February 2002

Neverwinter Nights Magazine Ad
Posted Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 14:13 CET by Mollusken

A two page ad for Neverwinter Nights has appeared in the gaming magazine Computer Games World. You can view a scan of the ad here.

In the Games section of Sorcerer's Place you can preorder Neverwinter Nights.

Icewind Dale II Tentative Kits List
Posted Saturday, February 23, 2002 - 11:07 CET by Tiamat

Posted by J.E. Sawyer in the Icewind Dale II Kit Discussion board.

Fighter Kits

LANDSKNECHT: Typically a heavily armored front-line fighter, the landsknecht breaks apart enemy formations and creates an offensive menace that is hard to overcome. The landsknecht focuses most of his or her expertise on brute force weapons and heavy armor.

Advantages:
* Landsknechts automatically start with a point in the two-handed weapon fighting style.
* 3rd Level: Long Reach: When using melee weapons, the landsknecht's effective reach is increased by one. E.g.: a longsword's reach goes from 1 to 2, a spear's goes from 2 to 3.
* 6th Level: Hold Ground: When activated, this ability slows the landsknecht to quarter movement. For the next five rounds, the landsknecht gains a +2 generic AC bonus and 2 points of damage reduction. This power is usable 3/day.
* 9th Level: Knockdown: When a landsknecht critically hits an opponent, the target must make a Fortitude saving throw (15 DC) or be knocked unconscious for 1 round. Only living creatures can be affected by such an attack.

Disadvantages:
* The landsknecht cannot start gameplay with weapon specialization.
* The landsknecht cannot gain proficiency in bows, slings or darts. They require too much finesse for front-line fighter.
* The landsknecht cannot use shields, and cannot specialize in the weapon and shield fighting style.
* The landsknecht may never achieve grandmastery in a weapon.

COULD REPLACE FIGHTER: MERCENARY

RAVAGER: Living a life of violence, the ravager is a warrior who revels in slaughter, leaving maimed and terrified opponents in his or her wake. Unlike the barbarian, who enters a berserk state to down foes with powerful blows, the ravager inflicts awful, painful wounds on an opponent with malicious glee.

Advantages:
* 3rd Level: Vile Wounds: When a ravager critically hits an opponent, the target must make a Fortitude save (15 DC) or suffer a bleeding wound that causes 1 point of damage per round for 10 rounds.
* 6th Level: Cruelest Cuts: After activating this ability, which lasts for 3 rounds, all of the ravager's blows have an equal chance blinding the target or reducing his or her movement by 2 points unless a Fortitude save (20 DC) is made. It can be used 3/day.
* 9th Level: Chaotic Maelstrom: Once per day, the ravager has the ability to invoke a circle of quasi-magical blades similar in effect to the blade barrier spell. The ravager's chaotic maelstrom causes less damage (3d6 slashing), but the ravager is immune to the blades' effects and can move through them without fear of personal harm.

Disadvantages:
* Ravagers gain one proficiency every four levels, instead of every three.
* Ravagers lack the focus to gain grandmastery in any weapon.
* Ravagers only gain half the benefits from any healing effect (e.g., a healing spell normally gives back 8 hit points; the ravager only gains 4).

Restrictions:
* Ravagers cannot be lawful or good.

COULD REPLACE FIGHTER: WIZARD SLAYER OR FIGHTER: MERCENARY

WEAPONS MASTER: a warrior that has been specially trained to be one with his or her weapon, weapons masters are often held in high regard: in Kara-Tur they are known as kensai - 'sword saints' - and are similarly revered among the moon elves of Evereska. They are deadly and fast and are trained to fight without encumbrance, some considering armor the crutch of the martially unskilled.

Advantages:
* Bonus +1 attack bonus and Damage /3 levels.
* +2 armor bonus.
* -1 bonus to Speed Factor for every 4 levels.
* May use 'Focus' ability one time per day for every 4 levels: this ability lasts 10 seconds and makes all attacks do maximum damage.

Disadvantages:
* May not use missile weapons.
* May not wear armor.

WHAT I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE:

Advantage:
* Bonus +1 attack bonus and damage /3 levels. All weapons that they wield are considered +1 magical weapons for every three levels they have. Maximum +5.
* +1 generic armor bonus, +1 every three levels.
* -1 bonus to Speed Factor for every 4 levels.
* May use 'Focus' ability one time per day for every 4 levels: this ability lasts 10 seconds and makes all attacks do maximum damage.

Disadvantages:
* May not use missile weapons.
* May not use armor.
* May not use shields.
* May not specialize in weapon and shield style.
* May not use magical weapons.

WIZARD SLAYER: This warrior has been specially trained by his sect to excel in hunting and attacking spellcasters of all kinds.

Advantages:
* Each hit on opponent spellcaster increases the chance of spell disruption by 5%.
* Gains 1% magic resistance each level.
* +4 attack bonus and Damage vs. Wizards and Sorcerers.

Disadvantages:
* May not use any magic items except for weapons and armor.

Ranger Kits

ARCHER: The archer is the epitome of skill with the bow. He or she is the ultimate marksman, able to make almost any shot, no matter how difficult. To achieve their level of skill, archers sacrifice attention to melee weapons and racial enemies.

Advantages:
* Archers may achieve Mastery in missile weapons.
* Every 4 levels he or she gains the ability to make a called shot once per day. When he or she activates this ability, any shot made within the next 10 seconds is augmented in the following manner (according to the level of the archer):
4th level: -1 to attack bonus of target.
8th level: -1 to Saving Throw vs. Magic of target.
12th level: -1 to Strength of target.
16th level: +2 bonus to Damage.
These effects are cumulative.

Disadvantages:
* An archer may only become proficient in Melee weapons; he or she may never specialize.
* Archers may not select hated enemies.

GIANT KILLER: The classic heroes of countless tales throughout the Realms, giant killers are rangers who devote their efforts towards the protection of civilized lands from evil giants and their kin.

Advantages:
* +1 attack bonus per level vs. Giants, Ogres, and Trolls.
* +1 to Damage per level vs. Giants, Ogres, and Trolls.

