I see that Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition has recently come out. It’s basically a combo pack with the original Neverwinter Nights, plus the expansions Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark, and the Kingmaker modules. And their module editor. I think that’s everything NVN they’ve published. And all for $30.
So, should I get it?
I haven’t played any NVN at all. I like RPGs. I like tweaking games (i.e., cheating in such a way to make the game more fun for me). So, it seems I should like NVN. And this seems like a great deal.
Any recommendations for me? Does it explain D&D enough that my characters aren’t hopeless? Is it hard to write your own modules? (And if I get NVN, you may see less of me in CoH. )
I’d highly recommend picking it up. It’s a great deal though the Diamond edition only comes with a DVD, no printed manual. It’s available in .pdf format on the DVD. There are countless user modules that have been created, including quite a few high quality ones in the mix. I don’t know much about the editor though it must be pretty effective given the number of people that have used it and posted their modules.
I don’t think it would be too hard for someone who isn’t familiar with the D&D rules to play. The in-game help system seems pretty useful.
It’s a pretty good game. All together, you’re looking at probably 50 or 60 hours of gameplay at least for a good price. And there are indeed lots and lots of modules for download, including several I can recommend. The only thing the Diamond pack doesn’t include is the Pirates of the Sword Coast module from Bioware, which I highly recommend getting, as it’s probably the best premium module Bioware has put out.
Oh, and the abbreviation is generally NWN. It’ll make it easier to search for.
I had alot of fun with it. The original module alone is about 40 hours of playtime. They have template characters (pregenerated) that you can use if you don’t want to create your own. Also, they have a “Recommended” button that helps you assign points/skills. I never tried the module creator. But there are plenty of player created modules online. At least as of about 5 years ago, the last time I checked.
The absolute best modules I played for NWN were the Shadowlords and Dreamcatcher series by Adam Miller. They are (IMO) better than the single-player campaign that ships with the game.
I haven’t played it, but I plan to look closely at the Neverwinter Nights 2 that’s coming out this year. Something in me wants the newer one before the older one.
Go for it. But also download the NWN PRC, which adds to the vanilla game a whole slew of new spells, dozens of new classes (including werewolf! Lich!!) and races (now you can be a mindflayer too!).
Writing complex modules is difficult and time-consuming, but there’s enough content available over at the Neverwinter Vault to keep you occupied till you start collecting social security.
I enjoyed the first adventure moderately, Shadows of Undrentide not very much. But Hordes of the Underdark was hella fun: I played it through twice in rapid succession, and will almost certainly return to it.
What’s nice about some of the modules is that you can metagame a character. For instance, you can start a Level 1 character in Shadows of Undrentide, then take the character through The Nether Scrolls which gets you to a nice level and an amount of gear to take on Hordes of the Underdark, and then finish off the character with the Sands of Fate trilogy (if the guy ever gets the third one written) or another post-HotU module such as The Gods Themselves (if you enjoy playing evil characters). And then there’s modules like Witch’s Wake (which never got past the second part, I believe) and Hex Coda (which was going to be a premium module before WotC nixed it because they didn’t like the setting, but the guy is currently writing sequels to finish it off) which are different than a lot of modules.
I don’t have NN, but one of the cooler features is “live GM” mode. So you couksd design a module. You can they have people play it while you watch. When they do something you hadn’t planned for (not uncommon), you can jump in and do stuff. At least that is my understanding.
What do you mean by compatable? Are you asking if you can make a character in one module and use it in another? For the retail modules (Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdak) yes. You can make a cahracter in the main campagin and take him all the way theroguh the other moduels as well (though the second module will be super easy, because it’s designed for a new character, from what I remember. And the second module requires your character to be a real high level, so even after doing two modules. it mgiht inflate your level when you import)
As far as running the same character throguh custum modules, usually no, you can’t (I have only platyed a coupel, so I don’t know for certain.)
I don’t beleive PRC works with the retail modules, and any other module has to be made with it for it to work with them.
It does work with all the original campaigns, as well as most other fan-made ones. There’s a nifty program that does all the work for you too(you used to have to open the module up in the builder program and include the resources).
What do you mean by compatable?–I mean when I first get the game, should I play through it in the original vanilla first, or should I immediately install the PRC and play through it with that. Or is that a meaningless question? Maybe it’ll all be obvious once I actually have everything in hand.
There’s a nifty program that does all the work for you too(you used to have to open the module up in the builder program and include the resources).–Great! Details?
Are there are good online resources besides the ones already linked to?
I will have you know that because of this thread, I’m going to reinstall NWN tonight and play through at least Hordes of the Underdark, sicne that’s the one I never played. I’ll prboably check out a few of the module’s that people say are really good.
Okay, those community-created add-ons, like the PRC, CEP, EMS, and so on only work if the module is coded to use them. So you can have those installed before you start one of the Bioware games and it generally won’t matter because the program won’t be looking for it. The PRC was designed to integrate well into the OC, SoU, and HotU, but trying to put it into a created module that wasn’t designed for it can cause conflicts or glitches and it won’t install at all into any of the premium modules. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is that you don’t get the info in the packs. Now, if you take a character you created in the PRC system (assuming it’s a custom character) or with CEP-created gear, you will probably have problems with modules that aren’t designed for them. CEP items don’t show up properly if the artwork is custom and I’ve had problems opening bags and containers containing CEP items where the game will actually hang on me when playing a Bioware module. (I once tried taking a level-40 character into Pirates of the Sword Coast because the enemy’s level scales with your level.)
Honestly, I’ve never tried using the PRC in the Bioware games. I’d probably suggest playing them the original way first and then add the PRC in and play them again.
I’m opening a Persistent World server, as soon as I figure out all the router settings. I have one of my computers running a dedicated game, and if you’d like to play contact me.
I’ve never played the full preinstalled game, because I’ve used it to DM for my old campaign. The Editor is very easy to use and you can adapt the game to play virtually any style you like.
A couple years ago I started building a Straight Dope module, and if there is interest i"ll continue the work and have it running on an open server.
What a coinicidence to see this thread now. I have been without a good computer for over a year now and so I haven’t been able to play my NWN game and I have been searching for a new computer these past couple weeks and dying to play this game again.
I didn’t make it far before my computer died but I really enjoyed the game. I am not much of a gamer and have never played D&D but I was able to jump in and start playing without much problems.
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