98 réponses à ce sujet

[Arkalezth]

I also got the well sidequest at the end, first time I played. You can get it at the beginning, but I believe you have to talk to the priest twice for that.

[Dorateen]

Quixal wrote...

I did not encounter any further bugs save perhaps some AI related oddities involving not yet hostile mages running in and participating in a fight due to proximity. All-in-all, a good mod. I look forward to your next effort.

Good to hear, and thank you for playing! Those unexpected allies will be the bane of me yet. I thought I had most not-yet-hostiles set with a short perception range, so they wouldn't stick their noses into battles that are none of their concern. I will have to keep proximity in mind, because I tend to write encounters that start with conversations, and then the enemy turns hostile.


[Minor Spoiler]

The well sidequest, as I think Arkalezth mentioned in the post above, requires a follow up chat with the priest NPC from Edinmoor.

[kevL]

didn't find a newer thread & i wanna post some pics
( won't use thumbnails, to reduce temptation )

res. 1600 x 1000
All images hosted courtesy of Imageshack.us

*** SPOILERS ***

the road to Edinmoor:
NWN2_SS_081512_183845

fight w/ woody things:
preamble, This guy jumped me! I was backing up into a corner of the map and *whack* ( Note. was playing with the Pia so these things were substantially tuff ) Party lineup:

- 7 Druid, Earth Genasi (PC)
- 6 Barbarian, Human (tank)
- 6 Cleric, Elf (healer & utility personel)
- 6 Monk, Human (sneaker & knockdown)
- 6 Sorceress, Air Genasi (screw em up and do damage gal)

NWN2_SS_081412_171444
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this is what happened when a 2nd woody got pulled:
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I left this guy, on the hill with his chains ... and big whacky thing.
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hmm, where now?
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Vanta does her stuff, Kers and Selmathi to the rescue:
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typical slaughter
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the *cough* highroad:
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the house at the top of the hill:
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BooM, 7th level, drinks for all! ( note Aryndella at the bottom of the party menu, tags along to redeem/replace her dad, 6 Favored Soul; it was tough sending Cyrus to prison knowing he's just gonna get hanged anyway. He was probably the most powerful member of the party )
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Book of MetaPrepa, works well
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random graphic:
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Frost Giant take-down!!!
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Vanta, w/ Longaround equipped (relax, she likes cats and wouldna harm the moogie - besides, the Negastaff has longer reach)
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how it's done; those guys don't stand a chance!! (Wino & Kers, the Fetton bro's)
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make sure this one don't get up ... 'e was evel.
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easy & fun, specially with Selmathi the Cleric at the center
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uhm, no. just No. (Friendly, ya right)
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Zepada is down! ... just a flesh wound
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The story continues ....

[Dorateen]

kevL wrote...

didn't find a newer thread & i wanna post some pics
( won't use thumbnails, to reduce temptation )

res. 1600 x 1000
All images hosted courtesy of Imageshack.us

*** SPOILERS ***

the road to Edinmoor:
NWN2_SS_081512_183845

What a wonderful pictorial write-up, kevL, thank you!

So much fun stuff there. I love the part with Vanta equipping the cat! I should make that an option as a weapon. Cat o' Nine Tails, maybe. And the modification to make Aryndella a companion was brilliant. But you let poor Cyrus hang? Tough crowd...

Yeah, the Iron Golem... there is a way past it without a fight, if you have a rogue in the party. But who wants to miss the chance to get stomped on by an Iron Golem?

Glad to see you having fun with this adventure. I hope you will continue, and look forward to the conclusion.

Now I'm motivated to get back to work on the next installment.

Harumph!

Modifié par Dorateen, 27 août 2012 - 02:58 .

[kevL]

** Spoilers **

Golem: on meeting it I had to try, so sent Wino in with everyone else doing support; 3 rnds later we did an orderly retreat back to transition. After resting at the campfire we headed back in but the golem was gone! That's when the hairs ****** up on back of the neck ... so I sent Kers the monk slinking around. It was standing back in the big far room closest to the rest area. Kers did the rogue thing -- but i was aware it could get messy if the whole party had to turn back after that next transition

In anticipation of playing Edinmoor a second time, i put down a POST_tag for it. The naga was another encounter I had to back off from, even the vampires screwed me up badly at first. That was a reload. Concentration of firepower worked the 2nd time. Our Esteemed Father (you know who), was bad bad bad! Couldn't use the ladder because of the 'it' back there. Only Vanta scrambled for the tunnel exit - hence why the last fight in the pictorials takes place near the workbench ...

and, to get away from cat-hating Frost Giants, et al. I simply created a custom faction at Neutral-50 across the board. So when i look at an area in the TS, those Defenders get switched over to Neutral-50. ( think I also changed Hostile faction vs Commoners up to 30, so the initial Villa fight doesn't send the minstrel's grunts off beating on random children )

As others have said, the best parts are the dialog options, the horses & sparse mapnotes, the campfires (well done, sir), and the story-in-a-sandbox.


carry on,

[Dorateen]

I enjoy reading about your party, especially because you have a combination of classes I don't normally travel with.

