Let's Play: Neverwinter Nights (Prelude Finished)

[Sliver]

So a few days ago I decided I want to do some spelunking into the odd and wondrous world of video let's plays and today is the day I'm getting this boat off shore and into the acid ocean that is the Internet.

For those unfamiliar with Neverwinter Nights, this is a series of games made by BioWare, Which did not make the sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, by the way. It was made by Obsidian 4 years after the original.

Neverwinter Nights is a third person RPG based on D&D, although I'm unaware if it's 3e or 3.5e. The combat is turn based, although most movement would act out in real time.

The setting is focused around Neverwinter, a city located along the Sword Coast of Faerun, with an entire arc being in Luskan, a city to the north of Neverwinter and not really it's ally.

Join me as we attempt to cure the Wailing Death plague and stopping the mysterious forces that are behind it, trying to take down the city of Neverwinter!

I decided to go with a sorcerer named Wall-E and his cat (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ABoyAndHisX) named Claus.

All Episodes (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZTqJcJ6PWo65dVoaVWZEF557kTQTfV5)

Pre-Prelude:
Intro: Nasher, a Badass in Action! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDJyOTLAK4Y)
Char Gen: Wall-E is made (http://youtu.be/W0CMGDmpxzs).

Prelude:
Intro: The Worst Academy! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTg24ndcZ6s)
Part 1: Training complete? (http://youtu.be/vdH3vRr5c84)
Part 2: Things get real! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7bjYUx8c0)
Part 3: Claus no more. (http://youtu.be/CsPJwkK5Vsw)
Part 4: Failed Rescue. (http://youtu.be/SXmvdADcVAo)

Chapter 1:
Intro: Into the streets! (http://youtu.be/KnQFIuvrIws)
Part 1: The Hall of Justice! (http://youtu.be/oyQWHBBoLDE)
Part 2: Abuse and Sell! (http://youtu.be/jee7tLyYfng)

The Intellect Devourer:
Part 3: Into the Peninsula. (http://youtu.be/VBaioBfdTHw)
Part 4: Pillage and Die. (http://youtu.be/RfFArGmAv7A)
Part 4.5: The Tomb (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy_irkPeRCM)
Part 5: The Tanglebrook Estate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtthwNUed4)
Part 6: The Prison (http://youtu.be/3roeLOWXEc4)
Part 7: The Containment Level (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQkfBJuu3Bc&feature=plcp)
Part 8: The Pits! (http://youtu.be/hQe0I9mW5Sc)
Part 9: The Fall of Krang. (http://youtu.be/fGR6saBdroM)

The Yuan-Ti:
Part 10: Beggar's Nest (http://youtu.be/BqBRmWVZ1cM)
Part 11: Of Wolfs and Werehouses. (http://youtu.be/7qlueqzMr1Y)
Part 12: Yuan-Ti, the Death (http://youtu.be/sD9tFF3fuG8)
Part 13: Clearing the Nest. (http://youtu.be/lghFAosIz-w)
Part 14: Nest's End. (http://youtu.be/1e56Q1HkgI0)

The Dryad:
Part 15: Through No-Man's Land (http://youtu.be/qdN4cvtkYY4)
Part 16: Questing in Blacklake. (http://youtu.be/Stv57eNbU3M)
Part 17: The Hodge Estate (http://youtu.be/-z97lvLnNNM)
Part 18: A Stealthy Operation (http://youtu.be/JcIu3TOXwMk)
Part 19: Wizard Cleanup (http://youtu.be/7bnewg318EM)
Part 20: Animal Rescue (http://youtu.be/yHAKyiVMNag)

The Cockatrice:
Part 21: Of Docks and Wizards (http://youtu.be/HGIMCeCkViw)

Plan is to complete the original campaign and both expansions. Note, I'm naturally lazy and a cheater, but with a tiny portion of strangers on the Internet watching me, I'm compelled to play it straight and honest.

