tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post4516261197145276347..comments2023-03-07T10:40:55.278-05:00Comments on Tiberius' (Mostly) NWN Blog: Dungeons That Didn't Make the ListTiberius209http://www.blogger.com/profile/06479022857581915075noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post-84082551144904409432012-06-24T21:44:25.658-05:002012-06-24T21:44:25.658-05:00I've not played NWN2 or anything associated wi...I've not played NWN2 or anything associated with it, but<br /><br />" This one suffers from being a "dungeon" that requires two trips to traverse it, at least in practice if not exactly in theory. First, you will almost certainly go there near the beginning of the game ... but the lower levels including its entrance to the Fugue Plane is not meant to be accessed until the end game. "<br /><br />On the contrary, that's marvelous design. Bringing the player back in the endgame to a place they came to know early and thought was behind them, but now are looking at with different eyes, is a key aspect of building emotional resonance. And emotion is what it's all about.Rollorynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post-79087572992934611092011-04-12T17:19:59.910-05:002011-04-12T17:19:59.910-05:00This just drives home the fact that dungeon design...This just drives home the fact that dungeon design is a lost art. If you expanded your list to a top 20, you'd mostly be adding IE dungeons. Even if you expanded beyond DnD games, I don't know if things would change much. Maybe WoW has some great dungeons, but I wouldn't know about that.<br /><br />Nice series. I don't mind seeing it continue.Nemoremhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13935785631488525747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post-30691350779191205942011-04-11T20:09:49.548-05:002011-04-11T20:09:49.548-05:00Starwars,
I've never snuck my way through the...Starwars,<br /><br />I've never snuck my way through the Temple of the World Serpent, but I do agree it's a neat touch.<br /><br />The Death God's Vault is a very atmospheric dungeon and I also appreciate being able to be slaughtered early on (if you're not careful). I agree that it's overall a solid design.<br /><br />Kamal,<br /><br />Not to be nit-picky, but the Cowled Wizards studied their deviants in Spellhold, most often in the laboratory where you battle Irenicus, and not in the actual Asylum maze beneath Spellhold, which is the actual dungeon. Bodhi implies that the Cowled Wizards actually release those they have condemned into the maze to provide them some sort of cruel entertainment. And the architect and ghosts indicate that those who survive the maze may be deemed "sane" again and allowed to go? That's two different explanations, neither of which makes sense.<br /><br />So the cells and laboratories of Spellhold proper, then yes, I agree with you. But the Asylum maze rationale was weak to say the least.Tiberius209https://www.blogger.com/profile/06479022857581915075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post-33402121955131951312011-04-11T17:19:30.556-05:002011-04-11T17:19:30.556-05:00Irenicus tells you why the Cowled Wizards don'...Irenicus tells you why the Cowled Wizards don't just kill people in Spellhold, they are studied in hope the Cowled Wizards gaining magical insight.Kamalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17637115231105776944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6536839880948362362.post-21160026036260445082011-04-11T15:31:07.415-05:002011-04-11T15:31:07.415-05:00Good stuff! I think the main ones I would disagree...Good stuff! I think the main ones I would disagree with would be the Death God's Vault in MotB and the Serpent temple in SoZ.<br /><br />Now, I'd agree that the Vault doesn't really "build up" to anything and that it can be rather disjointed depending on how one approaches it. But I absolutely *loved* that you could get into so much trouble early on in the game. I loved how dangerous it feels early on (too bad that you can break it later on with stuff like Vampiric Feast). Despite the fact that I really dislike the epic levels, some of the encounters with the Vampire Ancients stick out in my mind as some of the great and tough encounters.<br /><br />I agree with what you say about the SoZ Temple but I think it won me over with how beautiful it is, the smaller roleplaying touches, the well-placed traps etc. But I think I like it so much because you can sneak through it. The encounters are not particularly exciting as you say, but I think it was tense as hell to sneak through a corridor full of traps, while the Iron Golem stood watch ominously, or navigating around the patrolling Yuan-Ti.<br /><br />The end-boss could've definitely used some build-up but I loved the fight in itself (a bit on the cheap side but still incredibly satisfying once I beat it) and the area just looks epic I think.Starwarsnoreply@blogger.com