Neverwinter Nights 2: Difference between revisions

Since then, while there have been no plans in sight for a ''Neverwinter Nights 3'', the MMO ''[[Neverwinter (Video Game)|Neverwinter]]'' is slated to be a sorta-sequel set 100 years after the events of the NWN games.

 

* [[Affably Evil]]: Mephasm, an [[Always Chaotic Evil|Always Lawful Evil]] Devil who is soft-spoken, helpful to the player, and not even interested in making you sell your soul to him. He even responds to {{spoiler|Ammon Jerro's slaying of his own granddaughter Shandra}} with seemingly genuine regret and no avarice at all.

** And is implied to be {{spoiler|Neeshka's grandfather}}.

** One of the poorer examples of the trope. The feat only allows you to purchase additional magic items from a few merchants. By the time you get access to these merchants, you should easily be able to craft much better items for virtually nothing.

* [[Broken Bridge]]: Closed access to Blacklake District.

** Hey, {{spoiler|Amie}}, don't you think it might be a bad idea {{spoiler|to piss off a wizard that's giving ''your master'' a hard time}}?

* [[But Thou Must]]

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Aldanon.

** Grobnar, too.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: The game frequently references that Neverwinter is still recovering from the plague and the war with Luskan that the city suffered from in [[Neverwinter Nights|the previous game]]. Also, Deekin, the most [[Love It or Hate It|memorable]] companion from the two expansion packs ''Shadows of Undrentide'' and ''Hordes of the Underdark'', appears as a shopkeeper and references events from both expansions -- albeit in a way that only those familiar with them will have any idea what he's talking about.

** Also, a reference outside the plot but within their [[The Verse|universe]]: at one point, Zhjaeve actually talks about [[Planescape Torment|Dak'kon]], who apparently is an almost legendary figure.

* [[Dronejam]]: Worse: the 3.5 rules let you pass through an ally, but the game makes party members jam doorways anyways.

** Of course, that could be the difference between doing it on paper, where you could handwave it as one player sidling past the other, and doing it on a computer, which isn't quite as flexible.

** {{spoiler|''Mask of the Betrayer'' thankfully rectifies this by revealing that over half the party managed to survive.}}

* [[Dummied Out]]: Time constraints resulted in ''a lot'' of stuff getting cut, like Neeshka and Bishop's romance plots, an encounter with the [[Humanoid Abomination|animus elemental]] Sydney summoned to murder Qara, [[Noodle Incident|why Casavir left Neverwinter]], an exchange between Sand and Qara indicating she's actually ''holding back'' a considerable amount of power...

* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: All of the party members have some sort of severe mental baggage or messed-up past (if not both), all of the party members regularly bicker and annoy one another, and all of the romances are dark, strained, and doomed. This can mostly be laid at the feet of Chris Avellone, who has a severe aversion to straight-played romances.

* [[Guest Star Party Member]]: ({{spoiler|Amie and Bevil}}, but most prominently various NPCs involved in escort quests)

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: {{spoiler|Ammon Jerro and, optionally, Torio.}}

* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: The only romanceable female companion, the druidess Elanee, with auburn hair. In addition, two other early companions who aren't romanceable: the half-demon rogue, Neeshka, and the ginger sorceress, Qara. If the player starts the game with a redheaded close-combat character, it's possible to create a well balanced party of four redheads.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Callum}}

* [[Improbable Power Discrepancy]]

* [[Inexplicable Treasure Chests]]

*** It doesn't help that the weapon doesn't have a type, so even if you are playing a fighter type, none of those useful feats that you've picked up along the way will apply to it. Though I have found it useful when playing a mage.

** Even worse is the {{spoiler|Hammer of Ironfist, which you pick up at about the same time as you complete Khelgar's quest to become a monk.}} It's still usable, though, if you have either [[Crippling Overspecialization|a dwarf Knight-Captain or a high Use Magic Device skill]].

* [[Irrelevant Importance]]

* [[Item Crafting]]

** This is actually explicitly true.

*** Justified in that {{spoiler|much of the Watch is corrupted and the player is assigned to find them and report them.}}

* [[Like a Badass Out of Hell]]: {{spoiler|Ammon Jerro}}.

* [[Limited Special Collectors Ultimate Edition]]: First there was the Special Edition, which added the aforementioned [[Bribing Your Way to Victory|"Blessed of Waukeen"]] feat to the Knight-Captain. It gave access to a couple of special shops, as well as a minor bonus on some dice rolls. Then there was the Gold Edition, which bundled the Special Edition with ''Mask of the Betrayer''. After ''Storm of Zehir'' came out, they added it to the Gold box and created the Platinum Edition; it is this version that is available on [[Steam]].

