NWN Neverwinter Nights (NWN & NWN2) Modules Thread

[Popiel]

Oh well, that's what you get when you try to play on role-play persistent world while not knowing rules of the setting. What happened next?

 

[Lacrymas]

I do know the Planescape setting and all the Fearunian gods are represented there, so I have no idea why Velsharoon isn't. Nothing really happened after that, they asked me a few more questions, like where am I from and whether I'm new, then they continued their own circle-jerk and I had to log out. Their idea of role-playing is out-alpha-ing each other and explaining how cool and badass they are. There was a fun little bird-person that I liked since he was the only one who wasn't a carbon copy of everyone else.

 

[Maggot]

Just beat the Eye of the Beholder 2 remake for NWN. Some of the backtracking and puzzles were tedious but the automapper made spinner traps and mazes trivial. I managed to actually get a proper ending unlike JackOfOwls but instead of teleporting outside or anything you just get the vanilla credits. Final battle was a bit lame because I got feared and ran into a corner while my friend fought the final boss as an OP cleric but it was enjoyable overall.

 

[Lacrymas]

Clerics are only op if they manage to get all their buffs off, it gets scary if they Bless + Divine Favor + Divine Power + Prayer + Aid + Bull's Strength etc. I'm somewhat into chapter two of Swordflight and the way you have to conserve your resources forces you to not overbuff yourself. Good luck having all those buffs ready for the really tough fights. I also can't stress how good the pacing is, you never feel safe when you are out adventuring and the frequent challenging (all unique!) battles keep you on your toes. There are no hours of pointless talking (alla D:OS1) or constant hack and slash fests, everything is peppered extremely well. When I finish it, I see myself replaying it with that druid build I had in mind the first time.

 

[hell bovine]

Actually, with the extend spell feat buffs will last long enough once you get a few levels under your belt. Just buy those runes that make it so as if you have rested. This (and faster access to heal and harm) is why i prefer my to keep my divine spellcasters pure as a disney princess. :D

 

[Lacrymas]

I do have Extend Spell, but most of the very powerful buffs don't last more than a handful of encounters if even that. I'm still pure, I plan on going PM in the epic levels, if Swordflight ever goes there.

 

[eXalted]

I would suggest Vampire: Heaven Defied if you haven't played it already.

Alright, I decided to try this module. It starts very nice, really digging the atmosphere.

However, I am constantly dying in the first encounter with Vallandric in the house where I am sent to finish the first quest. After the vampire disappears and summons the naked bodies, the whole area becomes red I am constantly taking damage (with fire effect) and I die. When I run to bash the door and escape, the vampire appears and an animation plays where I walk in the corridor and after that... I am dead... game over.

I am completely lost.

 

[Fargus]

I would suggest Vampire: Heaven Defied if you haven't played it already.

Alright, I decided to try this module. It starts very nice, really digging the atmosphere.

However, I am constantly dying in the first encounter with Vallandric in the house where I am sent to finish the first quest. After the vampire disappears and summons the naked bodies, the whole area becomes red I am constantly taking damage (with fire effect) and I die. When I run to bash the door and escape, the vampire appears and an animation plays where I walk in the corridor and after that... I am dead... game over.

I am completely lost.

I installed it just to see what might be the problem.

So first you get to the room full of corpses and talk to Vallandric, after the dialogue there is a fight with a few undead naked women. When i killed them all, i went to the door and bashed it open, Vallandric appeared on the other side and cutscene started. All went fine after that and i woke up in a cell and Father Grigorio talked to me. Thats pretty much how it supposed to go.

Maybe some script misfired? Happens a lot with NWN modules. You could just try and start over, it's like 5 minutes to get to that part.

 

[Lacrymas]

I went to the Forest of Mir (Swordflight) and there's such a massive spike in difficulty, the enemies are doing ridiculous amounts of damage.

 

[hell bovine]

I went to the Forest of Mir (Swordflight) and there's such a massive spike in difficulty, the enemies are doing ridiculous amounts of damage.

My impression was that the wilderness areas were meant for more experienced characters. I did one of them with a low level team and left the rest for after finishing with the city quests, because the slog through wasn't really worth it. Also, some of the companions were really trying to out-compete the bard in uselessness.

 

[Lacrymas]

hell bovine, I'm level 11. Even with literally all my buffs + Zagash's (including improved invis) I die extremely fast and it's really getting frustrating. I can't employ any kind of advanced strategies because I can't control Zagash or Chelys directly.

