Never played this, any recommendations?

[Ronin Gamer]

I'm noticing there's the main game for twenty bucks currently followed by a number of dlc's Some likely expansions of sorts, others likely mini campaigns or smaller items. Just curious what people might think is needed in this set up if I was to buy it.
Not looking for fighting, just any general opinions if anyone is willing to share. Thank you.

[oldrocker99]

There are several modules (adventures) included in the basic purchase. All you need to get started.

[DrLoboto]

You don't need any of the DLCs to start. The main game already includes three full length campaigns (= ~100h) and a few smaller adventures, plus in-game access to a couple of free, long and high quality community-created campaigns. The DLCs are just more of such stories that are independent of the main game's campaigns. You can buy and play them at any time. So you could first try what the main game has to offer and then purchase the DLCs if you end up liking it.

The only exceptions are the soundtracks (self-explanatory) and Heroes of Neverwinter, which contains a few more portraits for your characters - but unless you're totally enamoured with them, I would just skip this, since it's easy to download and install all kinds of free fan-made portrait packs or create your own from any image you want.

[Ronin Gamer]

K. For future reference if anyone has played those dlc's that are mini adventures/campaigns, any recommendations? Or are they largely forgettable?
We'll see if I take to Neverwinter Nights and maybe I'll try 2 from GoG later on, but I haven't decided if I wish to wait for a sale, or just play the games I bought over the end of the year with some extra money I had. I certainly don't need NWN now, was just looking to get some info on it since I never partook in the game and I tend to not have favorable opinions when I go back to play old games when enough time has passed. I imagine I'll suffer something similar to what I'm dealing with with Baldur's Gate games, but I told myself I was doing at least one run of those before BG3 comes out so suffering through that currently.

[Proleric]

The big deal with Neverwinter Nights is the vast array of entirely free new adventures and PWs made by the community, the best of which are even better than the official content. I can't think of another game that offers so much value in terms of quality gameplay hours.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1309774090

[Ronin Gamer]

Originally posted by Proleric:

The big deal with Neverwinter Nights is the vast array of entirely free new adventures and PWs made by the community, the best of which are even better than the official content. I can't think of another game that offers so much value in terms of quality gameplay hours.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1309774090

I wasn't asking about that though. I'm asking about what is available on the store front and opinions on that. If I were to buy this, I can make up my own mind on free content made by users.

[id795078477]

Go for it. The original campaign may be a bit bland by today's standards but it's still worth a go at least once. The addons are better that the campaign in my opinion. You'll probably want to replay them more than once.

This is a classic game and to anyone who enjoys DnD I can absolutely recommend it.

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Ronin Gamer:

K. For future reference if anyone has played those dlc's that are mini adventures/campaigns, any recommendations? Or are they largely forgettable?

IMO:

- Darkness Over Daggerford is the best one, a campaign worthy of playing.
- Tyrants of the Moonsea is mostly fun, too, despite some issues (too much loot/Monty Haul, some areas too big/repetitive, tilesets visually impressive but can be a bit awkward to navigate)
- Pirates of the Sword Coast is quite good, my third favorite of the bunch.
- Wyvern Crown of Cormyr has creative ideas for mini games and such but plays more like a tech demo, IMO. Story and gameplay weren't all that special (and I'm not sure if all bugs that occurred with the EE have been fixed at this point)
- Infinite Dungeons tries to create a rogue-lite experience with the NWN engine, with mixed success. It can be fun for a while, but due to the emphasis on combat over story, it didn't hold my interest for long, and I've heard that the balance can be off and the randomness of it can screw you over. But it's interesting enough to try at least for a bit.
- Dark Dreams of Furiae is probably for huge fans of the Planescape setting only, and only if they are open-minded and don't go in with big expectations. It's very short and linear despite some minor choices, combat is few and not very good, and the focus is mostly on storytelling which you will either like or hate (the writing certainly isn't perfect). It feels more like a fan-made module debut than a high quality commercial product.

But ...

Originally posted by Ronin Gamer:

I certainly don't need NWN now, was just looking to get some info on it since I never partook in the game and I tend to not have favorable opinions when I go back to play old games when enough time has passed. I imagine I'll suffer something similar to what I'm dealing with with Baldur's Gate games, but I told myself I was doing at least one run of those before BG3 comes out so suffering through that currently.

