NWN Neverwinter Nights (NWN & NWN2) Modules Thread

[rogueknight333]

So is there any way to get this Bard hench to use items? Run away from a mob destroying her?

She will automatically use healing potions in her inventory if her HP goes below 50% or so and she has no healing spells available. She does not spontaneously use buffing potions, though you can feed those to her, as indicated above. She will also use many casting implements like wands and bard instruments if they are in her inventory, though often not in sensible ways (e.g., she may blow you up with fireball wands, heal undead enemies with Negative Energy Ray wands, etc.). Henchman using the default AI will not use Healer's Kits, Thieves' Tools or Trap Kits at all.

The NWN companion AI is indeed terrible. Your job is to keep her alive, but the AI's job is to make your job harder. It is part of the challenge.

Does the NW1 editor allow for automatic snapping and is more organized?

The TLDR answer: yes. Gargaune's post pretty much covers it. My reaction to the NWN2 toolset was basically the same as yours.

 

[Desiderius]

I guess I’ll give her this cool shield I just got from burying the Skeletal Guardian then, although she was doing ok with the xbow if I had a summons around to tank.

 

[Gargaune]

The NWN companion AI is indeed terrible. Your job is to keep her alive, but the AI's job is to make your job harder. It is part of the challenge.

Speaking of, any plans for further upgrades to the Bugle of Command for Chapter 5? Thinking something like Balkoth's Minion Control, seems to have a wider feature set and it doesn't involve expending Actions for commands. I know you're not keen on making Zarala too useful but, boy, do I wish Beamdog just built these functions in at the platform level.

I guess I’ll give her this cool shield I just got from burying the Skeletal Guardian then, although she was doing ok with the xbow if I had a summons around to tank.

Mind the spellcasting failure, shields still apply to Bards. Two more observations regarding henchmen in Swordflight: 1) the later chapters implement an item that allows basic commands, though using it counts as an Action, and 2) beware Zarala's invisibility spells later on, NWN's AI will sometimes treat that as a cue to go completely passive in combat.

 

[rogueknight333]

Speaking of, any plans for further upgrades to the Bugle of Command for Chapter 5? Thinking something like Balkoth's Minion Control, seems to have a wider feature set and it doesn't involve expending Actions for commands. I know you're not keen on making Zarala too useful but, boy, do I wish Beamdog just built these functions in at the platform level.

Balkoth's Minion Control system is exactly what the improved version of the bugle introduced in Ch. 4 is already using. It is slightly modified from what Balkoth released, but the only change of any significance is that it is activated by an item rather than the "Player Tool" custom feat. This does indeed have the disadvantage, compared to Balkoth's unmodified system, that you have to actually expend an action to order henchmen around. That seemed more realistic and appropriate for Zarala to me. It is possible that at some point I will refine it further or retroactively introduce it into earlier chapters, but neither is a high priority.

 

[Gargaune]

Balkoth's Minion Control system is exactly what the improved version of the bugle introduced in Ch. 4 is already using. It is slightly modified from what Balkoth released, but the only change of any significance is that it is activated by an item rather than the "Player Tool" custom feat. This does indeed have the disadvantage, compared to Balkoth's unmodified system, that you have to actually expend an action to order henchmen around. That seemed more realistic and appropriate for Zarala to me. It is possible that at some point I will refine it further or retroactively introduce it into earlier chapters, but neither is a high priority.

Thanks for clarifying. For what it's worth, I'll plea the case for returning to feat-activation for Chapter 5 - after all, telling Zarala to move somewhere or attack a particular enemy isn't materially different from having her heal you or attack nearest via the radial menu, which doesn't consume your Action for the round. Would be smoother out of combat as well, since you're not waiting for the activation to play out.

 

[Desiderius]

I'm getting so railed in these ruins even on Easy. I mean it's sort of fun having to use all my consumables but sort of not fun fighting against the interface and not really having a very good idea what works where. I picked the Club so that the Bard could tank with her shield but it turns out even these +1 Bolts don't do much and I can't get her to engage half the time and the Elementals last one tenth (if that) as long as the summons.

Guess stocking up on Holy Traps would have been a good idea.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Shoulda rolled barbarian.

 

[Gargaune]

Shoulda rolled barbarian.

I did... and the game crushed me, saw me driven before it, and heard the lamentations of Zarala. In Swordflight, Rage translates to Temper Tantrum.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Shoulda rolled barbarian.

