Let's Play Neverwinter Nights 2

[2xSlick]

Here's the start of my first ever Let's Play that I've been working on in another forum. Come along on a magical adventure where I kill and steal my way to glory in Neverwinter Nights 2.

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Ignore the Mask of the Betrayer line. I've never made it through the main campaign and have no idea what happens in the expansion.

Part 1: Who Am I?
*Update* Now with spoiler tags, for that 56k goodness!


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Ah character creation. The cornerstone to any decent PC RPG. There are a dozen different races to choose from, each with their own rich cultures and histories. I of course choose human because I have no imagination and the Dwarven women don't have customizable mustache braids.

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Like most PC RPGs, this game includes a slider for width. Any time you see one of these, you can bet that all it does is increase the size of your character's breasts.

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That should do it.

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The next major challenge comes in selecting a hair style. For some reason, 80% of the women's choices are fiendishly ugly.

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Decent 'do in place, it's time to pick a class.

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The idea of whirling huge, flaming axes around and hacking everything in sight is a bit over-the-top. So I opt to just beat people to death with my fists. Monks are excellent unarmed fighters who deal (relatively) high damage and punch so hard they can stun their opponents. Unfortunately, they run around in their bathrobes donkey kicking everyone.

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So I choose a rogue. Cunning and charismatic, their main job consists of talking npc's out of their items and picking locks/traps. Combat consists of getting the drop on enemies and delivering a sneak attack. Basically I'm just going to sneak up behind everyone and kidney punch them to death. I'm like a ninja barfly.

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Like every other game with branching dialogue, the hilarious choices aren't meant for goodie-two shoes. Choosing Chaotic Neutral also gives me free reign to do whatever I want and still be considered “in character.”

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Picking a deity is the easiest choice in the game when one of them is the Goddess of Hedonism. Oh and hooray for cats, I guess.

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Stats are one of the most important parts of creating a character. Not only do they determine the basics such as chance to hit and how many skill points I get, certain feats require minimum stat scores. Since my punches do pathetically low damage, I'm going to have to rely on sneak attacks, fast talking, and the occasional magic wand to keep the heat off me.

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Next up is selecting skills. One of the perks of going rogue is that I have approximately eleventy thousand skill points to spend. Besides pouring ranks in the traditional thieving and stealth skills, I also put ranks into Bluff for talking with stupid people.

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Feats are what truly distinguish characters. Feats unlock special abilities, boost skills, and change the way your stats work. I select combat expertise, which is a requirement for better feats down the line and I pick up improved unarmed strike so I don't get murdered trying to punch someone. Finally, it's time to pick a name for my drunken brawler.

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God bless the random name generator. That generic background that's given does need a little work.

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That should do it. Picking a voice is also important. I cycle through the sound files until I hear a voice pack with bearable “pain” sounds as that's the sound I'll be hearing every 15 seconds. And with that, Dary Aers is finally ready to start the game!

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What, is this going to start with a flashback? I hate flashbacks.

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Well not quite. Say hello to Daeghun Farlong, a Wood Elf with a dark past that constantly rubs it in that I'm adopted.

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I just want to point out that the High Harvest Fair celebrates the almost total destruction of the town that occurred when I was a baby. Daeghun gives me my first quest: buy a magic bow at the fair.

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Welcome to West Harbor. A peaceful village that surely will come to no harm before the day is done.

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On my way to the fair, I bump into my two best friends.

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Amie Fern, apprentice to the wizard Tarmas and fellow orphan.

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Bevil Starling, member of the local militia. His father ran out on his family many years ago after losing a fist fight. I'm starting to detect a theme of absentee parenting. Am I in a Disney movie?
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Heading into town, the gang over hears a rather private conversation.

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Sounds like an advanced case of magical herpes to me. Orlen would have spotted it sooner if he hadn't spent so much time cultivating those mad pork chops. With that, Orlen sulks off. Hilariously, Bevil waves to Orlen as he walks off.

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With Orlen gone, Georg is now free to talk to me and my posse. That's not a typo either. His name is Georg (pronounced gay-orguh). I don't think there's anyone named Bill or John in this entire country. Georg gives us the scoop. The fair is actually a contest. Win 3 out of 4 events and become the town's champion. Win all 4 events and I'll earn a special prize.

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First stop: a street vendor selling booze.

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Unfortunately, the game designers take this opportunity to provide biting commentary on the consequences of underage drinking.

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Or not.

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I'm roleplaying a female male chauvinist.

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After a quick trip to the merchant for the magic bow I head to the talent show. One of the four events. The talent show is run by Bevil's mom.

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Damn, when did she give birth to Bevil? When she was eighty?

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The talent competition is a cinch since Amie is the only wizard's apprentice in town. Just casting a couple of spells is enough to impress these children. Hang on, who's that?

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He must of thought Amie would do her drunken pole dancing like last year.

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Amie completely bowls over the FPS audience by exploding a barrel and outright winning the talent show.

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Next we head over to Daeghun to give him is bow where he again mentions that my parents are dead. He's also in charge of the archery competition. Handing me a crossbow, he explains the rules and hey!

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Perv!

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The archery competition is statistically impossible to fail. All I have to do is shoot 7 out of ten bottles. And considering that the only way to miss is to roll a one out of twenty, I think I have this one in the bag.

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Damnit!

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Winning the event gets me my first level up.

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Now it's time to head over to the third event.

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Tarmas is the only wizard in town. Apparently he's got Sarcasm as a class skill.

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Normally a rogue character can easily breeze through this event but since I didn't put any ranks in the (almost) useless pick pocket skill I'll need to find a shadowy thug to compete in the event.

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This six-year-old is perfect for the job. Now let's hear that riddle.

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I have a riddle for you. What's dead and dead and dead all over?

I guess I'll go look for the stupid feathers.
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That log pile set off my spider sense. It's trapped. My uber trap picking skills have this situation under control.

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Great, I flub the first trap during the tutorial level and it decapitates me. At least the other two feathers aren't boobie-trapped.

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Kipp then proceeds to tickle the man's ass. Let's tell Tarmas the good news.

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Tarmas is awesome. With 3 out of 4 events won, I could call it quits, but I want the secret prize. The last event is the toughest. I need a quick rest before taking on the final challenge.

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A quick detour as I check out the hottest local band, Bards:Unplugged.

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Hey look at that old halfling hanging out with the kids. It's almost as if he thinks he's a

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... Oh. Try not to stare.

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The final event is a 3-on-3 brawl. I'm given a nerf club which I quickly toss aside.

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The first match goes by so quick I don't even have time for a screenshot. The final match is against the dreaded Mossfield brothers. They've won the event the last three years. Surely they will put up a good fight.

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Not really.

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Huzaah! As the victor of all four events, I get a free cloak and level up!

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I pick up weapon finesse as my feat. This will give me a huge boost to my chance to hit as long as I keep pumping my dexterity. It's time for the victory celebration.

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The townsfolk cheer me on in the time-honored tradition by playing air fiddle.

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I can't believe I finished the prologue and the village is still standing. Aren't hometowns always destroyed in fantasy novels?

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Of course.

Tune in next time for Part 2: Burning Village, Burning Villagers.

[loopy]

I'm roleplaying a female male chauvinist.

Favourite line, no question about it. Keep it up. :smallsmile:

[The Evil Thing]

This reminds me of a thread I saw on Deus Ex ages back on the SA forums. Good work so far; keep it up.

[Victor Thorian]

lovely work. and uh, great commentary.

[Dispozition]

Surprisingly enough, I want chapter two now...This is surprisingly good.

[The Orange Zergling]

I thought this would be a "Let's all get on a server together" thread, but I am pleasantly surprised. Nice job. :smallbiggrin:

[Victor Thorian]

is it irrational of me to start playing NWN2 now? even though I know the game isn't good and I hated the plot =[

[Morty]

I like it. Good to see you haven't overdone the sarcasm as many people who make such things do. I'm waiting for the next part. Also:


I can't believe I finished the prologue and the village is still standing. Aren't hometowns always destroyed in fantasy novels?

Yeah. If I was living in a village in a fantasy world and had the slightest suspicion that one of my neighbors is the protagonists of the book/game/movie, I'd get the hell away from there as fast as I can.

[Philistine]

is it irrational of me to start playing NWN2 now? even though I know the game isn't good and I hated the plot =[

Well, the official motto over at SA's Let's Play archive is, "We play these games so that you don't have to!"

And @2xSlick: A Rogue, with Unarmed Strike? That's gonna be... interesting... in the late game. Approximately all of your enemies in Act 3 are undead, and therefore immune to Sneak Attack. Many of them will have DR, too.

[Tengu_temp]

Much more amusing than the actual game.

[Red Machine D]

Much more amusing than the actual game.

Brewing tea is more interesting than NWN2.

[Victor Thorian]

Brewing tea is more interesting than NWN2.

getting drowned in elephant crap is more amusing and interesting than NWN2.

[DeathQuaker]

Small voice: But... but I like NWN2...:smallfrown:

(That said, nice Let's Play. If the pictures were slightly ensmallened* that would make the load a little better, however. :smallsmile:)

*That is too a word.

[Arioch]

Small voice: But... but I like NWN2...:smallfrown:

Me too! The expansion was a little disappointing but I really liked the main game. Any game that, when you try and grab a key in a fire, responds with "To your great surprise, the fire burns you." can't be all bad.

Except for Grobnar. Please do something appalling to Grobnar.

[Lorn]

^ The only reason I would even consider bringing Grobnar along on anything is if I knew the place would be trapped and I wanted a spare healer.

I'd make him run down the corridor in front of me making them all go BANG!

:smallbiggrin:

Plus, he has high Lore - I can get away with making him open obviously trapped chests too. Yay!



It's a good game, but easy to make something out of, as seen here. Quick question at the OP: Have you played the game through much or are you doing this completely from scratch?

[Archonic Energy]

The expansion was a little disappointing

i thought the XP was better than the OC...

on an unrelated note...
there's a new XP out soon... ish

[SmartAlec]

Funny thing about Grobnar. He's small and very annoying.

But he kicks ass.

Here's a little story for those who've played the game. I didn't let Grobnar come anywhere NEAR the front-line. Instead, I used him as a sort of mobile storage unit and general R2-D2, maxing out his craft skills and putting him to work arming the party with home-made magical weapons and armour. I didn't want to talk to him, that was for sure - the first encounter with the madman was enough to convince me of that.

During the siege of Crossroad Keep, however, I must have misclicked, because I ended up with Grobnar fighting with me at the gate. I cried, I despaired - the little gnome didn't even have a magic weapon! He was so weighed down with crafting junk, he couldn't move! I'd never used him in combat! We were doomed!

Then, he cast Greater Magic Weapon on a regular shortsword, pulled up a Haste, buffed his strength, began singing - and oh my god did he raise hell. Out-damaging Casavir, ripping through undead wraiths like they were just so much cotton, the little man did the party proud and that will forever be his Crowning Moment of Awesome.

Don't mess with Grobnar. Seriously.

It's just like the time Deekin managed to successfully cast Fear on Mephistopheles in the final battle of Hordes of the Underdark. Ruler of the Eighth level of Hell running around, scared witless by a tiny kobold. Underestimate vertically-challenged bards at your peril.

[Arioch]

I never actually fought Mephistopheles. The two times I played through Hordes I found out his true name and just told him to bugger off and/or die.

The incongruous thing about Deekin in NWN2 is that he is, at that point, one of the most powerful being in the city, if not the most powerful. After his adventures in the Underdark, he could comfortably defend a lot of Crossroad Keep on his own.

By the way, does anyone know what "the slip of the tongue that shows the chink in the armour" that Black Garius mk.2 refers to near the end is? I understood most of what he said, but I believe that is a reference to Grobnar, and as I never used Grobnar for more than one adventure (during which I agreed with everything he said and praised him sycophantically to make sure his rep was high enough that he wouldn't betray me) I don't know what it is.

[Inhuman Bot]

Good to know I'am not the only one who likes NwN 2...

[Myatar_Panwar]

Good to know I'am not the only one who likes NwN 2...