Disadvantages:
* Giant killers may not select a racial enemy.
* Giant killers are unable to track.

STALKER: Stalkers serve as covert intelligence-gatherers, comfortable in both wilderness and urban settings. They are the spies, informants and interrogators... and their mastery of stealth makes them deadly opponents.

Advantages:
* +10% to Stealth.
* May make Sneak Attacks as if a Rogue of half the Stalker's level.

Disadvantages:
* May not wear armor greater than Studded Leather.
* May only use a Rogue's selection of weapons.

Paladin Kits

CAVALIER: The name "cavalier" represents an attitude rather than a profession. The cavalier is a fearless combatant against monstrous opponents, inspiring others with his or her fearless dedication and prowess in battle. Cavaliers always fight at the front of every battle, choosing to use close-combat melee weapons over weapons with reach.

Advantages:
* +3 Attack Bonus and Damage vs. demonic and draconic creatures.
* Remove Fear 1/day/level.
* Immunity to poison.
* 3rd level: Emotion Control: Courage 1/day.

Disadvantages:
* May not use missile weapons, halberds, or spears.
* May not use armor less than splint mail.

INQUISITOR: The inquisitor has dedicated his or her life to finding and eliminating practitioners of evil magic and defeating the forces of darkness.

Advantages:
* May use Inquisitor Dispel Magic 1/day/4 levels: ability is used at speed factor 1.
* Immune to hold and charm spells.
* 7th level: Spell Shield 1/Day.
* 9th level: Miscast Magic 1/Day.
* 15th level: Anti-Magic Shell 1/Day.

Disadvantages:
* May not use Lay on Hands.
* May not cast priest spells.
* May not use Cure Disease.

VOTARY: Grim, intensely devoted champions of their faith, votaries are the bane of all evil priests. Votaries are known for their vehement dislike for all foreign religions and their skill at dispatching the agents of such faiths.

Advantages:
* +4 attack bonus and Damage vs. Clerics and Druids.
* 1 additional spell per spell level the votary is able to cast.
* 1 additional Holy Smite per day/4 levels.

Disadvantages:
* May not use Lay on Hands.
* May not use Cure Disease.

Cleric Kits

SILVERSTAR OF SELUNE: The goddess of the moon, Selune, is popular across the Forgotten Realms. Her priests are champions of goodness and freedom. They preach tolerance and acceptance and wage war against hatred and ignorance.

Advantages:
* May cast Moon Motes (cone of electricity, 4-16 damage) 1/3 levels/day.
* May cast Moonblade 1/5 levels/day.
* May cast Wall of Moonlight 1/10 levels/day.

Disadvantages:
* Cannot turn undead.

BATTLEGUARD OF TEMPUS: Priests of the god of war can be found wherever there is conflict in the Realms. They believe that the execution of war makes civilization stronger for future generations. Battleguards act in the belief that death on the battlefield is one of the most honorable ways to die.

Advantages:
* Battleguards can use and gain proficiency in any weapon type.
* Battleguards can incite a berserk rage in themselves 1/4 levels/day.
* Battleguards can cast Prayer 1/5 levels/day.

Disadvantages:
* Battleguards cannot turn undead.

DREADMASTER OF BANE: The most feared and reviled deity in the Forgotten Realms, Bane is the lord of strife, hatred, and tyranny. His followers fight each other almost as much as enemy faiths, which is one of the prime reasons their devious priesthood has not dominated the Realms.

Advantages:
* Dreadmasters are immune to all Fear effects.
* Dreadmasters may cast Cloak of Fear 1/4 levels/day.
* Dreadmasters may cast Dominate 1/5 levels/day.

Disadvantages:
* Dreadmasters may not turn undead.

Druid Kits

AES DANA: Among the more civic-minded of druids, the aes dana are well versed in history, frequently assist war bands, and heal the wounded after battle. Druids like the aes dana are often found in the Moonshae Isles.

Advantages:
* +10 to Lore.
* 3rd level: Cure Moderate Wounds 1/Day.
* 5th level: Prayer 1/Day.
* 7th level: Recitation 1/Day.

Disadvantages:
* Cannot shapeshift into animals, only elementals at high levels.

AVENGER: A member of a special sect within a druidic order, a druid of this type is dedicated to fighting those who would defile nature. Avengers have powers the average druid does not; additional abilities that have been earned through extensive rituals, a process that is very physically draining.

Advantages:
* 3rd level: Beast Claw 2/Day.
* 5th level: Spike Growth 2/Day.
* 7th level: Thorn Spray 2/Day.

Disadvantages:
* May not shapeshift into animals, only elementals at high levels.

SHAPESHIFTER: These druids master their shapechanging abilities much more extensively than others and train intensely to increase their powers throughout their life.

Advantages:
* All normal druidic shapechanging powers.
* 9th level: shapeshift into arctic boar.
* 11th level: shapeshift into black panther.
* 13th level: shapeshift into shambling mound.

Disadvantages:
* Do not gain Poison Immunity.
* Do not gain Timeless Body.

Rogue Kits:

ARCANE ROGUE: Combining the skills of a rogue with minor magical powers, the arcane rogue is a potent scout and decoy. The arcane rogue focuses less time on lethal combat than his or her fellow rogues.

Advantages:
* +10% to Use Magic Device.
* 5th level: Invisibility 1/day.
* 9th level: Improved Invisibility 1/day.
* 11th level: Dimension Door 1/day.
* 15th level, Shades 1/day.

Disadvantages:
* -10% on all rogue skills except Use Magic Device.
* Cannot make Sneak Attacks.

ASSASSIN: This is a killer trained in discreet and efficient murder, thriving on anonymity and surprise to perform his or her tasks.

Advantages:
* May coat weapon in poison once per day per 4 levels. The next hit with that weapon will inject the poison into the target, dealing out 6 damage every 6 seconds for 30 seconds. A saving throw vs. poison limits damage to 6 total. The strength of the poison increases at 10th level. At 20th level, it also slows targets.
* +1 Attack Bonus and Damage.