I did... and the game crushed me, saw me driven before it, and heard the lamentations of Zarala. In Swordflight, Rage translates to Temper Tantrum.

Challenge accepted. I was waiting for the thing to be finished completely but I guess I'll give it a whirl now.

 

[Gargaune]

Challenge accepted. I was waiting for the thing to be finished completely but I guess I'll give it a whirl now.

Godspeed, brother! And take Blind Fight, trust me.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

And take Blind Fight,

I always do. That and improved unarmed strike.

 

[Desiderius]

I think she was using the Instruments I'd given her instead of attacking the Guardians. I turned off her spellcasting and turned on attack nearest and couldn't figure out why she wasn't.

 

[rogueknight333]

I'm getting so railed in these ruins even on Easy....

I did design it in the expectation that it would be played by at least somewhat experienced NWN players, so it is particularly tough for someone not too familiar with the game. Though even a lot of experienced players were traumatized by it since they were so accustomed to playing easy modules. Holy Traps would definitely have helped. Also do not count on Zarala being too useful. For tactical purposes, it probably helps to think of her as an environmental hazard who will occasionally hurt enemies as well, but also disrupt your own plans.

Shoulda rolled barbarian.

Barbarian build with a few Rogue levels for skill dumps would probably not be a bad choice for the series. It would have some hard times, but anything will here. But maybe multi-classing is against your principles.

 

[Poseidon00]

It would be hard for me to roleplay a barbarian/rogue. What do you do, sneak up on a person and then let out your best barbarian war cry before backstabbing them?

 

[Desiderius]

I did expect +1 Bolts to be non-useless so that threw me off. Does the Bow/Xbox itself need to be magical?

Then having only melee weapons available in the chest was also unexpected. She does get her effective AC vs Undead up to 23 with the Club and Shield so isn’t useless when I can get her to engage.

Depending on the fight though doesn’t leave MC with much to do since all the found traps are Negative Energy. Curst Rogue room helps, will need to play with Pal Rod.

May need to go back and take a Ranger lvl at 4 to use Shield and Axe on MC.

 

[Gargaune]

It would be hard for me to roleplay a barbarian/rogue. What do you do, sneak up on a person and then let out your best barbarian war cry before backstabbing them?

Eh, so you've got a muscle-bound hillbilly who's had to pick up a few new tricks to make headway among the city-dwellers. Call it your personal arc, realising that picking locks is more effective than howling at them. Mechanically, I definitely recommend the Rogue dip in Swordflight, especially since Zarala can't handle locks. I just wish I hadn't ignored UMD...

I did expect +1 Bolts to be non-useless so that threw me off. Does the Bow/Xbox itself need to be magical?

No, it's the ammunition that counts for overcoming damage resistance, launchers only have attack bonuses. Are you having trouble dealing damage or hitting your enemies?

 

[rogueknight333]

It would be hard for me to roleplay a barbarian/rogue. What do you do, sneak up on a person and then let out your best barbarian war cry before backstabbing them?

Conan, the archtypal barbarian on whom I believe the D&D class was based, was also a part time thief. Read Robert E. Howard's stories "Tower of the Elephant" or "Rogues in the House" for examples of a barbarian engaged in some very rogue-like activities.

I did expect +1 Bolts to be non-useless so that threw me off. Does the Bow/Xbox itself need to be magical?

No, it's the ammunition that counts for overcoming damage resistance, launchers only have attack bonuses. Are you having trouble dealing damage or hitting your enemies?

Damage Resistance depends only on the total damage dealt, but overcoming Damage Reduction does depend on the Attack rating. In NWN, the attack bonus gets assigned to the launcher and damage bonus to the ammo (unlike melee weapons where enhancement bonuses can increase both at once). I probably should have given missile warriors a few more goodies in Ch. 1. Nevertheless, there are a few resources available. To engage Undead with Damage Reduction at range you could have gotten some of the "Holy" throwing weapons from the merchant in the camp, which will deal Divine damage to Undead (to which they have no resistance, reduction or immunity). You can also throw Holy Water at Undead, using it as a grenade, though the damage tends to be quite trivial. Crafting it into traps would be more useful in this case. With UMD, you can also often effectively attack foes with Damage Reduction with Magic Missile (among other) wands.

...May need to go back and take a Ranger lvl at 4 to use Shield and Axe on MC.

