Thoughts on eye of the beholder ?

[Firebead Elvenhair]

I have been playing this mod (solo) for a few hours. I reached the start of level 3 at the merchant .
I admire the dedication to reproduce a former tabletop design and the cutscenes are AMAZING, but I find it extremely grindy for now. I am hacking hordes and hordes of unchallenging (but not quick to defeat) ennemies. Does the game get more story centric ?

If not, I think I'll keep it for multiplayer.

edit: Given the title, I think I should point out my thoughts on the mod are positive.

[grognardgary]

Its for the puzzles which are myriad. I'm also doing solo. not quite finished with level three Plus hidden rooms, ancient dungeon. By the way everything is interrelated, and at least tangential to the main quest. This is my third try the first two were abortive as I just missed too much stuff that I didn't figure out what I did wrong until later. Note level three is very complex be very careful and I hope you saved some jars of oil...

[Elder Borjoyzee]

When I played through it all solo I found the final boss to be incredibly annoying if you're solo. Unless I missed an item or something, you need to be able to pass a 30 or 40 fortitude save or die which results in gameover since if the main character(you) dies you must reload. I would recommend just to keep it for a multiplayer playthrough since its not gameover when the main character(whoever talks to the boss) dies and your party can continue the fight and revive you afterward.

[Tesseract]

I don't believe EOTB was a tabletop module; the original was the early '90s PC game. Both old school D&D and old school video games tended to involve dying a lot, so save scumming was practically mandatory when the two combined. :)

[grognardgary]

There is a spell for that... Paladin level four.

[Shiroi Ren]

Originally posted by Nobody Cares:

When I played through it all solo I found the final boss to be incredibly annoying if you're solo. Unless I missed an item or something, you need to be able to pass a 30 or 40 fortitude save or die which results in gameover since if the main character(you) dies you must reload. I would recommend just to keep it for a multiplayer playthrough since its not gameover when the main character(whoever talks to the boss) dies and your party can continue the fight and revive you afterward.

The Last Boss is the easiest one... He won't even resist if you use proper item. Well, the original game was almost impossible to get through without it.

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Tesseract:

I don't believe EOTB was a tabletop module; the original was the early '90s PC game. Both old school D&D and old school video games tended to involve dying a lot, so save scumming was practically mandatory when the two combined. :)

Also, the original game had even less storytelling and you controlled a party of four main characters (which you could expand by two NPC companions up to six members). I think the NWN module works well enough for single player, considering, the author greatly expanded on the storytelling and made it work for one player, too, but it's particularly renowned as a great multiplayer module and a lot of fun with others. So if you have someone else to play with, I recommend you do that. :)

[Firebead Elvenhair]

That's kind of my point and the doubts I have around the mod:
-: I see it's very well designed for what it is, BUT
-: My early impression is that it's too hack&slashy in solo for my own personnal taste, BUT
-: That would make it a great experience in multiplayer (again, for my taste).

As for my tabletop misconception: I made a mistake. Although it does exude that early "close to the rules and grid centric" vibe that most old D&D video games had in the 80s-90s.
I dont know. Just a personnal feeling.

It's all very subjective. I am the kind of guy who thinks Swordflight is a little too combat centric. And I know some people dislike it for being too investigation centric.

[Tesseract]

Yes, it's definitely a dungeon crawl first and foremost.

[DrLoboto]

If you're looking for something story-heavy and centered on investigation, and you haven't played it yet, Almraiven might be more up your alley in single player (you find it under "Auren saga", on the Community tab) .

[grognardgary]

I Don't know. I find the combat to be entirely secondary to the problem solving of which there is a lot.

[Elder Borjoyzee]

Originally posted by Shiroi Ren:

Originally posted by Nobody Cares:

When I played through it all solo I found the final boss to be incredibly annoying if you're solo. Unless I missed an item or something, you need to be able to pass a 30 or 40 fortitude save or die which results in gameover since if the main character(you) dies you must reload. I would recommend just to keep it for a multiplayer playthrough since its not gameover when the main character(whoever talks to the boss) dies and your party can continue the fight and revive you afterward.

The Last Boss is the easiest one... He won't even resist if you use proper item. Well, the original game was almost impossible to get through without it.

I do know about the rod. The problem is if you approach him and let him talk to you you auto turn to stone and die at the end of the conversation. I had to cheese him by just spamming it on him before he opens dialogue. What I am saying is that it is a buzzkill to not be able to speak to the villain at the end if you have to do that cheese OR have the foresight to stack enough fortitude resist to survive the stone ray. They give you a ring of Immune to Petrification but it did NOTHING, most helpful thing they give is a ring of Fortitude +5.

[Firebead Elvenhair]

Hmm. So I started over with a different class. I wanted to play Paladin for roleplay purpose the first time. But now that I know a bit more what to expect, I picked a Bard (imo there is no better powerhouse when henchmen are allowed). The monster slashing became a lot more efficient.

[Shiroi Ren]

Originally posted by Firebead Elvenhair:

Hmm. So I started over with a different class. I wanted to play Paladin for roleplay purpose the first time. But now that I know a bit more what to expect, I picked a Bard (imo there is no better powerhouse when henchmen are allowed). The monster slashing became a lot more efficient.

I started as Sorc/Pal... That 1 level of Pal saved my ass numerous times.

[Dark]

Originally posted by Firebead Elvenhair:

I have been playing this mod (solo) for a few hours. I reached the start of level 3 at the merchant .
I admire the dedication to reproduce a former tabletop design and the cutscenes are AMAZING, but I find it extremely grindy for now. I am hacking hordes and hordes of unchallenging (but not quick to defeat) ennemies. Does the game get more story centric ?

If not, I think I'll keep it for multiplayer.

Hi Firebead,

Just to be honest here, the description of the game when you downloaded it did warn that this module is very heavy on the hack and slash. And a very loot intensive game. And yes there is story here. but as it was stated, it really opens up more once you get to level 5.

As for the final boss, yes he is a very tough boss to be and resist, but you definitely should be using the special item you get in the game to use on the final boss.

and ayes again, the game was more designed around Coop. Yes it can be soloed just was well, but it is much more fun playing it with a few friends.

Thanks for your feedback and playing the mod.

[Firebead Elvenhair]

I am on level 5-6 now. I am really liking the small and not so small quests I am getting there. I know in essence it doesn't change the gameplay much, but that's just what I like.

As for the description of the mod, I know these things are tricky to do. It's a general NWN issue. There is what's written and there is what the reader understands. The reality is as a player you can't know how "difficult" a game will be beforehand, and how it will be difficult.

Is there a bias towards numerous ennemies ? You should be an offensive char.
Bias towards single difficult fights ? You should be a defensive char.
Numerous skillchecks ? That's an entire focus here.
Mod creator has (too) extreme knowledge of the game mechanics (looking at you Swordflight) ? You better have a powerhouse of a character.

As a player, you can't really understand the intent of the mod designer with just a few words. The experience can change dramatically: I was bored with my paladin, I am enjoying myself with my bard (spending less time in combat). And I humbly remark that I have no advice to give on this part.
I personnaly like when there are character suggestions (like in the Kosigan saga), but I also know some people hate it.

It's one of the duality of RPG games: players want both character freedom AND gameplay tuned to their taste.

Thank you for your answer. Bottom line is: I am enjoying your work. Thanks for making !