OK, what do you hate about NWN? (very long)

[Helldiver]

Mathurin said:

"Wrong. Summoned creatures do not figure into the CR of the party for means of XP in 3rd Edition D&D, they are the subjects of a spell the PC casts and should be the same as any other spell cast by the PC. If they did anytime you played pen and paper and the party wizard cast a summon spell the rest of the players would get pissed because they now had to share xp with his summons. Should casting the 3rd level spell Fireball reduce your xp for an encounter NO, then why does Summon Monster 3. Neither should animal companions or familiars reduce xp, why should druids and mages get punished through xp loss for using a class feature, should fighters take xp loss for using their feats, NO. Im not trying to insult you or discount your knowledge of how xp works in NWN, because in game these things obviously affect xp gain, I simply wanted to point out that they don't work this way in pen and paper D&D"

Uhm, just letting you know that I completely know how 3ed Ed DnD works and I know how the monster summoned should not take exp.

As a DM I may dock someone if their summoned pet was circumstantial to the winning of a fight. Actually if you've been playing 3ed lately, most DMs are docking players for exp anyhow because many believe the table grants to much, atleast thats the trend out here.

Did you pay attention to my post?
Paragraph 5 sentence 6 of Part I of my post states:
"True pnp DnD doesn't count pets as help, although some DMs do (I do depending on how much help they gave). Experience point awards table is on pg 166 of the DMG."

Look at my post and you will see

And I'm assuming you think I know how the NWN exp system works when thats far from the truth. I know how 3ed edition (pg 166 of the DMG) exp works, I was just applying the system to NWN due to their coment on how they relied on the 3ed Ed system for exp. Actually, exp distribution alters slightly if using the FRCS (pp 299-300 explain a slightly alternate system of experience rewards in the Forgotten Realms Camp. Setting).

Not being offensive and wasn't offended, just clearing things up bro.

[Mathurin]

Cool, I was just trying to show that NWN doesn't use the system set up as is written in the DMG. Because like I said, as it is written in the DMG summoned creatures don't affect xp, thats not to say that certain DMs wont lower xp because of them, Ive done it a time or 2 myself, when a summoned creature pushed a druid 4 levels higher than the party off the 5th story of a tower in the second round of combat for instance. In NWN they obviously play a part. Nor do familiars or companions by D&D rules yet they do in NWN. Thats my whole problem with the fact that Bioware says they use the D&D system exactly as it works with the simple downshift for slower leveling when they so obviously don't, Its not that I don't like the way there system works its simply that I don't think they should state that they are using a system that they obviously don't.

[Helldiver]

Was gonna coment how one reason why you may deem wizards a little underpowered and how they get the almighty ever-dying without experience loss familiar (200exp per class level, or half the loss if the wiz/sorcer makes a Fort save DC 15+. Pg 50 of the PHB, and on pg 12 of Tome & Blood sumarizes), is because NWN did away with certain physics of the game.

There is no Fly ability or Fly spell. The common tactic I see wizards take is the Fly, followed by Web, followed by magic missles or spells that donot do fire damage to the web. There is no blink, etherealness, gasseous form (with the right feats that is still useful), where are the illusion line of spells? One of my all time favorites was flaming sphere as a wizard I'd park it on a creature letting it take a possible 2d6 damage for rounds per my level while I finished it off with magic missles. If it died before it expended, I would move it to another creature and continue from there. It sure saved a heck of allot of precious slots post 5th level. Gave me allot to do earlier than level 5 when I would really start to shape up. No Flaming Sphere in NWN. Besides wall of fire, where are the other series of wall spells? I felt wall of ice would have been a good simple addition especially towards the end with those fire giant levels. Sure as hell can't have people passing walls in a PC game...much less shape earth or plane shift. Didn't get to test knock, but did it really work especially on those very high DC locked doors and chests? As a wiz/sorcerer with low STR would have been great to have Shrink Item early on, though you get enough magic bags where you will eventually not need it I guess...

If you count improved evasion as not being a typo in Wizards of the Coast's part (Tome & Blood pg 13, but was later rejected in the FAQ and on the errata),.. then wizards/sorcerers really own.