Seriously. By the way this thread started it looked like the game was considered to just be horrible... (when its not)

[Philistine]

By the way, does anyone know what "the slip of the tongue that shows the chink in the armour" that Black Garius mk.2 refers to near the end is? I understood most of what he said, but I believe that is a reference to Grobnar, and as I never used Grobnar for more than one adventure (during which I agreed with everything he said and praised him sycophantically to make sure his rep was high enough that he wouldn't betray me) I don't know what it is.

I believe that's referring to the fact that Bishop can take control of Construct away from Grobnar - this is set up by the cutscene at CK in which Bishop persuades Grobnar to share the access codes. This can be avoided if you have enough influence with either Bishop (to persuade him to walk away instead of fighting for Garius - this is an easy check), or Grobnar (I've never successfully managed this one, even when I used a walkthrough to hit all of his influence points, but it's supposed to work).

And I like NWN2 too, though I like the MotB campaign better.

[2xSlick]

I'm happy people seem to be enjoying the show so far. If anyone has any questions or what-not, post away. And while heaping praises are great for my ego, criticism is definitely encouraged.


Good to see you haven't overdone the sarcasm as many people who make such things do.

Sarcasm is a crutch I often fall back on. I'm trying to keep it to a minimum but it is something I think I use too often.


A Rogue, with Unarmed Strike? That's gonna be... interesting... in the late game.

Oh, I know what can of worms this opens up. But isn't the point of these things to watch one suffer?


If the pictures were slightly ensmallened* that would make the load a little better, however.

I wish I could make the photos smaller, but too many of my screenshots involve character dialogue that I don't want people squinting to see. And I think the word you're looking for is "lilliputian."


Have you played the game through much or are you doing this completely from scratch?

I'm currently up to part five, having successfully reached Neverwinter. I've been playing everything by ear though and write commentary only after finishing a session.


Please do something appalling to Grobnar.

I've never used Grobnar in a party, but he'll be replacing Neeskha after I finish up her quest line. We'll see just how much he annoys me before planning anything drastic.

A quick question, how do these forums handle embedded videos? Part 2 will be up after a quick message from our Sponsors.

[Mx.Silver]

Small voice: But... but I like NWN2...:smallfrown:

Don't worry, you aren't alone. I like it too, although I will admit the OC doesn't really get going until you get into Blacklake (which unfortunately takes quite a while). The trial was one of my favourite scenes in any CRPG though and the whole thing is miles ahead of the NWN1 OC *shudders*.


i thought the XP was better than the OC...
It is, the companions are a lot better developed and the plot is at a more agreeable pace. It really comes down to how you like the Spirit Eater mechanic though, if you don't mind it then the XP is great. If you find it an annoying hindrance then you aren't going to have a lot of fun.

[2xSlick]

Part 2: Burning Village, Burning Villagers



After Bevil’s bedside warning I hurry outside to speak with Georg, Captain of the local militia.

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The spell Enlarge Person boosts how much damage a character does for a short period of time. It’s perfect for any sort of melee character like Bevil or myself. Here you can see that Amie instead chose to cast it on herself for no damned good reason.

I talk to Georg hoping he has a plan for us (meaning me) to escape the massacre.

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Hah. If you want to stay and die, that’s your business. Who do you think is dumb enough to stay behind and defend this stupid village?

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You’re all doomed.

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In town I bump into one NPC who’s talking sense. He’s much too smart to help me defend the town so I try a different approach.

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I’m sure an unarmed villager with one HP will be of immense help in the coming battle.

The events that lead up to the final battle are minor.

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Homes are looted.

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Amie is killed.

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And militiamen are recruited. Nothing big.

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With the men rallied, it’s time to kick some ass.

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Or not.

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Luckily Daeghun and his Merry Men show up to save me.

I try to thank Daeghun but he’s PMS’ing like usual.

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One. Two. Six! Six corpses! Ah! Ah! Ah!

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*Gasp* Daeghun knows things?! Come on, they’re here looking for me. I’m the Chosen One.

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What? A shard? You mean I’m not important to the plot? I press Daeghun for more information.

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It’s like Daeghun made a bet with himself that he could work in my dead mother into every conversation he has with me. And there hasn’t been one mention of my father yet. I’m thinking he ran off years ago to become a mime and no one speaks of him out of bitter shame.

Bevil and I head off into the swamp to find the shard.

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Oh come on. You’re the one carrying a sword and wearing chain mail. I’ve got a cloak.

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When I’m in stealth mode, the enemies usually can’t see me until I attack.

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Usually.

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Level 4 baby! Now my hiding should actually do something. Continuing on I find a tomb.

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Only 61 more levels and that door is as good as opened. Luckily there’s another tomb nearby.

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Oh, a mysterious stalker. A mysterious girl stalker. I like where this is going.

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Once inside the tomb I notice that it is at least 40 times larger on the inside than on the outside. The poor lighting in here is going to play hell on my screenshots.

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That’s better.

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Oh crap. More Lizardmen inside. There’s only one thing to do.

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I can not believed that worked.

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The last thing a dozen Lizardmen see before the cold embrace of death is a brightly burning torch floating towards them.

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I eventually make my way to the final room. I’m sure the shard is in there. I can hear muffled voices on the other side of the door.

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Lizardmen are stupid. And how do we deal with stupid?

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I even bluffed the camera into thinking I was made of stone.
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I’m actually surprised that the actual Stone God doesn’t appear right now and smite me with a boulder.


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Shard in hand, Bevil and I return to Daeghun. It’s here that I find out that Daeghun is just as happy to dump on Bevil.

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Bevil’s the Boromir in this Fellowship. After Bevil runs away crying Deaghun does his best to move the plot along as vaguely as possible. He drones on about some guy named The King of Shadows that is probably unimportant when he lets a real shocker slip.

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The fact that I have to ask this question just shows that Daeghun is a giant butt head. I don’t think he can do or say anything to top that.
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Words fail me.

I click on Daeghun several times but it doesn’t let me attack him. He tells me to head to Neverwinter with the shard and visit my Not-Uncle Duncan. As I leave, he tells to keep my quest secret and that Bevil won’t be joining me.

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Daeghun’s a big, smelly poo poo head if he thinks I’m not going to try to recruit as many adventurers as possible for this quest. The first thing I need to find is a new meat shield. Someone to take the enemy head on so that I can flank them. And what better place to find big dumb people that like to fight than the local bar?

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Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner! Khelgar is a phenomenal fighter that takes pride in beating people. The fact that he represents every single Dwarven stereotype is a bonus. Surprisingly, he has the greatest amount of character development of all the companions and in general is a blast to be around. Khelgar will be sticking around for a long time.

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On our way to Fort Locke, Khelgar and I are attacked by several corrupt guards who accuse us of being bandits not one hundred yards from where I murdered a merchant in a robbery-gone-wrong.

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Say hello to my second companion, Neeskha. A fellow rogue, I’ll still keep her around for her interesting commentary and her knack for acquiring other people‘s belongings. She’s like Mission from KotOR but in a good mood. Unfortunately her strong independence and cheerful personality means there’s no way in hell she’s romance-able. Guess I’m stuck with fan fiction involving her and the silver shard.

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With a spring in their step and a smile on their faces, the gang skips merrily into Fort Locke.

Stay tuned for Part 3: The Horrors of Fort Locke.

[Mx.Silver]

Say hello to my second companion, Neeskha. A fellow rogue, I’ll still keep her around for her interesting commentary and her knack for acquiring other people‘s belongings. She’s like Mission from KotOR but in a good mood. Unfortunately her strong independence and cheerful personality means there’s no way in hell she’s romance-able. Guess I’m stuck with fan fiction involving her and the silver shard.

Yeah, I never quite understood that. The fact that a fair bit of her dialogue (if you're playing as a male) suggests that's she's into you just makes it more puzzling.

[Inhuman Bot]

Awesome, keep up the good work! I'am looking forward to part 3.

[DeathQuaker]

Yeah, I never quite understood that. The fact that a fair bit of her dialogue (if you're playing as a male) suggests that's she's into you just makes it more puzzling.

You get some of that dialogue if you're a female too. You should've heard Elanee AND Neeshka when I bought the Farmgirl that painting. (And that was the one possession I was pissed off about losing in the beginning of MotB.)

true about "cheerful and independent." I'm not sure what's up with Bioware AND Obsidian both thinking that the only good romance is with someone who either insults you constantly or mopes all the time. (Yes, I know Obsidian are the devs of this alone, but the stuff they've worked together with Bioware and Bioware's similar material all seems to fall along the same lines.) God forbid we try to have a fun time with someone who's emotionally well adjusted. Where's the fun in that??

Yay for Khelgar and Neeshka. Having played a rogue also, it's fun to pair up with her and sneak attack the world to death.

[Lorn]

On Neeshka:

I read on somewhere that she was going to be a secondary romance option for male PCs, but the option was never coded in.
Same with Bishop - he was another romance option for females, apparently.
The actual romance choices are:
Elanee and Casavir. Male characters, be nice to Elanee, trust me :smallwink:

[konfeta]

It has more to do with the idea that the game is incomplete as hell. They cut out more content than they put in the first expansion.

[Dallas-Dakota]

I liked NWN 2.


But please, spoilers?

[SolkaTruesilver]

This is a Let's Play! He is going to spoil the whole game to a level you cannot even imagine!

[Victor Thorian]

this is on the train to Wintown!

[DarknessLord]

I hear you on Neeshka.
My main game, I'm female, and I'm a lawful evil sorcerer.
For those of you who don't remember Lawful evil is sometimes referred to (including in game) as "dominator", so, here I am, starting my game with that in mind, playing a rookie who at this point isn't world wise enough to keep her evil on the dl cause it will cause needless problems, I save Neeshka, because I think she'll be useful (okay, really because I can tell she'll be a party member, and I'm still VERY squishy at this point, I need anyone I can get.), then this lovely dialouge option comes up.
"I saved your life, now I own you." to which she gives a semi-submissive reply where she expresses her dislike of the idea, but doesn't come close to saying no.

My character and I both found our our new favorite NPC...

Also, early part two spoiler...
I was honestly very disappointed she didn't show up pre-trial, considering how much I'd been upping influence with her... I ended up getting Sand and Bishop, Bishop makes sense considering if his romance path was programed in, there's a good chance of me having had been going down it. But SAND? I think I may have said "oh, good job there" a few times, and did the trial myself (if that mattered).

Does anyone know the mechanics behind it? Could I as a Lawful Evil girl (or anyone) gotten a Neeshka scene there at all? Or could it have been that Bishop was too high, and sand is auto-matic?

[Raiser Blade]

I liked NWN 2.


But please, spoilers?

Sorry but the 6 month rule is in effect here. If you don't want spoilers don't come to a thread about playing the game.

[Dispozition]

Keep this coming. Quite a few very funny moments, especially the silvershard fanfic one >.>

[Dallas-Dakota]

Sorry but the 6 month rule is in effect here. If you don't want spoilers don't come to a thread about playing the game.
Ow ok.
It's just that with spoilers the page loads faster for me for some reason.

And me likeys fast internet connection.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Ow ok.
It's just that with spoilers the page loads faster for me for some reason.

And me likeys fast internet connection.

Wiza cheezburger?

[Zid]

This is much more fun than I actually had playing the game. I found it tedious and exceedingly easy, even with a Paladin2/sorcerer4/EK X. Buffing up took forever!

[Selrahc]

Does anyone know the mechanics behind it? Could I as a Lawful Evil girl (or anyone) gotten a Neeshka scene there at all? Or could it have been that Bishop was too high, and sand is auto-matic?

I'm pretty sure that if you play a male then either Neeshka/Elanee come instead of Bishop/Casavir.

With Sand I think it is either Sand or Qara. So if you were mildly nice to Sand you probably had better influence with him than with crazy Qara.

[Mx.Silver]

I'm pretty sure that if you play a male then either Neeshka/Elanee come instead of Bishop/Casavir.
Yeah, that's pretty much it.


With Sand I think it is either Sand or Qara. So if you were mildly nice to Sand you probably had better influence with him than with crazy Qara.
It wouldn't surprise me. They're an oppositional pair and this effects just abut every major decision involving both of them, especially at the end.

