Neverwinter Nights Review
Welcome to my review retrospective on Neverwinter Nights 1. The following random remarks pertain to BioWare's Neverwinter Nights Original Campaign (OC), which I'm currently playing through as a Gnome Sorcerer of Chaotic Evil alignment:
Rules: 1.69 Critical Rebuild, D&D Hardcore rules.
Rules: 1.69 Critical Rebuild, D&D Hardcore rules.
The Frozen North: the name given to the stark and unforgiving frontier that lies beyond the High Moor of Faerun...
A bleak wilderness where barbarian clans and tribes of giants roam the land and fierce dragons rule the skies.
But amidst the frozen savagery stands a bastion of civilization: the city of Neverwinter, Jewel of the North.
Behind the city's high walls those both hardy and brave carve out an existence from this bleak land under the guidance and protection of the legendary hero Lord Nasher Alagondar.
Yet there are some things that all the courage in the world cannot stand against.
A virulent plague swept the city, a terrible affliction that began in the Beggar's Nest. Soon all of Neverwinter could feel the touch of the Wailing Death.
The disease could not be cured. Panic ensued; the streets erupted into violence. The Jewel of the North was brought to its knees.
To save Neverwinter, Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande, Paladin of Tyr, and Lord Nasher's right hand, put forth a call for a champion.
A rush of would-be heroes answered her call: some drawn by promises of grandeur and glory, others by the lure of gold.
Those with the greatest potential were initiated into the Academy to train and study under the greatest minds of Neverwinter, all in the hopes a champion might emerge to save the city from the Wailing Death.
... And whatever sinister force might be behind it.
The intro is undeniably suitable, setting the stage with austere narration and an animated slideshow in sepia tone. The following Prelude couldn't be in more opposition to that tone, however.
NWN Prelude
The adventure begins in the Neverwinter Academy, in the city of Neverwinter.
You have trained long at the Academy, and today is your final day. To begin your adventures in Neverwinter, speak with each of the instructors in the complex. All will be able to give you tutorial information about basic skills. You will need to complete one last lesson depending on whether your main focus is combat, rogue skills, divine magic, or arcane sorcery. Bards will be able to complete any one of these tests, while most other classes must report to the expert in their chosen field.
As you can no doubt glean from reading the above journal entry, the Prelude is a bit of a drag, serving as a tutorial for totally new players. I'm talking extremely low level of gaming aptitude, "never played an RPG before" sorts.
BioWare were somewhat considerate in allowing veterans to "cut to the chase" or Esc-key-out of tons of mind-numbing dialogue, but it still feels obnoxious for an exit door to stay locked until you tell the NPC in question that you're NOT fire retardant, at which point it's promptly opened for you. This happens four times before the player can finally leave Fort Knox. I mean, really?
The actual training segments are mercifully short; the arcane sorcery lesson requiring you to fire a cantrip into a statue. That's literally it. My reward is a Rod of Frost (Ray of Frost, Unlimited/day).
Great, let's get on with this!
I receive my blessing from Aribeth in the Graduation Chamber, after which the Academy is suddenly attacked by four mysterious mages who are in search of the Waterdhavian creatures. Having slain the mages, Aribeth entrusts me with protecting the creatures.
En route to the creatures, you might feel compelled to kill all the goblins and skellys for the XP, but don't be overly concerned. You see, the guy who gives you a tutorial on how to level up (no, I'm not kidding), and later Fenthick, will raise you to the next level when you talk to them regardless of how many or how few you've killed. This ensures every player is hand-held to reach third level before they step out into "the real world".
One could ignore the enemies entirely (ie, run past them), raise yourself to third at the level-up posts, then backtrack through the Academy and Training Halls killing scores of one hit point enemies at 75 EXP each, thereby hitting fourth level before meeting up with Aribeth in the Halls of Justice. But really, you'd have to be keen.