But the bottom line is that Bioware deemed allot of the PnP mechanics too unbalancing to the game, and pretty much edited them or threw them out.

In PnP sorcerers rule, post 6th level they begin to come to their own with their first access to the 3rd level circle of spells. We have all agreed that sorcerers atleast in PnP are a bit overpowered.

[Xyx]

Originally posted by Helldiver Bioware deemed allot of the PnP mechanics too unbalancing to the game, and pretty much edited them or threw them out.

Game balance concerns? You must be joking. The reason such stuff is not in is that it was too much trouble to implement. People cannot pass walls in a computer game because the engine was not built to deal with it.

[Magus]

Originally posted by Helldiver:
Sure as hell can't have people passing walls in a PC game...much less shape earth or plane shift.

@Xyx: I think he acknowledges that.

[Crosswind]

Ah, a list of complaints. Time to fire up two browser windows and give my opinion on EACH AND EVERY ONE. Mwahaha.

Complaint List:

1.) Henchmen vs. Party

Agree. Henchmen AI is NOT the best. However, the game had to be balanced for both single player and multiplayer, so multiple henchmen were not an option. Possession of henchmen was something I'd like to see, and I believe that someone has already made a patch to the game that allows you to equip your henchmen. Funny how that whole "they gave us a toolset" thing works.

2.) Dumb Henchman AI, Part 2

Only thing there that happens to me is that occassionally -I- mess up and get in Tomi's way. It's really easy to circumvent if you just think for a few seconds: Tomi has two prerogatives, to unlock a chest and to follow you. If you tell him to unlock, but get in his way, the follow you prerogative takes over. If you tell him to unlock and walk far away, the follow you takes over. If you just tell him to unlock and then step aside, it works fine.

3.) Game Engine

Can't say I've ever had either of these problems. Can always swing when I want to, never had crazy camera spinny thing happen.

4.) Bugs

I must be blessed...

5.) Singleplayer Story

Arguing that giving you the toolset to make your own adventures justifies a bad single player story is crap. Instead, I'd like to argue that the storyline is not that bad at all. I, personally, found the storyline -more- engaging than the BG2 storyline. No "You're the son of bhaal. suck it up, kid!". No annoying-ass dreams where it's a bloody obvious choice between good and evil. That was one thing I wasn't a huge fan of in BG2; the choice was always freaking obvious. They made that a bit better in ToB, giving you more choices, but at least in the original, the dialogue options were pure "a.) do good, b.) do evil". Which was lousy.

As for the story, I'm sure the true DnD geeks were squealing about it. And don't get me wrong, I am a DnD geek. But I, unlike many people, have a "big deal meter", which measures whether something is a big deal or not. The fact that the timeline is off by a few thousand years does not bother me. In the slightest. Like a good improv comedian, I accept and build.

When it comes down to it, what you have in the NWN storyline is a series of adventures with some engaging characters, some good plot twists, and your standard "Save the world!" storyline. Pretty typical DnD stuff. That the storyline is moderately more linear than BG2 is fine by me.

I -will- concur that enemy spellcasting AI bites nuts. So did BG2's, so have a lot of bloody games, but that does not make it excuseable. The problem is the lack of contingencies, which was really the only thing that made enemy spellcasters in BG2 remotely difficult.

The other problem, of course, is these re****ulously good items that you find at early levels. Ring of elemental resistance. Greater Archer's belt. Like, come -on-! 20 damage resistance = invicibility. -15 to all elemental damage = you laugh at mages.

Without these, mages become a lot meaner. I still say the hardest mage you fight in this game is (SPOILER)

That goddamn random sorceror in the middle of the 2nd level of the Prison. He just drops like 4 fireballs on you, there are a zillion guys around so it's hard to get near, and at the time you (probably) don't have any cheesehead items.

And, alas, in sticking with DnD's rules, it brought along the unbalanced stuff, like Harm. Can't defend that.

Now I'm going to move straight to CJ, coz he was nice enough to number his points.