[DarknessLord]

*tries to imagine Qara in the scene, brain explodes*
That would make sense why Sand is there, then.
I ignored Qara for the most part, considering her class was the same as mine, she's mildly annoying, and I like fire too, so our spells would double up.

But I guess my character's boobs betrayed me for Neeshka in that scene....
Knew I should have downloaded the bisexual mod when I had the chance, I only didn't cause the two kept love interests both are lame, Pally with a troubled past, and annoying druid chick, who I dropped out of my party as soon as a cleric showed up, no thank you.
But then again, I could have been a female "ladies man" then (or a male flirt), and that would have been fun!

[Prophaniti]

Sorry but the 6 month rule is in effect here. If you don't want spoilers don't come to a thread about playing the game.
I think you missunderstand. He means put the pictures in spoilers, not that he's worried about spoiling the plot.

I second that whole heartedly, please put them in spoilers. This is pretty funny, though, keep it up.

[Dallas-Dakota]

I think you missunderstand. He means put the pictures in spoilers, not that he's worried about spoiling the plot.

Indeed I did.

....

....

What....

Yay! Somebody that understands me!

[Inhuman Bot]

Are you planning on doing the whole game, eventually? or only part of it?

[2xSlick]

Not only would adding spoiler tags to all the pictures screw up the flow, copy pasting for 50+ pictures gets old fast. I will however put everything in one massive spoiler so everyone can read the comments and whatnot without having to wait around for a bit.

I do plan to do the whole game if possible.

*Note* I'm having trouble with my internet connection. If some of the pictures or link don't work, let me know.

Part 3: The Horrors of Fort Locke

[spoiler]Upon arriving inside the fort, I'm immediately questioned about the disappearance of a local

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I just want to point out that one of my choices is to say no and another choice is to lie and say no.

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I plead the fifth.

Unfortunately for me, everyone else here wants me to go on a quest for them.

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The military must be grossly incompetent.

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Instead of being compassionate and helpful, I decide to blow out of town.

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Apparently the words fantasy and peripheral vision are mutually exclusive.

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The DM takes offense to me skipping his stupid quests and bars my path with a pack of overpowered enemies.

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The evil Dwarves are dumbfounded by the sight of the mysterious stalker running downhill while on fire.

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With the help of a new companion, we're barely able to fight off the Dwarves. After the fight, I don't even have time to heal or rest up before the new girl starts spewing forth cryptic garbage.

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Seriously, what the hell is she talking about?

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Unlike Khelgar and Neeskha who I was happy to let in on my secret quest, Elanee knows what I'm up to and forcefully joins up with the group. She even makes us go on another stupid side quest, lamely calling it a “shortcut.”

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Throughout the entire game, Elanee's mouth remains open. This is not a bug.

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We then spend the next several hours wandering through the woods.

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Eventually Elanee just gives up and declares this place to be the spot.

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Who didn't see that coming?

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Elanee claims that something must have happened to the wolves to cause them to attack us. Silly me, but I was under the impression that packs of wolves attacking people lost in the wilderness to be S.O.P. Maybe if we can figure out what spooked all the animals, Elanee will tone it down a notch.

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Hey guys I think I figured out what was scaring the animals.

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Guys?

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GAH!!!

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Before dying, the creature helpfully points out that he is in fact not a bear, but a druid. Glad that's cleared up.

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Once we reach level 5, Elanee gains the ability wild shape.

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Now we'll have our own giant bear!

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You've got to be kidding me.

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It's obvious that we'll need to level up a bit more before we can continue with the main quest. So the choice comes down to either the graveyard or the bandit camp. Both are extremely annoying so of course I'll have to visit both of them.

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I am completely not shocked to discover the graveyard crawling with skeletons and zombies. What does shock me is that my glorious sneak attack, the source of all my damage, does not work against the undead.

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Let's see how they hold up to magic.

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Ha ha ha ha! Who has the last laugh now, bitches?

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Actually the undead get the last laugh. Not only do the skeletons give me a ridiculous 7 XP per kill (I need 5,000 to level), but the zombies managed to disease just about everyone, sending our stats plummeting. I hate them.

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Journeying beneath the graveyard, I discover the source of the undead activity.

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We'll see about that.

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With the necromancer slain, I manage to save Fort Locke's original commander.

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Heading back to the fort, the second-in-command confronts us. Apparently I was supposed to return with the commander's corpse. Semantics.

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Returning to his post, the commander rewards me by sending me on a quest to stop the local bandits. That brings the total up to three people at this stupid fort who want me to stop the bandits. I'm not a soldier!

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Arriving at the bandit camp, I notice that it's at least twice the size of Fort Locke and has at least 4 times the number of guards. No wonder they sent my dumb ass to stop them. The bandits are extremely annoying. 90% of them are rogues and as such, they can all sneak attack with bows. Just turning my back to them for a second could be fatal. I'll need to bring the guards one-by-one if I'm to save the prisoners. Unfortunately, before I even make it to the outer wall, I somehow trigger a cutscene.

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What?

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Damn.

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I rush in to the camp to try to save the prisoners,.

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Most of them die anyways.

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A fact the head prison rubs in my face. Maybe if you'd have held your horses old man all your friends would still be alive. Neeskha then has a little fit.

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I want to make sure everyone's on the same page. The stealthy rogue that has just quaffed a potion of invisibility is complaining that no one noticed her. Unbelievable.

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Speaking with the bandit leader, I ask him to turn himself in.

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I can't believe you're doing this either. Now that I've convinced everyone to be nice, I head back Fort Locke to collect all those rewards.

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That wasn't my fault!

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Finally, Fort Lock is done! Time to head over to Highcliff and catch a boat to Neverwinter.

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Once I arrive in town I notice an argument between a sea captain and the local harbormaster.

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I know you're thinking what could possibly go wrong, right? Well I'll tell you. How about the worst excuse for voice acting in a non-skippable cutscene that I have ever heard. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dECMJhEw5mE

Ugh, the way he lisps “looks like those Lizardfolks” just makes me want to jab my eardrums with a couple of pencils. The 30 seconds filled with exciting boat sinking and bubble blowing is just the icing on the cake. This spot right here is where I usually lose all interest in playing this game. But I promise to soldier on. Will you?

Tune in next time for Part 4: This Was No Boating Accident!

[SurlySeraph]

This is excellent so far. Keep going!

[2xSlick]

Part 4: This Was No Boating Accident!

When we last left our warriors, they casually observed a ship sinking.

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Good to know all those sailors made it back to shore safely.

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With the harbor full of only sunken ships, I make my way to the nearside town of Cliffport or Highport, or maybe it's Highcliff. When a nearby farm is more important plotwise than the large town, I tend to forget some of the tertiary information.

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What I do remember is these four nincompoops.

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One of the (supposedly) hilarious themes throughout the game is that since I'm from a swamp, I smell like a rotten deer carcass that's bloated in the summer heat. This game is rated Mature, ladies and gentlemen. This is highbrow stuff.

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I can't fault Khelgar for his quick response though. Suffice to say the four go down faster than a free falling whale and a bowl of petunias. The rest of the villagers do their NPC thing and dump stupid quests on me such as:

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Rescuing some unkillable children.

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“Taking care” of the Lizardfolk.

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Finding a deadbeat dad.

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And finally, locating some guy's Gucci handbag.

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My first stop is to visit Shandra's farm.

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Shandra is a bit miffed that the Lizardfolk are all over the place, just waiting to strike. As soon as she tells me where they're coming from, the Lizardfolk begin their terror tactics.

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I'd like to point out during the ten seconds it takes for the Lizardfolk to run by, I'm powerless to even speak. Never seen a game railroad me into being an ass before.

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Shandra strips down for a roll in the hay ashes.

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Not wanting to interrupt her, the gang slinks off to the local ruins.

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Willam has decided he'd rather live in a field surrounded by wolves and Lizardfolk than go home to his wife and child. Smart. But what should we tell the missus?

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Even I'm not mean enough to go through with this.

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With a simple death threat, I convice William to return to his homely wife. Another saved marriage.

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Just off the beathen path, I spot two children being hounded by a pack of wolves. If only we knew someone with a connection to nature that could speak to animals...

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Thanks, Elanee.

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For some reason saving the invincible tykes results in everyone getting sentimental. Time to put a stop to it.

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Having finally made it to the ruins, I find not only Lizardfolk, but more undead as well!

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Overcome with despair, I kiss my own ass goodbye.

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Thankfully it turns out, the Lizardman is none other than Slaan. Everybody loves Slaan! Actually no one does because he's always talking in the third person and smells like sour milk.

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Teaming up with The Slaan will end this quest faster, but I'm not looking forward to fighting more undead.

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Luckily, I find a nice surprise on the ground. Ninja gloves! Let's see how much they boost my boxing skills.

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Oh it's on now.

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The guy with a tummy ache is my next victim, but the talking ghost is important. Actually the ghost is really a hologram. His name is Lord Garius, Master of the Fifth Tower. He serves The King of Shadows who destroyed my hometown when I was a baby. Is he my father?

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Before disappearing, Garius proves he's evil by completely ruining the ending to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

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There's almost enough zombies on screen for a Thriller reference.

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With the dead now dead dead, it's time to beg the Lizardfolk to stop sinking the ships.

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I really hate the camera angle on this cut scene. Citizen Kane this ain't.

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Completely surrounded by Lizardfolk, it's time for diplomacy.

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While it would be funny to just end the conversation right here, spending the next half hour killing Lizardfolk would not.

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Thankfully a bluff check lets me end this quest now. Or at least after the party has spoken their minds. As usual, I get a kick out of Khelgar's comment.

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I love the fact that the fifteen or so Lizardfolk within earshot pay no heed to the Dwarf casually discussing massacring the reptiles.

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As soon as the conversation ends, I'm warped back to town.

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As you can clearly see, the game makers are evil and tried to hide this guy so I couldn't get the quest reward.

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Speaking with the village elder, I tell him the lizards will leave him alone. And there was much rejoicing.

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Back at the docks, the villagers come to wave goodbye give me quest rewards like:

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A magic necklace!

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A levelup!

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Magic armor!

Note after boarding the ship to Neverwinter (finally) I'm subjected to four loading screens and three cutscenes. It seems that the game designers forgot to mention anything about the main story of the game before now so they just spew the player with cutscenes of unnamed baddies that make no sense until much later. I'll give you the Reader's Digest version.

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Don't kiss this guy.

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Neverwinter docks, as seen through Neeskha's hair.

Woohoo, after all that we've finally reached Neverwinter! Tune in next time for Part Five: Blood, Sweat, and Beers

[Dallas-Dakota]

Thenks.
Page 2 loads much faster now, especially compared to the unspoilered page one.

[Inhuman Bot]

:smallbiggrin: Another awesome installment. Keep up the good work!

[Spiryt]

Seriously, this scene with Lizardmen looked like parody of the genre. I don't know who cam up with that. :smallbiggrin:

[DeathQuaker]

I LOVE Neeshka mocking Elanee there. :smallbiggrin:

Loved the Elanee zotting the wolves as her nature loving druid self.

....

Does anyone actually take Elanee seriously? :smallsmile:

[SurlySeraph]

Does anyone actually take Elanee seriously? :smallsmile:

Elanee does. :smallbiggrin:

[El_Frenchie]

I'm loving this commentary. And I agree with the voice and animation of the guy that spots the ship sinking. It's terrible. I can't say I dislike the other voices of the game however, I find them appropriate, if not very good most of the time. Sand's voice, Khelgar's voice, Neeshka, they're all really good, and they have the best lines as well. Bishop works too.

But anyway, I've finished the game several times already, but apparently I've still am missing out on certain parts of the game by never playing a female. Might have to try that out sometime soon. :smallwink:

[DarknessLord]

Yeah, I think with how I handled that children's quest I managed to lose influence with Elanee, and STILL get her to tell me I would make a good mother...

I'm also loving this commentary, are you planning on doing Mask of the Betrayer after you beat the main game?

[Cybren]

the whole influence thing was dumb because i'm a "completist" gamer. I will just reload and do it again to get more influence. Or if i can't not lose influence with one party member, just bring another.

