategize and position your henchmen if need be, even though it's indeed cumbersome. Playing Swordflight Chapter III and I'm yet to use the bungle of command which replicates the 'party control' present in EE in its own way. Don't think it'd make my experience drastically different - be it using the in-game item or enabling the EE party control functionality.

In regards to party control, I wish you could've had the option to tell your henchmen to cast a specific offensive spell and be able to direct it, even if you'd have to yet again do that via a dialogue prompt.

 

[Gargaune]

I've not yet bothered with enabling party controls. Honestly, I've never had that much of a frustrating time with the default henchmen AI. Sure, it's fucking retarded at times and the options present are pretty barebones and clumsy in execution, but I've grown used to them and it's entirely possible to strategize and position your henchmen if need be, even though it's indeed cumbersome. Playing Swordflight Chapter III and I'm yet to use the bungle of command which replicates the 'party control' present in EE in its own way. Don't think it'd make my experience drastically different - be it using the in-game item or enabling the EE party control functionality.

The main difference balance-wise is that RK set up the Bugle to consume your Action whereas the EE party controls are free and instantaneous. It is a distinction but it doesn't make a huge impact mid-combat because either implementation's effectiveness is diminished at that point and the AI will quickly go back to its old tricks after your orders are processed. Other than that, the EE controls are just more comfy to use since you can quickly select/marquee party subselections to order about.

That said, it's really worth giving the EE controls a spin because they work on any module and can really expand your build options. Their main tactical benefit is in opening up an encounter and managing aggro, you can roll a glass cannon without having to worry about frontline survivability anymore. While Balkoth's Minion Controls (which the Bugle of Command is based on) are more advanced with stuff like opening doors or activating objects, they need to be integrated into a module that's scripted with them in mind, whereas the more limited EE controls have little scope to break things.

 

[rogueknight333]

The main difference balance-wise is that RK set up the Bugle to consume your Action whereas the EE party controls are free and instantaneous...

The other main difference is that you do not get access to the full range of minion control options from the bugle until the later chapters. In the earlier chapters all it does is force a henchman to attack the nearest enemy, in case they have bugged out and refuse to do anything (as occasionally happens, especially to invisible henchmen). This more gradual increase in control capabilities is supposed to represent Zarala getting somewhat less stupid as she becomes more experienced.

 

[Gargaune]

The other main difference is that you do not get access to the full range of minion control options from the bugle until the later chapters. In the earlier chapters all it does is force a henchman to attack the nearest enemy, in case they have bugged out and refuse to do anything (as occasionally happens, especially to invisible henchmen). This more gradual increase in control capabilities is supposed to represent Zarala getting somewhat less stupid as she becomes more experienced.

Right, my bad, the BMC functions were introduced in Ch.4. It's been a while.

 

[Pikoman]

Just finished Chapter Three of Swordflight and I must say that people are really sleeping on it, at least in comparison to the more widely acclaimed first two installments.

It retains all the things that make the series great, all the while upgrading on some aspects. I really liked the dungeon/area design and variety in this one and there are tons of memorable locales, some of which could easily be deemed as one of the highlights of the entire series in my book. Cania, the evil aligned rogue stone quest, Obgron's quest, the Yuan-Ti complex, the Malar cave etc. - all were great. Have a pretty hard time myself to pick a favourite dungeon or quest, though one that pops into mind is the very first one with the minotaurs and the lich. It is quite the ride and a very strong introduction to the module - challenging encounters, some important choices to make that could influence your experience of it, and potentially that has you team up with yet another crazy cool and unique henchman which Swordflight has knack of throwing at you.

Zazesspur was a nice quest-hub and struck a good balance between linearity and open-endedness. Even if smaller in size, my enjoyment in exploring it was similar to the one I felt as I played Chapter Two and traversed Calimport. Some might say that it is a shame that Zazesspur isn't as massive as Calimport is, but in some ways I actually liked the tighter focus on the main quest in this chapter and as I've already pointed out - I think it's a well executed between the two philosophies of a more focused experience and a freeroam one, not to mention that it makes sense from a plot perspective that you and Zarala don't have the time to fuck around the entire city. As for the main quest, it was quite fun, at least speaking from a Human toon perspective. Perhaps the last dungeon should've been longer, but the journey beforehand makes up for it well enough. I do not doubt that the other race paths/dungeons are great as well. The Gnome journey in particular, at least according to my persusal of the walkthrough, appears to be quite strong for example. Bonus points for the paladins that tormented my toon en route to the Wealdath forest and on the way back. It's always great when the game recognizes your character is a fuckwad.

