FRUA: Neverwinter Nights, Chapter 6: Hurts So Good?

Here I am, starting Neverwinter Nights with a new party again! This is my third time, possibly even fourth. This all comes about from my obsession with having the "perfect party." Every time I come up with a new party arrangement, I'm compelled to start from the beginning again, to "get it right this time." I know I'm not the only one who suffers from this affliction, as it gained a name in an old post at CRPG Addict. After getting distracted by digging through old posts on CRPG Addict, I can't seem to find that particular one. 10 Gil to the first to do so!

Aw, the ol' wolf in the sheep shearing shop.

My experience with Neverwinter Nights has been a love-hate relationship. I love the variety of tactics that come in to play with the encounters, and I get excited when I see the beginnings of a quest. The quests have yet to shake out to anything much though, and most of the encounters are brutally difficult.

I can't say what the original online experience was like, that is, besides my very limited time with the game. I remember getting killed constantly, which I understand now having played the game more. The chances of a single character surviving are very, very low. I know the game was wildly popular and crowded in it's day, so perhaps this was never really an issue. I do think the practice of "grind to max-level then start role-playing," as is the case with some modern MMOs, was prevalent though.

If Lord Nasher actually gives any missions, I haven't received one.

So, I think in the end I've been let down, as I expected a huge open-world Gold Box experience. The game does deliver this to an extent, but I don't understand why the combats are so difficult. Even with a full party I think I probably lose the set combats more than I win. Some encounters I had to play 10 or more times to pass. In a typical game, I would just move on to a different area, but everywhere outside of the confines of Neverwinter is just as difficult! Grinding near the city isn't an option because the easy encounters hand out pitiful experience.

He did eventually acknowledge an item I picked up!

I assume my own expectations are causing more than a bit of my distress though. After-all, how much can I fault the first MMORPG for being like an MMORPG? Just because it's a Gold Box game didn't save it from the pitfalls that come with that genre. 

I've also been operating under my own assumption that the encounters get harder as you move further from Neverwinter, but this is only partially true. While the overall difficulty does increase, I don't think you can "clear out" each section before moving on, like I have been, without ending up in some seriously difficult encounters. I've been taking the "lawnmower" approach to exploring. As I return to the game, I think I'll continue exploring that way, but I'm not going to expect to defeat every encounter before I move on to the next area. Some of the encounters have been well-nigh impossible at my level, and I only got by through the luck of the stinking cloud. Bulettes, I'm looking at you! Those "land-sharks" could down or kill my characters in one round. The good side of the difficulty is that it has stretched my tactics to their limits. As you know, I prefer balance to my challenges, though.

Just as I was about to give up on beating this set battle... three clouds disabled all four bulettes.

In Port Llast, I encountered a veritable army of goblins, but they were relatively easy to defeat with good tactics. Something I've been trying to remember to do more is to back into doors to use the terrain effectively. In my youth my tactic was either to charge or wait. With my age and wisdom (har har), I've learned that the best defensive position sometimes requires moving backwards from the starting deployment.

Neverwinter Nights tactics!

So far Neverwinter Nights has pretty much been a Gold Box combat simulator. This is certainly not without its rewards, but it doesn't easily fit into my vision for the blog. I'm going to keep at it though! Perhaps perseverance will yield more ways to get some role-playing involved. I do want to complete this game and get it off my list.

F:NWN does have its moments of immersion.

Speaking of the list, Forgotten World is tabled because of technical difficulties. Also, Although I was going to playthrough the original game "offline", I don't see that happening. Playing NWN with a single character requires more patience than I have. However, I have jumped into it to check some things in the FRUA port against the original.

For example, there are a few things in the Gallant Prince that seem to have not been programmed correctly. Exits not leading to the correct entrances is a simple way to put it. I loaded up oNWN to see what was really supposed to happen, and found that the area in question was not in that version! So, I'm just going to move on from Port Llast and it's harbor for the time being.

Using my GM powers to walk through the walls of the Gallant Prince, only to see that Port Llast harbor does not exist!

You'll find out soon how my new approach to Neverwinter Nights goes!

Gain Gil by commenting to choose what games I play!

Beans: 20 Gil for being This Bard's first ever commentor. and 3 Gil for other comments.

Charles Geringer: 10 for being a first time commentor, and 10 for enlightening me as to what apple-shining is!

Raifield: 10 for being a first time commentor, 10 for explaining the possibility of a 5-sided pyramid, and 2 for additional comments!