Posted January 27, 2013
It was the only sold add-on I had not played when this was still on shelves.
Played a female Necromancer/Pale Master halfling (ended 9/6, I think). Focused on taking mostly Necro-based spells for role-play...and basic other spells. Fear spell is a game winner with this build, still working in the final battles. It's a crap-shoot, but usually it scatters enough of the fodder to gang up on the most powerful baddie.
I didn't accomplish everything as I tend to not complete rpgs where I try to sniff out every corner.
Only one real criticism: the story line at the end becomes a double-cross extravaganza to the point where rivalries built up through the game become somewhat meaningless. I think I understand why - give the game a combat heavy finish. It does little to kill the story as it comes right at the end.
Companions are better than average. Better than most in the OC.
There are some really nice touches in the game. Small things. Uses of the engine. Almost totally absent are the crap quests such as "Go find the four elemental rods to open the door." The motivations placed upon the nature of the quest objects themselves are believable and rooted in human nature. Very often quests started in one direction leave you facing the other way at the end. Pleasant moral choices to make. And some diplom/bluff/intimidate checks can avoid major events. I sort screwed up and did not check the pale master's class skills before dumping some points into bluff as my necromancer. When it came time for the PM levels, I realized she gets diplomacy. So I put some into that too. It turned out not to be a mistake as quite a few conversations had one check but not the other. I was able to see a lot of the alternate routes through conversation trees.
I think I will start a slow game of the OC, to go back through it and MOtB. I need some class ideas, though. OC & MOtB are not very critical character friendly, IIRC. I like weird builds...not necessarily uber-powered ones.
Played a female Necromancer/Pale Master halfling (ended 9/6, I think). Focused on taking mostly Necro-based spells for role-play...and basic other spells. Fear spell is a game winner with this build, still working in the final battles. It's a crap-shoot, but usually it scatters enough of the fodder to gang up on the most powerful baddie.
I didn't accomplish everything as I tend to not complete rpgs where I try to sniff out every corner.
Only one real criticism: the story line at the end becomes a double-cross extravaganza to the point where rivalries built up through the game become somewhat meaningless. I think I understand why - give the game a combat heavy finish. It does little to kill the story as it comes right at the end.
Companions are better than average. Better than most in the OC.
There are some really nice touches in the game. Small things. Uses of the engine. Almost totally absent are the crap quests such as "Go find the four elemental rods to open the door." The motivations placed upon the nature of the quest objects themselves are believable and rooted in human nature. Very often quests started in one direction leave you facing the other way at the end. Pleasant moral choices to make. And some diplom/bluff/intimidate checks can avoid major events. I sort screwed up and did not check the pale master's class skills before dumping some points into bluff as my necromancer. When it came time for the PM levels, I realized she gets diplomacy. So I put some into that too. It turned out not to be a mistake as quite a few conversations had one check but not the other. I was able to see a lot of the alternate routes through conversation trees.
I think I will start a slow game of the OC, to go back through it and MOtB. I need some class ideas, though. OC & MOtB are not very critical character friendly, IIRC. I like weird builds...not necessarily uber-powered ones.
