Disappointing end * OC SPOILERS *

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After many times restarting the game with different characters, I decided to sit down and finish the original campaign. I did it with a human Fighter(11)/Weapon Master(5), using a greatsword all the time.

What can I say... I sort of liked the First Chapter, looking for the creatures was sort of OK and some of the side quests where not too bad. Chapter Two was getting tedious (God, how I hate Charnwood...), with more of the "Go there, kill all that moves" theme. Chapter three was so short and straightforward that I couldn't believe it when it was over. The "siege" to the fort was simply stupid, and the commander only needed a neon sign on top saying "It's all my fault" to complete it. The "time travel" part had its merits and could have presented interesting possibilities, but in the end was nearly worse than the fort part. And the fight with the Ancient and Almighty Red Dragon lasted about 30 seconds, after giving him the altered Globe and getting three criticals...

So I started Chapter Four already with a bad taste, and my worst suspicions were confirmed after playing it for 10 minutes. The siege looked quite lame. I was expecting hordes of enemies at the city gates, and was hard pressed to find any. Finding the mages controlling the golems was a walk in the park, as the doors where clearly marked...

The fight with Maugrim could have been tough with a Wizard because of the golems, but my fighter simply cleaved his way out of it without being touched. Aribeth lasted 10 seconds. And Morag... Ah, for the love of God. Her magic could touch me sometimes, but my high MR, elemental resistance, and +5 regeneration made the whole thing a joke. Oh, there are some priests who don't even move behind her with names like "Blade something" or "Fire something", I wonder what should I do?

All in all, I was sorely disappointed with the end. I was expecting a long and ardous fight with Luskan mercenaries, some difficult time with the bosses, and a nice ending... peuh!. I only hope that SoU will be more interesting.

[ May 31, 2006, 13:51: Message edited by: Colthrun ]

 

How did you get high MR? IIRC, the max magic resistance given by equipment in the game is 16; and that should not do much against a high level caster.

Anyhow, the reason the OC is so easy with a fighter char is that the caster AI is really terrible. Theoretically, a fighter should have no chance against a magic user... but the NPCs use stupid area of effect damage spells almost exclusively, which you can easily shrug off with good reflex saves and some elemental resistance. Now, if they'd use disabling spells like hold monster, or stun...

 

Maybe a Cleric/Mage boss which uses Timestop+Harm+Power Word Kill?

Oh and a Mordenkainen's Disjunction before hand to make sure your SR items dont help you much...

Yeah...the AI in this game is really bad, but that's what mods like Caereena : Krakona Rising and Tale of a Mage are for...

PS: @OP: You are never going to have a fulfilling combat experience from NWN OC's, apart from just 3 fights in HoTU...if you want difficult combat I recommend you scour through NWVault's excellent module library...

 

Well, 14 was high enough for me.

I got the Golden Circlet early in Chapter Two, and a cloak of Movement shortly after that. Combined with moderatedly high constitution, the only disabling spells that could really touch me after that were necromantic (and with restoration scrolls aplenty not even those where a real pain).

 

Just out of interest, what was your difficulty level?

 

D&D Hardcore Rules.

 

Yea the ending was pretty easy for my barbarian (save for the first time when destroying the statue DID NOT make the wall of blades go away). Hell I didn't even rest before the battle, Sharwyn had 0 spells and songs left. I found Maugrim to be more difficult then the end boss and with my Paladin Aribeth kept murdering Tomi who thought running into Abribeth's storm of vengence would be fun even after I told him to stay put.

 

IMO the real problem has to do with items: there are too many powerful items -you can either find or buy- that give your character immunities to almost everything (belts to get protection from damage, magic, etc).
Nevertheless I liked the story about the lost village and the children, the time travel story was fun too, but all in all the very linear plot structure and the boring factor of Aribeth and co simply mean that personally I don't think I'll ever play the OC again.

 

You might find the final battle more challenging if you install the henchman battle AI mod (it should also affect the enemy spellcaster AI). I did not have this installed when I played the OC, however, it did seem to make a difference in other modules.

 

Wrong Thread.

 

SoU IS better, however, for maximum experience, start at level 1.

 

SoU and HotU are much more interesting and I will always replay them ahead of the OC, which I will never replay ever again.

 

Yep. Items like the golden circlet and the guiding light belts really take away your weaknesses. If you want more challange. Discipline yourself and don't use them.

 

Two major factors that make the OC too easy: the Recall Stone and the fact that you can rest anywhere at anytime and heal fully without any risk of wandering monsters coming along.