What is your favorite campaign? Why?

themazingness

No spoilers (or at least tag your spoilers so they are hidden). Explain in the comments why it is your favorite campaign.

Arvia

So, I didn't want to vote, because I haven't played all the campaigns, but somebody has to begin.

I have only played the Original Campaign, Shadows of Undrentide and am half through Hordes of the Underdark. I haven't played the other campaigns (yet). From the 3 above, I prefer the OC. I know that the majority doesn't agree.
I found it much more diverse and open for roleplaying than SoU, which has a much more linear story.
I haven't finished HotU yet, but I've played through chapters 1 and 2, and until now I still prefer the OC. Maybe because the game tends to throw too many "gotcha" situations at you to challenge you at higher levels. Also, HotU has too many puzzles for my taste. If gaming time is limited, I don't want to spend an hour trying to find out how to get to the next dungeon level.

Permidion_Stark

I have only played the OC, HotU and SoU and the three games released in the Kingmaker expansion pack (Kingmaker, Witch's Wake and Shadowguard). Of these Witch's Wake was by far my favourite. I thought it was incredibly atmospheric even though it wasn't complete. I also really enjoyed Kingmaker and played it a few times. The OC was okay, SoU didn't seem very coherent and I didn't like the henchmen (though Deekin could be amusing) and HotU was alright except it irritated me that it seemed to follow on from SoU rather than the original campaign.

kansasbarbarian

I think story wise Daggerford is by far the best. IMHO of course.

Zaxares

I'm refraining from voting for now since I haven't played Darkness over Daggerford or Tyrants of the Moonsea. Of the 3 original campaigns though, HotU was definitely my favourite. I appreciated having a larger party to work with and I found the epic feats to be just a lot of fun (not to mention by then Bioware had great experience with the engine and managed to craft some extremely memorable encounters, like the fight with Vixthra.)

Calgacus

I remember being far more impressed with HotU than the OC and SoU and I guess my second favorite would be Pirates of the Sword Coast. The HotU expansion had some great content like the Red Dragon Disciple and the campaign seemed more interesting with better puzzles and interesting battles and enemies.

Kamigoroshi

Probably the Swordflight campaign series by rogueknight333. It goes from Calimshan, to Tethyr, to the Underdark.

Pixel_Mayhem

I couldn't decide so I voted other

Meandre

I'll go with Darkness over Daggerford over Hordes of the Underdark.
The other campaigns didn't do much for me.

While I like Hordes of the Underdark mainly because of the third act, because

I like everything planar.

However, the epic level stuff is a bit too over-the-top for me and the parts of the story that deal with the drow are way too cliché for my liking.

Meanwhile, what I like about Darkness over Daggerford:
- The level range of ( ~ 8-15) is just right: Your character feels like they can actually do stuff while not yet being nearly god-like.
- The great variety and number of sidequests.
- The world map.
- The rather unique items.
- The new features (terrain that's not just a flat surface!).
- That's it's the least linear campaign of them all.
- Also: After you've finished DoD, your character is just at the right level to start Hordes of the Underdark...

So yeah, it's not really a contest.

Zwerkules

I'm just wondering how many people here have even played all the listed campaigns/modules. If you haven't played all of them and say for example that the OC is the best that is highly unfair to the modules you haven't played.

themazingness

Zwerkules wrote: »

I'm just wondering how many people here have even played all the listed campaigns/modules. If you haven't played all of them and say for example that the OC is the best that is highly unfair to the modules you haven't played.

True. I recognize this poll has a bias issue that way. At the same time, my purpose in doing the poll is to learn what is somebody's favorite, not what campaign is considered the best by those who have finished them all. If somebody's favorite changes, I hope they would come back here and say so and why in the comments.

To answer my own thread (haven't voted yet, but I plan to do some playing first), mine is currently Daggerford, but then again the only ones I've given decent amounts of time to to appropriately judge are Daggerford, the OC, and Endless Dungeons (which I don't really think of as a campaign as much as a dungeon crawler). Part of the reason I did this poll is to learn others like about their favorite so I know what to try after I finish Darkness over Daggerford.

1130210

I haven't played Darkness Over Daggerford or Tyrants of the Moonsea yet. However, I'll have to pick Hordes of the Underdark because of the evil ending.

No spoilers, of course, but what a way to make you feel powerful! Besides if you need a reason to play the expansions, Deekin alone is enough of a reason

It's too bad they botched the original campaign. Besides the fantastic locations you go to, the story is a bit mediocre. Plus, the first chapter, to me, doesn't count because it was pretty much just ripped out of one of the Goldbox games.

megamike15

i really should have waited until i finished moonsea before voting but whatever. currently it's hotu. it's atlest on part with the ie games imo and has become one of my top 5 bioware games.

Dordledum

Haven't tried Darkness over Daggerford or Tyrants of the Moonsea yet. Only just got my hands on NWN EE and will be replaying the OC, SoU, and HotU first. (alle using the same character probably.