[DarknessLord]

What I think was dumb was that it told you.
The idea behind it is something I love, I really like it when your party members develop opinions about you based on what you do and stuff, but yeah, when I lost influence, I would re-load sometimes too.
Really, I think you should get a good idea based on how they react, and maybe an [influence: failure] message still so you know to ask later, but telling you when you gain or lose influence just seems stupid to me, because it kills immersion and causes reactions like it did with you and I.

[El_Frenchie]

Speaking of which, I'm getting the distinct impression that once you try an influence check on someone, it's pretty much over if you fail it, and there's no way to continue that character's progression path. I failed my influence check talking to Khelgar about the monk path.

Is everything lost?

[SmartAlec]

No.

Usually, you're right; influence checks, you get one chance. Khelgar's quest is different. Don't worry.

[DeathQuaker]

Speaking of which, I'm getting the distinct impression that once you try an influence check on someone, it's pretty much over if you fail it, and there's no way to continue that character's progression path. I failed my influence check talking to Khelgar about the monk path.

Is everything lost?


Khelgar is going to take you awhile to do, trust me, and generally, for all NPCs, as long as the dialogue tree remains there for you to access to get to that check, you will be able to make that check again later. (I've played in the toolset enough to know that the way stuff like that works, it rerolls/rechecks every time.)

I like the idea of influence, but particularly in the OC, I found you gained and lost influence at odd times, and often it was more the NPCs influencing YOU (so you letting Neeshka getting away with stealing, rather than you earning Neeshka's trust through other ways and then being able to talk her out of stealing WITHOUT her resenting it).

It was handled better overall in Mask of the Betrayer, though Gann's influence path was another, "Okay, I have to let you do stupid things if I want you to like me."

[DarknessLord]

I understand what you're saying there, but I also get the logic behind it.
You let Neeshka steal she thinks "This person knows what's up." and therefore trusts your decisions and suggestions later on.

However I also agree that you should be able to gain (maybe even more) influence for convincing Neeshka it's a good idea NOT to steal, for the "I didn't think of that, this person's pretty smart". However, I think that if you actually exert influence, she wouldn't be upset by it, because she trusts your judgment, but you haven't convinced her to trust you more, (unless something happens later to prove you right)....

For an example (no, this isn't trying to be in character), spoiler'd for length.

Neeshka: "Ooooh... Shiny! Lets take it."
-1. "Ooooh... It IS shiny, let's go for it!"
--Neeshka: "Yes! Score!"
---Influence +1, get shiny thing
-2. No, we better not, even if it is REALLY shiny.
--Influence Check
---[Influence: Success] Neeshka: "Oh, alright, I trust you."
---[Influence: Failure] Neeshka: "What why?"
----Influence -1
-----1. Succeed at convincing her.
------Neeshka: "Oh, that makes sense!"
-------Influence +3 (one to make up for what you lost, and two more because she can tell you have better judgment then her)
-----2. Don't Succeed at convincing her.
------Neeshka: "Fine, whatever"
-----3. Give in to her
------Neeshka: "Yes! Score!"
-------Influence +1, get shiny thing


I haven't played Mask yet, it's better like that then?

[2xSlick]

Sorry for the delay. Let's play!

Part Five: Blood, Sweat and Beers


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Welcome to Neverwinter! It only took five updates to reach the place. Time to locate my estranged Uncle Duncan and find out about this monster-baiting silver shard dangling around my neck.

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To my great astonishment, I find Duncan's bar in fifteen seconds. I guess they got tired of tossing Dwarves in my path.

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And so continues the trend of mentors withholding information. Jeez.

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Big D hands over the second shard without hesitation. I didn't even have to beg him for it. Time to track down Sand, the local wizard, to see if he can tell me something about the shards.

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Before I can make it out the door, Sand pops his head in to say hello. It's nice for the plot to unfold without me running all over the place for once.

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I thought running gags were supposed to be funny.

Sand better do a damn good job explaining why these shards are so important or I'm going to set him on fire.

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Shazzlefraz! Could this be animated any poorer? How do they expect anyone to take this game seriously after witnessing this? Jeez. Fine, Sand just take me to someone who can explain these McGuffins.

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The moose out front should have told me.

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Blacklake is a gated community for all the rich and powerful merchants and mages. I love asking Sand why he doesn't live there. Any bets on what I have to do to get in?

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Ding, ding, ding! I win.

Now it's time for the only part of the game where we can stray off the linear path. I can either join the local police force, saving all manner of poor beggars while working my way up the ranks on the off chance that I'm asked to help with the Blacklake investigation...

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Or I could join Moire's gang, robbing all manner of poor beggars while working my way up the ranks on the off chance that I'm asked to help with the Blacklake infiltration.

Honestly, same quests just different dialogue. If you join the Watch, you do get the option to accept payoffs and bribes. Unfortunately, if you join the gang, the only options you have are to rob from people while they're breathing or after they stop.

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Caleb is the local recruiter for Moire's gang. The fact that this is fairly common knowledge means not joining the Watch is a very smart move.

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Finding Caleb is a cinch. Do I even need to mention that he's hanging out less than a stone's throw from the local Watch precinct?

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Maybe I can just talk my way into Blacklake instead of doing a half dozen quests.

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Of course not. Notice how it just says “failure?” If the option was actually legitimate, the game would have rolled a dice to see if my bluff was successful. None of the dialogue choices actually work. Why even give me the choices if they don't do anything?

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One of the benefits of being a henchman is that I get to practice my euphemisms.

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Caleb's not impressed. Oh well, time to find a local shop owner and warn him of the dangers of a calcium deficiency.

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I pause outside of the shop. Just thinking of doing something bad nets me one evil point.

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Word of advice to any store owners out there. If someone tells you they are there to extort protection money from you, don't tell them how great business has been.

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One of the many things I hate about the social options in the game is how lame bluff is. I can bluff someone into thinking I'm a living God but I can't bluff that I'll burn down his shop? And to pour salt on my woulds, why the hell does intimidate get two choices?

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As a bit of counterbalance, it is impossible to fail any of these intimidation checks. Time to visit Caleb and split the money.

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Things are starting to look up when someone gives a shout...

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This brings me to one of the biggest flaws in the game. Hundreds of times throughout the game enemies will have a chat with you before attacking. This means that thieves like me are unable to sneak with enemies watching and we get ganked pretty easily. Thankfully, I'll solve this little problem in a few levels. Druids get it the worst though as any dialogue zaps them out of their wildshape and back to normal, essentially making druids that focus on shape changing mostly useless.

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During that bit of explanation, Khelgar mowed through the good guys like a morbidly obese man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

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Tail firmly between his legs, Caleb flees to let me take the heat from Moire.

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Heading over to Moire, I take a gander at the local blacksmith.

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Neeskha proves herself useful...

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by snagging this. This is the most powerful weapon up to this point. Besides Khelgar, Elanee is the only character who can use it. Just another subtle hint by the game makers that Elanee is supposed to be “Teh Awesome.”

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After not giving Elanee the new sword, Neeskha runs into an old enemy.

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Yeouch. A not-so-subtle racial slur.

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I give him fair warning...

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before turning him into a sparkling bag.

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The chance to turn more people into sparkling bags is too great to pass up.

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I like this bit of dialogue. Neeskha manages to say thanks without coming off as clingy.

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Elanee of course manages to kill the mood by spewing forth more words. Tick me off again and I'm going to quote Commando. Let's just go and ask Moire to let me in Blacklake.

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What a surprise. That didn't work. Can I just kill random people?

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That works.

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After her little speech I take the time to unlock Moire's treasure chest while she looks on.

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Ka-ching.

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Sweeping the docks consists of running around to four different spots throughout the Docks and talking to the sergeant in charge. The first post is having some trouble with Luskans. Luskans are the typical entirely evil empire that's just down the road, hellbent on destroying Neverwinter. They're the D&D equivalent of Canadians.

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Talking things out has the usual outcome.

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The next guard posts allows me to exercise my silver tongue.

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I would proudly point out the chance to use bluff here if the same exact option wasn't listed underneath without any kind of skill check. Bogus.

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Just outside of Duncan's bar, some mages prepare for a cat fight.

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Ugh, Johnny Storm would think twice about using a pun that bad. Say hi to Quara, the Sorceress.

Duncan pleads with me to stop the fight so his bar doesn't burn down.

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What a wonderful philosophy. That's up there with “Pain don't hurt.”

One fireball later, Quara apologizes to Duncan for damaging the bar.

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Wow, Duncan just forced a fire-spewing sorceress to work as a bar wench. He's definitely got a few levels in Badass. Quara heads into the bar with Duncan. I'll be seeing more of her and a lot less of Elanee shortly.

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The third guard post houses the most naïve man in the universe.

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On the way to the final guard post, I notice a wolf in one of the side alleys.

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Elanee takes the opportunity to show off her superior intelligence of all things furry. It's here where I start Elanee's subquest to discover what happened to all of the other druids. It leads to some cool areas and a few good items.

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But I'd have to put up with her.

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Truly my favorite comeback. That was almost worth putting up with her green ass for the last six hours. I should check to make sure its dead.

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Yep.

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Oh goodie, another chance to not use bluff. Bluff is like taking a true/false test and writing “sure” next to all the questions.

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With the last of the guards in my pocket and my hands covered in druid's blood, I head back to Moire to deliver the good news.

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I half-heartedly ask her to let me in to Blacklake.

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Jeez, is it even possible to get into Blacklake? This is getting out of hand. You want me to do another quest for you? The stick and carrot routine only goes so far. Especially when you beat me with the carrot.

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You know what, nevermind. I'd love to do this quest.

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It will be nice to finally put my torch to good use. If only I could get past these guards.

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That was easy. But how am I supposed to set fire to a stone building?

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Oh that's right. Someone was kind enough to park flammable wagons all around the Watch headquarters. I bet it was the same guy who stacks exploding barrels all over the place in every first person shooter.

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Don't worry, those are just the Christmas lights.

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Woohoo! Another update done. Hey Moire, can I get in now?

Tune in next time for Part 6: Blacklake Bard. Still!

[Philistine]

Nice!

I think my favorite moment was "They're the D&D equivalent of Canadians."

[DeathQuaker]

Well done!!

I feel sorry for the wolf. He shouldn't have had to die just because Elanee's annoying. :smalltongue: But OTOH, anything to get Elanee to shut up, I guess. (Though actually, I hated Qara more. Elanee was pedantic and delusional. Qara was STUPID and delusional and too arrogant for a relatively low level character with a d4 hit die.)

BTW, the "Failure" indicates a check was made.... you can script for a static Skill rank to exist rather than a die roll. If that's the case, you won't see the numbers.

Mind, it might have been "check for skill rank greater than 90" but it was probably there.

[DarknessLord]

Wonderful, as always, I'm glad you picked Morie's path, even if they are mostly the same quests, as that's my normal pick.
The glowing bag line was classic!

[RelentlessImp]

As has been said before by others in this thread, reading this is much more fun than playing through the OC. I laughed myself silly when you killed the druid. "Not anymore" indeed. (I'm not mean enough to do that, so I commend you on it.)

Keep up the great work~

[Douglas]

I take it you'll be killing Elanee in act 3. Or will you just let her go and be glad you don't have to deal with her any more?

[DeathQuaker]

I take it you'll be killing Elanee in act 3. Or will you just let her go and be glad you don't have to deal with her any more?


I could be remembering this wrong, but I think you actually have to take the Sky Mirror quest to then get to the part where you can kill Elanee later.

So, if I have it right, since the Sky Mirror quest has been avoided by killing the wolf, Elanee will be forced to live through the whole game. Hm.

[Douglas]

No, I just checked a walkthrough and the Skymirror is the only part of Elanee's stuff that killing the wolf makes unavailable. Daeghun finds the Circle of the Mere at the start of Act 3 regardless. I'm not sure whether actually going there is mandatory or not, though. Even if it isn't you could just declare that your intent in going there in the first place was always to kill those annoying druids rather than seeking the alliance you're officially supposed to be trying to get, and then it would fit with the established character of this play through.