Disadvantages:
* Only 15% per level to distribute on skills.

SWASHBUCKLER: This rogue is part acrobat, part swordsman and part wit... the epitome of charm and grace. A swashbuckler fights with dramatic flair and deadly precision. Due a swashbuckler's healthy sense of pride, they do not deign to learn the roguish talent for Sneak Attacks.

Advantages:
* -1 to AC/5 levels.
* +1 to Hit and Damage/5 levels.
* May specialize in any weapons available to thieves.

Disadvantages:
* Cannot make Sneak Attacks.

Bard Kits

BLADE: The Blade is an expert fighter and adventurer whose bardic acting abilities go towards making him appear more intimidating and fearsome. His fighting style is showy but also quite deadly.

Advantages:
* Blades automatically have an extra proficiency slot in the Two-Weapon fighting style.
* 3rd level: Trick Shot: When Blades critically hit, they cause Blindness (50% chance) or Slow (50% chance) for five rounds unless a save vs. death is made. Undead, constructs, and elementals are immune to these effects.
* 5th level: Offensive Spin: When a Blade activates this ability, he or she gains a +2 attack bonus and a +2 bonus to damage for ten rounds. He or she can use this ability 3/day.
* 7th level: Defensive Spin: When a Blade activates this ability, he or she gains a +2 generic armor class and saving throw bonus for ten rounds. He or she can use this ability 3/day.

Disadvantages:
* Only has one-half Lore value.
* Can only play the Ballad of Three Heroes bard song.

RIDDLEMASTER: This bard uses odd, confusing riddles to infuriate and dazzle opponents. As a riddlemaster gains experience, he or she learns more powerful riddles in the same manner that a traditional bard learns songs.

Advantages:
* 3rd level: The Infuriating Dilemma: This riddle is so annoying to the target that he or she goes berserk for five rounds. It is useable 3/day.
* 5th level: King's Logic: The riddlemaster presents a logic puzzle so fascinating that the target is stunned for five rounds. It is useable 3/day.
* 7th level: Gram's Paradox: All enemy creatures within 20' of the riddlemaster are confused for five rounds. It is useable 1/day.
* 9th level: Foolproof: The riddlemaster is immune to all confusion, fear, and berserk effects.
* 11th level: Conundrum: The target of this incredibly difficult riddle is subjected to a Feeblemind spell. It is useable 3/day.

Disadvantages:
* All deaf/silenced creatures, elementals, undead, animals, and constructs are immune to the riddlemaster's riddles. Creatures with Intelligence under 5 or over 19 are immune to the riddles as well. All creatures receive a saving throw vs. spell against the effects.
* Riddlemasters only gain the Ballad of Three Heroes bard song.

SKALD: This is a tribal bard who is also a warrior of great strength, skill and virtue. His songs are inspiring sagas of battle and valor, and the skald devotes his life to those pursuits.

Advantages:
* Skalds have +1 attack bonus and Damage with all weapons.
* 3rd level: Heroic Inspiration: Every time a member of the party (PC) dies, the Skald gains +1 attack bonus and damage, up to a maximum of +5. This bonus lasts as long as enemies are in view.
* 11th level: Inspire Fury: At 11th level, the Skald gains the ability to incite Blood Rage 1/Day.

Disadvantages:
* Skalds have -10% to Pick Pockets and Use Magic Device.
* Skalds gain half as many points in Pick Pockets and Use Magic Device, per level.

Sorcerer Class

Sorcerers are practitioners of magic who were born with the innate ability to cast spells. It is thought that the blood of some powerful creature flows through their veins; perhaps they even are the spawn of dragons walking in humanoid form. Regardless, the Sorcerer's magic is intuitive rather than logical. They know fewer spells than wizards, and acquire spells more slowly, but they can cast spells more often and have no need to select and prepare spells ahead of time. Sorcerers cannot specialize in magic the way wizards do. Other than these differences, a Sorcerer is very similar to the wizard.

NOTE: A sorcerer does NOT learn spells from scrolls. He chooses new spells with each level. A sorcerer's prime requisite is CHARISMA.

Hit Points per Level: 1-4
Weapons Allowed: Club, Dagger, Dart, Heavy Crossbow, Light Crossbow, Halberd, Mace, Morning Star, Quarter Staff, Spear.
Armor Allowed: None.

Monk Class

Monks are warriors who pursue perfection through contemplation as well as action. They are versatile fighters, especially skilled in combat without weapons or armor. Though monks cannot cast spells, they have a unique magic of their own. They channel a subtle energy, called ki, which allows them to perform amazing feats. The monk's best-known feat is their ability to stun an opponent with an unarmed blow.

Hit Points per Level: 1-8
Weapons Allowed: Club, Dagger, Dart, Long Sword, Mace, Morning Star, Scimitar, Short Sword, Sling.
Armor Allowed: None

Advantages:
* The monk can make 1 unarmed attack per round; he gains an additional attack every 3 levels.
* As the monk increases in levels, the damage his fists inflicts does as well:
Level 1-2: 1-6
Level 3-5: 1-8
Level 6-8: 1-10
Level 9-11: 1-12
Level 12-14: 1-12
Level 15-17: 1-20
Level 18+: 1-20

* A monk's natural armor bonus gets better as he goes up in levels. His armor bonus starts off at 11, and then increases by 1 for every 2 levels.
* Stunning blow, once per day for every 4 levels. All attacks in the next 6 seconds force the victim to save or be stunned. NOTE: this special ability automatically modifies a Monk's normal attack, no targeting needs to be done.
* Monks have the Deflect Missiles ability. This gives them a +1 to their armor bonus vs missiles for every 3 levels.
* The monk gains a +2 to save vs spells
* A monk starts off moving at +2 move, then +1 move every 5 levels.
* 5th level: Immunity to all diseases, and cannot be Slowed or Hasted.
* 7th level: Lay on Hands to heal 2 hit points per level
* 8th level: -1 to speed factor
* 9th level: +1 to all saves. Immune to charm. The monk's fist is considered a +1 weapon (+2 at 12th, +3 at 15th)
* 11th level: Immune to poison
* 12th level: Another -1 to speed factor. Fists are considered +2 weapons.
* 13th level: Quivering palm spell once per day. This spell gives them one hand attack. If they hit an opponent, the opponent must save or die. NOTE: this special ability automatically modifies a Monk's normal attack, no targeting needs to be done.
* 14th level: The monk gains 3% magic resistance per level (starts at 42% at 14th level)
* 15th level: Fists are considered +3 weapons

Disadvantages:
* No armor, limited weapon selection.

