Main campaign worth a playthrough?

[peep]

I'm 4 hours in and find it boring (story wise) but am enjoying the gameplay. Is it better to just jump in to mods that tell better stories and have more memorable characters?

[DrLoboto]

That happens to a lot of players, and yes, I think if you find it boring now, you will probably find it boring later on as well, so I would indeed suggest to try something else.

Either the second or third campaign (you are encouraged to continue the third - and probably best - campaign with the character of the second campaign, but if the second campaign happens to bore you as well, you could aso just jump into Hordes of the Underdark directly; it is a high level campaign though),

Or one of the premium modules, or one of the campaigns in the Community tab in-game, or one of the countless community-made modules from the Vault[neverwintervault.org] (some recommendations here),

Or you could try to play multiplayer online on one of the MMO style community-created Persistent Worlds.

Playing the main campaign in co-op with a friend might also make it a bit more fun, though it won't improve the writing, of course.

[Yoinkyz]

personally love the main campaign also all the story main 3 campaign are connected with the same characters telling an epic story. then it continues into neverwinter nights 2

[MarioFanaticXV]

Honestly, not really. The original campaign is very dry and repetitive, and feels extremely phoned in. It's not terrible, but it's absolutely forgettable. I often tell friends that if they're not enjoying the main campaign to skip to one of the other adventures- most aren't directly connected (with two exceptions).

Luckily, the expansions (Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark) are a huge improvement, and some of the premium modules are pretty solid, too (currently enjoying Darkness Over Daggerford myself).

[Tario]

Yikes... Actually 1-st campaign is the worst. The rest is really okay.

[Yoinkyz]

you wont get any of the finer details just playing the last 2 campaigns. half the chars from the og show up in the second campaigns. the slander on the og campaign around here is atrocious

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Yikes:

personally love the main campaign also all the story main 3 campaign are connected with the same character telling an epic story. then it continues into neverwinter nights 2

Originally posted by Yikes:

you wont get any of the finer details just playing the last 2 campaigns. half the chars from the og show up in the second campaigns. the slander on the og campaign around here is atrocious

The main character of campaign 2 and 3 is supposed to be different from the main character of the first, and NWN2 is a completely different story and character as well, but there are some references to the previous campaigns and some side characters make a reappearance.

"Half the characters" sounds like a huge exaggeration to me though, but it's been a while since I last played the official campaigns, so maybe I'm wrong? And to be fair, in Hordes of the Underdark and NWN2 these reappearances, while minor to the overall plot, may even spoil events of the main campaign.

But if you're not interested in the main campaign anyway, it makes no sense to force yourself through it just to get these minor references later on. All the campaigns are enjoyable in their own way without absolutely requiring previous knowledge about the characters of other campaigns, and their plots are mostly independent of each other.

If you're really afraid of spoilers to the main campaign though, maybe force yourself through the first chapter that takes place in Neverwinter Nights and watch the conclusion - I think that's all you really need to know. That's where I stopped before playing Hordes of the Underdark and I was able to enjoy it a lot more than the main campaign. I completely played through the main campaign years later as well, but regretted the time wasted.

It's not slander, it's a valid opinion. There are enough people who dislike the main campaign and there are also many who love it (I suspect you can tell most of them apart by how fascinating they think Aribeth is as a character). What I'm saying is the OP sounds like they'd belong to the former group and it makes no sense to waste your time with something you don't enjoy. I've never heard anyone say "The main campaign really bored me in the beginning but it was totally worth pushing through because it got so much more epic later on." They either love it or hate it all the way through. IIRC, the "find the x unique special items in order to progress" trope is even repeated later on.

[PinhaT]

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

If the second campaign happens to bore you as well, you could aso just jump into Hordes of the Underdark directly; it is a high level campaign though)

This makes me laugh because back when this game first came out decades ago, I thought the main campaign wasn't gripping enough (But then again, I was 11 so my attention span was a lot shorter) so I jumped ahead to HotU and it was my favorite off the bat (Kingmaker was a good second to me. I liked the companions in that one).

The main campaign isn't actually so bad, it's just that most of it isn't very exciting; even with friends. If St. Peter was judging the original devs at the pearly gates, the module where you have to search the four districts for the waterdauvian creatures would be a strike towards the red man downstairs if it really mattered, lol. It just seemed so tedious.

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by PinhaT:

The main campaign isn't actually so bad, it's just that most of it isn't very exciting; even with friends.

I'd agree with this as well. Personally, I really don't like the main plot but I didn't think the main campaign was all bad, there were some parts, areas, side quests that I quite enjoyed. But nothing was all that memorable to me, and most importantly, I didn't think there was enough pay-off for the huge time investment it requires.

[Yoinkyz]

Originally posted by DrLoboto:

Originally posted by Yikes:

personally love the main campaign also all the story main 3 campaign are connected with the same character telling an epic story. then it continues into neverwinter nights 2

Originally posted by Yikes:

you wont get any of the finer details just playing the last 2 campaigns. half the chars from the og show up in the second campaigns. the slander on the og campaign around here is atrocious

The main character of campaign 2 and 3 is supposed to be different from the main character of the first, and NWN2 is a completely different story and character as well, but there are some references to the previous campaigns and some side characters make a reappearance.