I noticed that 4 of the 5 characters started at 6th level, although you do have 2 Genesi, and figured you did so for the challenge. Some of those fights might have been easier starting with a full 7th level party. The characters might have reached 8th level by the time you reached the tomb.

Thanks agin for playing, and for the helpful feedback!

[kevL]

** Spoilers ***


mentioned this in the picture post, but understressed it : i'm playing with the Pia ... it takes the CR of nonPC-faction critters and multipies them, according to configurable .2da settings.

the golem, eg. in the TS has ~180 pts. - the one we were up against has 301. And considerable attack & defense bonuses to boot!

So yah, I shouldn't mislead others who want to play; the fights are fine. I just like getting blocked by nonsentient virtual objects Like someone recently said and i'll paraphrase in my own words: There should be at least one unbeatable monster in every module. Take this with a grain of salt, pls!!!

The way I'm looking at it, if I had selected a decent crafter in my initial party (or if I go back to the stallion and choose one), I could craft some +2 adamant weapons and while it might take a few sorties that golem would come down!!


( i think that's a bit o The Dwarf in me )

[Dorateen]

kevL wrote...

** Spoilers ***
I mentioned this in the picture post, but understressed it : i'm playing with the Pia ... it takes the CR of nonPC-faction critters and multipies them, according to configurable .2da settings.

Ah, yes, that makes sense. The Personal Improbability Adjustment, right? I wanted it to be a challenge, so anything that makes the fights tougher is a good thing!

I like the idea that there should be one encounter in a module that is practically unbeatable. And a little crafting can go a long way, aye.

[kevL]

** Spoiler **

this is too cool, I just got into AoT#1 and in the opening battle w/ Loren and knights a couple of acolytes from the southwest room ambled on in to check it out. They were there as Defenders to assist, ofc, but we had the sit. under control before that happened. So now there's dragonmen & acolytes mixed in the 2nd room; my party moves off to the southwest, by chance, and triggers the acolyte fight: they go aggro, including the ones mixed w/ dragonmen - and start what looks like an internal faction war!


i gotta find that campfire .. Fast

[Dorateen]

kevL wrote...

** Spoiler **

this is too cool, I just got into AoT#1 and in the opening battle w/ Loren and knights a couple of acolytes from the southwest room ambled on in to check it out.

That is so perfect for how I envisioned the Anvil of Time! There is a faction war going on, and besides, it has pretty much been turned into a proving grounds/training grounds while the big guy waits for his release.

Modifié par Dorateen, 29 août 2012 - 01:16 .

[kevL]

Dorateen wrote...

That is so perfect for how I envisioned the Anvil of Time!

yeh i can see that

each group or individual seems to have its own motivation. ** spoilers ** The Knights were happy to help me out with the Dragonmen, and even the spiders. I got to the campfire okay, partly by not picking fights on the way. It all got me thinking how to do it intentionally: set them to Defender, so they are attracted by the fights, and on perception of a PC-faction (or pseudo-hostile NPCs), run a script that sets them to do what have ya - go agro on PCs, go agro on nonPCs, watch and laff or run to tell the Boss!

heh

[kamal_]

Seeing the pics and descriptions is cool.

[Alupinu]

Yes that is a nice little picture album.


I have to ask. A seven member party, doesn’t that get a little congested? Not to mention a strain on your FR’s?

Modifié par Alupinu, 29 août 2012 - 06:37 .

[Dorateen]

kevL wrote...

 It all got me thinking how to do it intentionally: set them to Defender, so they are attracted by the fights, and on perception of a PC-faction (or pseudo-hostile NPCs), run a script that sets them to do what have ya - go agro on PCs, go agro on nonPCs, watch and laff or run to tell the Boss!

That would be truly dynamic.

@Alupinu, personally I like big adventuring parties. While I think the ideal for NWN2 to handle is probably 6, I've done a group of seven or larger on occassion. I think one of kevL's partymembers is an animal companion, so that's like only half a party member.

[kevL]

Alu,
I did the OC once with all ~14. That was congested


The limit is really how well i remember the character, meaning in this case the armor, items, and abilities. Since i have to juggle that, six is about (ie. over) my limit + wolverine. And typically, each toon gets moved and positioned by hand, one at a time, so the bumping and jostling is minimal: they move down a corridor sorta like a swat team

the real reason my initial party was 5 (instead of 4) was because it lets me test more stuff ....


Tern, the wolverine, always has AI on. fights like a friggin bear,



FR, framerate? it's a tidy 15-25 ;p

[Alupinu]

kevL wrote...

Alu,
I did the OC once with all ~14. That was congested

LOL…
Well if you take the time to work out a good marching order (tanks front, range back) then I can see it being doable providing that you have nice wide corridors. I know some of the custom tile-sets are faulted for not being wide enough. Making party movement feel very congested.

[kevL]

Alupinu wrote...

... I can see it being doable providing that you have nice wide corridors.

"and now, the narrow corridor trap!"