Judging by this, I'd say you better wait for a sale and then try out the main game only (it often goes down to, like, $4). You never now, but it sounds rather unlikely that you will fall in love with NWN, so you might not even get as far as to consider buying the DLCs. And I agree with the others, the best thing about NWN is not the official campaign (and the two expansions, though they are an improvement), but the player-created stuff. And/or multiplayer. If that is not the main draw for you, you don't get along with old games that well, and you already dislike the Baldur's Gate games, chances are you won't become a big fan of NWN either (well, maybe depending on what you dislike about BG, that is; hardcore fans of BG often tend to dislike NWN).

The third option, ofc, would be to save your money and spare yourself any further suffering (although then you'll really never know). ;)

[Ronin Gamer]

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

Originally posted by Ronin Gamer:

K. For future reference if anyone has played those dlc's that are mini adventures/campaigns, any recommendations? Or are they largely forgettable?

IMO:

- Darkness Over Daggerford is the best one, a campaign worthy of playing.
- Tyrants of the Moonsea is mostly fun, too, despite some issues (too much loot/Monty Haul, some areas too big/repetitive, tilesets visually impressive but can be a bit awkward to navigate)
- Pirates of the Sword Coast is quite good, my third favorite of the bunch.
- Wyvern Crown of Cormyr has creative ideas for mini games and such but plays more like a tech demo, IMO. Story and gameplay weren't all that special (and I'm not sure if all bugs that occurred with the EE have been fixed at this point)
- Infinite Dungeons tries to create a rogue-lite experience with the NWN engine, with mixed success. It can be fun for a while, but due to the emphasis on combat over story, it didn't hold my interest for long, and I've heard that the balance can be off and the randomness of it can screw you over. But it's interesting enough to try at least for a bit.
- Dark Dreams of Furiae is probably for huge fans of the Planescape setting only, and only if they are open-minded and don't go in with big expectations. It's very short and linear despite some minor choices, combat is few and not very good, and the focus is mostly on storytelling which you will either like or hate (the writing certainly isn't perfect). It feels more like a fan-made module debut than a high quality commercial product.

But ...

Originally posted by Ronin Gamer:

I certainly don't need NWN now, was just looking to get some info on it since I never partook in the game and I tend to not have favorable opinions when I go back to play old games when enough time has passed. I imagine I'll suffer something similar to what I'm dealing with with Baldur's Gate games, but I told myself I was doing at least one run of those before BG3 comes out so suffering through that currently.

Judging by this, I'd say you better wait for a sale and then try out the main game only (it often goes down to, like, $4). You never now, but it sounds rather unlikely that you will fall in love with NWN, so you might not even get as far as to consider buying the DLCs. And I agree with the others, the best thing about NWN is not the official campaign (and the two expansions, though they are an improvement), but the player-created stuff. And/or multiplayer. If that is not the main draw for you, you don't get along with old games that well, and you already dislike the Baldur's Gate games, chances are you won't become a big fan of NWN either (well, maybe depending on what you dislike about BG, that is; hardcore fans of BG often tend to dislike NWN).

The third option, ofc, would be to save your money and spare yourself any further suffering (although then you'll really never know). ;)

Have no knowledge of Planescape so safe to assume that's passable for me, I'll keep the others in mind, but like you said the main campaign would have to peek my interest enough to get me to want to buy the dlc's or bother looking stuff up from users.
The more likely scenario, if I was to play this, would then to be to move over and play NWN 2 from GoG if the first did a decent enough job, but again we'd have to see.
I do kick myself a little bit I wasn't looking at this one for the end of the year sale, but that's my fault so no worries. I still have the lovely time of trying to muscle through the older BG titles as well as a number of other ones I bought with some extra money so like I said no rush. Happy to wait for a sale. Thank you for the opinion.

[DrLoboto]

Then you should definitely buy and suffer through the acclaimed Planescape: Torment first! ;)

I suspect the main campaign will not peek your interest enough for you to want to play the DLCs. It's more likely that you will want to play them as an alternative to it. The main campaign is NWN's weakest link, IMO. But YMMV.

And don't worry, the EE goes on sale pretty often. It may pay off to use isthereanydeal.com to monitor the price on other stores, too (GOG and Steam key sellers like Fanatical).