Neverwinter Nights Combat Scenarios: Videos

These are just a few combat vids I've thrown up on YouTube, while switching between a few NWN adventure modules and campaigns. They're posted mainly for self-reference but feel free to comment on how you handled the encounter, and with what class/build. These encounters were recorded on "D&D Hardcore Rules" difficulty setting.

• Swordflight Chapter Three combat scenario - Weapon Master vs. Priest of Malar: Big bursty damage of Scythe crits saved my ass here, against a priest who unleashes AoEs if you don't get in his face and smack him down first. Then he shapeshifts, but yeah, another big crit dropped him before he could raise a paw. Improved Invisibility is mandatory for concealment (Zarala buff). This is not as EZ as it looks. Sometimes werecats train on Zarala, too. Not good. Again, I was lucky.

• Swordflight Chapter 3 combat scenario - Weapon Master vs. Bandit Commander: Had to quaff two valuable Healing potions. It's better to be safe than sorry because this guy wields a keened scimitar, making him a crit machine. He healed himself once, which is what he always does. Not sure why he whirlwinded, though. Zarala is fighting with fists lol (ran out of ammo and I didn't notice), but she is not gonna add much in this situation, anyway. Her Dire Bear is a squishy meatshield but it's better than nothing. The archers are rated EZ, but, as you can see, they are decent marksmen, and it was satisfying to chase them down at the end.

• Snow Hunt combat scenario - Finesse dual-wielding Rogue vs. False Man: This is a tough duel, which I took solo. Left the dwarf companion outside. It's really touch and go, but I got fairly lucky here (he didn't conceal himself). You DON'T wanna get disarmed either. If that happens, you spend time picking your weapon up off the floor and re-equipping it, which often means you will be dead. Also, Freedom of Movement is mandatory.

I thought to rebuild as high initiative assassin for Death Attack paralysis (stealth in, paralyze, cut his rigid body to pieces), but FM is immune to paralysis so there goes that idea.

Note the cloak bug: cloak gets left behind as FM swings. Happens to my char, too, which is why I'm not wrapped in one here. Such an ugly glitch, though it's a core resource issue. I notice also that Shock weapons do not show glow FX, but Flame and Frost do.

Ok, this is one of my fave combat scenarios in all of NWN, despite being pretty easy. It's when you go up against the Valsharess as Meph looks on. See my HotU walkthrough for more info. Note my gimped Con stat (9!); that's a known bug that seems to correct itself in Cania.

I'm not trying to charge her for the quick steamroll; I give her a chance to unleash some divine repertoire so people can see what she's capable of. 

• Hordes of the Underdark combat scenario - Weapon Master vs. Valsharess (melee): It was difficult to get her to engage in melee, where she is most lethal (Will of Lolth whip: on-hit DC 26 wounding and STR drain). I remember my arcane archer char getting charged and whaled on straight after she finished her buff-fest. Anyway, I tried for the Knockdown but it didn't pay off due to her Discipline skill. You can't have companions during this encounter and you can't pre-buff outside of the zone because this encounter happens straight after the siege of Lith My'athar; you're just whisked away. Note that this vid and the one below are just a showcase of Val's abilities, and the art direction and great music. Love that ear-piercing death scream, too. Best ever. And the whip-cracking gets coolpoints.

Why am I Half-orc? For the Dev/Over crit by lvl 21 (start with 20 STR). That will pay off when I go up against Frost Giants and other epic trash mobs.

• Hordes of the Underdark combat scenario - Weapon Master vs. Valsharess (CPP + Tony K): This one is with CPP 1.71 + Tony K's. Their AIs do not "blend"; CPP AI is overwritten by TK's override AI, but you still get all the other perks of CPP. Now, the CPP by itself, and with TK's, seemed to make the Valsharess engage more readily in melee, where she is far more lethal. But the divine repertoire and order of casting was identical to vanilla (Aura of Hellfire, Battle Tide, Regenerate, Divine Power, Divine Favor and Prayer).

Something I've never seen before: I accidentally clicked on her corpse and got to see her loot just as the cutscene fired. Don't know why BioWare didn't let us loot her; I really hate that sort of thing. You kill it, you loot it. Stupid cutscenes are at it again!

Oh yeah, and that's the ACAP assassin combat style; nothing to do with CPP or TK's.

Why do people say NWN aesthetics look dated? This shits on current gen RPGs. And I can't think of an RPG with better OST, VOs and SFX than HotU. It's up there with IWD and IWD2. Probably why Obsidian recycled 80% of its tracks in NWN2; it's hard to match. Overall, NWN has the big budget feel but still has true artistic flair. Can't say either for a lot of current gen RPGs...

• Hordes of the Underdark combat scenario - Epic Risen Lord tanking: CPP + TK's. This is one tough mutha. Stacking Risen Lord dmg resistance and Dwarven Defender dmg reduction. Note that you must be of Lawful alignment and take Dodge and Toughness to qualify for Dwarven Defender. Item-wise, this epic undead is far from optimized at this point but is still very hard to drop. I forgot Defensive Stance cancels when you move, but whatevs; it's in action at some point. You can get this build to the point of "you hit me for 50dmg, I take 1 dmg". Not in the HotU cap, though. This is the limit.
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• Hordes of the Underdark combat scenario - Great Cleave vs. zombie mob: Well, this is why you play Swordflight. Most HotU encounter design is dead EZ. Undead are ofc immune to crits, but that doesn't matter against a trashmob like this. This is just a demo of Great Cleave. It removes tedium against trashmobs, from the OC to HotU. I don't know why so many char-builders are against taking this feat. Why would you want to square up on each zombie, one at a time?

• Hordes of the Underdark combat scenario - The Maker: Alsigard is a custom demi-lich boasting of epic damage immunity and reduction. This is another optional encounter, just after the mithral golems. Presumably due to its difficulty. Note the save vs. death! dmg-wise, Weapon Master did well enough without crits. You need Rizolvir to craft you an epic wield, though. Preferably +10, which you have the GP for pretty much as soon as you hit Lith My'athar (sell everything you don't need). I remember my Arcane Archer build was forced to fire 50 arrows at the floating skull from point blank, and this encounter lasted 4 mins. This Fighter build dropped him in a reasonable 40 secs.

Aielund Saga: The Redoubtable Attacked by Pirates en route to Fairloch [link]:

Aielund Saga: Duel with Pirate Captain [link]:

Aielund Saga: Defender of the Crown Finale [link]

Aielund Saga: Mounted Combat:

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