So, no opinion yet!

Cerabelus

I use to prefer a SOU through to HOTU playthrough but DOD impressed me alot and I've only played it once, I tried to play Moonsea but it keeps crashing on me when i exit the Tavern the second time.

In low to mid Lvls SOU and DOD shine for me, in HOTU I'm ready for bigger challenges but I like SOU story better...I love Deekin but the Companion system is...not good.

back in the day I'd seen BG 1&2 played but I'd never played RPG's before so I started with the NWN OC and it introduced me to D&D and showed me how to play and that's how I look at it, a Campaign Tutorial for new players than when your ready go play IWD & BG.

DJKajuru

Ive played the OC, SoU and HotU till half of it , and I vote for OC because in my opinion SoU is a bunch of clichés in a row. OC at least brings a more fleshed out plot .

BelgarathMTH

I've always found Aribeth's character arc, the story of the Neverwinter Plague, and the Cult of the Eye, to be very compelling. I always replay it every few years. Shadows of Undrentide would be second for me. Hordes of the Underdark was okay in the first two chapters, but I lost my interest early in chapter three the last time I played. I only ever finished it once, many years ago.

I started a game of Darkness Over Daggerford once, and it failed to pique my interest after only a couple of hours playing. I had a totally "meh" reaction and had no interest in continuing. In fairness to it, I was close to my saturation point with NWN in general at the time, and was ready to play some other game. So I may give it another chance eventually.

I haven't purchased or tried Tyrants of the Moonsea yet. I'm not sure when I'll be in the mood for NWN again. I think I'll be more likely to replay NWN2 within the next year before I've had enough time pass since my last big NWN run to want to play NWN again.

Isewein

Of the ones listed, I would go with DoD, with HotU being a strong contender. DoD epitomises a decent adventure and thus exactly what the OC should have been - nothing too ambitious, nothing too innovative, but a great showcase of where you can go with the toolset. Story-wise SoU-HotU is a truly epic campaign, but I really dislike its level design and overpowered fast progression (especially compared to BG...). The OC has some lovely story pitches as @BelgarathMTH pointed out (I actually used them as inspiration for a siege scenario in my P&P campaign back in the day), but they are drawn out into mechanically uninteresting areas, tedious endless fights with absolutely no tactical appeal and henchmen that feel precisely as alive as that atrocious moniker would lead you to expect.

None of the campaigns really hold up to the Top 10 or so of custom modules, however, and that I think is the real success of NWN - the game was meant to bring D&D to the screen, after all. Quite the singular feat, come to think of it. In terms of design, the laurels go to the abovementioned Swordflight campaign. It's less obvious when it comes to story, but probably either the Prophet series or the Bastard of Kosigan. For overall the most polished feel, I would look towards the classic Tales of Arterra. Should Fester Pot ever release the final part of his Auren Trilogy, however, I might just have to revisit my judgement...

Also, I'm curious @1130210 : which of the GoldBox games? Curse of the Azure Bonds? It's been too long...

rashkae

The Prophet Trilogy, by a far far margin. Truly dramatic moments. I was never able to predict where the story was going. Great Horror! and great use of community content throughout to push the game engine to the next level.

Xorina

Arvia wrote: »

... From the 3 above, I prefer the OC. I know that the majority doesn't agree.
I found it much more diverse and open for role-playing than SoU, which has a much more linear story.

Indeed, the oc is superior in narrative like a gritty detective story with squalor and nobility in extremis - urban sprawl with many twists and dead ends with rumour and counter-rumour.

I've played it since 2002 and still not completed it (I like the scenic route to do all side quests and grab all treasure), which may astonish some, yet we have to remember there is more to life than video games. I take my time for more important activities.

The OC's flaws/quirks are numerous, depending on your view:

1. Monty Haul unrealism.
2. No encumbrance with GP.
3. Curiously unfavourable Aribeth trading terms, given you're working for her.
3. Curiously unfavourable Prelude dwarf merchant/trainer terms, given your character is a top of the class graduate of the Neverwinter Academy.
4.No banks, which links in with the no GP encumbrance quirk.
5.Slaughtering farmers' entire livestock without any NPC noticing
6. Huge amounts of cash money/valuables being left around the city outside which is a bit queer.
7.Henchmen cannot be inventory managed.
8. NPC's appear to have Parkinson's syndrome (wibble-wobble...Possibly mod fixed?)
9. Inability to heal sick NPC's fo say 25XP each in the Academy's makeshift infirmary
(possible new NWNEE feature or mod?)
11. Characters are mutants have no fingers! (now fixed with a mod).
13. No laws of supply on demand/price system like IceWind Dale has (dump a mass of product on a merchant and the price of the item corrects downwards).