 

[Lacrymas]

Managed to get through the goblin fortress, some mobs were ridiculously overpowered, like the Berserkers. The bosses themselves were easier than the trash (unless you allow Ulaz to cast every buff he has, which you shouldn't). I have 30 AC + concealment and still died like a bitch to those Berserkers and Hill Giants.

Anyway, Zagash could've been introduced better. He could've been a member of the Twisted Rune and you encounter him at the bottom of their lair. That quest could've established what they are doing ("evil" things) and then having him follow you would've been much more impactful. Although I know he's supposed to be buffoonishly overdramatic, so maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to have him in the tavern.

 

[hell bovine]

hell bovine, I'm level 11. Even with literally all my buffs + Zagash's (including improved invis) I die extremely fast and it's really getting frustrating. I can't employ any kind of advanced strategies because I can't control Zagash or Chelys directly.

First, this is still low level, considering your character can end up somewhere around level 17-ish (I think that's where my wizard ended up, and I'm sure she missed some content). Second, you need to get the dwarf companion (you get him in one of the underground city areas), he & the gnoll cleric are the only useful ones.

 

[Lacrymas]

hell bovine, I don't know if I have any other side quests in Calimport though, I tried to complete every one I found, so I don't know how much more I could've leveled before going to the wilderness. I'm a cleric myself so I don't know how useful the gnoll one would be. Speaking of side quests, some of them don't really go anywhere, at least for now, which is disappointing. Like the undersea artifact one and the temple of Shar one, maybe they will open up once I complete some more of the main quest.

 

[hell bovine]

I'm pretty sure the undersea one is doable from the start. My wizard wasn't strong enough to fight the water elementals, so she just used invisibility to scout the area; it's not big and there is not much more to it anyway.
But if you are level 11, then my guess would be you still have some quests to do (especially if haven't recruited the dwarf yet). Since you are planning on a cleric/bard/pm, I'd consider taking one level of bard to open up the arcane side quest. It is pretty linear, but there are some tough enemies there, so I'd recommmend shopping for consumables before before.

 

[Lacrymas]

I did complete the undersea one, I meant that they don't go anywhere narratively or even gameplay-wise. I expected to be attacked by a giant shark/octopus or something. They are anti-climactic is what I'm hinting at. The temple of Shar one just tells you to go kill some paladins in the sewers for no reason other than "for teh evulz" and that's it, no continuation, no repercussions, no nothing (at least for now). I didn't complete the Wererat quest though and I haven't come across the dwarf. Since I have the wyvern blood now I need to go to the ruins again anyway to pick up the quartz for Zerala and I'll explore more.

 

[Lilura]

The gnoll cleric kicks ass.

I was also eleventh lvl when I exited the gates, but I had a party of 4. Probably makes all the difference. Don't forget that, with the exception of the lich, you can equip your companions with better gear.

I covered my experience of Chapter Two here.

 

[Inf0mercial]

The wilderness does have a spike but then you gain levels so fast with all the high level kills that you jump up a bunch and it helps whatever your build is mature pretty quick.

Side note a lot of chapter 1 seems to be scaled on number of allies you have going as a druid with animal an companion and a summon boosted the bandit camp by a noticeable amount, with an extra dog and bandit here and there.

 

[Lilura]

I think NWN natively scales enemy number to party size, but I could be wrong. I've never really played a summoner in NWN.

Did anyone manage to defeat Ramurg in combat, the mummy warlord towards the end of Chapter One? He is one tough mutha.

 

[hell bovine]

I did complete the undersea one, I meant that they don't go anywhere narratively or even gameplay-wise. I expected to be attacked by a giant shark/octopus or something. They are anti-climactic is what I'm hinting at. The temple of Shar one just tells you to go kill some paladins in the sewers for no reason other than "for teh evulz" and that's it, no continuation, no repercussions, no nothing (at least for now). I didn't complete the Wererat quest though and I haven't come across the dwarf. Since I have the wyvern blood now I need to go to the ruins again anyway to pick up the quartz for Zerala and I'll explore more.

Actually, the cleric quest is the most extensive out of the three I've tried (good-aligned rogue, wizard and cleric). Basically, it starts when you find two fragments of a magical ring (one part I think you get from some sewers mini-quest - but I might be wrong about this). I liked the wizard one better, though; just a solid dungeon crawl with puzzles. But all are worth doing, because you get some very nice class-specific equipment.

PS You can get the dwarf when you go for the quartz crystal.

And I agree about the lack of reactivity from your companions. It is one of the reasons why I find Zarala such a boring character: the story is supposed to be about her, but most of the time she has very little to say about it, and seems to take no initiative herself (apart from the beginning). In general I found writing to be Swordflights' weakest point: all of the dialogues are wall of texts, making the conversation flow feel unnatural; companions have very little to say; main story is not very interesting to follow, because I don't care about the bard at all.

