Past Experience - Neverwinter Nights

I think it's rather sad that my old computer could run this game just fine, but I had to buy a new CPU to play a free MMO game.

I stayed away from Neverwinter Nights for a long while, but eventually picked it up after finding out that, 1) some acquaintances of mine not only played it, but used it as background material for a play-by-post Dungeons & Dragons game, and 2) there weren't any monthly fees. I probably should've followed my original instinct.

To be fair, since purchasing it I've had a fair amount of fun with the game, but solo play eventually bores me to tears, shiny graphics or not. If I can't at least have a LAN game with another person, you'll find me playing it only when exceedingly bored. As for the online, multiplayer aspect, I'm of at least two minds on the subject when it comes to NWN.

I'm a Roleplayer. I seek out RP for the sake of RP, not just as fluff to fill the time between bot-killing. There were a number of hosted games which claimed to be RP-style, but very few followed through with such a promise. Even when the promise was kept, there was only so much that could be done, given the game's engine itself. Several player-made tools, widgets, and wands were created and added to various servers to try and make up for the failings of the product, but the core of the game that Bioware built was hack & slash munchkinism, not RP.

Assuming all other factors were equal, a strength-based fighter would statistically always win over a finesse-based fighter. Regardless of class, build, and sometimes even level, a greatsword would always win over a rapier in a duel, despite what we know of real-world physics.

Whether it was an RP-Lite server or hardcore RP, if you wanted to go anywhere or do anything, you needed levels, or at least gold. To participate in mass battles in defense of the city, and not be simply another corpse on the field, you had to "train", "hunt", "travel", or otherwise level-grind to make sure you made a difference. If you didn't want to be a pushover for any random two-copper PC villain, you needed to be able to best them in combat, or bluff your way out. Most of the PC villains I came across, though, were never good at letting you escape, somehow always being powerhouses that used their evil alignment as an excuse to grief you, and then would chastise you if you complained for not facing the consequences of "RP".

On the few servers that had PC-filled IC offices, such as mayor, king, guardsman, whatever, you might have some pretense of power, but without levels (Read: sufficient Hit Points and fighting ability) you wouldn't survive the first assassination attempt, usually put together by some petty powergamer who had no other motive than A) their alignment and B) a desire to do something "big", instead of just griefing low-level characters in the low-level "training" areas.

Occasionally, I came across decent RP. Rarely, I came across really good RP. But almost never with a villain/antagonist.

When I played on the MUD, my character's titles and offices had meaning. The position held power, even if my character couldn't fight worth beans. Typing, good writing skills, creativity, were much more useful in tense situations there, and even if it did come down to game mechanics for combat, there were restrictions meant to discourage griefing of low-level characters, to prevent powergamers from constantly player-killing those who had no chance of defense. On NWN, even the best servers had nothing in place which did that. It didn't matter what level you were. You could be level 3, and a level 20 character was in no way prevented from antagonizing you through combat, despite the fact that there was no way (save for logging out) to defend yourself.

A good player, hero or villain, should make their target's death worth it, in terms of entertainment value, for the other player, not just for their own ego-boosting pleasure.