Let's Play Neverwinter Nights 168: Epilogue

Channel:

Kikoskia

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57,000

Published on April 16, 2016 9:00:01 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzJVKccCjko

Game:

Neverwinter Nights (2002)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 11:21

4,911 views

148

With Morag defeated Neverwinter and the Forgotten Realms are saved, the creator race defeated once and for all. Sar'ken can return to the material plane knowing that he has won this day, that the words of power will no longer threaten the world. What will tomorrow bring however? Will Sar'ken once more travel the lands or will another hero rise up and take on danger and peril to save the realms?

Adventure never ends you see, it just moves from one place to another, one villain to another, one hero to another. There will always be adventures in the Forgotten Realms and as such, people to go on them. Who will answer the next call?

And with that the core campaign is over. With the two other modules I've put up over 300 videos on this game in one form or another, countless hours from three long and connected campaigns. While the connection between the core campaign at the two modules is very loose indeed they are all in the same world and that's a world that's rich in lore, detail and scope. The core campaign was naturally the first module that was released for the game and in many ways it shows. The story is simplified compared to the other modules and many of the characters are somewhat flat compared to the richer, more fleshed out NPCs in Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark. Many features in the modules weren't present at all in the core campaign which makes sense as they hadn't been made at the start but playing them out of order of release shows the weaknesses of the core campaign compared to that which came later.

Does that make the core campaign a bad game? Not at all, it's a game I loved playing through. As a long-time fan of D&D it was a joy to play through the long original campaign and in many ways even more enjoyable to point out the obvious D&D tropes that were foreshadowed from a mile away in the main story and some of the larger side quests. Graphically the game is exactly the same as the modules as they run on the same engine and all of them share the same assets as the core campaign which the later modules built on. In many ways the core campaign was a kind of tech demo of what the engine was capable of and the game gives you all the tools to tart building your own modules to add to the basic one. Back in the day some of the things you could play online were extensive, not limited to MMO-like multiplayer experiences with crafting and loot collection. Back when this game was released I was drawn into the world of the core campaign and the game has stuck with me all this time and will probably do so for a long time to come.

I loved playing through as a druid - something I've never played in tabletop D&D let alone Neverwinter Nights - and it shows how differently the game plays out if you pick another class. The henchmen you can take are all very varied and while you're limited only to one and can't give them equipment in the core campaign they add that party dynamic and the personal touch with their quests each chapter that further brings the world to life. Some of the interactions with other NPCs weren't that great of course but without the core campaign we wouldn't have had either of the other modules I played through before this, both fantastic stories that owe their existence to the core campaign in all it's slightly clunky and jagged glory. They're all wonderful stories to play through and I'd encourage anyone to give this game a try, build a character I haven't and find the play style that suits you. As a stepping stone into D&D this game works brilliantly and even if you're not a fan of D&D it's a perfectly fine roleplaying game in it's own right.

So, what's next for this slot? Neverwinter Nights has been a very long Let's Play, the longest I've ever done I think. I'll definitely not be following this up with another D&D game, I think a small rest from them would be good, the NWN 1 engine ones especially. I'm definitely not ruling out returning to D&D games in the future, I have a few plans for them that one day I hope to record and put up but that's in the far future. We do need a replacement RPG however to fill this slot and it just so happens there's a game series I quite like that I've only done a few games of in the past. Perhaps it's time once more to return there and save another world altogether from a different but no less terrible enemy.

But that is for another time. For now, Sar'ken and his companions deserve the rest that they've fought so hard for. Saving the world is tiring work after all and I think this druid needs some time to be among the peace and tranquility of nature once again. If he's lucky he might avoid getting attacked or dragged into a quest for a whole day. Such is the life of a D&D adventurer eh?

See you next Let's Play!

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