Barbarian Class

A barbarian can be an excellent warrior. While not as disciplined or as skilled as a normal fighter, the barbarian can willingly throw himself into a berserker rage, becoming a tougher and stronger opponent.

Advantages:
* They move at 2 points faster than the usual character
* Barbarians are immune to Sneak Attacks
* Can rage once per day per every 4 levels (starts at 1st level with one use). Rage gives them +4 to constitution and strength for 5 rounds. Gives a 2 point armor bonus penalty and +2 to saves vs magic (for 5 rounds). Rage also gives immunity to all charm, hold, and fear spells
* At 11th level the barbarian gains 2 points of resistance to slashing, piercing, crushing and missile damage. He gains 1 additional point of resistance every 4 levels thereafter.
* The barbarian gains 1-12 hit points per level instead of a fighter's 1-10.

Disadvantages:
* A barbarian cannot wear full plate, plate mail.
* A barbarian cannot gain Weapon Mastery, High Mastery, or Grand Mastery.

Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Friday, February 22, 2002 - 14:45 CET by Arwen

Jay Watamaniuk, Community Manager:

NWN Accesibility Options: Interesting question. Most of the game can be run off the mouse using the radial dial system. The keyboard is used to essentially speed things up by using the Quickbar (the function buttons at the top used for fast retrieval of potions, spells etc.)and communication like Quick Chat.

Another use of the keyboard is the number pad that is laid out like the radial system allowing quicker sifting through the menus.

So the exclusive use of the mouse should be fine but you will need to be quite good with knowing where your selections are.

NWN Wednesdays: I thought I might step in here and talk about the Neverwinter Wednesday stuff as I see that many, many threads have popped up today as we were getting stuff ready to go. I remember writing up a big piece about this last week but I'll write this up as a refresher for people who missed what I talked about before.

We are releasing new stuff about NWN on Wednesdays. We can't give a specific time during the day as things come up that distract us from having any kind of idea when, exactly, that will be. We also can't be specific on exactly what is being released as we prepare different things ahead of time and they go through the approval process or demand time from specific people who may be caught in something or even out of town. While we may have an idea what will be ready, it has sometimes turned out not to be true. We also have items come back early from the approval process that we were not expecting, and so we end up going with something other than what we were expecting. We can't be specific, that's the bottom line.

I have seen the reaction to any kind of promise we have made which hit a snag and wasn't delverable. Folks were sorely disappointed and sometimes expressed themselves in ways that are not acceptable on these boards and are not representative of the vast majority of people who post here. So, having learned that lesson, I don't want to make promises that might get derailed along the way. As a result, I need to ask people to expect something on Wednesday but with no details beyond that.

I also want to avoid the whole big up and 'secret' thing as it resulted in such a strong reaction that individuals were actually threatening our moderators. Obviously that wasn't tolerated. I would rather be very shocked by that sort behavior then be expecting it as was the case when it happened.

We have a great vocal community here that comes here for information and discussion and a great, silent community that comes here to read the information and discussion. The extreme stuff isn't needed or desired by the looks of things.

Sorry about the length of this but, as always, I want to be clear.

10 questions: We have a very fine collection of specific questions from some of the most frequent posters on these boards. These are not Top 10 Questions, but specific questions from individuals that we asked...

Answers from Greg Zeschuk (with help and sage advice from Trent Oster).

Q: What is the status of the DM client and are there any major limitations with it?

[Greg] The DM client is up and running - it is currently undergoing QA testing internally. There aren't really any limitations per se - it allows you to teleport around to different maps, manipulate creatures and items in all kinds of interesting ways, and to even enter command line instructions that can be executed in the module. Overall we think it is both easy to use (with nice and simple GUI driven system) and quite powerful. Post a thread to the board if you have any specific questions that you want answered on it and we'll do our best to address your question.

Q: I know that the aim of NWN is for small one DM controlled modules. However, many are trying to link these modules together and form a kind of MMORPG-lite environment. Have any tools been created or modified with persistent worlds in mind? Or is this segment of the community going to be blazing it's own trail through script writing?

[Greg] We haven't developed specific tools with only persistent worlds in mind, instead all of the tools and code take into consideration that the game can contain multiple players and act accordingly. Some of the basic features like encounter groups scale to match the number of players in a group.

As far as linking modules together (and servers together for that matter) you're probably aware of the portal system that's been coded to allow players to travel from server to server. That's as far as we've gone at this point.

Q: How hard would it be to script an NPC raising in level, and what would the script/trigger be like?

[Greg] We've developed an easy way to script NPC leveling that will be available for review in the campaign we create. The quick non-technical summary - when a NPC levels he or she will be replaced by an identical NPC of the new desired level. It's a quick-switch maneuver that should be transparent to players (and quite effective).

Q: Just how easy (or hard) is it going to be to insert user created art? Also, is there a way to update a client from the server, installing these new objects when the server D/Ls the module, and if not, and the module says "obj01 at xxx/yyy", what shows up there if that object file is not on the client?

UPDATED - we double checked the following information and this is the updated version
[Greg] It's easy to support user created art - we're developing a system we call 'hack packs' that refers to content created by players beyond the stuff normally done in the tools (including new models, textures and animation). These hack packs are associated with specific modules within the toolset and are required on the client side for you to play that module.