The encounter design was excellent and I feel that it was better than some of the parts of Chapter Two. There were some moments of grinding and absurd packs of mobs, but nothing too egregious to dampen my overall impression of the encounters present. Tons of newly introduced monsters with an incredibly varied catalogue of celestial beings, rust monsters, yuan-ti, displacer beasts, alhoons and more.
Had a fairly chill time in regards to the overall difficulty of the module, though it may be due to my toon finally starting to kick some ass, as well as my own skills as a player having improved a bit ever since I started playing Swordflight. Can not think of major road blocks for my build - hardest fight for myself was either the one with the angel (can't remember the exact name of the mob) on the last floor of the Celestial Plane tower, or the one with the the five paladins. Funnily enough, said two battles would've been entirely avoided if my toon was not evil.

Will be starting with Chapter Four soon. I'm under the impression that it is definitely the most divisive one, but even if the focus on hack and slash is upped to the next level I don't think that I'll really mind that enough for me to drop the module completely, as I've seen other people talk about. Hopefully my toon is well equipped for the dangers that the Underdark poses, so far I've followed the build tips people were kind enough to share with me in this thread. Felt pretty damn powerful at the end of Chapter Three, fully buffed I could probably go into mid-60s territory in terms of AC and with the meditations book (bought four of those before leazing Zazesspur, alongside the two I already have from Chapter Two lmao - all are mostly untouched) my AB is not too shabby either. Damage is an issue, especially when it comes to sneak immune enemies but I can live with it. Here's what we're looking at unbuffed, prior to Chapter Four.

 

[Snufkin]

Just finished Chapter Three of Swordflight and I must say that people are really sleeping on it, at least in comparison to the more widely acclaimed first two installments.

It retains all the things that make the series great, all the while upgrading on some aspects. I really liked the dungeon/area design and variety in this one and there are tons of memorable locales, some of which could easily be deemed as one of the highlights of the entire series in my book. Cania, the evil aligned rogue stone quest, Obgron's quest, the Yuan-Ti complex, the Malar cave etc. - all were great. Have a pretty hard time myself to pick a favourite dungeon or quest, though one that pops into mind is the very first one with the minotaurs and the lich. It is quite the ride and a very strong introduction to the module - challenging encounters, some important choices to make that could influence your experience of it, and potentially that has you team up with yet another crazy cool and unique henchman which Swordflight has knack of throwing at you.

Zazesspur was a nice quest-hub and struck a good balance between linearity and open-endedness. Even if smaller in size, my enjoyment in exploring it was similar to the one I felt as I played Chapter Two and traversed Calimport. Some might say that it is a shame that Zazesspur isn't as massive as Calimport is, but in some ways I actually liked the tighter focus on the main quest in this chapter and as I've already pointed out - I think it's a well executed between the two philosophies of a more focused experience and a freeroam one, not to mention that it makes sense from a plot perspective that you and Zarala don't have the time to fuck around the entire city. As for the main quest, it was quite fun, at least speaking from a Human toon perspective. Perhaps the last dungeon should've been longer, but the journey beforehand makes up for it well enough. I do not doubt that the other race paths/dungeons are great as well. The Gnome journey in particular, at least according to my persusal of the walkthrough, appears to be quite strong for example. Bonus points for the paladins that tormented my toon en route to the Wealdath forest and on the way back. It's always great when the game recognizes your character is a fuckwad.

The encounter design was excellent and I feel that it was better than some of the parts of Chapter Two. There were some moments of grinding and absurd packs of mobs, but nothing too egregious to dampen my overall impression of the encounters present. Tons of newly introduced monsters with an incredibly varied catalogue of celestial beings, rust monsters, yuan-ti, displacer beasts, alhoons and more.
Had a fairly chill time in regards to the overall difficulty of the module, though it may be due to my toon finally starting to kick some ass, as well as my own skills as a player having improved a bit ever since I started playing Swordflight. Can not think of major road blocks for my build - hardest fight for myself was either the one with the angel (can't remember the exact name of the mob) on the last floor of the Celestial Plane tower, or the one with the the five paladins. Funnily enough, said two battles would've been entirely avoided if my toon was not evil.

Will be starting with Chapter Four soon. I'm under the impression that it is definitely the most divisive one, but even if the focus on hack and slash is upped to the next level I don't think that I'll really mind that enough for me to drop the module completely, as I've seen other people talk about. Hopefully my toon is well equipped for the dangers that the Underdark poses, so far I've followed the build tips people were kind enough to share with me in this thread. Felt pretty damn powerful at the end of Chapter Three, fully buffed I could probably go into mid-60s territory in terms of AC and with the meditations book (bought four of those before leazing Zazesspur, alongside the two I already have from Chapter Two lmao - all are mostly untouched) my AB is not too shabby either. Damage is an issue, especially when it comes to sneak immune enemies but I can live with it. Here's what we're looking at unbuffed, prior to Chapter Four.