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in ''Mask of the Betrayer'':

{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Player Character''': I remember being disappointed that the fortress's structure wasn't more architecturally sound.}}<br />

{{spoiler|'''Ammon Jerro''': Yes. That powerful and evil beings insist on causing destruction even as they die is an unfortunate habit.}} }}

** Exceptionally ironic since {{spoiler|Ammon Jerro}} uses this to justify the PC not killing him in his own base.

** An easily missed line in ''Storm of Zehir'' {{spoiler|[[Retcon|Ret Cons]] that he actually survived, was left a paraplegic, and was captured by Luskan. Kinda ruins the effect.}}

* [[Loading Screen]]: Of the "includes extra information" variety.

* [[New Game Plus]]: Officially exporting characters lets you take them to a new module on the rare chance you find ones with end level and start levels that match up; unofficially it allows you to repeat the campaign at level 20.

* [[Never Found the Body]]: {{spoiler|Zhjaeve is the only party member that isn't confirmed to have lived or died during the collapse of the Vale.}}

* [[Obvious Beta]]: Obsidian has a well-deserved reputation for this. Despite not looking much better visually than ''KOTOR'', ''NWN2'' is somewhat of a hardware hog, and it suffered from memory leak issues and a lack of polish. Then both expansions managed to [[Game Breaking Bug|break the previous campaign]] on release.

* [[Only Idiots May Pass]]

* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: {{spoiler|Bevil}}.

* [[Tragic Hero]]: {{spoiler|Ammon Jerro}}.

* [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]]: Crossroad Keep. The game, however, mostly counts on you to continue adventuring, only returning to manage the keep from time to time.

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: You can walk the streets with a half-demon, a robot, and a ''velociraptor'' in tow, and virtually nobody bats an eye.

* [[Wild Card]]: Bishop. In his first interactions with the player, he makes it perfectly clear that no matter what, he is ''always'' on the winning side, loyalties and morals be damned. {{spoiler|This comes back to bite you when the King of Shadows gains the upper hand near the end.}}

** {{spoiler|You can optionally [[Relationship Values|make him desert the King of Shadows]], but you can't make him fight alongside you again.}}

* [[World of Ham]]: The pattern for [[Bio Ware]] IPs seems to be for the characters to be [[Large Ham|Large Hams]] or [[Deadpan Snarker|Deadpan Snarkers]]. Sometimes both at the same time. NWN2 is no exception; the majority of the PC voices seem to channel '''[[Brian Blessed]]''', never mind all the [[NPC|NPCs]] hamming it up.

* [[You Are the Translated Foreign Word]]: You are the ''{{spoiler|Kalach-cha}}''!

* [[Bag of Spilling]]: At least you keep character levels and equipped armor.

* [[Bald of Awesome]]: Safiya is a rare female example. {{spoiler|Depending on your actions, she could also become a [[Bald of Evil]]}}.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: One of the [[Multiple Endings]].

* [[Blessed With Suck]] / [[Cursed With Awesome]]: The {{spoiler|Spirit-Eater Curse}}, depending how you play it. While it's entirely up to you to decide whether it's either a horrible dog-raping curse or the most awesome ability ever, it's absolutely certain that about every NPC you come in contact with will disagree with you.

* [[Bonus Boss]]: {{spoiler|The badger spirit}} and {{spoiler|Myrkul after possessing One of Many}}.

* [[Boxed Crook]]: Gann's initial reason for joining you.

* [[Cute Monster Girl|Cute Monster Guy]]: Gannayev the Hagspawn. [[Lampshaded]] when he jokingly denies that he's a Hagspawn simply on the basis that he's way too pretty to be one. {{spoiler|Gann looks so beautiful because his mother actually loved his father, whereas other hags/nighthags are incapable of love and thus give birth to hideously ugly hagspawns.}}

** Actually, some of the hagspawns born from night hags have an appearance more like that of their father.

* [[Deliberately Monochrome]]: The Plane of Shadows.

* [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything]]: There are several changes to dialog over the course of the game if your character is a priest of Kelemvor.

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: Kaelyn always talks in a soft, motherly tone, which can be a bit disturbing when she's supposed to be angry, such as whenever she talks about the Wall or {{spoiler|if you side with Araman in the endgame.}}

* [[Dysfunction Junction]]: Surprisingly averted... {{spoiler|well, unless you have One of Many and regularly go out of your way to gain Influence with it}}, given the darker tone of this installment. There's a bit of banter back and forth, and Gann certainly likes teasing Kaelyn from time to time, but the party feels much more cohesive and calm compared to the OC gang.

* [[Early Bird Boss]]: Okku, because you lack a real tank in your party.