[Cybren]

I have to agree that whole "let's start a fight and turn off all your invisibility/polymorphs" pissed me off this much

[2xSlick]

It's that time again.

Part 6: Blacklack Bard. Still!

Let's see now. Where did I leave off last time?

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Oh right, I'd just burned down the Watch's headquarters so I could wow Moire and her gang into sneaking me into the Blacklake district so I could talk to a mage about these two shards that I'm carrying which cause spikey-skinned people to attack me on sight because my foster father thought it would be a good idea for me to go on a year-long quest while he stayed home and tended to the wounded. Still with me? Hang in there, it'll get much more convoluted later on. For now, I'll just go ask Moire if I could pretty please get into Blacklake with sugar on top.

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Survey says...

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I think at this point it would be easier to find both ends of a rainbow.

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And here I was thinking that Moire's Gang was run by, well, Moire.

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Woah, your boss is this guy?
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/axel3.jpg
Sweet.

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I guess we head for the Merchant Quarter.

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Oh look, more guys with swords.

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This whole conversation doesn't allow any sort of diplomacy checks or what not. Once again, I'm given several dialogue choices that don't do diddly changing the outcome.


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These guys are a total pushover. But if I have to stop and talk to a band of ruffians before killing them in every level, this review will never get done.

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Luckily, Neeskha has a plan to steal Leldon's lucky coin. Hey, I'm all for any quest where I get to rob someone. What's not to like?

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Jeez, again with the stupid Druids. I broke that quest line intentionally. Even good-tempered Neeskha's had it with her prattling.

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That'll keep Elanee quiet for at least eight minutes.

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The Merchant Quarter is a bit of a misnomer seeing how the place only has two merchants.

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Fans of the first Neverwinter Nights will recognize Deekin, the Kobold. I just can't shake the feeling I've seen that face somewhere before.

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I hear he can do stupid things.

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Deekin's prices are intolerable. Even offering him some winged potatoes isn't enough to net me a discount.

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Except for the five-fingered kind.

At this point it would be a good idea to do as many of the side quests as possible. The quest Axle gives is the toughest so far. The difficulty curve is about to shoot up and a couple of level ups would go a long way towards keeping me alive.

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My plan is to work my way around the map counter-clockwise, doing all the quests until I stumble upon Axel's home.

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The plan immediately backfires when the first house I click on is Axle's.

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Oh well, might as well go with the flow. Maybe ya'll will enjoy watching me sweat.

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Let's talk with Axle and find out what it takes to get into Blacklake.

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Most of the story in this game is told through in-game cutscenes. This can lead to some interesting moments like this conversation where everyone is looking in completely different directions.

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Looks like someone else was killed in Blacklake. I guess this means they've double locked it. Axel accuses me of having something to do with the murder but I'm too busy being creeped out by that huge poster of Ben Stiller in Dodgeball.

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Do you accept Visa? No? Well, I'm pretty good with a torch.

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Okay, okay. Don't have an aneurysm.

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So after going into a huge spiel about being careful and not making a scene, you want me to bring in a wagon full of weapons. Do you have any idea what I would do with a wagon full of weapons?

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On my way to escort the shipment, I'm treated to a cutscene.

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Don't forget to bow to your King.

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Or the royal high-five. This must be important.

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Well that was helpful. I never would have guessed the Watch would be after the thieves who burned down their headquarters.

After that redundant cutscene I'm whisked away to another cutscene.

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Wow this is the worst costume in the game. A baby blue top adorned with goose feathers, a plaid/snow camouflage skirt, and a choker. That kind of ensemble doesn't just happen, you've got to work at wearing something that bad. The seven foot tall dude with a forehead tattoo wearing a wolf pelt and three belts looks modest by comparison.

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It's the return of the evil hologram! At least he has a name now. I recognize that name. Lorne's the name of my best childhood friend, whose name I forgot. Not the one who died. The other one. Bevis, I think.

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I think this is supposed to be foreshadowing but why? The only areas outside the city I can visit are the one's with quests anyway.

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Whew, almost there. Just ten more feet...

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Argh, another one?!

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This feels like a Cingular commercial.

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A fair performance, but it needs something to bring it home.

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Overcome by the corniness of that line, the thug leaves the kid alone.

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This good dead cancels out a good thirty or forty of my previous murders.

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I want to know which genius wrote “Smuggled Weapons Cart” on the side of our wagon. The Watch is going to be all over us like bears on porridge. At least we'll be taking the back way to Moire's warehouse.

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Truly, I must have kicked Fate in the groin in a past life. Why the heck can't we just go another way or something?

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The alley is crawling with roving gangs of thugs. Most groups consist of one or two mages, a couple of dual wielding thieves (that love to get behind you and sneak attack), and an archer or two.

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The first set of Watchmen. Just act natural and let me do the talking, Elanee.

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Maybe none of them can read.

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Darn, let's see how I bluff my way out of this one.

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Oh come on! This is the perfect time to bluff. Can't I just say they're early Christmas presents for the orphanage? At least I have a high charisma, which boosts all my social skills.

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Great, now as soon as I click continue I'm going to have four fighters all over me. At least Elanee buffs her self up before they attack. Never seen the companions do that before.

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Wait, where are you going? Who are you killing?

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Free level up! Thanks guys. Glad I could help.

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Now that the gang is all here, we easily beat down those four guards.

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Perfect. Now that I'm level eight, it's time for a little something extra. Technically Shadowdancer is only half right. They can't dance.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z320.jpg
What they can do is grant you one of the cheesiest abilities in the game. Let's take it out for a test drive.

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Muhahahaha! This is awesome!

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I bet that stings!

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Uh oh. A huge problem with playing a rogue is that a sneak attack will only half kill someone. Most rogue characters solve this problem by dual wielding. Unfortunately, I can't dual wield my fists so I'm forced to appear behind someone, strike once, disappear, reappear somewhere else and punch someone else. I'm like Nightcrawler in slow motion.

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That's a lot of Watchmen up ahead. Elanee says she's got an idea.

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Are you stoned? That's not your idea. Burning stuff is my idea. In fact, I did that idea this morning.

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Then again, setting fire to something is always a good idea.

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Up ahead, some thugs I can talk to. The problem is, are these the thugs I work with or the thugs I've been killing for the last ten minutes?

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You and what army?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z332.jpg
That ain't so bad.

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That is.

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Yes, killing scores of men just comes natural to us.

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The supervisor invites me into the warehouse to pay me when Khelgar makes a listen check.

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Everyone, run around and panic wildly!

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This part is brutal.

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Watchmen are all over the place. Every group of them has two clerics in the back. They constantly cast silence, which prevents Elanee from casting her own spells.

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Low on spells and health, we seem to be making headway.

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That is, until another six or eight come pouring out of an adjacent room. Caught between two groups, we're all knocked unconscious.

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Well almost all. Luckily, Neeskha missed the fight. One of the Clerics cursed her. The weight of her gear is too much for her to move quickly.

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If I can sneak her close enough, everyone will wake up.

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Abort! Abort!

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No! Don't die! This is still the first Act!

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Oh wow. Turns out, some of those guys were thugs. The good guys. Barely pulled that one off.

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3 hp? Pfft, 2 more than I need.

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After killing the 90 or so Watchmen, it's time to loot some of these crates.

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Um, Khelgar, why don't you grab this crate.

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I'll carry this wand.

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Oh come on! It weighs ounces!

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The supervisor is so happy I stopped the raid, he sells me some of the better weapons. The only thing that catches my eye are these gloves.

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And that shiny sword in his pocket.

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And that giant pile of gold. With all that taken care of, it's time to tell Axle his weapons are safe.

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But not before another cutscene.

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These little kid thieves really get around.

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These two guys are decent folk. They just want their money back and to have the Watch find her a home. But where's the fun in that?

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This doesn't work if you're a dwarf.

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Another child back on the streets. Yay!

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The Lawful Evil pen pusher isn't too thrilled that I killed nearly everyone on the East side of town.

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Old Owl Well? That's where Lorne is! Saving the emissary scores Axle 50 political points, which he thinks he can cash in to officially own the Docks. If I can find the emissary, I'll be one step away from finally getting into Blacklake.

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Just outside of town, I meet a truly bizarre little man.

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Grobnar is one insane little bugger. What ever you do, don't ask him to tell you a story.

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I love Grobnar's little introduction. Bards are my favorite class to play. All the melee classes just use power attack the whole game (which gets a bit boring), all the mages spend too much time casting buffs so they don't die from a paper cut, and ya'll have seen how much trouble I have with rogues. Bards are competent fighters, can whistle magical tunes, and can cast spells. They never get old. Welcome to the group, Grobbie!

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z370.jpg

Stay tuned for Part 7: Orcs Vs Dorks!

[DarknessLord]

Love it, as always.

Thank you for reminding me about Neeshka telling Elaine off! It made my day.

Ugh, I HATED the weapons shipment mission, Somehow I always ended up tripping like three encounters at once and just getting swarmed...

I'm surprised you didn't have Neeshka light everything on fire instead.

[tyckspoon]

The only thing that makes me disagree with your assessment of NWN2's bards is the default AI for them. They're always trying to buff you with other songs and inspirations- which turns off the one you actually want. Just use Curse Song once and then leave Inspire Courage on, thank you! And since the only party member who behaves at all intelligently on default AI is Khelgar (since he has no advanced options to screw up..) It gets very obnoxious trying to hand-control every single spellcaster.

As well as the Paladin you get later, who will Smite every threatening rock he sees and cast all two of his buff spells on sighting a tree, and be mostly like a weaker and more annoying Khelgar otherwise. Or the Warlock who never uses the correct invocation, essence, or shape. The Ranger's not too bad, aside from running out of arrows roughly every thirty seconds if you let him go ranged. Gods I hate the AI routines. :smallmad:

[DeathQuaker]

I was *just* playing through this quest (and got myself thoroughly killed by the attack in the warehouse, which got me stuck when I was playing through as watch too). ARGH! Some how it's much more enjoyable this way.

It's one of the worst designed quests in the whole game, IMHO... should be a test of stealth and you're fighting every single thug who exists in Neverwinter.

W/ party AI, I find it's a good idea to leave their puppet mode off, but for complicated fights, to turn off Ability Usage and Combat Modes.

Even those these things have improved in patches since the original release, I find they do turn on odd things at odd times.

This way they'll fight and defend themselves, but you can still instruct them what abilities (like bard buffs) to use and they won't counter your orders.

In simpler fights, it's usually okay to leave stuff like the combat modes on--one less thing to worry about. But combat modes are where the Bard Buffs are, so definitely leave it off for Grobnar.

[potatocubed]

Wait, Elanee suggests making a fire? When I played through that part of the game I had Qara on my team, and she makes a proper fire as a distraction. Muohohoho. :smalltongue:

[The Evil Thing]

This good dead cancels out a good thirty or forty of my previous murders.
Pun/typo intended?

[MrEdwardNigma]

Wait, Elanee suggests making a fire? When I played through that part of the game I had Qara on my team, and she makes a proper fire as a distraction. Muohohoho. :smalltongue:
Yeah, that's what happened for me too. I guess the makers hadn't thought of you not having her on your team and gave Elanee the option to burn something down instead, which doesn't make any sense at all.

[tyckspoon]

Yeah, that's what happened for me too. I guess the makers hadn't thought of you not having her on your team and gave Elanee the option to burn something down instead, which doesn't make any sense at all.

Neeshka will suggest it as well. I don't know how the game decides which takes priority if you happen to have all three of them around.. I think Neeshka and/or Elanee speaks up with their plan for a more controlled fire if you tell Qara something like "That's a good idea, but I'd rather not burn down the entire quarter."

[2xSlick]

Pun/typo intended?

Although I pride myself with including as many non-terrible puns as possible, that was a typo. It's staying like that though. :smallsmile:

[loopy]

2xSlick, don't make me find you. I'm itching for another slice of NWN, without the pain of actually *playing* the game. :smalltongue:

[2xSlick]

First off, this update is a bit leaner than I'd like. I've been working on a video review of Crisis:Warhead but didn't want to go another week without an update.

Part 7: Orcs VS Dorks!