"Half the characters" sounds like a huge exaggeration to me though, but it's been a while since I last played the official campaigns, so maybe I'm wrong? And to be fair, in Hordes of the Underdark and NWN2 these reappearances, while minor to the overall plot, may even spoil events of the main campaign.

But if you're not interested in the main campaign anyway, it makes no sense to force yourself through it just to get these minor references later on. All the campaigns are enjoyable in their own way without absolutely requiring previous knowledge about the characters of other campaigns, and their plots are mostly independent of each other.

If you're really afraid of spoilers to the main campaign though, maybe force yourself through the first chapter that takes place in Neverwinter Nights and watch the conclusion - I think that's all you really need to know. That's where I stopped before playing Hordes of the Underdark and I was able to enjoy it a lot more than the main campaign. I completely played through the main campaign years later as well, but regretted the time wasted.

It's not slander, it's a valid opinion. There are enough people who dislike the main campaign and there are also many who love it (I suspect you can tell most of them apart by how fascinating they think Aribeth is as a character). What I'm saying is the OP sounds like they'd belong to the former group and it makes no sense to waste your time with something you don't enjoy. I've never heard anyone say "The main campaign really bored me in the beginning but it was totally worth pushing through because it got so epic later on." They either love it or hate it all the way through.

you thinking its just aribeth showing up shows me you might not have even played them much like many in this form might like to belive they have a valid opinion its like playing mass effect 3 befor anyother mass effect and dieing on that hill saying its good and the past games are old and trash. its simply basic brained. like sure dark souls 3 has all the new mechanics and is a bit shinyer doesnt invalidate alll the past ds games cause your unwilling to get the full scope of the world.

soooo many chars from oc campaign show up
In the Hordes of the Underdark campaign, Grimgnaw makes a guest appearance as an opponent of the player, along with Maugrim Korothir.

In the Hordes of the Underdark campaign, Daelan can be found in the Hall of Mirrors in Undermountain level 1 central.

when i say allmost half the chars show up i mean it -__- i know you prob dont know who any of these chars i list here are but they are main companions of oc

In the Hordes of the Underdark campaign, Linu can be found in a sarcophagus in the eastern part of level 2 of Undermountain. (There is also a fake Linu in the area, in reality a disguised rakshasa.)An observation made by Daelan Red Tiger in this campaign suggests that Linu's apparent clumsiness is purely due to her self-consciousness, as it disappears when she is lost in thought.

In the Hordes of the Underdark campaign, Aribeth's is encountered in Cania,

and so many other minor details will be lost on you by skipping

[DrLoboto]

Originally posted by Yikes:

soooo many chars from oc campaign show up

Fair enough for proving me wrong about this. And I can see how these reappearances might really matter to someone invested in the characters (even though I think your Mass Effect comparison is way off; not only because the ME games clearly have an overarching plot and build upon each other's stories).

Originally posted by Yikes:

you thinking its just aribeth showing up shows me you might not have even played them much

You're right, I did play through each campaign exactly ONE time only, and that was enough for me. And when I said I did not find the OC memorable, that's exactly what that means: it's easy for me to forget a lot about the side characters, reappearances and "minor details" due to not really being invested in the story and companions (contrary to Mass Effect).

It changes nothing about my point though. Some players (like you) really dig the main campaign and others don't. Those who don't will still be able to enjoy Hordes of the Underdark (like I did), despite possibly missing out on the references. And it's highly unlikely that anyone would thank you for talking them into playing through the whole main campaign even though they're not enjoying it, just so they will get these minor references later on.

But if you think it makes no sense to play the other campaigns without having played the main campaign - well, there are lots of high quality community created modules the OP could play instead. *shrug*

I don't want to dissuade anyone from playing the main campaign just because *I* don't happen to like it. I tell everyone to give it a chance and then decide for themselves. But the OP did so and found it boring so far, and from my experience I'd say if they feel that way now, they are unlikely to still warm up to the campaign later. It's possible, of course, but not something I've ever heard anyone report. Some people completely write off NWN because they can't get into the main campaign, and what I'm saying is, before you do that, there's no shame in just dropping the main campaign and trying other modules.

[Yoinkyz]

i dig the greater experience as a hole. the oc campgain is the foundation that much is built on the waling dead for godsakes is even endlessly mentioned in neverwinter 2

[allenayen96]

@Yikes
Sou calls for a new character. My 16th lv Sorcerer does NOT need to go to school to learn how to be am adventurer. Also he is overpower for Sou. In HotU the character from Sou is suppose to answer the call for heroes. You character from the OC can play in HotU if you want to.

[Yoinkyz]

i miss spelled. i meant characters not charecter as in side chars. i allways make a new char as it is far more enjoyable to do so anyway.

[peep]

I heard really good things about The Prophet moduel and being a big Planescape Torment fan, I think I'll dive in deep and try that one out first. Maybe i'll come back to the main campaign after a few moduels.

[DrLoboto]

Great choice. It's pretty linear, but the writing is awesome. Be aware though that this - of all community modules! - is the ONE campaign I know of that the EE broke compatibility with in parts, unfortunately. You will be able to play it, but from what I read, you will occasionally have to resort to workarounds when scripts are not triggered properly or something. :(