Mask of the Betrayer

[Big Bottom]

According to Anthony's post in RPGCodex, Obsidian's newly installed position of Audio Director and Art Director improved the quality of MotB by lots lots.

 

Nice! Now if only Obsidian has its own In-House cinematic team like Massive entertainment.

 

An example of Massive's jaw dropping trailer for WiC :

 

 

Well, there are 60 new pieces of music in the expansion, compared to the 99 that comprised the entire of NWN2's music (including the stuff from NWN1). Big thumbs up for that alone.

[Starwars]

Finished the game earlier today. I am very happy with how it turned out. Combat difficulty varies, but for the very most part I think it's a lot of fun. Definetely more rewarding than the NWN2 OC.

 

Story was actually extremely good. While I prefer Planescape: Torment, this is really one of the best stories I've seen in a RPG. A great mix of pursuing your own personal goals and solving your own problems, and getting involved in something that truly feels epic (and I usually hate how that word is tossed around when describing games).

 

I am very impressed, the Obsidian guys did a fabulous job on this expansion, they really "got it right" this time around. Thanks a lot, and I'd love to see more expansions with the quality of MotB.

[Nartwak]

Good review Eldar.

[xantrius]

thanks for the review Cantousent, and a thank you to the other people that have provided their experience with it, sounds promising ^^

[Gromnir]

all Gromnir does is work... hardly any time to play. nevertheless, will probably get this thing... eventually. got some Qs for eldar and others who has played.

 

1) how does warlock imbue item work?

 

is doubtful that we play a warlock, but the spirit meter stuff and new resting rules make it more appealing. crafting is kinda a neato advantage for warlocks, but crafting feats still seem to be off-limits for warlocks post 1.10. 3 essential factors for warlock to imbue in p&p: a) umd o' sufficient magnitude b) necessary caster level c) crafting feat. no crafting feats? so, how does it work in motb?

 

2) is ASoC immediately available in motb?

 

eldar suggested that ASoC had some rp applications in motb... and even though Gromnir loathes prcs we will maybe give ASoC a looksee. after a glance at the prerequisites it not seems as if ASoC is like shadow thief or neverwinter nine prcs from nwn2... not have some in-game requirement such as joining a guild or somesuch, but am gonna double-check anyways.

 

3) is there a rogue companion available in motb, and if not, how necessary is a rogue?

 

unless the one-o'-many, or the spirit bear is a rogue, we not see no rogue companions. was not a big fan o' neeshka in nwn2, but we kept her in party til late in game for useful rogue skills. so, if Gromnir wants rogue skills in the party, does we need to take... or is rogues a waste o' space in motb, or...

 

4) for those who has played motb, what skills would you recommends to those who wish to maximize dialogues?

 

how much ESSENTIAL skills integration into dialogues? there were a few encounters in nwn2 when Gromnir noticed that some skill check other than diplomacy were made... but not many were noteworthy.

 

...

 

feedback and insight would be appreciated.

 

anyone? anyone?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Sand]

Well, to get the best dialogue options one would think that one should put an emphasis on the Charisma based skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and possibly taunt. There is only two base classes I can think of that has all these skills. Bards and rogues.

[Starwars]

There are a fair amount of dialogue options from Wisdom as well that I noticed.

[Gromnir]

Well, to get the best dialogue options one would think that one should put an emphasis on the Charisma based skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and possibly taunt. There is only two base classes I can think of that has all these skills. Bards and rogues.

 

not paying attention again? sand didn't play yet, so you don't know squat. clarification: there were maybe 2 or 3 bluff situations worth noting in all of nwn2. most dialogue encounters were simply diplomacy encounters... but there were a few times when bluff were helpful... but for 2-3 situations it would be kinda silly to spend 23 ranks in bluff. am asking if motb makes skills other than diplomacy more useful than they was in nwn2. diplomacy were near essential in nwn2 for those who were interested in dialogues. bluff and intimidate?