SoU has better Role Play and consequences than the OC, which has a lighter touch. e.g.: you can burgle and ransack properties throughout Neverwinter with gay abandon with no comeback. SoU penalises via a Lawful/Chaotic alignment drift. Still it's all part of its charm.

All of the above could be fixed with mods though for all I know so YMMV...? Still prefer the OC though because there is so much to do and investigate.

MickMcKee

I know this is an old one, voted anyways.
I've played all of the above multiple times.

I voted Other, as the Swordflight series sets the bar pretty high.
I'm on my second playthrough and unfortunately encountered a few issues in Chapter 2 under NWN EE Development Build 8193.22 but I hear it runs extremely well under NWN Diamond Edition (Which I do not have installed).

Hopefully Chapter 5 will be released this year and Chapter 6 within two years after that

Prince_Raymond

I am abstaining from voting until I have actually played through all the campaigns. This includes the Original Wailing Death Campaign. The closest I ever came to completing that campaign was the beginning of Chapter 4 while playing NWN Classic. An issue with my PC had forced me to reload its operating system, resulting in the wipe of my game's progress. I have since tried to successfully run through the entire campaign, But I wind up stopping for one reason or another. That said, like @Arvia, I prefer playing through "The Wailing Death". So far, my favorite module within the campaign would have to be the one that takes place in the village of Charwood forever lost in time. There, you are appointed the role of a judge presiding over the trial of brothers, Karlat and Quint Jhareg. The story is engaging, immersive and relatable. The dialogue is very well written. There is a bit of intrigue, as you must conduct a thorough investigation into the events leading up to the village's state of Chronological Purgatory. It makes the player think about the decisions one must make before reaching a verdict and the consequences, both positive and negative, of those decisions. There is a life lesson to be learned from that module. "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories." *Doink Doink* Thank you for reading, and happy (healthy) gaming to all.

Emardon_Lareous

Swordflight Chapter 2 is a good illustration of how campaigns should be, an interesting overarching story with nonlinear exploration where you can find yourself against powerful enemies too early and need to run.

I like the implementation of class based mechanics like making golems or discovering magic secrets for wizards, talking to animals for druids to find secrets etc. It makes the game feel like it's specific to the character you made for this adventure.

Tyrants of the Moonsea is a close second for its setting and how the story develops, especially if you played Darkness over Daggerford as a prelude to it.

Cerabelus

Well i repplayed DoD and just finished Tyrants of the Moonsea.

I ported my character from DoD and i feel like it was one whole adventure but missing a final entry, it was clear towards the end (without spoilers) that there was suppose to be another module.

I feel like my adventure will never be complete...

I think Ossian did a great job with both modules and i think i like Tyrants more than DoD.

megamike15

Cerabelus wrote: »

Well i repplayed DoD and just finished Tyrants of the Moonsea.

I ported my character from DoD and i feel like it was one whole adventure but missing a final entry, it was clear towards the end (without spoilers) that there was suppose to be another module.

I feel like my adventure will never be complete...

I think Ossian did a great job with both modules and i think i like Tyrants more than DoD.

the continuation is comeing out next year as a free module.

https://www.lukescull.com/2021/07/14/announcing-the-blades-of-netheril-an-unofficial-sequel-to-the-neverwinter-nights-original-campaign/

Cerabelus

megamike15 wrote: »

Cerabelus wrote: »

Well i repplayed DoD and just finished Tyrants of the Moonsea.

I ported my character from DoD and i feel like it was one whole adventure but missing a final entry, it was clear towards the end (without spoilers) that there was suppose to be another module.

I feel like my adventure will never be complete...

I think Ossian did a great job with both modules and i think i like Tyrants more than DoD.

the continuation is comeing out next year as a free module.

https://www.lukescull.com/2021/07/14/announcing-the-blades-of-netheril-an-unofficial-sequel-to-the-neverwinter-nights-original-campaign/

Hmm, perhaps my adventure will continue after all.

Or depending on how they setup the connections maybe a new character.

Thank you for telling me @megamike15

Xeknos

I've only ever played and beaten the OC, SoU and HotU. I have a soft spot for SoU and like it the best, but the OC has grown on me in subsequent playthroughs.

HotU was neat, however, in how it tried to tie the events of the OC and SoU together.

krickerd

HOTU. Several reasons:
1. Story and scope: the range of higher levels afford a truly epic adventure. Plus there's a certain feel to each of the areas that sticks with me.
2. Epic level range. The challenge is great but the skill levels of the PC and henchmen, along with the equipment allow you to rise to the challenge.
3. Script and production polish, voice acting and dialogue humor all make for an enjoyable experience. Contrast with SOU, which severely suffered from a lack of voice audio normalization. I just played it again. Often times much of the voice volumes can not be heard over the music or sound effects, while louder spoken parts are plenty loud. SOU voice audio needs a production makeover. Just run them all through a normalizer. It really sounds like that was not done which I find hard to believe for a finished product. I should go back thru OC and compare.