If you want to play on a server running a module with a specific hack pack, you will need to have just that specific hack pack installed, prior to connecting to the server. If you don't have that hack pack installed, you won't be able to connect to the server. The client does not require the entire module. This is our current plan for initial release. If required by time pressure we will hold the hack pack support for post release.

Q: Can we have an overview on just exactly how cut scenes will be developed using the tool set? For example...will there be a scripting wizard specifically built for creating cut scenes? Can a player be forced to carry out certain actions during a cut scene? Can players be frozen while a cut scene is playing? Are cut scenes presented in letterbox format? Can you put a pitch-black screen with nothing on it except for text, to simulate a chapter title announcement? Can the camera pan across the screen following a moving object such as a squirrel? Any information regarding cut scenes will be very much appreciated.

[Greg] Cut scenes are a very complicated issue - you have to consider them in the context of a multiplayer game.

We have a movie player that will be used to compile rendered movies (as well as other graphics used to tell the story) outside the game, such as before modules - these cut scenes will be features of the campaign we ship with the game. This is the first layer of cut scenes that will be present in the full release.

For in-game cut scenes things get a little more tricky. Because there is a possibility of multiple players in a game, and there is also a possibility that all of the players aren't going to all be at the right 'spot' to trigger a cut scene we're trying a few different things to make the cut scenes viable. The first thing we're trying to do is to integrate the cut scenes into the game in real time - instead of stopping the game for the cut scenes to occur we do them as the game is running - and the player sees them from their perspective. The reason we can do this is the game AI and pathfinding is considerably more sophisticated than the Baldur's Gate series and NPCs should be able to execute their scripts to completion even if they are interrupted. With regard to actually stopping the game, we can do this (an easy way within the system is to trigger a Timestop spell and allow the characters you need to move to execute their actions) but it's not something we recommend in a multiplayer setting. Currently we're not giving specific scripting control over camera actions due to the incredibly large number of things that could break. Also, cut scenes are not letter boxed (with the exception of the rendered ones if we so choose).

Q: So what's your favorite spell affect so far? Describe it please.

[Greg] The snazziest spell effect so far is Firestorm - at its name describes it rains fiery death down on the game world with spectacular flame and explosive effects. It fills practically the entire screen with destruction, regardless of the camera positioning. Overall, it's just plain jaw-dropping.

Q: Is variable movement going to be implemented for races (Halflings, Dwarves, and Gnomes), and not just the classes (IE Barbarian and Monk)?

[Greg] Variable movement will only be in for the classes. Variable movement will not be in for races.

If that question has been already been asked or cannot be answered...

How will tower shields, not to mention partial cover, work in NWN? More importantly, will it be implemented?

[Greg] We do not account for cover in the game, and tower shields will give an AC bonus.

Q: As you may or may not know I am a big Sorcerer fan. And in big I had a lot problems searching stuff while in a battle. Lucky the pause function was there, but in NWN its not. So my question is how have (or if ) you have simplified the user interface for faster game play. So pretty much I would like you to explain how the user interface will look and how it will help us be more efficient.

[Greg] There are two things that should make casters with a lot of spells (like Sorcerers) quite happy. First, using the radial menu with the keypad is shockingly fast - once you know where the spells you frequently use are located you can get to them with a few simple taps of the keypad (all of the numbers on the keypad are assigned to each of the eight directions corresponding to the radial menus).

Understanding that the keypad/radial menu combo might not be enough - we have three levels of quickbars available at the base of the screens accessible via the function keys - F1-F12. Also, by holding Shift or Controls you will get alternate bars - giving you a total of 36 quickslots into which you can place spells, feats, and items.

As a Sorcerer you can load up your quickbars with all of your favorite spells and with relative easy they should all be one key press (or one combined key press) away.

Q: The lack of the toolset for Linux and Mac is unfortunate but understandable. It has been speculated whether the toolset is runnable under various emulators; specifically my hope lies with Wine, a Windows API emulator for Linux. What I'd like an answer to is whether anyone at Bioware has tried running the toolset under Wine, and what happened. Did it work at all? Maybe worked well? And if you managed to get it to run, will you post tips/instructions on what settings are needed for Wine to manage it?

[Greg] We have yet to try this. We'll have someone here run it and see what happens.

Q: Will the game have tutorials for the toolset, scripting, and if so, will they ship with the game or be downloadable?

[Greg] Due to time constraints we're probably not going to be able to create tutorials as lavish as we would like to ship with the game. Currently our plans include the creation of primarily online tutorials on how to build modules that will be available shortly after the release of the game. Also, we're counting on the active members of the community to help out each other by trading tips on building modules. Also - we're going to include the 'source' to all of our modules so people can see how we do things.

Emotes: There are some great emotes I have seen so far like salute and bow.
I'm not sure if an emote but, I did manage to see one of our designers making a room with a bunch of skeletons on the ground worshipping something. Looked pretty creepy.

Running/jumping: Well we were considering jumping horses that can climb but we had to cut that along the way
Your question, however, was answered correctly- you can run but cannot jump.

David Gaider, Designer:

Treasure for encounters & placed creatures: 1. Is it possible to assign treasure to placed creatures (not encounters)? For example, the goblins placed in the E3 2001 demo movie.

Yes, you can place it in their inventory.

2. For encounters, do we populate a treasure list the same way we populate the creature list? For example, can I design an encounter to drop either 1gp, 5gp, or 10gp?

Yes, you can put this in their script. We actually do this in the official campaign...we have on many creatures 'generic' treasure that we use a number of scripts to generate, assigning it a value of 'small', 'medium', 'valuable' and so on.

3. Can I, either by script or toolset design, base the treasure drop on the creature selected from the list? For example, can I configure an encounter that spawns either 1 orc, 2 orcs, or 3 orcs to load 1gp, 2gp, or 3gp depending on the creature that is spawned?

Well, sure. Using the encounter wizard, you can have a variable number of orcs spawn in, right? And then the amount of treasure that is on each of them will be determined by the random script above. Such a script could also be applied to, say, a chest... and you could very easily alter such a script to put more treasure in the chest the more orcs that were spawned in (as an example).

