Interested in AD&D/Forgotten Realms etc. RPGs...need input!

Volgore

Hello lovely people!

On my ongoing quest for epic adventures and immersive games i once again stumbled upon this genre that i never really paid much attention to, because it always gave me a hard time connecting to how these games work in general.

I would like to give it another try, but i'm totally lost and overwhelmed by what looks like a HUGE theme to me. Besides many games there seem to be a ton of books, stories, audiobooks and whatnot about the overall AD&D setting and i have no idea if/how everything is connected and where to start.

I was originally looking at giving Pillars Of Eternity a try, but then there is also Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Sword Coast Legends, Planescape Torment and probably other titles in that setting.

Are all these games and their respective stories independent from each other or do i have to play them in a certain order?
Can i jump right into any of these games or do i need to read certain books beforehand?
Are these games loaded with insider hints and stuff that only tabletop nerds get?
Which one would you recommend to play first?
Or should i rather go for Dragon Age or Divinity:Original Sin altogether?

I don't want to spoil this genre for me with starting out on the wrong foot. It happened to me once with another huge fantasy-IP to which every author seemingly released stories or books and i ended up rather annoyed by the confusion and never knew what to read first/next and where i was in the total theme of things. I feel like the insane depth of these IPs are pro and con at the same time.

Thanks for any input!

Sovrath

You don't need to read anything just jump right in. The stories are different. I would say that playing Baldur's gate before Baldur's gate 2 would make more sense.

The first and second Neverwinter Night's games are different stories.

filmoret

The different names for D&D are worlds and settings.  Forgotten realms, Dragonlance, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Mystara, Ravenloft...   They are basically world settings of factions, races, languages, monsters.  For example in Dark Sun they have half giants for playable characters.  So basically you don't miss out on playing anything so long as you stick with numerical orders on sequels.  Like Baulder's gate 1-2, eye of the beholder 1,2,3.  However you can play Sword Coast Legends without having previously played any of the other games because the story is separate.

So when you enter dragonlance game you expect to run into Half human/half dragon race called the draconians.

BarbieBoy

You can try Pillars of Eternity on Steam. It's pretty much the same gameplay with Neverwinter. I wasn't able to play the whole game (just a few main quest then I got bored) but it's worth the try. 

Scorchien

Start out with BG 1 and 2 Enhanced Edtions , well worth the price and a great experience ... otherwise what Sovrath says is true .. for the most part you could jump into any of them and have agreat time

stayontarget

Have you tried https://roll20.net/ .  Kotaku had a write up about the site a month or two ago.

Here it is:  http://kotaku.com/playing-d-d-online-is-about-to-get-easier-1784473155

waynejr2

I recommend the SSI gold box edition.  Some people would be offended by the old time graphics. 

Volgore

BarbieBoy said:

You can try Pillars of Eternity on Steam. It's pretty much the same gameplay with Neverwinter. I wasn't able to play the whole game (just a few main quest then I got bored) but it's worth the try. 

Yes, i tried it two days ago. I found it quite intimidating with all the depth to it. Everywhere i went the mobs where above my level and smoked my glass cannon wizard. I'm all new to this, so my first impression is like this genre requires 15years of studying the AD&D ruleset and lore.

I would rather start with sort of a light-version and work my way up from game to game.
So yesterday i tried Divinity:Org.Sin and today it will be Sword Coast Legends.

Got to find one that is a bit easier on this noob and then i'll go from there

Poolsharken

OMG, love gold box series, but they are very dated.  I would start with Baldurs gate 1 and if you find you like it, BG2, then Icewind dale 1 & 2.  The icewind dale games are based on RA Salvatores novels but you dont need to read them first.  If you do read them, you may find playing those games more attractive.  Then you have Temple of elemental evil, and the Neverwinter games.  If you loved all these games for sure you will love Divinity and Pillars of Eternity as well.  
     The best thing about the games in my opinion is the ability to make and grow your character(s) the way you want.  I played BG so many times with different companions and also you can make your own complete party if you wish which is awesome.  Hope you have fun.

filmoret

Volgore said:

BarbieBoy said:

You can try Pillars of Eternity on Steam. It's pretty much the same gameplay with Neverwinter. I wasn't able to play the whole game (just a few main quest then I got bored) but it's worth the try. 