CJ's Points:

1.) Graphics

What the freak do you expect? The REAL requirements (ones actually required, not written on box) for this game are half of Morrowind's. They wanted it to run on more people's machines, not for you to require a Tbird 1.4 and geforce 3 to run it. And it still looks clean, well-put-together and included an arseload of character models.

2.) Day/Night issues

This is really a resting issue. Resting was made this way to work in multiplayer, and it works well. If you don't like being in the dark, wield a torch or cast light; they work wonders.

3.) Story

see above.

4.) XP

See the "big deal meter". Stop agonizing over how to maximize XP and just play like your character would, and you'll do fine. I can't comment on the analyzability of XP, because I don't pay it any attention; my character doesn't even know what the ---- it is.

5.) Traps

What the hell do you expect...? You want less traps? Perhaps you just want loot laid out on the floor in front of you? You can RP a dumbass if you want to, but expect to get hit by traps. If you're -not- RPing a dumbass, when you expect traps you bring a thief along. Or go with care. Please note that -any- trapped box can be destroyed with elemental damage, which is absurdly easy to get on arrows, bolts, shuriken, etcetera? Or, as I said, you could be RPing a moron...in which case you shouldn't mind soaking up gratuitous damage.

I also feel the need to point out that just about every character has a way of dealing with traps:

Rogues, obvious. Fighters/rangers/paladins, shoot it with ranged, or avoid it if it's on the ground. Mages/Sorcerors, knock or find traps. Clerics, find traps or (my favorite), cast a dire badger across the trap and tell him to come to you. Heehee... For monks, there is an abundance of Shuriken, all with elemental damage, perhaps the best trap opener. Combine with terrific saves...

6.) Henchman woes

Can't say I know what kite means, but ya, I've seen my henchmen go charging into other rooms after enemies...that's spirit!

7.) Economy

Dont' suppose you want to say how it doesn't make sense... =/

8.) Rediculously overpowered items.

Yep. No argument. Not that BG2 didn't have both, available even earlier than NWN. Daystar, anybody? And there ain't no holy avenger in NWN, thank goodness. Holy cheese, batman. But hey, at least it's not morrowind, where you can score the best armor in the game before hitting level 2.

9.) No XP for non-fighters.

This sucks, although it is partially balanced out by the fact that thieves/wizards get more XP per kill, and the fact that rogues become damage-dealing powerhouses.

10.) Soak

I kind of like it, so long as it's LIMITED. Greater archer's belts, et alii, bite. So does the ring of elemental resistance. Chests, though, I can understand. You simply can't bash in a metal chest with a dagger, no matter how hard you try.

11.) Dialogue system

Insight and Persuade are terrific, and the dialogue system gives you an arseload more options than BG2 ("r u gud? r u evil?") did. You're confusing lack of personality for character density. The fact is, there are more NPCs per square foot in NWN than there were in BG2, so clearly all of them can't have in depth backstories.

12.) Single Player Lag

The heck? Do you have a system that orangutans built by throwing their feces at an ant mount until it resembled a computer case? I don't have a top of the line computer, and I don't lag at all, with all options turned on. Another computer I have it installed on is even worse, barely above the mininimum specs, and it runs it fine, albeit without all the graphics options turned on.

13.) Toolkit

Yes, you need say more. My 12 year old sister can work it fine. It's about as difficult as Clarisworks, and significantly more self-explanatory. There's even a pretty tutorial. There are legitimate complaints about this game, but the toolkit is not one of them. Perhaps you were expecting a direct hookup to your brain that allows you to just think of a scenario and let it happen, but the rest of us are bloody satisfied with a powerful, flexible, easy to use toolkit.

14.) Viewing Angle.

Personal preference, so this is a legitimate gripe from your point of view, and I can't argue with it.

15.) Inventory Sytem.

Yep. Though I bet you'd be complaining if it did a BG2 style "a sling bullet takes up as much space as a a suit of full plate" inventory. I'd kill for a "pack my bags tight" button.

16.) Hunt the loot

Yep, this is kind of wierd. Would much prefer that these chests weren't openable. However, it's preferable to the "I know where stuff is, so I go get it at level 3" system that happened in the BG series, Morrowind, etcetera, without a random spawning system.

