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NWN Neverwinter Nights (NWN & NWN2) Modules Thread

Gargaune

Magister
Joined
Mar 12, 2020
Messages
3,136
It is true enough that one wants to have a good build here, though in my own play-testing I managed with some sub-optimal ones and did fine with non-martial ones.
I always meant to ask - what's with the ACs at the beginning of Ch.3? If I recall correctly, the Minotaur pirate lord's already rocking 41 or 42, but then you run into the Marilith with 49. Cool moment in as much as I wasn't "roleplaying" when I accepted her offer but genuinely scared shitless, something that seeing her charsheet confirmed, but then you come to that Glabrezu with AC 51 or so. You might as well license MC Hammer's Can't Touch This for the score.

So was this by design? I mean, I know I suck at building a proper character, but buffs or no buffs, just how far off the curve was I if I was meant to be reliably hitting 50s at level 17 or 18?
 

rogueknight333

Arbiter
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
347
I always meant to ask - what's with the ACs at the beginning of Ch.3? ...

I do not remember the reasoning behind every stat for every creature at this point in time, but I think a lot of that is due to my being too much of an expert player and thus having some very OP powerbuilds in mind. The player is starting to approach epic levels at that point and a powerbuilt Weapon Master or Arcane Archer (for example) can get ridiculously high ABs at high levels. Another factor is that at the beginning of Ch. 3 you do have a warrior type (Quord) in the party whose AB can be made quite decent through things like Zarala's Bard Song and Bless/Aid/Bull's Strength potions, even if the PCs AB happens to be on the low side. Finally, at the time I was doing a lot of the design work for Ch. 3, Swordflight was even less well known or popular than it is now, and it appeared as if it would be a very small (rather than just small) niche thing only of interest to really dedicated power-gaming combatfags, so I was kind of assuming that anyone not in that category would have dropped the series long before reaching Ch. 3.

The Marilith was something of a special case precisely because she can potentially briefly join the party, and I wanted her to be an actual asset if she did so, not die in a few seconds. The latter is what she would do against the kind of enemies one runs into in Swordflight unless I gave her some seriously scary stats. If she were not unusually formidable as an enemy she would have been basically useless as an ally. Theoretically, I suppose I could have given the "henchman" version different stats but I did not want to do something so gamey and unrealistic.
 

plem

Learned
Joined
Dec 4, 2021
Messages
155
Also it's fucking boring to be a character who can just do everything. Do what your build is good at

it's not like you could even do that if you tried, unless you're a bard or some other skill monkey in which case what you're "good at" is doing a bit of everything. skill checks in swordflight are high enough that you have to be specialize to make them, though smart usage of poitions and items can also help.

IMO in the later chapters it pretty much requires an optimized martial character

actually I find that in later chapters it's the full spellcasters that shine. you start to get into huge fights with absurd amounts of enemies where having good AoE spells is worth a lot more than BAB and AC. but to get there you'll have to get through the first two chapters as a squishy caster which is a challenge. regardless, I'd say resource management is more important in SW than highly optimized builds.
 

Gargaune

Magister
Joined
Mar 12, 2020
Messages
3,136
I do not remember the reasoning behind every stat for every creature at this point in time, but I think a lot of that is due to my being too much of an expert player and thus having some very OP powerbuilds in mind. The player is starting to approach epic levels at that point and a powerbuilt Weapon Master or Arcane Archer (for example) can get ridiculously high ABs at high levels. Another factor is that at the beginning of Ch. 3 you do have a warrior type (Quord) in the party whose AB can be made quite decent through things like Zarala's Bard Song and Bless/Aid/Bull's Strength potions, even if the PCs AB happens to be on the low side. Finally, at the time I was doing a lot of the design work for Ch. 3, Swordflight was even less well known or popular than it is now, and it appeared as if it would be a very small (rather than just small) niche thing only of interest to really dedicated power-gaming combatfags, so I was kind of assuming that anyone not in that category would have dropped the series long before reaching Ch. 3.

The Marilith was something of a special case precisely because she can potentially briefly join the party, and I wanted her to be an actual asset if she did so, not die in a few seconds. The latter is what she would do against the kind of enemies one runs into in Swordflight unless I gave her some seriously scary stats. If she were not unusually formidable as an enemy she would have been basically useless as an ally. Theoretically, I suppose I could have given the "henchman" version different stats but I did not want to do something so gamey and unrealistic.
Interesting, thanks. For what it's worth, Ch.4's difficulty curve seemed a bit smoother - still harder than most any other D&D I've played (except for maybe Lareth in ToEE), but less like my computer physically hated me.
 

Tavernking

Don't believe his lies
Developer
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
1,216
Location
Australia
Noob here, which NWN1 modules have the best choices and consequences? I want my decisions to matter!
 

Jason Liang

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
8,336
Location
Crait

Jason Liang

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
8,336
Location
Crait
Cool cool but which modules has the MOST c&c?
C&C is not the strength of NWN/ Aurora Engine. Modules are a series of maps, and either you explore all the content on a map or you don't. I'm not sure what you are expecting in terms of "C&C" but it seems like you'll be disappointed. There's modules where you're given an open world-ish area/ dungeon to explore up to your own devise, if that's what you mean.
 

