NWN as Simulator

[mypetrock]

As a DM for a large (7-8) party approaching high level play, I'm constantly trying to find an optimal mix of challenges to keep them interested and entertained. Occasionally I'll overshoot the mark a bit and the players start grumbling about rolling up new characters.

I was looking at Neverwinter Nights as a possible avenue to simulate encounters so that I could scale them up or down in an appropriate manner. Has anyone else used NWN as a simulator? What were the results? How close did/would it come to simulating P&P D&D?

Thanks,

mypetrock

 

[orbitalfreak]

Haven't used it for this purpose myself, but the potential for use is definately there. You can set up custom encounters, test things fairly quickly, and (using DM tools and such) edit things on the fly. The game also makes calculating things (hp, skills, etc.) much quicker than pen and paper.

There are some drawbacks, though, that I think of off the top of my head. First, the rules aren't implemented exactly as in 3e, and are off more when comparing to 3.5e (OT, I wonder if NWN will be upgrading to 3.5 rules?). Mostly, though, these are minor things, like the Toughness Feat or different minor uses for skills.

The main drawback to NWN, though, is AI. You're not dealing with real people, and so the combatants do things according to pre-defined scripts. Lots of the innovation of PC's, as well as DM-controlled creatures/NPC's, is lost.

Overall, though, for getting a general feel of power of an encounter, NWN could be a great choice, despite a few drawbacks.

P.S., I think this is better placed in the Software Forum.

 

[BiggusGeekus@Work]

It's not bad but there are things to be aware of.

NWN will opt for a small number of powerful monsters rather than lots of little ones or one big, huge one. Also the CR system tends to break down with large numbers.