17.) Aribeth's Plotline.

No ****. That genuinely pisses me off. If there is a good argument for the storyline being shallow, this is it. What gives?!

18.) "Random" loot keyed to weapon focus

Erm, are you sure it's keyed to your weapon focus? The way I guessed it worked was that it was related to what you used most. My druid, despite never taking weapon focus, found lots of scimitars. Same with my ranger and longsword/shortswords... If I had to make a guess, it would be that whenever you hit something it records it, and gives you a better chance of getting that weapon as magical.

19.) Performance stutters

=/ I must just have blessed system.

20.) The Graphics.

Yes, let's make a morrowind, where nobody can freaking run the thing, it's buggy as fook, and my leaping lizard gets his head stuck in the ceiling every time he jumps. =(((

Moving on to Nygma!

I'll skip ones already covered. Good complaints include all henchman ones, here...Double Weapon/dual wield is not an enigma. It SHOULD require the feats, but it DOESNT, which may or may not be fixed. That's how it is. As for wizard carrying capacity...there are only six gazillion magic bags, all with weight reduction. It's not like my gnome wants to carry around 6 greatswords anyways...

At this point, I realize that if I can just use 201 more characters, I reach the maximum message length. This seems to be a goal worth attaining, so I'll talk for a bit more.

Ah. I'm done.

-Cross

[cjdevito]

Okay, Cross -- my turn again

1.) Graphics... What the freak do you expect?

I expect them to look at least as good as games several years older, like BG2, Planescape, IWD or even BG1.

.XP ...See the "big deal meter". Stop agonizing over how to maximize XP

I'm not worried about maximizing it. I'm upset that it's not explained or even readily comprehensible (as evidenced that NO ONE has it figured out yet).

Economy....Dont' suppose you want to say how it doesn't make sense

Sure. God like items cost beans in comparison to much less powerful items, which cost significantly more. There's little rhyme or reason to how things are valued. The best armor in the game costs less to make then a suit of hide armor +2, for example.


Insight and Persuade are terrific, and the dialogue system gives you an arseload more options than BG2 ("r u gud? r u evil?") did. You're confusing lack of personality for character density. The fact is, there are more NPCs per square foot in NWN than there were in BG2, so clearly all of them can't have in depth backstories.

Insight is good. Persuade comes out to mean very, very little. Spend 20 skill points over the course of a characters career on it, and in the end in NWN what do you have? A few thousand more gold, a few ingredients you also found elsewhere, and not much else. As to numbers of NPCs...you're confusing quantity for quality. There were lots and lots of people in Ultima II, too -- most of them didn't have anything much to say, either

Also, I didn't say BG2 gave you choices -- I said it had personality, which NWN doesn't. Planescape had choices, NWN doesn't. IWD managed better dialogue, and that was -intended- to be a hack-n-slash dungeon romp.

Single player lag....The heck? Do you have a system that orangutans built by throwing their feces at an ant mount until it resembled a computer case?

No. I have a system that ran Morrowind damn well. Nevertheless, in NWN in large fights (mostly) there is definitely lag. Monsters and my character get repositioned, retroactively, in response to commands I gave a second or two before. PC and NPC will actually be -moved-, visibly, back to where they would have been had the commands gone through when initially entered.

Toolkit...Yes, you need say more. My 12 year old sister can work it fine. It's about as difficult as Clarisworks, and significantly more self-explanatory. There's even a pretty tutorial. There are legitimate complaints about this game, but the toolkit is not one of them. Perhaps you were expecting a direct hookup to your brain that allows you to just think of a scenario and let it happen, but the rest of us are bloody satisfied with a powerful, flexible, easy to use toolkit.

That. Doesn't. Work.
Have you been following the various corruption stories out there? The dialogue problems? Any of the issues that have serious mod makers upset? If not, then perhaps you should check out some of the threads they have on various boards. 'Fraid you'll have to look for them, though... last I checked they didn't offer a direct hookup to your brain.

"Random" loot keyed to weapon focus ....Erm, are you sure it's keyed to your weapon focus?