Tile levels: I'm no artist, beeglebug, but I know that we can have a player walk on 'top' of a building or tower that is three or four transitions high and have them 'look down' at the city below. I also know, like you mention, that several tiles (like the pits) physically go below 'ground level'.

While I can't answer just how deep a tile could potentially be constructed below ground level, it would certainly be possible to build a very high tile that looks down not only four transitions 'deep' but below ground level, as well.

I've built areas previously where I raised every tile to the fifth heigh transition...making that the new ground level, in effect (I did this to make a canyon, fyi)...so I know that can be done. Hopefully someone can come on and tell you whether there is a limitation to the depth or not, but this could work for you as well (if I'm making sense).

Height transitions per area: Ok, my bad... I thought there was a limit of five 'heights' in an area, simply because I've never worked with a full-size area, I guess. Ratbert is completely right, however...the limit is 1 height transition per tile.

I just went and made a 32x32 area and picked a point on the far right of the map and kept raising it. The result literally looks like a mountain. I was blown away. It is HUGE. A plunked down a bunch of ramps so you can climb it and jumped in-game... and the resulting feel of height is incredible.

So there is a LOT of room as to how high you can potentially make your model. The only limitation, of course, being that there is an 'edge' to the landscape that an aerial view might look kind of funny (depending on where you looked down from... I suspect a large tower in the very middle of a 32x32 map would still look impressive). There is also a limit to the distance you can see, too, even with the minimum fog effects on. Still looked fantabulous, though.

Halfling feet: Nope. Halflings don't have bare, hairy feet in 3rd edition anymore.

Armor on NPC monsters: For most of the monster animations, you will be able to give them whatever equipment you like...whether or not you will see it on their animation depends on whether or not it was set up for that creature.

For the most part, you won't see armor that you put on a creature. The majority of them, however, can display all weapon types and (often) shields. Some of the humanoid monsters that have variations to their models have varying levels of armor, tho.

As mentioned above, the sheer number of armor skins required for the player races alone prohibits this from being extended to all creatures as well.

Blade Barrier: I haven't seen the Blade Barrier spell in action in the game... but I did pull up the NWN spell description and it reads as it should. According to the description it is an offensive spell, not a defensive one, with an area effect.

Seeing as the Spell Pass has already been done, I imagine the description would have been changed if it was otherwise.

Multiple throwing weapons: No, you can only equip one throwing weapon at a time.

Stanley Woo, Quality Assurance:

D&D turn system ans combat in NWN: I'll try and give combat an explanation.

Combat is real-time. Everyone moves, and does all their actions at the same time. There is a six second round, in which, you can only do as much as you would be allowed to, based upon the 3E D&D rules.

An example:
You are playing a Sixth level fighter.
You are fighting against 4 Orcs.

In the first six seconds of combat:
You attack the first orc twice.
All four Orcs attack you.
The Guards on the other side of the map keep patrolling.
The other people exploring the module keep doing whatever they are doing.

There's no pausing, stopping, or "Turns" as in PoR2.

Craft skill rank: For the cosmopolitan gamer on the go, BioWare has included shortcuts to all your favourite parts of character creation. Has this ever happened to you?

BioWare has automated everything from recommended ability scores to recommended feat and skill selection! We'll have you going in no time!

But BioWare, you say, I don't want to play POR2! I acutlaly want to choose my skills, ability scores, and feats!

And you CAN! For the high-maintenance, detail-oriented gamer, we've included a fully operational point-buy system! Everyone from your little brother to your mom (who, buy the way, is a hottie) will be able to sit down with the game and make a character in less time than it takes to explain to your loved ones what Neverwinter's all about!

So say goodbye to limited character creation rules and awkward character sheets. Don't worry about your inability to look sohpisticated and worldly while throwing the dice. You'll never have to be ashamed of your CRPG again!

Baldur's Gate II Review
Posted Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 19:04 CET by Mollusken

Wargamer has posted a very long review of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.

I could go on and say a lot more good things about Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, but I would rather not keep you here all day. This is an amazing RPG, and by far the best I've ever played. It offers tons of cool monsters, interesting items, powerful spells, varied quests, and a plot I really enjoyed. When considering playing Baldur's Gate 2, there are two real things to consider. First, at a bare minimum this game will suck up about 100 hours of your life; the Coalition ground forces managed to eject Iraq from Kuwait in that same amount of time. That assumes that you stick to only the necessary quests. That also assumes you never replay BG2 as a different character class or decide to be an evil character and become Amn's scourge instead of its savior. One has to wonder whether or not reading Tolstoy or spending time with friends and family (and yes role-players do have real friends and family) might not be a better use of four days of one's life. Second, this is not Diablo II; killing monsters is a lot slower and more complex than just clicking on a demon and hacking it to death. If you completed Diablo II and were left with a desire for more enemies and faster action this may not be the game for you. If, however, you looked at Blizzard's latest product and admired the artistic way in which they told the story but otherwise thought the plot was pretty weak, then you may want to head out to your nearest games shop and pick up Baldur's Gate 2.

Read the whole review at Wargamer.

NWN Progress Report
Posted Thursday, February 21, 2002 - 10:37 CET by Mollusken

IGN PC has posted a NWN progress report, which also contains a few questions and answers from BioWare's Trent Oster, Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka.

The designers and developers at Bioware are known as perfectionists, and given that Neverwinter Nights has been in development for nearly five years now, it appears as if Bioware's philosophy of fine-crafting and making sure it's right the first time will certainly be apparent yet again. But the big question still remained in our heads: "When in the hell are we actually going to be able to play this amazing sounding game?" Thankfully it appears that the long wait is nearly over!

IGNPC: What's still left to be done?

Greg Zeschuk: At BioWare we do significant story and content reworking in the final months of development based on feedback from people testing the game (this includes everyone that plays it, not just the testers). Our opinion is you can't really finish a story until you can fully experience it -- this is usually right at the end of the development process.