Any requests and suggestions are welcomed, especially general praise.

[Eldonauran]

:smallconfused: NWN lets play?

What is this....? I am so watching when I get access to youtube in an hour. I'll post my thoughts.

EDIT: Screw it, I have an unlimited data plan on my phone for a reason.

"We get it already. Die." :smallbiggrin:

[Sliver]

And BAM! Chapter 3: Things get real! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX7bjYUx8c0)

Glad to see someone enjoyed it. :smalltongue:

Edit: Chapter 4: Claus no more. (http://youtu.be/CsPJwkK5Vsw)

Edit2: Well, I figured that it wasn't Claus at fault here and fixed the issue. Although now we have Santa instead. Should I keep Santa? Get Claus back and apologize? Or should we get a different familiar?

Chapter 5 is on it's way and marks the end of the Prelude. This will be the last chapter out until Sunday.

Chapter 5: Failed Rescue (http://youtu.be/SXmvdADcVAo).

[Eldonauran]

Crossbow bolt to the face! Excellent. Though, one does wonder why the Mage didn't summon his own familiar? :smallconfused:

I'd suggest getting Claus back, the sneak attack damage he provides will greatly benefit in the near future. Also, he makes a pretty good tank if you lay Mage Armor on him.

[Alaris]

Interesting choice. Best familiar to go with is naturally the Pixie, as it essentially counts as a rogue FOR YOU, and can unlock all chests, defeat all traps, etc etc. I think I will watch this, it looks... interesting.

Will give more feedback as I watch.

[Squark]

Huh. I was just thinking about doing a NWN LP myself, although I'm reluctant to do so given my track record on let's plays.

[Sliver]

Crossbow bolt to the face! Excellent. Though, one does wonder why the Mage didn't summon his own familiar? :smallconfused:

I'm not sure why not, but it's possible that it was because he already summoned him before, as we have seen it in the first encounter.

@Alaris - I'm not really inclined to go with Pixie because... Well, there are ways around all that. If I take Claus, he can trigger traps and evade the damage, while just smash normal locked chests and doors, or Knock them open. Other familiars could just trigger traps and soak the damage, I'll just feed them afterwards.

[douglaswalkers]

That's cool. I mean now you will enjoy it most as you will be able to unlock all chests, defeat all traps and now you would be able to do whatever you want to, this is the most interesting thing in this game.

[Sliver]

So I'll probably will go back to Claus and apologize. But there is yet an important question to be answered.

Who will be our henchman?

Our choices are: gnome sorcerer, Half-Orc Barbarian, Dwarf Monk, Elf Cleric, Human Bard or Halfling Rogue.

I believe a solid frontliner like the barbarian or monk will serve us best. They will help Claus and the summons survive, and Claus will have more sneak attack opportunity!

[Alaris]

So I'll probably will go back to Claus and apologize. But there is yet an important question to be answered.

Who will be our henchman?

Our choices are: gnome sorcerer, Half-Orc Barbarian, Dwarf Monk, Elf Cleric, Human Bard or Halfling Rogue.

I believe a solid frontliner like the barbarian or monk will serve us best. They will help Claus and the summons survive, and Claus will have more sneak attack opportunity!

My recommendation is for the Elf Cleric, as they can be frontline fighters, as well as buffers/healers, which is something a Sorcerer would definitely need.

EDIT: I recommend putting in the description (or at the start of the video) a note to watch it in FULL SCREEN, because otherwise, it looks like it's bad-quality (too small). It looks fine in full screen though.

[Douglas]

The somewhat munchkinish answer is "all of them" - but just long enough to complete their quests and get their special reward items. You can pick up a henchman, do quest-related conversation, and then immediately dump him for another one to repeat the process. While the dialog in the later stages indicates progress is due to adventuring with the same henchman for a while, the actual criterion is your level. Just cycle through them again every level or two, and you can end up with all 6 henchman reward items easily.