100% positive. There may be some association by class as well, but many loot locations are keyed to weapon focus. The chest in the first room you start in. The chest near the brain devourer. The chest right before Maugrimm. Many, many others in between. It's easily testable if you don't believe me. The game even looks at whatever weapon focus you most -recently- tooked if you have more then one, and gives you from the last selected.

Yes, let's make a morrowind, where nobody can freaking run the thing, it's buggy as fook, and my leaping lizard gets his head stuck in the ceiling every time he jumps. =(((

I wasn't expecting Morrowing. I -was- expecting something that looked at least as good as the games the same company put out YEARS ago.

[Mathurin]

I have a question Crosswind. What problems have people been having with the timeline? I don't consider myself a Realms guru but I keep up on just about everything and I haven't noticed a problem. The current year in the Realms is 1372 and the game takes place in 1373, whats the problem? They set it a year ahead so they weren't rewriting past history and the game designers for tabletop D&D can choose whether or not to write the game storyline into the real game or not, most likely not as evidenced by the fact that the Baldur's Gate storyline never entered Realms history either. I was just curious as to what people have had problems with.

[Magus]

*Traps*

I believe that there's places where traps belong, and places where they don't. Traps belong in an ancient tomb. They were put there to keep out graverobbers. Traps don't belong in the middle of a forest or a hill giant lair. Hell, CHESTS don't belong in the middle of a forest or a hill giant lair. But I digress. Traps are usually put there for a *reason*, not just to annoy passing adventurers. Why you'd want to trap a chest in the middle of a forest is beyond me. And hill giants don't have the brain capacity to rig a decent trap. And that's my 2 cents.

*EXP*

I like to know how the game mechanics work. Most of us do. The experience system in NWN is extremely quirky, which annoys me. I shouldn't lose EXP just because I summon a familiar, and neither should I gain EXP because I hire a henchman.

*Story*

The story is all right, but it just doesn't meet the standards set by BG2. There's just too many inconsistancies, until at times my ability to suspend disbelief is worn very thin. Bioware bit off more than it could chew with the sweeping "save the world" theme. Sure, that works for the Final Fantasies, where the gaming world is recreated with every game. But NWN is based in the Forgotten Realms, and that imposes limits. With many heroes far greater than your PC already out there, having you be the only one that can possibly save all of Faerun just doesn't cut it. In BG2, the quest was predominantly personal. Sure, you erase a vampire guild, and sure, you save an elven city. Such things were in the character's scope, and were clandestine enough and of little enough importance to not attract famous heroes from all over the Realms. NWN, on the other hand, is a whole different story.

*Character Depth*

It's just not there. It's hard to explain. I really loved the party NPC's in BG2. Their dialogue was wonderful, both in and out of conversation. NWN henchman just aren't the same. Each chapter they tell you a story, you fetch an item, and that's about it. Maybe it goes back to the henchman vs. party argument. In BG2, you had 5 well-developed NPC's with you at any given time. In NWN, you have 1 NPC (well-developed or not) with you at any time. Since I tend to stick with a single NPC (NWN) or band of NPC's (BG2) through the entire game, having just 1 NPC means only 1/5 the character personality goodness of BG2.

*Inventory*

Now that I have 7 bags of holding and about 15 magic bags, it's not quite so bad. But I still hate the whole tab system. It makes it so annoying to transfer items between the various screens. On the plus side, having ammo come in bundles of 99 is very nice. And since money is so abundant, I find myself buying magical arrows for the first time ever in a D&D game.

[HighLordDave]

Originally posted by Magus
*Inventory*

Now that I have 7 bags of holding and about 15 magic bags, it's not quite so bad. But I still hate the whole tab system. It makes it so annoying to transfer items between the various screens. On the plus side, having ammo come in bundles of 99 is very nice. And since money is so abundant, I find myself buying magical arrows for the first time ever in a D&D game.

I actually like the NWN inventory system. On top of being able to carry more stuff than you could in the Infinity Engine games, I like that I can designate one tab for weapons, one for potions, one for scrolls, one for ammo, etc.