* [[Estrogen Brigade Bait]]: Gann, full stop. He's one [[In Universe]], too; see the [[Casanova]] entry above.

* [[Everything Is Worse With Bears]]: Especially when said bear happens to be a bear ''god''. With an army. Which includes ghost bears.

* [[Evil Tastes Good]]

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: Rashemen is based partly on Slavic myths, particularly ancient Russia.

* [[Fatal Flaw]]: Kaelyn's obession with destroying the Wall of the Faithless.

** [[The Hero]]: The Player

** [[The Lancer]]: Gannayev-of-Dreams

* [[Genius Loci]]: In the Ashenwood. It's even ''called'' one.

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: {{spoiler|Myrkul will lecture Kaelyn and Gann.}}

* [[Hero Antagonist]]: Araman and Okku.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|If you're male and had romanced Elanee, Ammon Jerro reveals that she took a piece of the King of Shadows' [[Collapsing Lair]] that would have struck you.}}

** {{spoiler|This is also how Casavir died.}}

* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] / [[Ho Yay]]: A male [[Player Character]] with a very high influence with Gann can {{spoiler|begin sharing his thoughts and memories with him. They become extremely close and in some endings they go [[Walking the Earth]] as true companions.}}

* [[Intellectual Animal]]: Okku.

* [[Light and Mirrors Puzzle]]

* [[Love Conquers All]]: One of the possible endings, and appropriately enough the hardest to achieve.

* [[Multiple Endings]]

* [[The Multiverse]]: You visit several other planes, more are mentioned.

* [[Parental Abandonment]]: The player carried over from NWN 2, and Gann.

** [[Disappeared Dad]]: Safiya's father is never brought up {{spoiler|because she [[Truly Single Parent|literally]] never had one.}}

* [[Pride]]:

{{quote| '''Gann''': ''I noticed that... your eyes are like mirrors, which makes them doubly pleasing to me.''}}

* [[Reincarnation Romance]]: [[spoiler:Male [[Player Character|Player Characters]] can enter into one with Safiya. [http://www.formspring.me/GZiets/q/322955310316683214 Females could as well before ExecutiveMeddling.]

* [[Road Cone]]: The expansion assumes the player did not {{spoiler|join the King of Shadows}} at the end of the OC.

* [[Sequence Breaking]]: Getting Gann's influence high enough before the end of Act I will tip you off to the {{spoiler|spirit eater curse}} before you're supposed to know about it.

* [[Soul Jar]]

** The amazing part is, ''they actually pull the trope off'' without making it seem utterly ridiculous; {{spoiler|he's a pretty ''hagspawn'', so none of the local humans trust him worth a damn and the only reason they don't kill him is out of fear that he'd overpower them and take their daughters anyway, and he's a ''pretty'' hagspawn, so all of the hags find him legitimately abhorrent and not actually "beautiful" at all. Even his mother takes a while to come around, and even then...}}

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: One of Many.

* [[Ugly Guys Hot Daughter|Ugly Girl's Hot Son]]: Gann. Full stop.

* [[Villains Never Lie]]: ({{spoiler|Myrkul. The player character can even lampshade it to Kaelyn. Later subverted when Kelemvor reveals that though he wasn't lying to ''her'', he was lying to ''you'' and to the founder.}})

* [[Wizard Needs Food Badly]]: {{spoiler|With souls!}}

* [[You Are Worth Hell]]: If you choose to {{spoiler|stay on the Fugue Plane in order to bind the spirit eater there, your love interest will go as far as pledging their soul to the God of the Dead so that you won't have to be alone there}}.

 

* [[The Bad Guy Wins]]: One the [[Multiple Endings]] if you choose to retire before defeating the [[Big Bad]].

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Several companions were mentioned in previous campaigns -- Septimund is the Doomguide Nya from Port Llast fell in love with, while Finch, a bard known for losing his best hats, finally shows up. Ribsmasher also appeared in the Original Campaign.

* [[Easter Egg]]: One possible encounter is a man trapped in a beartrap. You can free him or kill him (standard stuff), but if you have a cleric of an evil deity, you can sacrifice him, ''[[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|with unique dialogue for each deity]]''. Annie Carlson notes that she found writing this to be fun.

* [[Game Breaking Bug]]: The initial version had an infamous one that made MOTB ''literally unplayable'' if installed after it.

* [[Go Mad From the Revelation]]: Crossed with a [[Continuity Nod]]. An NPC illithid in the Underdark Market apparently {{spoiler|read the mind of a seer who foresaw the deicide that shepherded in 4th edition in the [[Forgotten Realms]].}} His brain couldn't process it.