 

sw,

 

hmmm. sounds like maybe obsidian went back to ps:t roots. ps:t were pre 3e... no skills. many ps:t dialogue branches were revealed to characters with high wisdom. not have spot or listen checks or some other plausible wisdom based skill check, 'cause no skills were in ps:t. heck, the entire game were pretty wisdom centric.... were the one indispensable stat. 'course now we got skills.

 

by chance did you play a character with high wisdom such as a monk or cleric? am wondering if people who played mages were seeing numerous intelligence based options. developers o' ps:t really didn't try to balance wisdom v. other stats... am wondering if they does same in motb.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Starwars]

I built a character very quickly for the expansion (a pure Bard), so I can't tell you my exact Wisdom score unfortunately, but it was definetely not uberhigh (perhaps there would be even more if I had a really high score). I would guess it was 11 at default, and perhaps a few bonuses from equipment. But definetely not "uber".

Wisdom seemed to be used the most out of the main stats. From what I remember, I saw Intelligence as well. There was also a Charisma check with Gann for my female character which I thought was kinda nice. That's just the off top of my head, I can't recall how many there were.

Wisdom was definetely the most frequent though. I don't think it's like in PS:T though where Wisdom was really "key" to the story. There were a few really nice dialogue options using Wisdom in MotB, but I don't think it's as important to experience everything as it was in PS:T.

 

Someone peeked at the campaign in the toolset (I think over at the Codex) and he said that there were a few Cleric deity checks as well.

 

Can't really comment on the dialogue skills. I'd have to say that I think it was about equal with NWN2, but don't quote me on that. Most of my playing was late nights, and I can't really remember all that well to be honest.

[Dragon Lord Jones]

i see atari is givin' away a free feat or blessing download again with the exclusive pre-order from gamestop, nice to know with one week to release and others already with the game.

[Pidesco]

Well, to get the best dialogue options one would think that one should put an emphasis on the Charisma based skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, and possibly taunt. There is only two base classes I can think of that has all these skills. Bards and rogues.

 

not paying attention again? sand didn't play yet, so you don't know squat. clarification: there were maybe 2 or 3 bluff situations worth noting in all of nwn2. most dialogue encounters were simply diplomacy encounters... but there were a few times when bluff were helpful... but for 2-3 situations it would be kinda silly to spend 23 ranks in bluff. am asking if motb makes skills other than diplomacy more useful than they was in nwn2. diplomacy were near essential in nwn2 for those who were interested in dialogues. bluff and intimidate?

 

sw,

 

hmmm. sounds like maybe obsidian went back to ps:t roots. ps:t were pre 3e... no skills. many ps:t dialogue branches were revealed to characters with high wisdom. not have spot or listen checks or some other plausible wisdom based skill check, 'cause no skills were in ps:t. heck, the entire game were pretty wisdom centric.... were the one indispensable stat. 'course now we got skills.

 

by chance did you play a character with high wisdom such as a monk or cleric? am wondering if people who played mages were seeing numerous intelligence based options. developers o' ps:t really didn't try to balance wisdom v. other stats... am wondering if they does same in motb.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

 

I found that intelligence and wisdom were more or less balanced in Torment. Sure, wisdom gets you more info than intelligence, but not that much more. And charisma also had quite a few dialogue options. The other stats were almost useless, of course.

[Gromnir]

am not sure if we played same torment game. wisdom gave luck bonus (which boosted amost all rolls), xp bonus and had the most numerous and important dialogues... whole power o' belief stuff that were at core of game, and those were almost invariably wisdom checks.

 

*shrug*

 

however, let us not turn this into yet another thread where we debates ps:t strengths and weakness. Gromnir only brought up ps:t to clarify a query 'bout motb... 'cause this is a motb thread. got something to add 'bout motb?

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited October 1, 2007 by Gromnir

[Cantousent]

I've not had a lot of time to visit the boards lately either, but I did want to say that the Arcane Scholar was great for me because it allowed me to pursue the breadth of skills that I most enjoy in a computer game. I could, for instance, max out my diplomacy and spellcraft skills.