One thing that does annoy me is that you can't turn an item on it's side to fit it into an inventory slot. For instance, a potion takes up two inventory boxes, one on top of the other. If you have to open boxes in a bag of holding, but for some reason the boxes are side by side, you still can't get the potion in the bag.

I also have a question as to why most items of like type will stack together, but necklaces won't. I find this to be incredible curious.

Another curiosity is why a longsword takes up four slots while a katana takes six. Shouldn't the two be about the same size?

[Crosswind]

*looks at his post above*

I was an antagonistic bastard, wasn't I. Hope I didn't offend anybody. The simple fact with lag-related issues is that while Morrowind -owned- my system, NWN runs as smoothly as can be. And I'm a very big fan of the graphics, which look clean.

I emphasize clean, as that is exactly what I look for in graphics. I do not expect uber-realism, but I -do- expect graphics that don't look too damn polygonal (i.e. my character is clearly made up of squares and triangles).

Correct me if I'm wrong, as well, but to "make" the best armor in the game you have to find ingredients, and find where to make them. And at that point, money doesn't really matter anyhow...

As for dialogue, I would argue that there are very few non-rogue skills that are as useful as persuade. I take it on every character that I can. I rarely try to argue up prices, but I -do- like to be able to talk my way out of situations, and get into places that I otherwise would not have gotten into. Persuade ranks behind Heal and Concentration, and slightly ahead of Discipline in my "Most useful skills" list.

And I don't believe I'm confusing quality for quantity. I'm saying that there are more NPCs, but there are still the same number of NPCs with deep characters as there were in BG2. There are simply more not-deep characters.

As for the Toolkit, I've used it extensively, and am almost finished with 2 modules (1 working on with a friend, 1 solo). Even when there -was- module corruption, there was a simple, foolproof, takes-30-seconds method to fix it (that was posted as a sticky at the top of the NWN builder's board).

As for weapon focus...goshdurnit. I was so sure...I'm just remembering now that most of the ones that I remember were fighters, who obviously had weapon focus in the weapon they were wielding...hrm.

For Mathurin:

(SPOILER)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

This game has the creator race set a few thousand years previously. If I read the complaints properly, the actual timeline was tens of thousands of years previously.

As for the story bit, Magus has many good points.

Why you, instead of Drizzt & the companions of the hall, or some equally reputable adventuring group (of which there are dozens)?

Well, first off, it's standard DnD. Second off, you're not technically saving the world. At first, you're stopping a plague (well within scope). Second, you're thwarting some nut job prophet, and helping to stop a war. Well within your scope. Note that at this point, you're level 13 or 14...a level or two short of Drizzt and a lot of other adventurers. By the time you actually get around to the creator race-stopping part, you're as eligible as any other hero in the realms, and more accessible than most, as you're already up there in neverwinter. I just fail to see at what point this stretches the bounds of belief.

-Cross

[Magus]

My beef is that you, as the PC, are the ONLY ONE who is actively working against the Cult (besides that Word Slave). If you fail, Faerun is screwed. Surely the whole incident would have attracted others, yet there you are, alone in your task.

This theme pervades the entire game, not just the end. As a recruit fresh out of the academy, YOU are the ONLY ONE who can find the Waterdhavian creatures. As a veteran after the Plague in Neverwinter, YOU are the ONLY ONE who can locate the base of the Cult. As an emerging hero, YOU are the ONLY ONE who can retrieve the Words of Power. These people are idiots, to trust, no to expect, a single person to save the day on every single occasion...

Bottonline: *Everyone is helpless but me*

[Magus]

Originally posted by HighLordDave

I actually like the NWN inventory system. On top of being able to carry more stuff than you could in the Infinity Engine games, I like that I can designate one tab for weapons, one for potions, one for scrolls, one for ammo, etc.

You could do the same thing in BG2. For me, one character carried gems, one carried heavy armor and weapons, one carried scrolls, one carried potions...