We also go through extreme degrees of polishing art and optimizing code. We typically work on our games for a long time, so we put a lot into prepping them to their maximum quality before we release them. We also try to fix every bug we can possibly find (this is quite a challenge considering the various hardware ranges and products that exist on the PC).

In essence -- we're making it fun!

Read the whole article here.

Icewind Dale II Interview
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 21:04 CET by Mollusken

Freelancer has done an interview with Black Isle designer Dave Maldonado. Of course the interview focuses on general aspects of the upcoming Icewind Dale II.

[Yurg] In your interview to GameSpy you mentioned a reworked interface. How does it look now? The screenshots don't show it off yet...

[Dave] We think people will be mighty pleased with the re-tooled interface. Three "final candidates" were spread around the division last week and I believe the favorite is being implemented as I speak... or write, rather! There ought to be some tasty screenshots soon enough...

[Yurg] How do our avatars look like, are there any new models, more frames of animation for PCs/NPCs/monsters? Can we hope to see some spectacular spell FX from PS:T (they really, really rocked)?

[Dave] We're using BG2's PC avatars. The new monsters and spell effects are pretty sweet, definitely up to par with the IWD work - and in some cases, even more cool!

Read the whole interview here.

NWN Druid Class Analysis
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 20:50 CET by Mollusken

Shaderaven at Neverwinter Vault continues his NWN class analysises, and this time he looks into the druid.

Living far outside of the cities, druids strive to be at one with nature. Just as clerics gain their spells from the gods, so do druids also. What separates the two though is the druid nature abilities. All druids have the ability to befriend an animal who will follow the druid as a close companion. Beyond this ability, they eventually are able to pass an area without leaving tracks and walk through even the thickest brush without difficulty. As they gain in skill, they are also granted the ability to change into the shape of a chosen animal.

Visit NW Vault for the rest.

Boards O' Magick Up!
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 18:24 CET by Sorcerer

Yes... Finally!

I know you've been just as impatient as we were. Go post now to make up for all the lost time. ;)

Site up 95%, Boards Coming Soon
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 17:43 CET by Sorcerer

Oh, here's the latest scoop.

We have 95% of everything up, so all pages EXCEPT the IWD screenshots and online walkthrough should be up already. This missing bit will be uploaded shortly.

We are currently setting up the boards as well, so they should be up in less than an hour, if everything goes according to plan.

Stay tuned...

(For those of you who missed it, our ex server had a total HD failure so we had to set up shop on a new server. 10 days of message boards activity were lost.)

Icewind Dale II Article at GameSpot
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 15:11 CET by Mollusken

In their last number of GameSpotting, GameSpot has written a small article about Icewind Dale II.

Normally, I'd use this space to gloat about how none of you could ever possibly guess the obscure game reference I just made with the title of this GameSpotting column. Instead, I'll talk about Icewind Dale II, the upcoming RPG sequel from Black Isle Studios. The company recently announced the game in an interview with GameSpot PC, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. Like Black Isle's other recent RPGs, the original Icewind Dale was based on official Dungeons & Dragons rules. But unlike any other game before it, it was up against one of the toughest competitors it could ever face: Blizzard's Diablo II. In fact, the two games were released on the same day, but Icewind Dale actually held up pretty well, since it was a solid hack-and-slash game that remained very true to its source material (at least as much as the game engine would allow).

The whole article can be found at GameSpot.

Brian Fargo Interview at GameSpot
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 15:07 CET by Mollusken

Founder and former CEO of Interplay, Brian Fargo, answers some questions over at GameSpot.

GameSpot: Thanks for talking with us. Can you tell us briefly about your reasons for leaving Interplay? How long have you been planning your departure?

Brian Fargo: I don't think it comes as a surprise that the last three to four years have been tough and certainly not fun. Somewhere along the line I ended up doing purely executive and financial management functions with very little creative, design, talent scouting, marketing, or any other work I enjoy. That said, I accepted the role I was thrust into and managed to lower the bank debt from $40 million to almost zero while still managing to maintain quality and ship some phenomenal games like Sacrifice, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, and so on. After coming very close to securing several deals for the acquisition of the company in early 2001, only to see them fail due to too many interests and then having a financing deal go sideways after Titus announced its intent to take over, I knew it was time to go.

Read the whole interview here.

Neverwinter Nights Forum Update
Posted Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 10:04 CET by Marnix

Bob McCabe, Writing & Design:

Making Maps: If you're just painting down an empty map, it's going to take you about 3 seconds - if that. If you want to me an interesting looking map, but still have nothing going on within, it's probably going to take you closer to 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how big the map is and how picky you are about the look of things (and how many times you start over to get it just right).

One thing that would make that a bit more headache-inducing late into the show, however...if you've got creatures or objects placed on a tile, you have to move or remove them before you can edit the tile. It's not really hard to just grab them, shove them over a tile or two, edit and replace.

Immortal NPC's: Characters can be flagged as mortal or immortal. The actual terminology is something like "killable", but like "placeable", that don't fly with me. The same goes for whether or not your NPCs can be attacked. Regardless, it's up to you to decide whether your NPCs are "normal" or not. And for all of the arguments against using it, a single-player game with no DM can end pretty quickly if you accidentally kill the character that gives you all of the quests.

David Gaider, Designer:

Planar Tilesets: Just a comment...I've seen a few people sometimes requesting planar tilesets, and I'd just like to point out something. Keep in mind that we're not only developing the D&D ruleset but that we do have an official setting, as well...the Forgotten Realms. This does not include Planescape, Greyhawk, Kara-Tur, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, or any other campaign setting.

I'm not saying it's impossible that we would ever expand beyond the FR license, but the fact is that the FR setting as it stands is what NWN is being developed for.

If there is an expansion, I've no doubt that it will likely involve some new tilesets. Whether there is an expansion, however, and what it will contain has yet to be determined. All I'm saying, however, is that NWN is specifically based in the Forgotten Realms...not in the D&D universe at large. Planescape may be adjacent to and reachable by people in the FR, sure...as is Greyhawk (technically), Ravenloft and the others...but that NWN is being developed specifically for the FR setting, itself (and, yes...arctic, desert, jungle and other types of tilesets would be part of the FR, I'm not referring to those).

