Neverwinter Nights 2 Forum News (Oct. 27, 04)

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Here are today's Neverwinter Nights 2 forum highlights, collected by NWVault from Obsidian Forums. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

Ferret, Developer

Rolling Stats

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"We should theoretically make the game playable for the poor sod who rolled all 3s..."

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I think people have focused on my statement slightly out of context. Theoretically it's possible to roll all 3s, sure, but it's practically impossible. But it is quite likely that many users will roll badly - even with weighted systems. Even from such small samplings as 6 people in a new campaign, almost invariably a DM takes pity on someone who has a high stat of 12 (and lows of a 5 and 7) to reroll. And if new players don't know they can reroll, then sadness ensues.

And on the other side of the coin, many folks will roll dozens of times until they have as close to ideal stats as their patience allows. So where to balance things is a tricky beast - because what's fun with a character with 17s and 18s is just plain murder on Low Bob the Fighter with his mighty 13 Strength and 10 or less in everything else.

But the main gist of my argument isn't balance (although that's a real issue), it's that players can solve this problem themselves. And I'd rather focus on features that people would have no way of solving. Things like new spells, feats, and prestige classes. Plus a bunch of other things I hope make it in the game (including some things that you and others have been pining for in other threads).

 

Since re-rolling is allowed in cRPG, I don't see any reason for making the game playable with all stats at 3, really. The best idea would be to make it playable with penalties for any given stat if the player manages to make up for it with his other stats or with his skill.

You know what? Sounds weird, but I'd like to see a game that would have a questionnaire to determine the player's own stats. Should be fun. If I DMed a game, I would allow my players to take those online stat quizzes instead of rolling - of course if they employ some level of realism in their answers, hehe.

 

The problem with the quiz is that it's hard to determine which stats reflect which question, as there are lots of grey zones. Such a system would be overly complex and not really that great to end with, at least if it was made in a "realistic" and representative way. But if it is made, and it is good, then it shouldn't limit itself to stats, but also include skills and feats. It would add a new level of roleplaying. But like I said, it is probably too much effort to create a decent version, though it would be nice to see some attempts, as long as they are not the only means for character generation. I also like the powergame potential of the D&D rules.