But in BG2, it wasn't as annoying to go from one inventory screen to the next. You got to click on a nice big portrait. Plus each screen could hold more items (especially weapons and armor). In NWN, you have this little tab that's easy to miss. And since it's a generic tab, and not a portrait, it's easy to click the wrong one and cause yourself even more irritation. Perhaps most irritating of all is that many items won't go into a magic bag just by dragging the item over it. Often a little shadow of it remains in your inventory, and when you open the bag it's not even in there. Instead, you have open the bag and drag the item to the specific spot in the bag that you want it in. Very annoying.

[Nygma]

OK, Crosswind, my turn again.

However, the game had to be balanced for both single player and multiplayer, so multiple henchmen were not an option

You lost me here. As I understand it, multiplayer parties can be larger than the maximum four allowed in singleplayer. Not only can they be larger, but every party member has human intelligence behind it. So why would the ability to have a full NPC party in singleplayer be unbalanced? They managed it in BGII and BG. Not only that, but in BGII you might meet a party of shadow fiends or vampires, depending on your level; not perfect balancing adjustment, but very good I thought. Maybe I misunderstood you here, but I don't see how balancing issues prevent a full NPC party.

Funny how that whole "they gave us a toolset" thing works.

Toolset's nice, but IMO it should be for game addons, enhancements, etc., not to fix Bioware's singleplayer. I grant you that in and of itself the henchman vs. party thing is my personal opinion and not a problem per se, but there are a lot of problems that spring from it as have been mentioned.

...get in Tomi's way. ...Tomi has two prerogatives, to unlock a chest and to follow you

Unfortunately, while trying to get out of his way (necessary because of poor pathfinding that doesn't let a model right next to something solid walk around it without being carefully guided) Tomi as you mentioned will carry out his second perogative and follow you. Unless you very carefully sidestep just enough to give him room, in which case he still every 2 out of 3 times just stood there looking at you, meaning you had to click again, which moved you in front of the chest, which put you in Tomi's way, which... got you another "Oh, I can pick that open easy" and another blank stare. Bottom line, it took you many times longer to ransack a room than it did in BGII - not good.

I'd like to argue that the storyline is not that bad at all

I agree in part. As I mentioned in the short-lived "What do you LOVE about NWN" thread (), I loved the Aribeth storyline, it was just too bad we never heard how it ended. (Still think it lacked quite a bit from BGI & II, though.)

I don't lag at all,

What, you never noticed that if you click on a hostile character that's running towards you, your PC and the monster will run right by each other for a few yards, then suddenly leap back to start hacking at each other? I found this pretty much just an aesthetic problem, but it's the most noticeable case of singleplayer lag I encountered.

my leaping lizard gets his head stuck in the ceiling every time he jumps

Was that flypaper environment annoying or what? My 56th level Persuader, Grandmaster of the Morag Tong, Master Wizard of the Mages Guild, Theurgist of the Imperial Cult, Toad of the Thieves Guild, etc., was totally paranoid about banners ever since that unfortunate incident in the Ashlander Camp where he actually got completely stuck in a freaking banner flapping in the wind!, necessitating either a Recall to Vivec or a reload in Tel Aruhn. I spent 20 minutes trekking out there, killed that Golden Saint, and that stupid banner...! Whoops, wrong forum. Sorry, folks!

there are only six gazillion magic bags, all with weight reduction

At the end of the game, yes. At the beginning, however, even if you shell out your at-that-point-in-time precious gold for a 60% reduction bag, you're still likely to go over your max carry capacity everytime you pick up a piece of magical armor that you just can't bear to leave behind. I don't know, even with 14 str as a monk and now a cleric, I was recalling into town more times than I liked (particularly on those times when I had Daelan with his 20 strength or whatever), then either trudging back or paying another 50 gold.

Double Weapon/dual wield is not an enigma

True, it's just a misprint in the manual or a bug in the game that double weapons apparently get an extra attack, but no penalties.

Hope I didn't offend anybody.

Nope. Not at all.

[HighLordDave]

Originally posted by Magus
Instead, you have open the bag and drag the item to the specific spot in the bag that you want it in. Very annoying.

Who was it that wanted an "Organise Inventory" button (similar to what they have in Arcanum)? That would be a good idea for a future release.