Tavernking

Don't believe his lies
Developer
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
1,216
Location
Australia
Cool cool but which modules has the MOST c&c?
C&C is not the strength of NWN/ Aurora Engine. Modules are a series of maps, and either you explore all the content on a map or you don't. I'm not sure what you are expecting in terms of "C&C" but it seems like you'll be disappointed. There's modules where you're given an open world-ish area/ dungeon to explore up to your own devise, if that's what you mean.

How about multiple ways to solve quests? And multiple directions the story can branch off into? Different endings to the game?
 

ERYFKRAD

Barbarian
Patron
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
28,237
Strap Yourselves In Serpent in the Staglands Shadorwun: Hong Kong Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Cool cool but which modules has the MOST c&c?
C&C is not the strength of NWN/ Aurora Engine. Modules are a series of maps, and either you explore all the content on a map or you don't. I'm not sure what you are expecting in terms of "C&C" but it seems like you'll be disappointed. There's modules where you're given an open world-ish area/ dungeon to explore up to your own devise, if that's what you mean.

How about multiple ways to solve quests? And multiple directions the story can branch off into? Different endings to the game?
You know what, give Bastard of Kosigan a go.
 

Jason Liang

Arcane
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
Messages
8,336
Location
Crait
How about multiple ways to solve quests?
Generally all of the highly praised modules have this, especially rogue-centric modules like A Dance With Rogues.
And multiple directions the story can branch off into?
Generally no, since again there's only so much modders can do with maps and the module structure. Sometimes you can choose which route to take or who to side with (The Prophet part 2 is like this) but that's the extent of it.
 

weresheeple

Educated
Joined
May 7, 2013
Messages
66
There is nothing about the Aurora Engine that prevents you from making branching stories (or any other form of C&C) other than it taking more work and lonesome modders rarely feel (or rather felt back when NWN was more alive) like doing more work they don't expect anyone to see.
 

rogueknight333

Arbiter
Joined
Jul 31, 2017
Messages
347
Cool cool but which modules has the MOST c&c?
Swordflight.
In the sense that Nwn is more about build c&c than decision c&c

I doubt it has the most, but there is a fair amount of more conventional C&C in Swordflight too.

Some other possibilities:

In Bloodright - The Blood Royal the PC is cast as the illegitimate child of a king whose recent death has created a succession crisis in his realm. You have a lot of choices about how to deal with this situation and depending on how you play your cards you might either end up as king yourself or help install any of several of your half-siblings on the throne.

In The Wanderer II you are given a timed quest to travel to a certain point, forcing you to choose among different routes offering different encounters, side-quests etc., as you do not have time to explore everything.

...But speaking of rogues. Does anyone have a good Cleric/Rogue build?

This site might help you.
 

plem

Learned
Joined
Dec 4, 2021
Messages
155
Cool cool but which modules has the MOST c&c?
Swordflight.
In the sense that Nwn is more about build c&c than decision c&c

it does have c&c other than build-related, like choosing between the tiefling or aasimar companion or siding with or against the thieves guild. and it has reactivity when it comes to class, alignment and race (it has shorty specific quests!).

Noob here, which NWN1 modules have the best choices and consequences? I want my decisions to matter!
A Dance with Rogues.

Isn't someone still working on that?
But speaking of rogues. Does anyone have a good Cleric/Rogue build?

the creator made a remake of part 1 but the game itself is complete. she might make a remake of part 2 someday.
 

Robber Baron

Savant
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Messages
919
Having amazing time with The Easting Reach(persistent world mod). Great visual and level design, very fun to just travel around and explore. I literally spent like 6 hours just exploring the safe parts of the gameworld nonstop. Some very cool environmental storytelling/mystery stuff here and there probably tied to some quests later on. I tried it for the first time a year or so ago and just "roleplayed" a trashtalking dwarf for some solid amusment, but this time I returned for low level adventuring feels and it's just great in that regard.
 

Jack Of Owls

Arcane
Joined
May 23, 2014
Messages
4,274
Location
Massachusettes
Having amazing time with The Easting Reach(persistent world mod). Great visual and level design, very fun to just travel around and explore. I literally spent like 6 hours just exploring the safe parts of the gameworld nonstop. Some very cool environmental storytelling/mystery stuff here and there probably tied to some quests later on. I tried it for the first time a year or so ago and just "roleplayed" a trashtalking dwarf for some solid amusment, but this time I returned for low level adventuring feels and it's just great in that regard.

Watched a video of this and, man, didn't realize how physically ugly old NWN was until now. The problem was that they were using a zoomed in, over-the-shoulder third person view and with those ancient polygons- well, let's just say the more zoomed out in an overhead perspective for NWN, the better. Not the PW's fault though just the questionable camera setting.
 

Robber Baron

Savant
Joined
Jun 15, 2020
Messages
919
Watched a video of this and, man, didn't realize how physically ugly old NWN was until now. The problem was that they were using a zoomed in, over-the-shoulder third person view and with those ancient polygons- well, let's just say the more zoomed out in an overhead perspective for NWN, the better. Not the PW's fault though just the questionable camera setting.

The mod devs still did best with what they had to work with, I mean this is the best looking NWN module I've played
 

Jack Of Owls

Arcane
Joined
May 23, 2014
Messages
4,274
Location
Massachusettes
The mod devs still did best with what they had to work with, I mean this is the best looking NWN module I've played

Post a few screenshots if you want and show us the candy; preferably in zoomed out overhead isometric view. I personally always liked how NWN looked, providing you didn't get in too close. I wish Beamdoggie added more models with a higher polygon count since some of the stock characters still look like blockheads with hip/spine problems.
 

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