I'm sorry for opening this kind of thread, especially since I already own the game and am about to play it anyway (few days away from it), but I couldn't find an answer on Google.

I'm playing this game based on the amount of mentions it received when talking about stories/atmospheres that are somewhat close to those of Planescape, and I just thought about the fact that the main reason Planescape's gameplay is so thin is that there were various problems concerning time/money (I can't remember very well at the moment what those problems were in the specifics).

Now, the fact that all the dungeon exploring and monster-killing in Planescape got cut is to me a matter of great joy, as opposed to how most people feel about it, and I don't really expect MotB to have anywhere near the same ratio text:play, but I was still hoping for the story and dialogue to take the greater part of the hours I'll spend on the game overall.

To those who played them both, just how much of an emphasis was placed in the gameplay of Mask of the Betrayer? And how much on the text? Note that I haven't played NWN 2 before, so any comparisons between the two would fall flat.

Thanks for reading.

MotB has a fair amount of both combat and dialog. I found it struck a good balance between the two.

I'd say it's about a 70/30 split between story-telling and combat. Most dungeons are more exploration than fighting, and fights tend to be more on the side of smaller groups of stronger opponents rather than slogging your way through numerous trash mobs. Combat gameplay is still strong (fights can require a bit of strategy, and you need to dedicate some time to gearing up well using the crafting system, along with the whole spirit-meter mechanic) such that it doesn't fall by the wayside like it does in PS:T, but you'll still spend more time talking and exploring than fighting.

Just a little heads up: MotB continues the story of the main character from the original NWN 2 campaign. While it isn't absolutely necessary to play the OC first, it would certainly be helpful in understanding some of the names and references you're going to hear in MotB. If you're new to NWN (or 3rd Ed D&D in general), then playing the OC first can also help you make yourself familiar with the mechanics.

Thank you, this was just what I wanted to hear! Now I'm more relaxed about playing it (even the idea of exploring > fighting appeals to me). Indeed, this was the main reason why it took me so many years to get around to want to play MotB, and initially I thought I wouldn't really ever get to it, but lately, what with my interest in videogames waning, I stopped caring too much about doing everything the "proper" way, and since so many people say that you can skip the OC with minimal loss I just decided that playing MotB alone is better than not playing it at all. Also I enjoy shorter games a lot more than I do longer ones, and having 30 hours over 70 or 100 (overall, OC + MotB) is a lot more attracting to me.

Maybe then spend 6 minutes and read the OC plot summary with spoilers from the wiki.
http://nwn2.wikia.com/wiki/Official_campaign

I like OC quite a bit myself, but MotB is indeed way better.

Splendid idea, I will definitely read it! I thought it would be longer, this seems pretty nice.

That's what happens when "The Lizardmen can be found in some nearby ruins,"
contains mucking about in the forest or swamps (don't remember which) killing a whole lot of fauna, then clearing a swampy cave/dungeon thing of lizardpeople and other inhabitants. And then you get to talk with their boss and maybe make a deal. That's an hours worth of gametime right there.

Which is the main reason I'm skipping the whole game, along with the fact I've heard that it's a pretty generic fantasy story of boy saves the world, which I could never stomach.

It was a girl that saved the world in my game, but it was never really about saving the world, to me. It was about the wacky hijinks I got into with my oddball companions and all the little side-plots.

BTW, since the text and story is the important thing, you might like this mod that makes it easier to read.
http://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/81

I hear you. I can stomach long games if the story is really good, but standard high fantasy D&D plots tend to leave me out in the cold. If you are interested, you could also check out the SA LP right here; it's actually quite entertaining and informative (especially when covering cut content).