chevalier
Fri, 18th Aug '06, 7:04pm
Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault (http://nwvault.ign.com). Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer</font>
I am not impressed. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492473&post=4258554&forum=95&highlight=)
I do feel bad about the druid, because they really haven't changed for the better in NWN2 and their main prestige class (Shifter) was removed. Hopefully it's something we can remedy in the future.
Surprisingly, people in QA still seem to enjoy playing them.
How did this ever get past WoTC? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492498&post=4258590&forum=95&highlight=)
I also dislike the Parry/Discipline/Knockdown trifecta and I wish we had dealt with changing it over to the proper rules a long time ago.
The companion death rules and advancement rate are for our Official Campaign only. The former is scripted and the latter is simply how we chose to give out XP. Raise Dead/Res. are not irrelevant in the OC; I use them regularly to bring back allies in combat. A wipe is still a wipe.
I completely disagree on knowledge skills. I think the "find out what skills are worthless by playing the game!" approach contributes nothing to anyone's experience. Even in pen and paper sessions, DMs often have to stretch to allow players to make use of their various knowledge skills.
The ability to equip items with which the character is non-proficient is something I talked to the programmers about. The effects would have to be coded or scripted and we had time for neither, unfortunately. I also agree that it should be allowed with a warning.
I also completely disagree about the max hit points option. In D&D, it's the only randomized element of advancement and I can see no reason why that is a good thing. The player has no control over the die roll and the effects of the roll last for the character's entire life. Die rolls in the heat of combat or in other "conflict" situations are interesting because their effects are transitory and contribute to an interesting narrative. "My barbarian got 2, 2, and 4 hit points for the past three levels," is not part of any interesting story and makes the character dramatically -- and permanently -- less powerful than luckier characters.
EDIT: Some may say, "Well, that's how it goes!" with regard to hit points. Unless you want to advocate randomizing whether or not you get a feat, how many skill points you get per level, and whether or not your character actually gets the spell slot her or she should when advancing, this argument doesn't work. D&D, especially in a computer environment, is a game where randomization takes place during actions. Character building and the consequences of it are driven by player choice, not dumb luck.
More: <hr />Hitpoints: I agree about the randomness, that is part of avoiding cookie cutter players and can lead to more roleplay. I'd have no problem with a mere checkbox that is either random or max, but not just one or the other.<hr />I think the "cookie cutter players" issue is non-existent. My character is unique because of how I chose to build him or her. Because I made a strongheart halfling with this appearance. Because I gave him these specific stats. Because I picked these skills instead of those skills, because I went down this feat tree instead of another one. Because of the equipment I choose to use. Because of the role-playing options I exercise when playing.
After all this, how distinctive is something as abstracted as hit points? It's not even something like my Con score, where I chose to underdevelop it for my character. I believe that if you can't manage to make distinctive characters with the options given to you in our game (which are, granted, smaller than the list provided in the entirety of 3.5 D&D), I don't think randomized hit points are going to tip the scales.
More: In our Official Campaign, companions are scripted to be revived after combat. It's not even a matter of modding as much as it is a matter of not using our scripts for your own modules.
The choice to revive companions after combat automatically was made very early in the project and many aspects of the OC rely upon it.
More: <hr />I understand that it is YOUR Official Campaign, and you can have which rules you wish. However, every house rule has a rationalization behind it. Please tell me what rationalization YOUR house has for the full party healing and resurrecting after combat, without use of their own resources?<hr />This is not my design. It is not my story. It is a choice that I inherited from the original lead designer, so I can only explain that it is integral to how the campaign functions but not to how the game itself functions. I'm not going to defend it because it isn't a choice I would have made.
If I were making my own campaign, people would drop like stones, you'd have a level cap of eight, and no prestige classes.
However, you'd still have max hit points. ^___________^
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Nathaniel Chapman - NWN2 Q&A, Obsidian Entertainment -</font>
Do I have to pick a subrace? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492480&post=4258263&forum=95&highlight=)
You must pick a subrace for any race which has them. All of the races have subraces excluding Humans, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs.