It would be nice to do some planar tilesets and so forth...what's a good D&D game without an occasional jaunt to the planes? We are not restricted from adding in elements from Spelljammer or Planescape, sure, but the priority will be developing the FR setting and not the D&D Universe at large. I'm in no position to rule it out, of course...I just thought I would urge caution to some who may be expecting a bit much in terms of the setting scope.

Penguins: I don't know how they got in there...but, yes, oddly enough there are penguins.

Boats: You can get on the ship. Not sure if there is anything that would qualify as a really good boat interior. You could probably put something together with the interior tiles that would look good. There are both docked ships as well as a ship that is entirely surrounded by water.

There's no moving water animation that I've seen (except on the fountains and waterfalls and such)... we've no plans on including ship travel with this release, so it's hard to justify a reason to include it. There might be some coastal sound effects, but only Dave Chan would know for sure.

I set up an area, myself, and put the ship on it...it definitely looks like you're on a ship at sea that way (fog's nice, too). It does not really look like the ship's in motion, tho... no effects that can think of that would fake it, either, unfortunately.

Swords: Flipping through the list of weapon types, we have:

Bastard Sword
Greatsword
Longsword
Rapier
Scimitar
Short Sword
Two-Bladed Sword

Each have their own unique selections for their appearance, though some have more options than others.

Making Modules: Basically, you spend very little time putting together the actual tiles for the maps. A lot of stuff that you do often (like area transitions) is mostly automated... so you can create large areas that connect to each other fairly swiftly. Background scenery is, more or less, painted in...it takes literally no time at all.

Once you start adding placeable objects to a map, it takes a bit more time. I find this part enjoyable, tho, as it adds a lot of detail and makes things come to life. Even right now, there's a whole pack of 'standard' items and creatures that you could literally just drop in wherever you'd like.

The time-consuming parts could be considered the following:
- dialogue (it CAN be simple... but can also be as complicated as you like. Fortunately we've got some generic dialogues that the module-maker can use and edit as he wishes, making dialogue a lot easier. This will allow you to create an assortment of simple plots, information-providing NPC's and ambient characters without even having to know how to script or have good dialogue structure.)
- creating creatures (the wizard can make this very simple... and you can spend as much or as little on the details as you like)
- scripting (this CAN be a big one... it all depends on what you're trying to accomplish. There are a lot of scripts included and annotated that you can use or modify right off the bat. If you have really complex things in mind, it can take a while).
- journals (you don't have to use these...but the ability is there, and it's a great way of rewarding XP. If you have a DM overseeing a game, tho, even that's not necessary.)

Hmmm... can't think of other things right off the bat. Naturally, we spend a lot of time on dialogue and scripting and going through and making sure everything just so... and it'll be no different for any end-user who wants to make a very complicated and large campaign. It doesn't have to be so complicated, however, is my point... and fortunately the simple stuff is easy and all your time can be devoted to the stuff that really makes a difference in your module.

Changing Maps: You can alter the map at any time. All you need to do is have the 'map' function on the painter selected and you can edit away.

Trap-setting: There are two ways to set traps:

1) by laying down a poly trigger (same as BG2) that has a script attached.
2) by applying a trap script in the Trap section of containers & placeable objects.

At current glance, there are 4 categories of pre-cooked trap scripts... Average, Minor, Strong, and Deadly... each with about 10 different scripts in them.

Placeable Walls: No walls as placeable objects, no. Not a bad idea... but I'm wondering how it would be possible to make a believable fit between actual tile walls.

Unless the plan is to put down walls on their own so, say, a building was demolishable or something. Not sure how that would work. At any rate, there's nothing like that in the objects currently.

Current testing-char: Still using my female bard, at the moment. I'm loving some of the animations that can play... walked into a tavern that Preston had put together and I was really struck at how cool it looks to have all the people physically look like they're talking/arguing/pleading and such. Scripting the emotes works really well (pounded down a door in the bordello to be greeted by the courtesan and her customer angrily shaking their fists at me and displaying all kinds of angry text... that looked really cool. I actually felt like I had intruded.)

Had a good laugh when a certain naughty erinye in a certain tower didn't recognize that my character was female... although I guess demonesses are allowed to be a bit racy, eh?

Monsters & Equipment: Yes, to close out the thought, the biped set can also wield any-and-all armor and weaponry.

For most of the monster animations, you will be able to give them whatever equipment you like...whether or not you will see it on their animation depends on whether or not it was set up for that creature.

For the most part, you won't see armor that you put on a creature. The majority of them, however, can display all weapon types and (often) shields. Some of the humanoid monsters that have variations to their models have varying levels of armor, though.

As mentioned above, the sheer number of armor skins required for the player races alone prohibits this from being extended to all creatures as well.

You could add the armor onto the giant, but most likely you wouldn't see a corresponding change in the giant's model. He still gets all the proper effects from wearing said armor, though.

If you didn't want the player to be able to take/use that armor, you could mark it as 'non-droppable' so it won't appear on his body. Otherwise the player could take it and wear it as per normal.

Giving the giant weapons, however, would make them appear on the model properly.

Nathan Frederick, Quality Assurance:

Toolset Facelift: The toolset is currently undergoing a gui/interface facelift.
Anything shown to you right now, would look nothing like what you get to use.

Jonathan Epp, Quality Assurance:

Fences: Yes, you can shoot arrows and cast spells on people when there is a fence between you and your target.

Brenon Holmes, Programmer:

Visuals: Perception is relative, it's entirely based on what you see and hear as a player, not on what other people see... each creature has a unique perception of the world. However the visual effect system used in the scripting language is an entirely different beast altogether as it simply applies effects to objects with no thought as to relative perception or anything of the sort... something either exists or it doesn't. However as David mentioned this is something that has been brought up by design so we'll probably be looking at this at some point...

Site Upload Details
Posted Tuesday, February 19, 2002 - 20:23 CET by Sorcerer

I was hoping that I woul