Neverwinter Nights - Capitalist Utopia

[DrSpike]

Plus the OC is pretty dull anyway.

[Stuie]

Maybe my expectations were low, or maybe I'm still in the "wow" phase since I just got the game, or maybe it's because I'm still only in chapter one... but...

I'm not finding the original campaign to be all that bad.

[Chaunk]

Chapter 1 is ok. Chapter 2 is more of chapter 1, and chapter 3 is the same. I've never gotten further, nor have I a desire to.

The exception is that awesome bit with the phylactery in chapter 2. Brilliant story telling that.

[Harovan]

I find the OC ok, plot-wise. Sure it is a lot of hack and slash and hence a bit dull, but that's what this game is about, right? Some zones are really well-made, as example may serve the spooky atmosphere in Charwood.

My main concern with the OC is, that it is a bash-open-trapped-chests-fest, unless you're a rogue (or a rouge ). Gone are the days, where the boss had 1 or at most 2 treasure chests. Some bosses in the OC have up to 10. Most of them are locked and DC-36 trapped, and contain 23 gold and a torch. There are even chests that contain nothing.

This gets much better in SoU and HotU.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
Some bosses in the OC have up to 10. Most of them are locked and DC-36 trapped, and contain 23 gold and a torch. There are even chests that contain nothing.

Ok - you have a good point there. I've resorted to dragging Tomi Whatshisname around with me wherever I go to open doors/chests. I set him to ranged combat and luckily he's pretty decent with a bow.

Once I hired Tomi, I made the mistake of returning to some chests I couldn't bash open so he could pick the locks. So he picks the locks and... ooh - that extra 4 gold and the torch will really come in handy.

[duke o' york]

Well I'm really foolishly replaying the OC with a sorceress/white mistress at the moment, and the free wand of frost that you get from the wizard spells trainer in the Prologue makes opening trapped chests a breeze!
I'm playing with Grimgnaw and doing some fun evil stuff!

[Harovan]

Any elemental attack opens trapped chests nicely, but items with elemental stats are rare in the 1st chapter.

The chests I hate most are these damn solid wooden things with 20 damage reduction (or was it even 30? I don't remember). You can't even bash them open except with a lucky crit. Which means stand there forever and bash -no effect-, bash -no effect- etc. until you have enough crits to get your valuable torch.

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Stuie
... ooh - that extra 4 gold and the torch will really come in handy.

Sure , the torch sells for 3 gold at a good merchant (IIRC), that makes 7 and can almost buy you 10% of a healing kit, three of which you need to heal the damage you took to get to the chest.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by Sir Ralph
I find the OC ok, plot-wise. Sure it is a lot of hack and slash and hence a bit dull, but that's what this game is about, right? Some zones are really well-made, as example may serve the spooky atmosphere in Charwood.

My main concern with the OC is, that it is a bash-open-trapped-chests-fest, unless you're a rogue (or a rouge ). Gone are the days, where the boss had 1 or at most 2 treasure chests. Some bosses in the OC have up to 10. Most of them are locked and DC-36 trapped, and contain 23 gold and a torch. There are even chests that contain nothing.

This gets much better in SoU and HotU.

I agree on the chests - so annoying, especially when, like me, you just have to check and see whether *this* chest will break the pattern.

[duke o' york]

I found some nifty monk gloves in a chest in the prison.

What's that? Oh, of course! This is the OC, and it's impossible to access your henchman's inventory to get him to wear them.
Hohum, I got a small amount of cash by selling them, but since I'm a sorceress and have the ultimate meat shield to protect me while I ponce about with my small crossbow/cast scarely effective lower level spells/summon my hell hound yet again/just try to stay alive, then I don't need to waste my money on better weapons/armour, and since I can't memorise spells, there is little point in buying them either. So I have lots of potions, and am going to be carrying tonnes of gold (weightless! ) into future chapters.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by duke o' york
I found some nifty monk gloves in a chest in the prison.

What's that? Oh, of course! This is the OC, and it's impossible to access your henchman's inventory to get him to wear them.

[Harovan]

There is a hak on the vault that allows you to access henchie's inventory even in the OC.

[duke o' york]

I may well instal that.

Too late for these gloves, because I can't be bothered to buy them back, and I know better gloves will turn up later.

[Harovan]

It also improves mob's smartness. Too much for my gusto, but you may like it. It's optional anyway. Mobs no longer stand and wait till you find and kill them. They roam through the dungeons and try to find and kill you. Closed doors do not stop them. Plus, their casters LOVE Darkness, so you'd better have some magical vision.

Goddammit Sony give me already my new PvP servers. Down since 9 hours. Second XP, live update 20 and new servers in one day is apparently too much. I'm so desparate, I even browse Apolyton during primetime.

[duke o' york]

No Folderol this Friday I'm afraid - I have to get up early to go to the Oxford polymeet on Saturday.