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With Grobnar relieving Neeskha, the gang arrives at Old Owl Well. Karina is my contact from Moire's (Axle's?) Gang.

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Asking someone who they are is pretty dumb in a game where everyone's name floats above their heads.

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You didn't have to rub it in, though.

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Unfortunately, I don't know who or what an emissary is. Luckily though, if it's here in OOW it shouldn't take more than a couple minutes to find it here in camp.

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I should have saw that coming. I'm sure you folks at home saw that coming. Could you at least give me a hint on where he is?

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Wow, what a complete waste of time. Why didn't Axle just give me the forged documents and tell me to talk to the guy in charge? You've just wasted fourty-seven seconds of my life.

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Like all good Dwarves, Callum is gruffy as hell.

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Oh goodie, another social test.

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You know, I'm starting to think that I would have just as much luck talking to people if I had the Charisma of a Cave Troll with halitosis and the intelligence of a hammer. If only there was some way to earn his trust. Like another side quest.

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Oh thank God. Something I'm good at!

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I'm not sure, but I think I have my head stuffed up this Orc's rectum.

With the Orcs dead, it's time to wait for Callum's best scout to return with news of the emissary.

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Ugh, the voice acting on the Scout is atrocious. I'll spare everyone by not including a video clip of him speaking. If you want an idea of what his voice sounds like, imagine the sound a muskrat makes when you stuff him into a blender and press puree.

The scout says the emissary was taken by Orcs. Duh. Duh! DUH! We're in a mountain range surrounded by Orcs! If someone goes missing around here, they probably weren't taken by giant-headed pixies!

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To make this whole situation even more pain inducing, Callum just randomly spouts out the name of one of the tribes for you to find. Why couldn't the scout have just shrieked that he'd found an Orc tribal banner or something? Wait a minute, what was that name again?

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Come on, Grobbie, you know this one. It starts out “fe, fi, fo, fum.”

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Ugh, time to wander around the mountains for weeks on end.

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Eventually I run into these guys.

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Says one of the three bearded midgets. Sorry, I forgot that midget is offensive now. They're Dwarves. Khelgar's a midget too. I bet they're all related.

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I love it when prejudices are completely justified.

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I'm really interested to see what a bugbear looks like. They can't look dumber than an owlbear.

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This guy's a real hoot.

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http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z403.jpg
Hmm, the chance to kill (and loot) some six-legged bears as well as the chance to raid an ancient Dwarven treasury? Who wouldn't want that?

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That was a rhetorical question. Seriously, why are you complaining now? You complained when I killed that giant bear in the forest. You complained when I killed that wolf in the city. And now you are complaining when I threaten to kill some kind of magical bear in the mountains! What gives?! Grobbie, cheer me up. You want to kill bears, too. Right?

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http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z406.jpg
Thanks, Grobbie.

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Khelgar, I'm going to let that slide because you're my friend (and not because you could kill me in one hit).

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Time to go all Dora the Explorer on these mountains.

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¿qué demonios?


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I'll say again, what the hell? I think a more fitting name would have been cave Klingon.

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You see Red XIII here? Grobnar made him. Not the Druid.

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Elanee made that.

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Eventually I stumble upon the best piece of loot yet.

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A lute! It's able to cast spells daily. No need to worry about wasting charges. I could give this to Grobnar, but with so many ranks in Use Magic Device...

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I wanna rock!

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Too bad I can't actually play it.

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My air guitar is pretty killer, though.

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These bugbears are all over the place. Maybe I can sneak past them.

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Or I could just let Khelgar destroy them.

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There's the entrance to the clan hall. Time to test out my leet lute.

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It works!

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While exploring the place, we stumble on the toughest puzzle, yet.

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http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z425.jpg
It's a lever, how complicated can it be?

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So what could a lever positioned 10 feet from a locked door do?

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Grobbie, just open the door.

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No loss if it was.

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Inside the room I find some spiffy guantlets.

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http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z443.jpg
That does sound powerful. And there's a magical hammer to go with it? Just how good are these gloves?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z444.jpg
That's it? Something's wrong with this equation. 3 Strength=10 men? I hate exaggerations. They're worse small pox. If we ever find the matching hammer, Khelgar, I'll let you get first dibs on any dragons we run into.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z445.jpg

Stay tuned for Part 8: Gork and Mork!

[Estelindis]

I'm really enjoying your take on the game! It's great to revisit the plot and your comments are really funny. Thanks for continuing to update it! :smallsmile:

[DeathQuaker]

Hm. I just played through the Old Owl Well and didn't get the Ironfist quest. (I do remember getting it on my last playthrough). I'm pretty sure I had Khelgar with me, too. Yay, bugs and the OC!!!

And having just played through this, I think this series of quests are probably my least favorite in the game... except for the one that comes after it of course. Forgot how irritating this Act can be.

[DarknessLord]

I'm fairly certain you have to go to a certain area on the world map to get the quest, which opens up around this time...

You don't encounter it as part of the same quest.

Great, as always.

[Om]

At some point along the OC (I have no idea at what time) the 'Dwarven Scouts' location will appear on the world map. Naturally there is no notice given as to when this is available and if you didn't know beforehand there's an excellent chance you could miss the quest

[hobbes543]

This thread is making me seriously consider buying this game... Too bad I don't have time to play it right now... Maybe after this semester is over.

[Breltar]

This thread is making me seriously consider buying this game... Too bad I don't have time to play it right now... Maybe after this semester is over.

Wait until the 'Storm of Zehir' expansion is out. It is supposed to be a lot of fun with low level content.

[hobbes543]

Wait until the 'Storm of Zehir' expansion is out. It is supposed to be a lot of fun with low level content.

As I said, I'm not going to have time really until mid December when this semester ends, so no point in spending the money now anyways.

[Om]

As I said, I'm not going to have time really until mid December when this semester ends, so no point in spending the money now anyways.Even if I tell you that, while the OC is extremely lacklustre, the Mask of the Betrayer expansion is a fantastic roleplaying experience? :smallwink:

[Estelindis]

I actually enjoyed them both. :smallsmile: The OC is more fun as a shiny roleplaying experience (and the Trial and Keep "mini-games" are awesome), and MotB is more enjoyable in a PS:T-like existentially-challenging way.

[hobbes543]

Even if I tell you that, while the OC is extremely lacklustre, the Mask of the Betrayer expansion is a fantastic roleplaying experience? :smallwink:

Yes, I unfortunately have a large design project that I have to do this semester and it is the sole grade in a six credit course... And is required for graduation.

[Myatar_Panwar]

I actually enjoyed them both. :smallsmile: The OC is more fun as a shiny roleplaying experience (and the Trial and Keep "mini-games" are awesome), and MotB is more enjoyable in a PS:T-like existentially-challenging way.

Yeah I think the OC is alright as well. I'd be interested to hear why people despise it so much. Speaking of which...


2xSlick, don't make me find you. I'm itching for another slice of NWN, without the pain of actually *playing* the game.

This confuses me. If you don't like the game, and even refer to it as painful, then why on earth would you have the itch to experience it? Is NWN2 a drug or something? Would explain the love/hate response it seems to dig up.

[Flickerdart]

I recently tried installing the game again to play the Chaotic side (first go I had a Monk with ludicrously high AC) but it won't run on this laptop. How convenient that's exactly what this LP is doing!

On another note, if you page-up/page-down between dialogue screens, you can make it look like the characters are dancing...or in Axle's case, having a seizure.

[DarknessLord]

This confuses me. If you don't like the game, and even refer to it as painful, then why on earth would you have the itch to experience it? Is NWN2 a drug or something? Would explain the love/hate response it seems to dig up.

Well, one thought is, that he only has access to a computer that can't really play it, causing the game to be so laggy and slow while the game is fun it is almost painful to play it, despite how fun the game itself is.
That's actually my situation right now, hopefully the computer I plan on building, will make it much easier.

But then again I only can speak for myself, there could be any number of reasons why he feels that way...

[loopy]

Well, one thought is, that he only has access to a computer that can't really play it, causing the game to be so laggy and slow while the game is fun it is almost painful to play it, despite how fun the game itself is.
That's actually my situation right now, hopefully the computer I plan on building, will make it much easier.

But then again I only can speak for myself, there could be any number of reasons why he feels that way...

Pretty much, yeah. Getting a new PC next month though, should be awesome. :smallbiggrin:

[Almn]

This is amazing.

[Om]

Yeah I think the OC is alright as well. I'd be interested to hear why people despise it so muchI found it bland uninteresting and, uniquely for an RPG, overly long. The companions were forgettable at best (irritating at worst) and the writing failed to sparkle. By biggest complaint however is probably the plot - it looks like Obsidian once again tried to make a game that was bigger and better than the BioWare original and so they crammed factions, personalities, and locations into a story that only needed half as many actors. The result was something of a mess

[Breltar]

Even if I tell you that, while the OC is extremely lacklustre, the Mask of the Betrayer expansion is a fantastic roleplaying experience? :smallwink:

I thought the opposite.

I found MOTB to be more about stats and 'epicness' than RP and the OC had a more enjoyable storyline.

[DeathQuaker]

I enjoyed the OC overall, but I found it slow and a little frustrating through the first chapter or so (which I think is where a lot of people who hate the game give up). As I said before, the quests for... oh, right about now, I found extremely frustrating more than fun. I think largely, basically everything before you get into Blacklake is not well-done--the whole Watch/ShadowThieves thing feels like a series of mandatory sidequests--lots of fetch this and kill that and even the game seems half-assed at explaining to you why you need to do these things. What makes it worse are several quests (in particular, the Weapons Smuggling/Back Alley scene and Fihelis's estate) which TELL you you need to try to be sneaky turn into giant hackfests no matter what you try (which is especially frustrating when you're playing a rogue or other stealthy character and you have people catching and attacking you even when you're basically silent and invisible. Can we say horrid railroading?).

I'd've been happier just meeting Casavir and Grobnar in the Inn, maybe doing ONE or TWO small things to either help the Watch or the Thieves, and then get on with it. Especially since once you get past that point, it is actually fun. The trial's great--whether you let Sand go to it or use your own skills to sway people--and I love all the stuff you get to do with Crossroads Keep (it's like Suikoden, except you don't need to collect all 108 to win :smallsmile:). It's like at that point the game becomes a real story and everything else up to it was just fluff to get you leveled to where they wanted you to be for the later challenges in the game.

MOTB I felt was generally more solid in the general laying out of quests, and that everything felt more "of a piece".

Where "Mask" excels where the OC doesn't though, is largely, IMO with the NPCs. Safiya, Gann, Okku, One of Many, Kaelyn--though a smaller group they were much more fleshed out with conversations that changed as time went on (it's really sad in the OC when all you can do with Casavir is ask him about the Old Freaking Owl Well even toward the end of the game--and he's supposed to be a love interest!). And a smaller group of NPCs may in fact have been a key--fewer people meant more time could be invested in each one to give them better back stories and conversation trees. Mechanically, they also dramatically fixed how influence worked and gave you a lot more opportunities to gain (and lose) influence so that a single off-hand comment didn't cost you the loyalty of a character, which was the case with some of the OC companions.

[JMobius]

I can agree with anyone not liking Act I of the OC. I tried it probably 4-5 times before I finally managed to get all the way through it. Once you actually get into Blacklake, the game picks up a bit, and after the trial (given that the result of the trial is apparently meaningless, it didn't interest me much) it really starts to shine.

Then it starts to suck again as soon as Act III starts. Oh well.

I really, really liked MOTB all the way through, though. To add on to what DeathQuaker said, the influence system worked really well with the more fleshed out NPCs. All of the companions from the OC (save for Jerro) were bland and pretty much iconic sterotypes. In MOTB, they felt much more real. The characters seemed less petty and demanding overall in regard to influence, and it no longer felt like the score was a measurement of their influence over you.

[Crow]

I didn't really like MotB. The Spirit-Hunger thing pissed me off more than anything, adding yet another bar I needed to manage. I ended up getting as much regen items as I could and sleeping as little as possible. If you were a spellcaster in my party, you were screwed.

