True D&D PC Game

[NC23]

I'm looking for a single-player PC game that uses D&D rules, with the following requirements:

- Full character customization.
- I don't care which edition, but no real-time combat.
- Party-based or solo, either is fine.
- No first person camera, no sidescroller.
- It should be a true RPG and not just hack and slash.
- It can be text-only and 30 years old, but if there are any graphics they should be somewhat pretty.

So this pretty much excludes the usual suspects Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age, Planescape: Torment, Diablo, Icewind Dale, The Elder Scrolls, etc.

Is there anything left at all?

[Tengu_temp]

The old DND games from the Gold Box series, like Pool of Radiance or Champions of Krynn, have a first-person view for dungeon exploring, but it's grid-based and the actual combat is turn-based and seen from above. Have some screens.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/Pool_of_radiance_panels.png
Not sure if that counts as pretty, considering those games were made in the late 80s and early 90s, but for that time they look good.

There's also the much newer Temple of Elemental Evil, but I heard that game is not very good. People who actually played it can provide better opinions.

As far as I know, that's pretty much it. There are other games that fit all those criteria, but they're not DND games. And I honestly think real time with active pause is a better system for DND games than turn-based.

[Psyren]

Temple of Elemental Evil (http://www.gog.com/game/the_temple_of_elemental_evil) fulfills almost all of those; not sure about the story aspect though.

Alternatively, check out the Avernum series. (http://www.gog.com/game/avernum_the_complete_saga) Much older, but definitely a true RPG with full customization, turn-based, great and sprawling plot, party-based or solo are both up to you.

[Starbuck_II]

Temple of Elemental Evil (http://www.gog.com/game/the_temple_of_elemental_evil) fulfills almost all of those; not sure about the story aspect though.


No, I think the story holds true.
Evil parties have the best story though I thought.

[KillianHawkeye]

Temple of Elemental Evil isn't the best game I ever played, but it certainly comes the closest to acting like a real game of D&D. I recommed that you at least give it a try. I'm pretty sure you can get it off GOG for pretty cheap.

[Aotrs Commander]

If you do, make sure you locate the community patches (Circle of Eight, I think it was), though, as retail ToEE was buggy and Atari wouldn't let them fix it. (At one point, the designer was taking the code home to do some of the fixes on this own time.)

[Grinner]

Actually, it's not exactly what's being asked for, but I think the Avernum suggestion is not out of place. I;ll second it.

Also by the same author, there's Avadon and Geneforge. Avadon is probably closer to the archetypal D&D experience (albeit it plays a bit like 4e), and Geneforge prides itself on allowing the player to determine the outcome of the game. Both place quite a bit of emphasis on the consequences of your actions, though*.

*In Geneforge 5, I tried to help a few travellers get through a bandit's tollgate. The bandit demanded that I pay for passage or face consequences. I chose the latter, and in the ensuing fight, a few of the travellers got killed.

I tried speaking to them afterwards. They wouldn't talk to me.

[Rawhide]

I'm looking for a single-player PC game that uses D&D rules, with the following requirements:

- Full character customization.
- I don't care which edition, but no real-time combat.
- Party-based or solo, either is fine.
- No first person camera, no sidescroller.
- It should be a true RPG and not just hack and slash.
- It can be text-only and 30 years old, but if there are any graphics they should be somewhat pretty.

So this pretty much excludes the usual suspects Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Dragon Age, Planescape: Torment, Diablo, Icewind Dale, The Elder Scrolls, etc.

Is there anything left at all?

The Baldur's Gate series is turn based but played out in real time. You can edit the options and choose all the times you wish for the game to auto-pause. One of these options is at the end of every combat round. You can turn just that on, or even more (such as as soon as a spell is cast), and get a very turn based game. You can pause at any time and issue commands while paused. Neverwinter Nights is similar in allowing you to pause and issue commands, though I believe it has less control over auto-pausing.

Other than that, Temple of Elemental Evil is the only true turn based D&D game I know about from recent times, and I didn't think it was all that great of a game, personally.

[Hawriel]

The Baldur's Gate series is turn based but played out in real time. You can edit the options and choose all the times you wish for the game to auto-pause. One of these options is at the end of every combat round. You can turn just that on, or even more (such as as soon as a spell is cast), and get a very turn based game. You can pause at any time and issue commands while paused. Neverwinter Nights is similar in allowing you to pause and issue commands, though I believe it has less control over auto-pausing.

Other than that, Temple of Elemental Evil is the only true turn based D&D game I know about from recent times, and I didn't think it was all that great of a game, personally.

Sadly Baldur's Gate was not mentioned first.

Baldur's Gate, the expansion, Baldur's Gate 2, Ice wind Dale, Ice Wind Dale 2, and the NWN series are right up your ally for a D&D game.

NWN two has an expansion that lets you use a full custom party.

As Rawhide stated the games by defalt have a realtime set up by defalt, but you can change that in the options menu.

edit
Baldur's Gate series, and Ice Wind Dale are 2nd ed, NWN 3rd ed.

[Mx.Silver]

There's also the much newer Temple of Elemental Evil, but I heard that game is not very good. People who actually played it can provide better opinions.


Depends on what you're looking for.
If you're hoping for a decent Tactical Turn-Based game it's going to be bad times all around. If you want to recreate early level 3rd edition D&D then it's supposed to be pretty near the mark (I wouldn't know).
Also, it's buggy and unstable. Really buggy and unstable. The fan mod/patch is almost required.

[Tengu_temp]

The Baldur's Gate series is turn based but played out in real time. You can edit the options and choose all the times you wish for the game to auto-pause. One of these options is at the end of every combat round. You can turn just that on, or even more (such as as soon as a spell is cast), and get a very turn based game. You can pause at any time and issue commands while paused. Neverwinter Nights is similar in allowing you to pause and issue commands, though I believe it has less control over auto-pausing.

Other than that, Temple of Elemental Evil is the only true turn based D&D game I know about from recent times, and I didn't think it was all that great of a game, personally.

Sadly Baldur's Gate was not mentioned first.

Baldur's Gate, the expansion, Baldur's Gate 2, Ice wind Dale, Ice Wind Dale 2, and the NWN series are right up your ally for a D&D game.

NWN two has an expansion that lets you use a full custom party.

As Rawhide stated the games by defalt have a realtime set up by defalt, but you can change that in the options menu.

edit
Baldur's Gate series, and Ice Wind Dale are 2nd ed, NWN 3rd ed.

OP said he's not looking for Baldur's Gate. And a real time game that pauses every 6 seconds is still real time - it's no different from you using the pause yourself.

I'm not sure why he doesn't want any real time games, but that's what he's asking for, so here we go.

[Rawhide]

OP said he's not looking for Baldur's Gate. And a real time game that pauses every 6 seconds is still real time - it's no different from you using the pause yourself.

I'm not sure why he doesn't want any real time games, but that's what he's asking for, so here we go.

I read his original post, saw what he said, and countered it. It is a turn based game wrapped with real time resolution, and I showed that you can reenable the turn based aspect of it.

[Cespenar]

Knights of the Chalice hits all of the marks, except maybe the hack and slash angle. I mean, there is a story, but it's in the Icewind Dale camp, rather than Baldur's Gate, to give an example. It's supposed to be a throwback to the Gold Box games, I think.

[Zubrowka74]

I'll third Avernum, though the graphics are more like the Pool of Radiance serie. Also I don't quite remember if the rules were truely D&D or not.

ToEE is the only "modern" turn based that I know of. Customization is really basic, the classes stop at level 10 and there are no PrCs. But you have all the combat option set in radial contextual menu, charge, 5-foot step, non-lethal damage, etc... This aspect is really well done.

Although it is in real time, I think the first NWN online with a persistent RPG-centered server was the closest I got to PnP. These were good times!

[Psyren]

Avernum doesn't follow D&D rules specifically - it's much more generic than that - but a lot of the same mechanics are there (armor class, hit points, initiative etc.) I'd say it's close enough, especially since the OP doesn't actually care about a specific edition of D&D.