One could ignore the enemies entirely (ie, run past them), raise yourself to third at the level-up posts, then backtrack through the Academy and Training Halls killing scores of one hit point enemies at 75 EXP each, thereby hitting fourth level before meeting up with Aribeth in the Halls of Justice. But really, you'd have to be keen.
Note not only the size of these maps, but also the slowness with which you move through them as you play. I'll never forget my transition from Baldur's Gate to NWN, all those years ago, when I went from Baldur's Gate's 60 AI updates to this slo-mo jog. It really shocked me.
The uninspiring corridors and chambers of both areas (pictured above) are infested with weak-ass goblins and skellys, all of whom my Gnome Sorcerer effortlessly poked to death with her measly dagger. Many receptacles may be looted for randomized, trivial treasures. Mr. Nice Guy (Pavel) acts as a temporary companion (basic Fighter build), but it isn't necessary to bring him along.
Blocking entry to the stables and the Waterdhavian creatures is a Mysterious Mage, the Prelude's boss. His corpse supplies the player with their first tailored treasure drop. Being a Wizard, I received a Wand of Sleep (50 charges).
Upon entering the stables the Waterdhavian creatures are whisked away from the Academy:
There is now a dialogue segment which skilfully introduces Desther and Fenthick, after which the player is auto-leveled to 3 and the Prelude comes to a close.
Looking back on it, the Prelude really isn't quite as tedious as I remembered it to be. It takes all of 6-7 minutes to run through, but new players may take a good 30 minutes if they explore, kill and loot everything, which I still think is far too long.
I guess experienced players could simply begin in Chapter One and use the console to level up to 3... I personally would have no qualms in doing that since no quest, choice or anything but trivial loot carries over from the Prelude into Chapter One, it's just a "Baby's First" area tucked away from the real game and somewhat immersion-breaking in that it sort of feels that way, too. For this reason, I'm a firm believer in separating spoon-feeding tutorials from the game proper.
"new players may take a good 30 minutes if they explore, kill and loot everything"
ReplyDeleteEh. I actually don't think it's so bad. I think you're so used to being good at RPGs for so long that it's hard to imagine what it's like as a brand new player. You might be trying out different weapons, ranged versus melee, different spells. It's kind of nice to have a low stress environment to experiment in initially...and like you said, if you know what you're doing in takes <10 minutes.
"I personally would have no qualms in doing that since no quest, choice or anything but trivial loot carries over from the Prelude into Chapter One"
I would disagree with this. If you're a mage, you'll get a robe of fire resist (which either helps versus the Fireball sorcerers later or can be sold for a lot of cash) and the Rod of Frost which gives you the equivalent of an auto attack at least.
A fighter type will get Half Plate from the mysterious mage -- that would normally cost 1000g or so from a vendor so simply starting in Chapter 1 proper would leave you far more vulnerable.
Are those awe-inspiring items overall? No, but it's a significant bonus compared to basically starting naked in Chapter 1 with 75...then Aribeth gives you another 100g. I'm not even sure you can buy a Breastplate, Large Shield, and weapon with 175 -- let alone actual heavy armor and tower shield...and theoretically you're using her gold to hire a henchman too!
"Eh. I actually don't think it's so bad. I think you're so used to being good at RPGs for so long that it's hard to imagine what it's like as a brand new player. You might be trying out different weapons, ranged versus melee, different spells. It's kind of nice to have a low stress environment to experiment in initially...and like you said, if you know what you're doing in takes <10 minutes."
DeleteThose were my also thoughts AS a new player, though. I remember despising the Prelude/tutorial, the slowness of Aurora and especially the OC as a whole compared to the Infinity Engine and Baldur's Gate. Until NWN, I had never played a RPG that spoon-fed you so much. I see your point that current gen players might appreciate this kinda tutorial, bless them. :P
Your points about skipping the Prelude are noted. Perhaps it isn't wise, even for veterans. Unless you're gonna also console in the cash and items you should "by rights" have, you might spend several minutes in the City Core trying to make up the cash to buy the items, in which case you should have just run through the Prelude in the first place...