As for which one to actually take with you into combat, front-liner sounds good. In my own playthroughs I most often actually went without a henchman because they reduce your XP gain.

[Sliver]

Alright, here it is.

Chapter 1:
Intro: Into the Streets! (http://youtu.be/KnQFIuvrIws)
Part 1: The Hall of Justice! (http://youtu.be/oyQWHBBoLDE)
Part 2: Abuse and Sell! (http://youtu.be/jee7tLyYfng)

Part 1 and 2 are still being uploaded, with part 1 going online in less than 2 hours. Part 2 will take longer than that.

I'm posting now because I'm going to bed. Goodnight, hope you enjoy the update!

Good morning. Everything is online!

[VanBuren]

So I'll probably will go back to Claus and apologize. But there is yet an important question to be answered.

Who will be our henchman?

Our choices are: gnome sorcerer, Half-Orc Barbarian, Dwarf Monk, Elf Cleric, Human Bard or Halfling Rogue.

I believe a solid frontliner like the barbarian or monk will serve us best. They will help Claus and the summons survive, and Claus will have more sneak attack opportunity!

I seem to recall Boddyknock having an infamously awful AI. Nothing that wasn't near-immediately remedied by a fanmade AI enhancement, but still.

[Sliver]

Chapter 1, Part 3: Into the Peninsula. (http://youtu.be/VBaioBfdTHw)

Next episode will be out at Friday.

[milleris]

I'm currently playing the first few hours of NWN2 for possibly the 100th time because inbetween computer virus', crashes, losses of data and everything else I keep having to restart or getting bored of my character class.

Though saying that, I don't suppose there's a way to change class mid-way through the game via the console? :smallwink:

[Sliver]

Not through console, but NWN has a char editing tool so I'd assume NWN 2 has a similar one as well.

[Sliver]

Chapter 1, Part 4 is done uploading. (http://youtu.be/RfFArGmAv7A)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's exciting episode!

[BladeofObliviom]

I'm currently playing the first few hours of NWN2 for possibly the 100th time because inbetween computer virus', crashes, losses of data and everything else I keep having to restart or getting bored of my character class.

Though saying that, I don't suppose there's a way to change class mid-way through the game via the console? :smallwink:

Useful build tip! (Though also sort of a spoiler that everyone saw coming anyway.)

Tip: You will end up hating yourself so much around endgame if you base your build off of sneak attacks, crits, or killing things that aren't undead. Because there are a lot of undead in the last act. In fact, there's a shocking dearth of enemies that aren't undead in the last act. Most of the hard enemies in the game are undead.

With the obvious exception of that one Red Dragon. Which isn't a spoiler because we all knew that a dragon would show up at some point.

Honestly, though, the NWN2 OC isn't meant to be taken seriously. It can't be. It has to be an intentional cliche storm for the purpose of humor. I choose to believe that because the other option is that it's by far the least interesting story to ever appear in an Obsidian game.

[Sliver]

And we continue our adventures into the Peninsula!

Chapter 1, Part 4.5: The Tomb (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy_irkPeRCM)
Chapter 1, Part 5: Into the Estate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPtthwNUed4)
Chapter 1, Part 6: The Prison (http://youtu.be/3roeLOWXEc4)

[Sliver]

Part 7: The Containment Level (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQkfBJuu3Bc&feature=plcp)

[Sliver]

Part 8: The Pits! (http://youtu.be/hQe0I9mW5Sc)

[Sliver]

Part 9: The Fall of Krang. (http://youtu.be/fGR6saBdroM)
Part 10: Beggar's Nest (http://youtu.be/BqBRmWVZ1cM)

[Sliver]

Part 11:Of Wolfs and Werehouses. (http://youtu.be/7qlueqzMr1Y)

[Vizzi]

Do continue, its interesting.

[Sliver]

Part 12: Yuan-Ti, the Death (http://youtu.be/sD9tFF3fuG8)

[Mercenary Pen]

I'm finally up to date watching this- a little hint for the Yuan-ti battle...