Just in case you did not know, You can use the Handaxe as a Rogue (Handaxes are included in the Rogue Weapon Proficiency, though you need Martial for larger ones). You would still need another class for Shield Proficiency though.

 

[Desiderius]

Nice, was looking at that Axe hard to get me closer to the goal of recovering every trap. AC on Club ended up being deciding factor. Lightning Wand has been spotty but good where it worked. Just got Missile Wand so will see.

Do like the trap/luring game but at the same time it accentuates the clunky companion controls.

 

[Gargaune]

Damage Resistance depends only on the total damage dealt, but Damage Reduction does depend on the Attack rating. In NWN, the attack bonus gets assigned to the launcher and damage bonus to the ammo (unlike melee weapons where enhancement bonuses can increase both at once).

My bad, you're right, I got the attack and damage bonuses mixed up for Damage Reduction.

 

[janior]

Finished SoU, what a great small adventure, really underrated imo, especially excellent act 1.

Time to descent into the undermountain

 

[Newfag-er]

It is very puzzle, but I admit the atmosphere is quiet excellent

Def better then the original campaign

 

[Ontopoly]

If I wanted to change classes half way through the Sword flight campaign, would the start of chapter 3 or end of chapter 2 be a good time? I just worry about not having the right equipment since I've been gathering up helpful cleric equips this whole time and sold all the good druid or monk equips, whichever I decide to go with.

 

[rogueknight333]

If I wanted to change classes half way through the Sword flight campaign, would the start of chapter 3 or end of chapter 2 be a good time? I just worry about not having the right equipment since I've been gathering up helpful cleric equips this whole time and sold all the good druid or monk equips, whichever I decide to go with.

Not sure what you mean by "change"? You can add a level in a new class any time you level up (up to 3 classes), but retain the abilities of your previous levels. When, or if, it makes sense to do so depends on the details of the build, and so would be hard to answer in the abstract. In general, as far as Swordflight specifically is concerned, adding all classes one intends to take relatively soon in the campaign makes sense to maximize your ability to access class-specific content and loot drops. As far as equipment goes you could keep on using whatever you already have (you will not be losing any Cleric proficiencies), with the possible exception that taking a level as either a Monk or arcane caster might make it advisable to avoid using Armor/Shields, as those penalize some abilities of those classes. If getting appropriate alternatives (e.g., monk robes) is a concern, you might want to make sure you time it to a point where you have easy access to a market, though I expect you could get by temporarily with Cleric gear/abilities regardless.

 

[Ontopoly]

If I wanted to change classes half way through the Sword flight campaign, would the start of chapter 3 or end of chapter 2 be a good time? I just worry about not having the right equipment since I've been gathering up helpful cleric equips this whole time and sold all the good druid or monk equips, whichever I decide to go with.

Not sure what you mean by "change"? You can add a level in a new class any time you level up (up to 3 classes), but retain the abilities of your previous levels. When, or if, it makes sense to do so depends on the details of the build, and so would be hard to answer in the abstract. In general, as far as Swordflight specifically is concerned, adding all classes one intends to take relatively soon in the campaign makes sense to maximize your ability to access class-specific content and loot drops. As far as equipment goes you could keep on using whatever you already have (you will not be losing any Cleric proficiencies), with the possible exception that taking a level as either a Monk or arcane caster might make it advisable to avoid using Armor/Shields, as those penalize some abilities of those classes. If getting appropriate alternatives (e.g., monk robes) is a concern, you might want to make sure you time it to a point where you have easy access to a market, though I expect you could get by temporarily with Cleric gear/abilities regardless.

I meant either importing a new character between chapters or using console Commands.

I've been really enjoying SwordFlight by the way. Good job. Almost done with chapter 2 on core rules and I feel the encounters have been perfect.

 

[Riddler]

I was thinking about doing a rogue playthrough of Swordflight and was thinking about either going Primary Rogue with a few levels of fighter and SD or Rogue/SD/Assassin.

Is there any reason to play assassin or is that only going to set back my BAB and feats compared to fighter? I'm thinking I'll probably have access to darkness/ultravision with UMD and the DC for death attack might be too low to be viable.

Your thoughts?

Edit: Another thought: Is it really worth it to go for Kukris with a Dex based rogue? And if I do it when should I go for it? I'm thinking that getting hide in plain sight might be pretty important so that I should prioritize those feats first but if I have access darkness that might not matter?