[kevL]

**** Endgame SPOILERS ****

There's a lot going on here I'm not going to talk about. Suffice to say the Personal Impossibility Adjustment is working as it was designed to. I'll try to give a brief description of each pic so you can keep your place as ( and if ) you go through them,

32 pictures that follow the fight with the Dark Lord through ...

1600 x 1000, ~350kb ea. Courtesy Imageshack.us


1. the final step
2. +45 AB
3. Moonbolt + Impending Blades
4. the hero, Wino
5. end round 1
6. Bane, resisted.
7. Summon Gale, saved.
8. must be Abyssal Blast
9. gaah!!
10. our new hero: Tern the wolverine
11. Wino revives
12. c'mon roll a one why doncha
13. Zepada connects, Wino downs a Heal potion
14. stupid mutt ..
15. +23 AB, Lord's health down a sliver
16. yeh that's right Selmathi, try to Turn it .....
17. Zepada down
18. alternate view
19. Vanta, casting Magic Missile
20. ... falling ...
21. gaah
22. Tern's turn
23. that didn't work either
24. roll a 1!!!
25. tap dancing with Wino, again
26. Fred Astaire & Gene Kelly
27. call to Retreat ( bout time )
28. reveille, or taps?
29. Selmathi the wise is first away
30. looks like, taps
31. Aryn gives a Spirit a parting thwack
32. who says cowards die a thousand deaths but heros die once,


- will probably go back to a save and force a respawn via script; again I point out that the battle above used the Pia, so the difficulty was adjusted about 2 - 3x normal i'd say. It's a great challenge to begin with, thanks D.

Modifié par kevL, 01 septembre 2012 - 08:32 .

[Arkalezth]

Ok, that's it. After seeing that and some of the comments at the Nexus, I think I'm up for a replay. Threeplay. Whatever.

I might try a 5 member party (plus added companion), as the other times I played with only 4, but you can count me among those who feel a little congested when in a big party (or not so big if there's a big-assed animal companion around).

Modifié par Arkalezth, 01 septembre 2012 - 09:43 .

[PJ156]

Ah lord Edonmoor, I remember him ... Was I afraid? Yup every bloody time.

My Paladin did okay though

PJ

[kevL]

yep, a Paladin would sure be handy!

but i nudged my settings back and fixed the template feats for Bastard Sword .. 500hp, +7 BS (nb, these are Pia adjustments; would prefer that at +6 ). AC about 34, three sorties w/ several reloads wondering why MagicCircle vs. Align wasn't working like I think it should. I think i backed off the template Str but he was still delivering up to 60pts/hit (crit?). Yardoz broke free from his arcane prison somehow, and on the third sortie was standing beside the throne with a summoned air elemental, then proceeded to cover the floor with green fog ......


The secret : ( black text ) The sorceress chain cast Lesser Orb of Fire

Modifié par kevL, 02 septembre 2012 - 03:54 .

[Dorateen]

kevL, you are a brave soul! I cannot fathom fighting the final encounter with the PIA. But it looks like you managed to come up with a winning strategy, so good on ya!

I wonder if you regret sending Cyruss to hang, heh. Or maybe it would have been worth it to change Aryndella to have a paladin along, as PJ suggested.

Arkalezth, about party creation size, I was afraid that in one of the previous updates when I made a change to the campaign file, it reverted back to the default 4. I changed it to 5 again, and as far as I know that should be the allowable size for any version downloaded now. But no one has complained saying, "Hey how come I can't make 5 characters?" so I guess it is all right. This can always be adjusted in the toolset.

One of the splendid things about player party creation, coupled with the import nature of the SoZ editor, is the degree of flexibility one has to assemble their adventuring team. People can take along as many up to the limit, or less if they prefer, and choose characters from their local vault at a higher level to make combat more comfortable to their preferences.

As a module author, I think this allows the player to help create their own narrative, and I enjoy reading about the experiences of others. I also like sandboxes for this reason, and only wish I could design something as vast as Path of Evil or Wyrin's White Plume Mountain.

Harumph!

[Arkalezth]

Confirmed, max is 5 members.

[kevL]

Dorateen wrote...

I wonder if you regret sending Cyruss to hang, heh. Or maybe it would have been worth it to change Aryndella to have a paladin along, as PJ suggested.

it was actually a roleplay decision, Dt.

my main was a druid who thought, "This is civilization biz. I just don't want the hassle. Here's your man!!" Kers, the monk, tried to play lawyer w/ mitigating circumstances, but really just to save face ... in the minstrel villa, he's the guy who shouted out "You're under arrest!" - that totally broke me up, haha

I didn't even think about making Aryn a paladin; I had read some comments about the final encounter, and made her Favored Soul w/ heals, prot.aligns, remove fear ( which i had to use a couple times ). Also, i gave the Lord one more stab, dialed the Pia in just right (for me), and in the toolset made sure monsters have a CR > 1


@Ark, if you post a pic every now & then I'll be following .....

[Arkalezth]

Well, I wasn't planning on making a graphic journal of my adventures in Edinmoor, and I'm nearing the end already, but I took a few screenshots for the topics on the module's page on the Nexus. If I have some fitting pic to post here as you did, I might do it, but no promises.