There's an altar further into the room which is providing the Yuan-ti with power- if you destroy it, the Yuan-ti is easier to kill.

You may also want to swap out your cloak of protection for a cloak of fortification when you have the money for one- it does the same but with an added bonus to all saves.

Finally, a little trick I found which can give masses of extra experience is that if you bash the plague victim pyres with a weapon that does fire damage, you get experience every time you hit them until they run out of hit points (total gain depends on how hard you hit them, but 600-700 is easily possible per pyre)

[Sliver]

I have already recorded the episode dealing with the Yuan-Ti, although I didn't know about the altar... Well, got her anyway. :smallamused:

Yeah, I saw the improved cloak. Does it stack with the ring that adds +1 to all saves? Because I have that one now... Might trade both for the cloak when I need the extra ring slot if they don't stack.

Interesting trick, but honestly, if I want the xp, I can just cheat it in. Not that much different from exploiting a bug. I'd like my xp to all be from a legitimate source this time around.

Actually, part 13 will be up in a few hours, just starting to export it. In the meanwhile, you are more than welcome to check my other LP, in the sig.

[Mercenary Pen]

I have already recorded the episode dealing with the Yuan-Ti, although I didn't know about the altar... Well, got her anyway. :smallamused:

Yeah, I saw the improved cloak. Does it stack with the ring that adds +1 to all saves? Because I have that one now... Might trade both for the cloak when I need the extra ring slot if they don't stack.

Interesting trick, but honestly, if I want the xp, I can just cheat it in. Not that much different from exploiting a bug. I'd like my xp to all be from a legitimate source this time around..

Fair enough- I don't recall whether the Universal save boosts stack, but it'll stack with boosts to individual saves, and the extra ring slot will be handy soon enough...

[Sliver]

Part 13 is out! Here we are, Clearing the Nest (http://youtu.be/lghFAosIz-w).

[Mercenary Pen]

Part 13 is out! Here we are, Clearing the Nest (http://youtu.be/lghFAosIz-w).

I see you left us on a cliffhanger- will the party destroy the locked chest the way they destroyed every other locked chest in the game? Find out next time.

[Sliver]

Unfortunately, what happened is that I didn't know I ran out of space and played for a few more minutes... I hope there is some good autosave I can return to but I don't think so. I'll some up what happened in the next episode.

[Sliver]

And after a break from NWN (For the sake of Fallout: New Vegas) we continue with our adventures in Neverwinter. Finished with the Beggar's Nest, I am ready to step into the Docks.

Part 14: Nest's End. (http://youtu.be/1e56Q1HkgI0)

[Sliver]

Part 15: Through No-Man's Land (http://youtu.be/qdN4cvtkYY4)
Uploading Part 16: Questing in Blacklake.

I hate traps. But while the few deadly ones I encountered in the last couple of episodes somewhat make sense in game, I don't really get the design point. You either know what to expect and disarm them one way or the other, or you make a mistake and die. A trap should raise the challenge, but those don't... If it made you weaker and forced you to spend resources, but just killing you doesn't do it. You reload, return and bypass the trap. That's just a bit of a time sink.

Besides, I realize that the nobles should be able to afford strong defenses... But considering the weak mooks they have around and the amount of gold I find, it makes me think. Did they sink their entire wealth into one strong trap and realized they need guards too?

[Sliver]

Took some time to upload, but here it is.

Part 16: Questing in Blacklake. (http://youtu.be/Stv57eNbU3M)

[Mercenary Pen]

You were asking earlier what potions of clarity do- they provide temporary immunity to mind-affecting (including fear)

[Sliver]

So it's sorta like mind blank? Guess I should keep them in mind when I'm fighting caster bosses.

[Mercenary Pen]

So it's sorta like mind blank? Guess I should keep them in mind when I'm fighting caster bosses.

Also useful against anything with a Fear aura.

[Sliver]

Do you know if henchmen can use it? I'm guessing once it's under the fear effect it can't and it seems unlikely he'll use it in advance...

[Mercenary Pen]

Do you know if henchmen can use it? I'm guessing once it's under the fear effect it can't and it seems unlikely he'll use it in advance...

I believe henchpersons can use it- you just might have to deliberately arrange it, because the AI isn't that smart.

[Sliver]

So after some time having issues running the game due to the video card, the problem seems to have solved itself and we can continue on our merry way.

Part 17: The Hodge Estate (http://youtu.be/-z97lvLnNNM)
Part 18: A Stealthy Operation (http://youtu.be/JcIu3TOXwMk)

[Sliver]

Haven't been doing it in a while, haven't I? :smallredface:

Well, I'm trying some other methods of recording, so this one is just different way of voice recording. I think it sounds a little better, but I'll continue looking.

Part 19: Wizard Cleanup (http://youtu.be/7bnewg318EM)

[Sliver]

And I finish with Blacklake District with the wonderful episode Animal Rescue (http://youtu.be/yHAKyiVMNag).

I believe I got the audio levels quite better. I think now it's easier to hear me. Any suggestions on getting it better?

[Mercenary Pen]

And I finish with Blacklake District with the wonderful episode Animal Rescue (http://youtu.be/yHAKyiVMNag).

I believe I got the audio levels quite better. I think now it's easier to hear me. Any suggestions on getting it better?

One major issue with the audio- your voice was so faint that I didn't stand a chance of keeping up with your commentary...

[Sliver]

One major issue with the audio- your voice was so faint that I didn't stand a chance of keeping up with your commentary...

Yeah, it got drowned by the game, even when I kept it's audio levels low. But I believe it's much better this time around. Were there points in the last video where it was hard to hear me?

[Mercenary Pen]

Yeah, it got drowned by the game, even when I kept it's audio levels low. But I believe it's much better this time around. Were there points in the last video where it was hard to hear me?

Part 19 was fine, part 20 I couldn't hear what you were saying at all so I gave up trying...

[Sliver]

Really? I... Don't really see it... I checked quite a few points in the video and I can always hear myself a lot better than in previous videos, never I got it unclear... Perhaps it's on a different audio channel that you aren't getting? Part 19 was recorded quite differently than any of the others...

When I'm watching stuff on my laptop with headphones, I know that they don't always pick up all the channels and I hear the commentary much weaker, even though it's recorded fine. I had to plug the headphones in a special position for them to work properly, which was annoying...

[Mercenary Pen]

Really? I... Don't really see it... I checked quite a few points in the video and I can always hear myself a lot better than in previous videos, never I got it unclear... Perhaps it's on a different audio channel that you aren't getting? Part 19 was recorded quite differently than any of the others...

When I'm watching stuff on my laptop with headphones, I know that they don't always pick up all the channels and I hear the commentary much weaker, even though it's recorded fine. I had to plug the headphones in a special position for them to work properly, which was annoying...

well, laptop with headphones is pretty much the only way I do these things...

[Sliver]

You should check the enhancement tab for your speakers or headphones. Perhaps loudness equalization would improve that or one of the other options...

[Sliver]

I made a slight adjustement to the audio recording in this one, tell me if you can hear a difference.

Part 21: Of Docks and Wizards (http://youtu.be/HGIMCeCkViw)
Part 22: Dock Adventuring (http://youtu.be/5188muVMhDY)

[Sliver]

It's been a bit, apologies to my viewer! I blame Minecraft... And myself, but mostly Minecraft.

Anyway, Episode 23: Underground Pirates! (http://youtu.be/MbQmmlR7edk)

Next episode will come up tomorrow morning.

If you're still watching this, Pen, then tell me if this one is better.

[Sliver]

Episode 24: Sewers! (youtu.be/RlkSM_4xGb8) Is out and about.