I was also frustrated by the extreme difficulty of some of the battles. Luckily, my weapon master was critting like crazy on whirlwind attacks, which helped a lot. Many of my friends, playing less twinked-out characters, had a disgustingly difficult time. Anyone ever try to play through MotB with a Bard/Duelist? Holy crap. I know it's not the best combo, but how is any old person who picks up the game supposed to know that. Not everyone can invest multiple goes through a game to find the right character. They are just going to pick what sounds cool for the most part.

[JMobius]

That's not a problem unique to MotB though, it's an issue with D&D (and most derivative systems) -- 'trap builds' are abundant, and you really can't orient the difficulty toward a denominator that low.

As for the spirit bar, I liked it, even though I and most of my party were casters. It was nice to actually see a story-focused game mechanic, and a decidedly interesting one at that.

[DeathQuaker]

I played a Fighter/Rogue/Duelist/Invisible Blade through MOTB and apart from the difficulty at the beginning, it wasn't too bad. A Bard/Duelist would also have some trouble early on (but fortunately in the parts where you're free to rest) but wise use of Bard Songs and buffs should be helpful... and by GOD the roleplaying would be fun... all those skill points to put into lore and bluff and diplomacy and taunt....

It would be harder and require more strategy, but definitely doable. I want to try that now. Let's see if I'll eat my words. (Maybe if X2Slick doesn't do an LP MOTB, I should try my hand at it....:smalltongue:)

I want to finish my "Imoen Reborn" through MOTB first.... Rogue/Wizard/Arcane Trickster/Arcane Scholar of Candlekeep.... she's proving to be quite fun so far. I'm finding I have to make her competent at melee though with all the casters in the group, but now that I have Okku, that's much less of an issue.

Spirit Hunger thing requires work to handle, but personally I really enjoyed the challenge---especially after spamming rest can make the original campaign so easy. (We'll see how I feel about it after playing a wizard).

I know one key thing about playing at least Good-ish characters is...

Go early to the Shadow Plane after getting the Spirit Hunger Bar to get the ability that allows you to fill your bar when attacking Undead. Both Shadow Mulsantir and the Sunken City are FULL of undead.... just move carefully to provoke them when you're hungry. Shadow Mulsantir is especially helpful this way... every time you disturb an offering urn--of which there are MANY--you summon some undead. So don't disturb them all at once, just go there when you're hungry and summon yourself some dinner. It also nets you some nice XP and treasure in the meantime.... and you have to conquer that area anyway to get to the endgame so it's not like you're going back to an otherwise useless area.

[Douglas]

If you're going the suppression route with spirit hunger, it's actually rather trivial to manage the spirit energy bar. Suppress gives more spirit energy if you do it with spirits nearby and, as one of the loading screen tips tells you, elementals count as spirits. Some of the Summon Monster spells summon elementals. Two of your companions are capable of casting Summon Monster and a third is a spirit himself. With just those three spirits that you can produce out of the party's own resources regardless of your own build, Suppress produces more spirit energy than you lose by resting once you have minimum craving, and you will have minimum craving rather quickly if you keep using Suppress.

As for the difficulty of the fights, my single classed Warlock had no trouble at all.

[DeathQuaker]

If you're going the suppression route with spirit hunger, it's actually rather trivial to manage the spirit energy bar. Suppress gives more spirit energy if you do it with spirits nearby and, as one of the loading screen tips tells you, elementals count as spirits. Some of the Summon Monster spells summon elementals. Two of your companions are capable of casting Summon Monster and a third is a spirit himself.


This is a very good tactic, in fact, to use in the Ashenwood. There's spirits and elementals everywhere.


Just make sure there isn't a reason you don't want to use Devour Spirit the day you use this. (Sometimes even the Suppressors might want a Spirit Essence or two to craft with....)

[TakeV]

If you really, really don't feel like managing the spirit bar, I noticed a glitch that you could exploit. Every time you travel, the game considers you to have rested, but doesn't drain your spirit bar. This resets the use of suppress and devour.

However, I rather liked the spirit bar. Never found it to be much trouble, and I was a pure caster. :P
It's not like you lose the entire bar in five minutes...

[The Evil Thing]

If you really, really don't feel like managing the spirit bar, I noticed a glitch that you could exploit. Every time you travel, the game considers you to have rested, but doesn't drain your spirit bar. This resets the use of suppress and devour.
Strange... I'm sure that the opposite happened when I played the game. :smallconfused:

[Douglas]

If you really, really don't feel like managing the spirit bar, I noticed a glitch that you could exploit. Every time you travel, the game considers you to have rested, but doesn't drain your spirit bar. This resets the use of suppress and devour.
Not quite. Almost any travel does reset daily uses as if resting, but it does charge spirit energy depending on your craving and how far you travel. It's just that some of the trips that give automatic rest are considerably shorter than actually resting is. Long distance travel won't work very well for this, but bouncing back and forth between two nearby locations can allow you to "rest" with greatly reduced spirit energy cost.

[Om]

Not quite. Almost any travel does reset daily uses as if resting, but it does charge spirit energy depending on your craving and how far you travel. It's just that some of the trips that give automatic rest are considerably shorter than actually resting is. Long distance travel won't work very well for this, but bouncing back and forth between two nearby locations can allow you to "rest" with greatly reduced spirit energy cost.Specifically, travelling from Mulsantir Gate to Mulsantir (via the world map of course) takes no time at all (thus no spirit cost) yet resets your abilities

I have to admit indulging in this once or twice as I wasn't all that fond of the spirit mechanism. Its a great concept but I just don't like being rushed through a game

[Selrahc]

*Bump before necromancy is needed*

You still "lets play"ing this dude?

[ocato]

This thread makes me want to play NWN2 now. However, I'd have to either steal my for realsies computer back from my dad or upgrade the graphics card on my laptop... and I don't even know if that is possible.

[Flickerdart]

I restarted MotB with a single-class Human Warlock. Man, those guys pack some punch at later levels...Safya usually dies in a few rounds from incompetence, but this guy just stands there with AC30 and mad DR, and lays down the smackdown with Eldritch Doom. He was swarmed by Erinyes in the Veil, and I didn't even need Fiendish Resilience to survive. Dark One's Own Luck, Beguiling Influence and Leaps and Bounds provide awesome 24 hour buffs, too. And I think Warlocks are full BAB...a dip for those three isn't a bad way to go.

[DarknessLord]

Well, while I hope this gets started back up, I'm thinking of getting in on the fun and starting a LP on these forums of my own. The reason why I'm posting it here is because it's going to be Baldur's Gate (one, and then two eventually) and you guys have been so much fun, I figured I'd let you all generate my character, I'd prefer to avoid alignments that will get me slaughtered by the guards, but hey, it's up to you guys.

Once again, I look forward to more LP of Nwn2.

[Flickerdart]

Hm. I have Planescape: Torment lying around...that game would be so much fun to LP. But do I have the time?

[Sequinox]

I realize that this is totally off topic, but how exactly did you get the classes like favoured soul and spirit shaman? Mask of the betrayer?

[Estelindis]

I realize that this is totally off topic, but how exactly did you get the classes like favoured soul and spirit shaman? Mask of the betrayer?
Yes. Mask of the Betrayer adds them.

[Flickerdart]

Yes. Mask of the Betrayer adds them.
There's a mod to unlock some MotB-only classes with just the OC, apparently they're there but unfinished in some ways. It should be on NWNVault somwehere.

Also, if anyone can find a mod that unlocks Lizardman, Hagspawn and Half-celestial as playable races, could you throw it my way? Slaan, Gann and Kaelyn are already statted out, so the race template has to exist somewhere in the files.

[Estelindis]

On the first point, you may be thinking of some player-made class packs (there are a few of these on the Vault, one of which even includes a class that won't be released officially until the *next* expansion pack, Storm of Zehir).

I'm sure there's a way of unlocking other player races on the Vault somewhere - but, no offence, its search function is *really* easy to use. If I was going to try to find out for you, I'd be doing nothing different from what you'd have to do to find out (i.e. a very quick search).

[Flickerdart]

On the first point, you may be thinking of some player-made class packs (there are a few of these on the Vault, one of which even includes a class that won't be released officially until the *next* expansion pack, Storm of Zehir).

I'm sure there's a way of unlocking other player races on the Vault somewhere - but, no offence, its search function is *really* easy to use. If I was going to try to find out for you, I'd be doing nothing different from what you'd have to do to find out (i.e. a very quick search).
I think I looked through all of it, actually. XD But Humans are better than everything, anyways.

[Pyro]

In general, how is NWN2? I'm itching to play 3.5e computer RPG and it's the only one out, disregarding NWN.

Note I didn't like NWN. I felt while 3D was nice, the environments were flat and blocky. Having a party limit of 2 was also painful. You could have a healer, but skimp on important thieving skills. Furthermore I preferred the light strategic element of coordinating a party. To me, controlling only your own character seems like pressing an attack button over to win.

So how is it different? Improved? Worse? Is the inventory system different? What do you think of the plot?

[TakeV]

NWN was pretty bad, admittedly. The expansions were much better, but they still have the technical problems that you have mentioned.

NWN2 is vastly improved on most of those aspects, though. The graphics, models, and areas are far more fluid and organic looking.
The amount of companions you can have at once depends on the module that you are playing. The original, official campaign, you tend to control 3-5 at once. Mask of the Betrayer lets you control three at a time, but there are four companions.
You can also take direct control over each one. There is even an option to turn off the AI, so that you control absolutely everything. This can get a bit chaotic towards the end of the official campaign, because everyone of your companions are in your party for the final fight. It's a good fight, though.
Inventory hasn't changed, really. There is an auto-sort, which is nice.
Plot wise, the official campaign is kind of meh. It needed a few more months of development time. Act 1 is quite boring, and consists of you running errands for everyone and their grandmother. You even win a damn war, and they will not give you what you want. :smallfurious:
Act II is the best, in my opinion. Starts more interesting than act I, ends with an awesome series of events, and you also get to take control over a fortress.
Act III is between I and II in terms of quality, with one of the most painful final dungeons I've ever had to play. Especially if you are a caster. :smallmad:
Over all, the official campaign is alright. Not terrible, but could have done better. Just another "save the world" plot.

The expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, on the other hand, was much, much better. Interesting plot, interesting setting, very well fleshed out characters. The only thing that I know of, which might ruin the game, is a new mechanic introduced in Act II. I personally enjoyed it, but I know that some people gave up when it came about.
Funny thing, Act III > Act II > Act I. So, yeah, the expansion just gets better as you go along.
Plus, I hear that you can play a classy evil character, rather than the dog kicking chaotic stupid that most games offer you.

Most like the expansion better than the original campaign. Some don't, but your millage may vary.

A few problems with both modules, though. One is that the enemy placement tends to be badly thought out, and pretty powerful. Two is that you can expect just about everything to be both locked and trapped. Not bad if you are a rogue, or you have Neeshka in the original, or the red wizard from the expansion, but it can get annoying. Also, the game could be coded better, so expect some bugs and crashes.

[DarknessLord]

Act III is between I and II in terms of quality, with one of the most painful final dungeons I've ever had to play. Especially if you are a caster. :smallmad:


Personally, I LOVED act 3, the only reason act II beats it in my mind is the end scene of it. Also, I was a caster, and I didn't think the the final dungeon was that hard, compared to the rest of the game, (I did take the elderic knight class, on one hand I have more hit die, on the other hand I lost a caster level), I think the annoying thing about it is that they introduce, "Oh your rest can get interrupted" just for that dungeon, but it was fine. The only other hard part was spoiler:[They kidnap your one rogue, and it's filled with traps].
But then again, the reason I think I liked act 3 was that everything came together, and my personal character development (which I will admit, was all me, but the game really helped it along) really shown through, although that leads me to my biggest beef with the ending.

My main, in case you haven't read it elsewhere, was lawful evil, the final dialogue actually changed based on that, which was cool, but then it came to the point where the King o' Shadows brought up whole, "Oh these people are just tools to you." thing about being lawful evil, then my party defends me, which is cool until I see my dialogue options were just thus:
1. Oh, really? But what if it's true?
2. Oh yes, you are all tools.
3. [lie] No, they are important to me. (Note that you don't use bluff for this, I also put all my convo ranks in bluff)
4. I'm done talking.

