Other games that use a similar d20 system?

[=CrimsoN=]

Does anyone know other games similar to KOTOR that use almost the same d20 combat system. I love that KOTOR's combat system isn't overly complicated, but also presents a certain level of specialization.

Jade Empire probably comes close and I've heard that Neverwinter Nights and Dragon Age Origins are similar as well, but I only think the 2 former use a d20 system.

[Ragnarök]

Neverwinter Nights uses D&D 3.0 and Temple of Elemental Evil uses D&D 3.5.. They're both from roughly the same era as KotOR. Icewind Dale II, a bit earlier of a game, uses a prototype that exists between 2.0 and 3.0 but is closer to 3.0.

Dragon Age uses it's own system seperate from D20.

On a personal note, I wouldn't reccomend Neverwinter Nights in general. The gameplay holds up, but the campaign was always, and remains terrible. One of Bioware's weakest titles. I've seen people recommending the expansion packs but having watched most of Shadows of Undrentide on YouTube, I can tell you it's poorly written and a chore to get through. Maybe Hordes of the Underdark is better, but I can't attest to it and would be skeptical given the quality of the previous two entries.

A lot of people reccomend Neverwinter Nights II Mask of the Betrayer expansion and given that it's made by Obsidian, I'd be far more apt to take them at their word.

[=CrimsoN=]

Awesome! Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I already bought Neverwinter Nights during the Steam sale and it's a shame that the story sucks.

I have Nevernights 2 on my GoG wishlist. Maybe I should get it before their winter sale is over.

[Ragnarök]

Originally posted by Ulysses:

Awesome! Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I already bought Neverwinter Nights during the Steam sale and it's a shame that the story sucks.

I have Nevernights 2 on my GoG wishlist. Maybe I should get it before their winter sale is over.

You won't necessarily hate it or anything, but rather since you've already played KotOR it has very little to offer outside of gameplay. The original campaign for NWN shares a lot of the same tropes that KotOR does, except the execution is way worse. (Which is why they gave it a second chance to shine in KotOR, and it actually worked.) The game itself was never really intended to be a "game" in the first place, but rather a playable demo for a sort of virtual-tabletop to play on with friends. Design your own adventures and campaigns sort of thing, but they threw in an official campaign to please the investors and needless to say it didn't turn out well.

Where the game actually shined was online in some of the persistant worlds that groups of players ran back in the day, with roleplay and the whole nine yards. Player-made campaigns and so forth run like actual D&D games. I think some of those servers have been ressurected now that the game has been remastered.

In regards to Jade Empire which I missed the mention of in your OP, it's not really an RPG at all. There's no character building besides deciding what style of martial arts you want to use/ level up. And there's basically no itemization either. It's a fun action game, with fun characters but I wouldn't reccomend playing it when you're fresh off of KotOR. Early - Mid 2000's Bioware was in quite a rut for creativity, so much so that they even copied dialogue responses from KotoR into Jade Empire. Many of your campanions will feel the same as Carth or Canderous or Bastila, but there are a few exceptions. The main villian is pretty damn good. I'd reccomend the game to people that haven't played KotoR, that prefer Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan moves to Star Wars. Or to people who aren't yet bored with the Bioware story formula, binary moral choices and big plot twists.

[=CrimsoN=]

Originally posted by Ragnarök:

Originally posted by Ulysses:

Awesome! Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, I already bought Neverwinter Nights during the Steam sale and it's a shame that the story sucks.

I have Nevernights 2 on my GoG wishlist. Maybe I should get it before their winter sale is over.

You won't necessarily hate it or anything, but rather since you've already played KotOR it has very little to offer outside of gameplay. The original campaign for NWN shares a lot of the same tropes that KotOR does, except the execution is way worse. (Which is why they gave it a second chance to shine in KotOR, and it actually worked.) The game itself was never really intended to be a "game" in the first place, but rather a playable demo for a sort of virtual-tabletop to play on with friends. Design your own adventures and campaigns sort of thing, but they threw in an official campaign to please the investors and needless to say it didn't turn out well.

Where the game actually shined was online in some of the persistant worlds that groups of players ran back in the day, with roleplay and the whole nine yards. Player-made campaigns and so forth run like actual D&D games. I think some of those servers have been ressurected now that the game has been remastered.

In regards to Jade Empire which I missed the mention of in your OP, it's not really an RPG at all. There's no character building besides deciding what style of martial arts you want to use/ level up. And there's basically no itemization either. It's a fun action game, with fun characters but I wouldn't reccomend playing it when you're fresh off of KotOR. Early - Mid 2000's Bioware was in quite a rut for creativity, so much so that they even copied dialogue responses from KotoR into Jade Empire. Many of your campanions will feel the same as Carth or Canderous or Bastila, but there are a few exceptions. The main villian is pretty damn good. I'd reccomend the game to people that haven't played KotoR, that prefer Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan moves to Star Wars. Or to people who aren't yet bored with the Bioware story formula, binary moral choices and big plot twists.

Thanks for the additional information. I guess aside from Neverwinter Nights 2, there isn't really anything else to get that can scratch that KOTOR itch with a similar combat system (which is why I won't count SWTOR). That's a shame, since I really love the combat system. Like I stated, its not overly complicated, but its not completely streamlined. It feels like the perfect balance for me.

like for example, I tried playing Baldurs Gate recently and just felt overwhelmned by all the game mechanics. Even though I was able to understand some of the terms with both being based off D&D. I'm sure I could learn the mechanics if I play it some more, but I was jumping into it thinking that my knowledge in KOTOR mechanics would be enough to just pick it up and enjoy the storyline. But I was gravely mistaken.

[Merrick]

I know its pretty obvious but if you love the Kotor combat system, then Kotor 2 is more of the good stuff imo. Plus a few extra abilities etc.

[Count Von Count]

I felt that Dragon Age felt like an updated KotOR in terms of the gameplay, (which I suppose it was) and I really liked it, especially as a mage in full plate armour