(which is also why I can't bring myself to finish part 3; if only you could leave that annoyance in a tavern...)

I think NWN natively scales enemy number to party size, but I could be wrong. I've never really played a summoner in NWN.

Did anyone manage to defeat Ramurg in combat, the mummy warlord towards the end of Chapter One? He is one tough mutha.

Yes, though I don't actually recall which one of my characters was it. Basically used up all of the summoning spells, scrolls and elemental sticks (which get killed in one-two hits anyway).

I'm surprised that your paladin failed the persuade check, my cleric succeeded and he's got 10 charisma.

 

[Lilura]

I share the view that Swordflight's dialogue can at times be a lil' long, though at least it's clear on what's being said.

The journal entries could also have their word count cut down, too. But again, at least the player won't be at a loss as to what's going on and what is expected of them.

I've played modules where I didn't have a clue as to what's going on, and it can be really annoying. I've also played modules that strike the right balance, and these seem to be the most well-written in general (e.g, Hex Coda 01, Exile of the West, Cave of Songs). These ones manage to be fairly clear, concise and flavorsome, but they also happen to be fairly atrocious in other areas that Swordflight excels in.

So yeah, I think it's hard when you're just one person doing everything yourself: not many people have the talent to be a great writer, area architect, combat encounter designer, sound engineer, scripter etc. It's why there are studios made up of many people with specific talents.

But I do think that Swordflight manages to be a great general D&D campaign, one that appeals to a lot of different people. There is something in there for most people who know the genre well. Which is why I'm somewhat surprised that it hasn't received more downloads and interest from other bloggers, YouTubers and members of forums like this.

That failed persuade check was just to demonstrate the alignment shift. Yeah, it was EZ to pass for my Pally.

And I like the idea of an optional encounter that is extremely tough for most chars to beat. I think most players would just leave him alone. Good to see that Lacrymas is commenting on the difficulty, too. It's given me a lump in my throat at times, but I'd rather that than cakewalk.

 

[Lacrymas]

I didn't get the option to turn him, he said that he wants to party. I don't think you can face tank him with any character so some cheese would be required. Anyway, I wasn't talking about the ring one, that was cool, I'm talking about the other one which has you either save or kill the paladins sent to take care of the were rats. Yeah, swordflight's weakness is writing, most of the quests don't go anywhere and aren't very interesting, but like Lilura said, one person can't be great at everything.

 

[Lilura]

Rogueknight writes in an explicit, almost professorial tone. Which can sometimes break the immersion a bit. I think Cerutti is probably the best character writer that I've come across on the NWN platform. Paladins, thieves, whores, masterminds, dumbfucks, peasants and aristocrats. He seems capable of representing people from all walks. I was especially impressed on how he wrote women. For me, Gagne and Baldecaran come in 2nd place. It's really quite difficult to write for an array of characters. I've tried it myself and failed, utterly.

 

[Inf0mercial]

I think NWN natively scales enemy number to party size, but I could be wrong. I've never really played a summoner in NWN.

Did anyone manage to defeat Ramurg in combat, the mummy warlord towards the end of Chapter One? He is one tough mutha.

Yeah i have beat him a few times the go seems to be save those elemental sticks, buff yourself to high hell give zar a stand back order with plus 1 bolts then throw down every single spell scroll and wand at him as you back up and summon to slow him down, melee characters have a harder time as if he focuses on you instead of the summons when you first start the fight your fucked barring some lucky rolls and you need some ok will rolls when the clarity potion fails near the end of the fight, but yeah all those pots of death armour dex buffs con and str buffs actually have a use in that fight.

In my view he is the end boss of chapter 1 just an optional one, pity the axe he gives is kinda terrible.

Also holy hell i forgot how much chapter 1 Zar makes me want to pick all the evil options of telling her to go fuck herself i mean reading the dialogue actually makes her just the worst.

Just checking i can't seem to find a clear answer Monks who swap alignments keep the AC and unarmed Buffs yeah?

 

[Lilura]

I got cleaved in two a couple of times in short order and just gave up. From memory that fight came just after a horde of mummies, too. Good to know ppl have beaten him fair and square, though.

Just checking i can't seem to find a clear answer Monks who swap alignments keep the AC and unarmed Buffs yeah?

Fucked if I know. This community here seems to be where the expert char builders hang out, though. They're an enthusiastic bunch, too. Might wanna ask there.