So, the game basically told me that because my character was Lawful Evil, she couldn't actually care about her friends, or at least a few of them, which not only bugged the crap out of my character development (I just attacked the KoS and ignored those other options like I do the other non-in character options) but defied some of it's own precedent of not making you play one alignment even when the situation is very strongly aligned, right in what could have been an epic "f you" speech to that stereo-type.

[TakeV]

The official campaign loves to do stuff like that. In act 2, for instance,
Even if you win the trial, you still have to do the trial. And if you want to play a sane evil person, too bad, because the only way to get evil points is to be a dog-kicker. Act II was my favor at, mostly because of the mission to defend the noble (It was done very well), as well as the end scene. The Jerro estate was an epic area, and Jerro himself was the best NPC from that module.

[Douglas]

Inventory hasn't changed, really. There is an auto-sort, which is nice.
There are two MAJOR differences from NWN1 - there is a Loot All button on the container contents window, and you make a lore check to identify anything you pick up automatically rather than the game forcing you to examine the item first. These two changes vastly reduce the amount of clicking required to deal with loot.

[2xSlick]

I've been avoiding posting lately because I wanted to attach Part 8. I don't like people to see that I've added a post to this topic but no new parts. With that said, no I haven't given up on this LP. Next part should be polished and posted by tomorrow night.

Deathquaker, go right ahead if you want to do a Let's Play of the Mask of the Betrayer. As slow as I'm going, I probably won't finish the game by Christmas. In fact, I encourage anyone who's interested to make an LP. It's quite fun, especially if you're the type to heckle bad movies.

[2xSlick]

Part 8 is up! Part 9 is almost done so look for it around Monday

Part 8: Gork and Mork!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z446.jpg
Our gang of sorta heroes journey to the home of the Bonegnasher Clan in an effort to free an emissary. Just before I arrive, I bump into a cutscene.

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I really love it when bad guys are forced to work together. It's like a buddy cop movie.

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Underneath all that oily, green skin is a fat, sassy black woman.

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It is true that Orcs let their axes do the talking.

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After spending a good five minutes trying to shoot death rays out of his eyes, Lorne heads off. The whole thing is supposed to offer a bit of foreshadowing which fails miserably. I can't remember ever playing an RPG where something was hinted at without being broadcast on a 30-foot tall neon sign.

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The gang arrives close to Bonegnasher's lair. Now, since there is a war going on in the region against humans and Orcs, and I was ambushed by an Orc raiding party back at Old Owl Well, and I just watched a cutscene involving several Orcs, AND I'm in an Orc Chieftain's backyard, I figure there might be some Orcs around here.

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Did-did it just get darker when I pulled out my torch?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z456.jpg
Oh that's bogus.

Traveling through the mountain range, I run into this.

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Come on guys, it's not that big a deal.

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What? That's ridiculous!

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z465.jpg
I mean, there's a gap like three feet off the ground. If my pants are stretchy enough, I could just step across! Alternatively Khelgar could just equip those magical gauntlets and punch Grobnar through the wall. That would kill two birds with one stone, or more accurately, kill one Gnome with lots of stones.

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Forced to find an alternate path, I come across something even more terrible.

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There's just no excuse for this. A Halfling toddler could climb over but I have to go around.

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I manage to sneak up on a gang of Orcs. Instead of immediately killing them, I decide to wait around for a bit and see what's up.

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Trolls huh? This could get interesting.

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I love this picture. It's like Grobnar is struggling to see over the dialogue tree.

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Wow, that troll completely destroyed those Orcs.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z481.jpg
These trolls are impossible to kill unless you set them on fire or pour acid on their bodies.

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Luckily Khelgar's sword drips acid.

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Yeah, these guys are a piece of cake.

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After wandering a bit I end up behind the “barricade.”

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z485.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z486.jpg
Oh that just ticks me off. Why couldn't you find a path from the front side? I hate you, Elanee.

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I don't find a secret entrance through that larger-but-still-lame rock wall so I head into a nearby cave.

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I understand that trolls are supposed to be these big scary creatures, but it's hard to fear a creature whose face causes the words “shriveled” and “flacid” to immediately spring to mind. The diaper ain't helping either.

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I don't know what's stranger: a troll wearing a magical belt to keep up his Huggies or that he had a vial of troll blood stashed in some crevice that it's best not to think about. What's he supposed to be, a troll vampire? Or is it vampire troll?

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The back of the cave includes a puzzle that seems oddly familiar.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z491.jpg
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Now I remember. 20 years ago MacGyver had an episode where he found some old dynamite that was dripping nitroglycerin. Any sudden movements and...

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/macgyver.gif
It was such a memorable scene that J.J. Abrams completely ripped off The Mac.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/lostboom.gif
This is what happens to characters introduced three episodes before the season finale.

So it's a pretty established nerd fact that you don't play with old explosives. Unfortunately Neverwinter's take on this puzzle is to completely throw logic out the window.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z494.jpg
It may seem logical to just grab the stable ones which you get to toss around like Antiochian hand grenades. Unfortunately that little dinky barricade is much too impassable for a normal explosion.

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You have to actually grab the crate of unstable explosives and put it in your inventory. Elanee, why don't you carry them?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z497.jpg
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Huzzah! We only stood fifteen feet from the blast. Luckily the explosives were designed to only vaporize medium-sized rocks. Let's see where this leads.

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Awesome, more Orcs!

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The entrance to Bonegnasher's lair is guarded by Tweedle Dum and Dum'er.

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Good grief. Why do I even bother with putting ranks in bluff if it never even comes up? And seriously, who would try to intimidate an Orc?

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You said it, Khelgie.

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Not surprisingly the cave is home to a fair number of Orcs.

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The Mama Orc is a little much though.

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At least she sports a mean rolling pin.

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After solving a miner problem, it's off to find the head honcho.

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I wish there was a fourth option to ask him if he'd let me in to Blacklake so that someone else could tell me no for a change.

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What a wimp. Come back here so I can kill you!

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You were saying?

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I just killed, like your entire tribe. Why wouldn't I kill you too?

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The emissary is here? So much for you.

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Khelgar, quick! Twirl your mustache!

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Yeah, you sure showed me.

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With all the Orcs dead, it doesn't take long to find our man.

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Khelgar doesn't like you, which is good enough reason for me.

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Oh there's your credentials. Hard to make out though with your blood spilling everywhere.

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Crap we killed him. I mean crap, Elanee killed him. That's going to tick off Moire, Axle, and probably a king or two. Let's get out of here! Screw Blakelake, I want to go home!

Stay tuned for Part 9: No Cure-For the Paladin Blows!

[2xSlick]

When I originally started this LP all the action around Old Owl Well was only going to be one part. I had forgotten how much actually happens there. Now that it's grown to three whole parts, you can see why this part of the game just drags on and on. Oh well, let's play Part 9: No Cure for the Paladin Blows!
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z531.jpg
When we last left our heroes(?), the emissary was accidentally brutally murdered.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z533.jpg
On our way back to Old Owl Well to explain how the emissary managed to trip and fall on Elanee's lightning bolt, we run into some more generic XP dispensers.

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Before we can react, some humans show up and kill the D&D version of Storm Troopers.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z536.jpg
Yeah! No one kill-steals but me!

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After the horribly one-sided fight. The human leader approaches.

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Casavir's voice actor is a dead ringer for Kelsey Grammer. Unfortunately, he's a Paladin, and as such, he probably won't like me killing randomly. Paladin's can make for great melee characters, but Cas has a glitch where his power attack doesn't work. This prevents him from becoming a real Beast.

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Cas drops a huge bombshell by revealing that the guy we killed in the Bonegnasher cave was just a decoy and he knows the location where the real emissary is being held. And color me unsurprised when I learn he's being held by the region's most powerful Orcs, Clan Eyegouger.

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Looks like he's Lawful Stupid. Not only does he send away all his soldiers, he makes me leave one of my companions behind as well. Check ya, Elanee.

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Bonegnasher was supposed to be the brains of the operation. So can some one tell me why Eyegouger was the smart one who worked with the local monsters?

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Or why he was smart enough to put up barricades? A mage could easily take out the walls. But I don't have one.

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These spiders are getting annoying. Even when we're fully buffed it takes way too long to bring one down. It doesn't help that the spiders hit hard.

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The Orcs in the cave are tough. It takes a couple of rounds to bring down just one of them.

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They also love to spam the Knockdown feats, which makes killing them take even longer.

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Yet another spot designed for Elanee, since she's the only character who can talk with animals. Since she ain't here, trying to talk to the humongous wolves is a bad idea.

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Something I don't know until afterwards.

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Jeez, how many Orcs are in here?

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Shouldn't have asked that.

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Really shouldn't have.

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Yowzers! Time for a reload.

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Looks like I'll need a mage after all. And I thought I was finally rid of her. Buying all the torches I can does cheer me up a little.

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Returning to Eyegouger's Lair, it's time for the moment of truth.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z559.jpg
Awesome.

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Elanee is very much a one-trick pony.

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The wolves at least look cool, even if they are pretty weak.

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After electrocuting 400 or so Orcs, it's time for Level 2.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z568.jpg
I sense yet another long-winded speech about how I'm going to lose and blah blah blah.

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They call me the Orcin' Man. I guess that's what I am.

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With Logram Eyegouger dead, it shouldn't take long to find the (real) emissary and be done with this accursed place.

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Oh man. We're gonna totally run into zombies. Take point, Paladin.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z576.jpg
Casavir has no trouble destroying the undead. This part is mucho easio compared to the Orc Stomp upstairs.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z577.jpg
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z578.jpg
It would have been nice if either of you mentioned sensing the living dead before we saw them mucking about.

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Elanee, I swear if you try to “attack the darkness,” I'm uninstalling this game.

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It's hard to be frightened by a nameless mook who looks like if you gave him a quarter, a gum ball would roll out.

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Sorry, no screenshots of me killing the necromancer. Let's just say it was an extremely violent death and more than a bit perverted.

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Finally. These mountains are dangerous, what with all the Orc corpses strewn about. Someone could trip.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z588.jpg
Wow, we made it back to the Well. I half expected a giant rocket-powered tortoise to swoop in and eat the emissary.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z589.jpg
Karina's Axle's contact here at the Well.

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Shoot, I had hoped she would have rewarded me for finding him. I guess I'll have to talk to Axle for my reward.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z594.jpg
Oh yeah, Callum wanted me to save the emissary as well.

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Quit talking and give me my reward! I'm tired of this “Who's on first” nonsense.

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I'm going to kill you.

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Take a good look at my reward and think about how wrong it is. My reward for committing genocide against the Orc race is an axe that is only useful against Orcs. Gah! Why didn't you give it to me before I wiped out 90% of the Orcs in the whole damn game? That's just mean. I need a drink. Next stop: The Sunken Flagon for everyone's favorite cutscene.

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z602.jpg
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Nice to see those two carrying on so well.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, it seems we have a new challenger! I'm just going to shut up for a while and let the Princess of Snide do her thing.

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I love you, Qara. As a matter of fact...

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Elanee, why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/z632.jpg
...
http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg124/doubleslick/err.gif
...
Stay tuned for Part 10: Leveling Up is Hard to Do!

[Victor Thorian]

Oh, heh. This is really funny.

[Grim Greyscale]

Hm. I have Planescape: Torment lying around...that game would be so much fun to LP. But do I have the time?

...

...

There is not enough laugh emotes for this line. May I point you to THIS goon LP (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2206352) of it (an excellent LP, by the way), which has been going for TWO YEARS and is about a third of the way through the game. You shouldn't attempt it.

[Flickerdart]

...

...

There is not enough laugh emotes for this line. May I point you to THIS goon LP (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2206352) of it (an excellent LP, by the way), which has been going for TWO YEARS and is about a third of the way through the game. You shouldn't attempt it.
Ooh, there's already one? Well, my work here is done.

What, no pictures? Aww.

[Arioch]

I don't get the torch joke. :smallfrown: Otherwise, as awesome as ever. :smallbiggrin: