Neverwinter Nights Board Update

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(Originally posted by Darien)

Here is the latest collection of comments from the official Neverwinter Nights message board.

Rob Bartel, Co-Lead Designer:

Cleric Domains and Feats: We haven't substituted the special abilities with heroic feats. The feats I referred to in my post are part of the normal feat system and don't have anything to do with domains - it was just an example of one of the 'either/or' decisions we have to make in adapting the rules to the computer. All of the cleric domains in the PHB will be supported and each one will have a list of 9 thematically related spells that the cleric can draw from as outlined in the 3rd Edition rules.

Tiles of large castles and monasteries: Yes, the NWN tile system is perfect for situating giant castles and monasteries atop large mesas. =)

Magic items: These 'strength points' you're referring to will actually be the item's 'base value.' That base value will be programmatically determined and displayed within the toolset.

From there, the DM can add a bonus or penalty to the base value (to compensate for a custom-scripted ability that the item has within the module, for instance). Additionally, some stores might be higher priced than others, selling their goods for more than what they're really worth. So the actual in-game cost of the item may differ from the base value but that value will still be there to provide a common benchmark.

As for using that base value to filter unwanted items out of your campaign, absolutely! If you're running a low-level adventure, for instance, you obviously want to keep out items more appropriate for a 20th-level sojourn through the Abyss.

Another use of such a filter would be for gladiatorial contests where you limit the value of the items that players can bring into the ring.

Bob McCabe, Writing & Design

Day/Night cycles: Our official campaign is actually operating outside of time

A module might start in the early morning, and stay that way. Or, it might transition to high noon when a player reaches a certain location. Most of our modules make use of the mood created by nice lightning, or the lack thereof. So, we are not using a more "persistent world" type set-up.

It's probably because we all have God-complexes, and we need absolute
control

Rest: I'm guessing (I'm a writer, not a programmer), but I think this would likely be hard-coded. However, our "rest system," though well designed, is not yet implemented. So, obviously, things could change between now-and-then. I'm getting so good at non-answers!

Tile crossovers: Not really posting so much as confirming accurate educated guesses... I can't go into any great detail just yet

Like Matthew said, most of the tiles have cross-over groups or features. For example, temples aren't found exclusively in the city tileset - they can be found in other tilesets, as well. So, the idea of making villages, not cities, is definitely in. And like the other work-around suggested by JD, if you really wanted to use the city tileset, for example, but have it exist underground, you'd just tinker a little with the lighting and such, and then carefully select the features and groups... it would be very believable

Aidan Scanlan, Writing & Design

On servers and ships: You will easily be able to change the target point of any area transition based on conditions that you set. (e.g. going through the door takes you to the curio shop, however if your carrying the holy stone, the door takes you to a magical realm). However, with your example of respawning monsters, you may also set conditions on when they spawn. You would be able to set a delay (or other conditions) on any spawning once a party has cleaned it out. This would save time on making two identical areas.

As for ships, I will not comment on any specific game content, but Neverwinter IS a port city.