 

Specific ASoC interaction, where the NPCs recognized my scholarly affiliation, did not reveal itself to me during my play. However, the class does a lot to enhance RP just in diversifying the player's skills. Conversation skills, and not just diplomacy, can play a vital role in the game. Taunt can help out in some spots, as can bluff and intimidate. In some cases, the PC may use a couple different skills to achieve the same goal, where in other areas it might look like the player has a choice between one skill and another to reach the same spot, but both don't lead to the same outcome.

 

Moreover, having certain NPCs in the party will make a difference in some conversations. For example, using diplomacy might fail, whereas using diplomacy backed by an angelic voice will not.

 

Hope that helps, Grom.

[Starwars]

There are also, just like in NWN2, a fair number of Lore checks. Though I don't think they really affect the outcome of conversations.

 

There are also a few instances where after solving a quest, I would get the message "XP granted for solving blablabla peacefully." I hope the XP granted is balanced towards how much XP the character would get if you decided to slay everything.

[Gromnir]

thanks for feedback... will stick with rogue/cleric combo if ASoC not add something specific... unless there ain't no joinable rogues in motb. Gromnir took rogue levels to boost skills other than trap finding and disarming. will go a different direction if no motb rogues.

 

 

so, any motb rogues for a mostly good party?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Starwars]

You'll get something that can open locks and disarm traps, but not something to provide the sneak attack goodness.

[Tale]

You'll get something that can open locks and disarm traps, but not something to provide the sneak attack goodness.

God... no. NO! This one better not be a Halfling or Halfling disguised as a Gnome like the last one.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Tale

[Starwars]

God... no. NO! This one better not be a Halfling or Halfling disguised as a Gnome like the last one.

 

A Halfling or Halfling disguised a Gnome?

 

Anyways, it's very short. That's all I'll say.

[Gromnir]

is no spoiler or secret that the motb red wizard companion has a homunculus that boasts some thiefy skills. such info has been mentioned in a couple previews. even so, am curious if the critter is up to the task o' replacing a genuine rogue. one would expect that the dc for trap spotting and disarming in an epic level campaign would be pretty damned high. does the homunculus adequate replace a dedicated rogue for the trap & lock pick duties?

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Tale]

God... no. NO! This one better not be a Halfling or Halfling disguised as a Gnome like the last one.

 

A Halfling or Halfling disguised a Gnome?

 

Anyways, it's very short. That's all I'll say.

ONE COMPANION DIES!

[Starwars]

is no spoiler or secret that the motb red wizard companion has a homunculus that boasts some thiefy skills. such info has been mentioned in a couple previews. even so, am curious if the critter is up to the task o' replacing a genuine rogue. one would expect that the dc for trap spotting and disarming in an epic level campaign would be pretty damned high. does the homunculus adequate replace a dedicated rogue for the trap & lock pick duties?

 

I didn't find MotB to be as heavy on traps nor locks as the OC, which is just as well IMO with the death system (though the resting restrictions does make the traps feel a bit more like something to be avoided though).

I think the homonculus managed to spot most traps. There were a few (and indeed, my Bard got pretty pwnd by it) that he didn't manage to spot though. I suspect his spot is pretty much good enough to find almost all traps, except the really high level ones.

He's also kinda funny to talk to, wish he had more to say, hehe.

[Gromnir]

thanks for the feedback. Gromnir will probably stick with rogue/cleric and hope that the red wizard's homunculus has adequate thiefy skills.... though a rogue/wizard/ek/asoc would be a skillz hound and we would not need to depend on homunculi.

 

oh, and 'fore we forget again, anybody know how motb warlock imbue works?

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited October 1, 2007 by Gromnir

[Berserk]

thanks for the feedback. Gromnir will probably stick with rogue/cleric and hope that the red wizard's homunculus has adequate thiefy skills.... though a rogue/wizard/ek/asoc would be a skillz hound and we would not need to depend on homunculi.

You know, that one sounds pretty fun. I'll have to try one out, all I need is to calculate what kind of Feats and Stats I should go for so that I don't gimp myself entirely in either arcane or martial matters.

[Xard]

Oh that's it, I'm ordering this damn game from the internets.

[Sand]

I just wished the dead don't fade away. I want to see piles of my enemies laying before me!