I've similar build as yours but rogue/fighter. But I abandoned it because low carry weight.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

I've read about swordflight and though about giving it a whirl. I am concerned about how people note how combat heavy it is. Will a wizard fare alright?

 

[Serious_Business]

Will a wizard fare alright?

Sure, but the mod isn't combat heavy, it's a struggle for your life. Optimize or perish. It is great not despite of that, but because of it.

 

[notpl]

I've read about swordflight and though about giving it a whirl. I am concerned about how people note how combat heavy it is. Will a wizard fare alright?

People say it's doable, but having played it as a martial, I have to assume it would be fucking rough. Resting isn't simply "limited" in Swordflight, it's nigh impossible. To the point where I would call the basic martial/caster split a kind of soft difficulty selection: hard, or hardest.

Obviously this doesn't apply so much to clerics.

 

[decapitated_infant]

Any of you fellas play on the Three Towns server (NWN:EE)? It's multiplayer and requires no downloads, thus it's discussion may technically not belong in this thread, but fuck it. Best way to play NWN (for over 20 years now...)

 

[Turn_BASED]

Any of you fellas play on the Three Towns server (NWN:EE)? It's multiplayer and requires no downloads, thus it's discussion may technically not belong in this thread, but fuck it. Best way to play NWN (for over 20 years now...)

I’ve never played but the systems seem cool. I’ll give it a try today.

 

[rogueknight333]

I've read about swordflight and though about giving it a whirl. I am concerned about how people note how combat heavy it is. Will a wizard fare alright?

I play-tested the series with a Wizard (among many other classes) and did not find it significantly more difficult than most other classes on balance. Obviously my experience might not be representative, even though I try not to take advantage of the meta-gaming knowledge I inevitably possess, but many other players have also reported playing as arcane casters with no more than the usual difficulties. In general, casters tend to have a harder time than martials in the earlier chapters but an easier time in the later chapters. You can expect some troublesome moments no matter what you play.

 

[AdolfSatan]

I've read about swordflight and though about giving it a whirl. I am concerned about how people note how combat heavy it is. Will a wizard fare alright?

(Talking about SF Ch. 1): It is combat heavy, but not mandatory. It lends itself very well to playing a rogue, I must have skipped at least half of the combat scenarios. I figure if you use some type of stealthy mage, you could do the same. The annoying part is the babysitting simulator aspects from the retarded mandatory companion, you need to pull some tricks to keep it from running head on into the middle of your infiltration missions.

 

[Pikoman]

Damn, the difficulty spike in Chapter 4 is there, alright, at least in regards to the "boss" encounters. I had to use 2 Heal potions for the Balor and divine power from the monk two times, considering I've barely used those two stuff over the course of Chapters 2 and 3, let alone for a single encounter. The Duergar party afterwards fucked me up for a bit as well.

Trash mobs and random encounters are the easiest they've ever been for my toon though, so there's that. I melt them with sneak attacks and they can't touch my high AC and the good old HiPS abusal is still undefeated.

 

[0sacred]

I'm really enjoying myself with Darkness over Daggerford. I can't say I'm having a blast, but it has me hooked like no other game has managed these last few years. I'm just a few hours in and the "puzzles" and scripted events are almost too much with too little combat in the mix, but I guess that's what they were going for and might be great for some builds.

I started as a wizard but the rest restrictions were a bit much for my taste. Now I'm playing a half-orc cleric/barbarian and it's much smoother.

Gargaune after you escape from the lycanthropes' maze, where do your henchmen go? I can't find them.

edit: nvm, Lilura had me covered

 

[Gargaune]

@Gargaune after you escape from the lycanthropes' maze, where do your henchmen go? I can't find them.

edit: nvm, Lilura had me covered

For future reference, there's a full DoD walkthrough over here if you're stuck with something.

 

[0sacred]

Gargaune my man, I have a problem with the Fernigold the Younger quest. I have placed all the items on the throne (checked with the walkthrough to see if it's correct) but nothing happens.

https://neverwintervault.org/rolovault/projects/nwn1/modules/5122/Daggerford_Readme_v1.2.txt

Here it says that there used to be a problem with the obelisk not teleporting you inside despite placing all the required items. Can you confirm this quest is still bugged?