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">J.E. Sawyer, Lead Designer</font>
I am not impressed. (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492473&post=4258554&forum=95&highlight=)
I do feel bad about the druid, because they really haven't changed for the better in NWN2 and their main prestige class (Shifter) was removed. Hopefully it's something we can remedy in the future.
Surprisingly, people in QA still seem to enjoy playing them.
How did this ever get past WoTC? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492498&post=4258590&forum=95&highlight=)
I also dislike the Parry/Discipline/Knockdown trifecta and I wish we had dealt with changing it over to the proper rules a long time ago.
The companion death rules and advancement rate are for our Official Campaign only. The former is scripted and the latter is simply how we chose to give out XP. Raise Dead/Res. are not irrelevant in the OC; I use them regularly to bring back allies in combat. A wipe is still a wipe.
I completely disagree on knowledge skills. I think the "find out what skills are worthless by playing the game!" approach contributes nothing to anyone's experience. Even in pen and paper sessions, DMs often have to stretch to allow players to make use of their various knowledge skills.
The ability to equip items with which the character is non-proficient is something I talked to the programmers about. The effects would have to be coded or scripted and we had time for neither, unfortunately. I also agree that it should be allowed with a warning.
I also completely disagree about the max hit points option. In D&D, it's the only randomized element of advancement and I can see no reason why that is a good thing. The player has no control over the die roll and the effects of the roll last for the character's entire life. Die rolls in the heat of combat or in other "conflict" situations are interesting because their effects are transitory and contribute to an interesting narrative. "My barbarian got 2, 2, and 4 hit points for the past three levels," is not part of any interesting story and makes the character dramatically -- and permanently -- less powerful than luckier characters.
EDIT: Some may say, "Well, that's how it goes!" with regard to hit points. Unless you want to advocate randomizing whether or not you get a feat, how many skill points you get per level, and whether or not your character actually gets the spell slot her or she should when advancing, this argument doesn't work. D&D, especially in a computer environment, is a game where randomization takes place during actions. Character building and the consequences of it are driven by player choice, not dumb luck.
More: <hr />Hitpoints: I agree about the randomness, that is part of avoiding cookie cutter players and can lead to more roleplay. I'd have no problem with a mere checkbox that is either random or max, but not just one or the other.<hr />I think the "cookie cutter players" issue is non-existent. My character is unique because of how I chose to build him or her. Because I made a strongheart halfling with this appearance. Because I gave him these specific stats. Because I picked these skills instead of those skills, because I went down this feat tree instead of another one. Because of the equipment I choose to use. Because of the role-playing options I exercise when playing.
After all this, how distinctive is something as abstracted as hit points? It's not even something like my Con score, where I chose to underdevelop it for my character. I believe that if you can't manage to make distinctive characters with the options given to you in our game (which are, granted, smaller than the list provided in the entirety of 3.5 D&D), I don't think randomized hit points are going to tip the scales.
More: In our Official Campaign, companions are scripted to be revived after combat. It's not even a matter of modding as much as it is a matter of not using our scripts for your own modules.
The choice to revive companions after combat automatically was made very early in the project and many aspects of the OC rely upon it.
More: <hr />I understand that it is YOUR Official Campaign, and you can have which rules you wish. However, every house rule has a rationalization behind it. Please tell me what rationalization YOUR house has for the full party healing and resurrecting after combat, without use of their own resources?<hr />This is not my design. It is not my story. It is a choice that I inherited from the original lead designer, so I can only explain that it is integral to how the campaign functions but not to how the game itself functions. I'm not going to defend it because it isn't a choice I would have made.
If I were making my own campaign, people would drop like stones, you'd have a level cap of eight, and no prestige classes.
However, you'd still have max hit points. ^___________^
<font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial" color="#cc6600">Nathaniel Chapman - NWN2 Q&A, Obsidian Entertainment -</font>
Do I have to pick a subrace? (http://nwn2forums.bioware.com//forums/viewpost.html?topic=492480&post=4258263&forum=95&highlight=)
You must pick a subrace for any race which has them. All of the races have subraces excluding Humans, Half-Elves and Half-Orcs.