"Those were my also thoughts AS a new player, though." + "compared to the Infinity Engine and Baldur's Gate." = ???
DeleteYou weren't a new player :P Not to RPGs, which is what I was saying.
Imagine if your only game experience was, say, Halo. And then you wanted to try this NWN thing. *Slightly* different.
Or even if your experience was Star Fox 64, Perfect Dark 64, Donkey Kong 64, Ocarina of Time...NWN would again be *slightly* different.
"in which case you should have just run through the Prelude in the first place..."
Pretty much. And like you said, you can easily speed through it.
NWN was my first D&D experience and as a kid i must say i really appreciated the tutorial. At least it showed you how spellbook works. I remember it being the most confusing part of D&D. But the whole way they presented it to you was indeed quite unispiring. Honestly i'm not a fan of tutorials being any part of the story and i always pretended that thing at the academy never happened to my PC
ReplyDeleteHi Bonzai, I agree that spell-casting is the most complicated (and rewarding) part of most D&D RPGs. I think the NWN series made being an arcane or divine spell-caster much more interesting than other RPGs (e.g, meta-magic). I really liked familiar system that offered many different kinds of creature, and how you could possess your familiar, who would level up with you and bring utility to the party.
DeleteOh my, evil character in Neverwinter OC? That idea was doomed from the beginning. The Path of Evil campaign for Neverwinter Nights 2 is waiting for you! This one was created with an ultimate goal in mind: to make enjoyable experience playing an evil-aligned character, not screwing up the game world in process. Some quests there are some kind of a parody to 'sweet' Neverwinter 1 OC ones, there are many references to this in dialogues, and they a very funny to read. Actually when you play, the module makes you feel not evil by nature, just a little opportunistic and cynical, maybe, in an evil (by default) world around you. NPCs look like deserving some extra punch most of the time, and if you decide to check it yourself, you'll understand what I mean. So not a noticeable inner conflict with your conscience, but continuous fun instead.
ReplyDeleteI wish you make a review for it!
Not sure if you noticed yet, but some of the evil dialogue choices are covered at the end of the next post:
Deletehttps://lilura1.blogspot.com/2015/02/random-remarks-on-neverwinter-nights-oc_9.html
I like the Prelude as a noob or vet. No matter. It has a real PnP feel to it which quickly dissipates as +1 gear becomes easily accessible in Ch1, the uber hench rewards are gathered and crafted gear becomes available for bargain prices. Level 1 encounters are always the most challenging due to such low HP especially for mage types. A lucky hit/crit by a single foe (and no way to bypass the threat) can be fatal compounded by limited healing. Level 2 is also somewhat challenged, though significantly less. The "insta-escape" transport artifact is not yet part of standard inventory. Pavel makes it much easier, of course, so I bypass his help. Early game should really not offer a diluted combat experience since players should (IMHO) be spending time getting oriented and learning their limitations rather than standing by and watching an ally control the action. I just think the option to provide an ally so early was a bad call on the part of Bioware. Hench help in Chapter 1 is early enough.
ReplyDeleteFrom PC Level 3 on, however, character levels dominate over the majority of encounters with especially lucrative items available to magic types and UMD users, powerful gear for warriors, elemental ammo for ranged attacks and unlimited resting. Hence... NOT PnP anymore, unfortunately.
One misunderstanding of many of the new players from around 2005 on is that all those prestige classes, powerful feats like Expertise and Blind Fight, skills like Tumble and overwhelming spells were never rebalanced in the series. The result is a PC that, by design, has been empowered beyond all NPC threats. But I suppose they had their hands full designing SoU and HotU and addressing all those issues rather than revisit legacy content placed in their rearview mirror.
Great points there, Iconclast. I remember ILMS and IGMS being obscenely OP in Hordes of the Underdark, let alone in the OC.
DeleteOf course, it isn't uncommon for expansions to unbalance their OCs: I seem to recall Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale and Morrowind being easier after their expansions were installed, too.