Yes, i tried it two days ago. I found it quite intimidating with all the depth to it. Everywhere i went the mobs where above my level and smoked my glass cannon wizard. I'm all new to this, so my first impression is like this genre requires 15years of studying the AD&D ruleset and lore.

I would rather start with sort of a light-version and work my way up from game to game.
So yesterday i tried Divinity:Org.Sin and today it will be Sword Coast Legends.

Got to find one that is a bit easier on this noob and then i'll go from there

Party games are better most of the time.  The problem with D&D is they made mages extremely weak.  You can literally just run around all warriors/paladins and steamroll most every game.  Neverwinter Nights gave us a strong display of variables which worked.  You can use the wizard as a main and not suffer that bad.  Pillars of Eternety you really need to get the companions asap.

Vesavius

Doh, for a second I thought we was talking about tabletop... But, then I remembered where we were.

For the PC games... No books needed, buy game, play.

Not sure how others got more than three lines out of this.

Golelorn

I'm not sure I would recommend old gold box series to younger players. Heck, I don't even play them, anymore. If you're really bored go ahead. Its not just the graphics. The gameplay and customization is very outdated.

My favorites were NWN, Icewind Dale 1&2, Demonstone(written by RA Salvatore), NWN2, and then the gold box games.

I could never really get into BG or ToEE.

You can't go wrong with NWN.

jimbobfurley

Torval said:

For newer RPGs in isometric style I would recommend Divinity: OS first. With the new patches it can be played as easy or hard as you want. In the easier modes you there is a lot of flexibility in your class choices. The combat can get a little predictable in certain builds, but I still find it fun. The story is awesome and I found the entire environment very immersive.

Pillars is also very good, but I found more restrictive unless you go in full on story mode. It's also very immersive. It can be overwhelming that way with the amount of detail and interactivity. I found it sometimes needlessly complex in a way that didn't add depth to the game play. I still really like it though.

Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition: If you want old school with a little modern polish this is it. There are mechanics changes that purists don't appreciate. I don't mind them. Playing this reminds me how mature and developed games like Divinity:OS, Pillars, Wasteland 2, and other new entries have come.

Be aware that there are a couple new entries coming up. Tyranny just released, but I haven't tried it yet. Also Torment: Tides of Numenera will be releasing this year.

Finally, if you want super old school and you're experienced (not recommended to newbies) I would say the SSI Gold Box series on GoG, Neverwinter Nights on GoG, Betrayal at Krondor on GoG, and Planescape: Torment.

In short, D:OS. It's like visiting an old friend and realizing why you like them so much.

You have taken the words right out of my mouth, friend !  As well, OP - if you do decide to give Wasteland 2 a try, leave it on Rookie difficulty level.

Scorchien

Volgore said:

BarbieBoy said:

You can try Pillars of Eternity on Steam. It's pretty much the same gameplay with Neverwinter. I wasn't able to play the whole game (just a few main quest then I got bored) but it's worth the try. 

Yes, i tried it two days ago. I found it quite intimidating with all the depth to it. Everywhere i went the mobs where above my level and smoked my glass cannon wizard. I'm all new to this, so my first impression is like this genre requires 15years of studying the AD&D ruleset and lore.

I would rather start with sort of a light-version and work my way up from game to game.
So yesterday i tried Divinity:Org.Sin and today it will be Sword Coast Legends.

Got to find one that is a bit easier on this noob and then i'll go from there

  Altho i like Pillars its not a good one to start with ... Id say Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition, more combat intensive user friendly , and intro to the systems .. Plus its dam fun:)

  Or as has been mentioined Divinity OS EE is awful good , great tutorial and easy to learn ,but its not in the Forgotten Realms

ste2000

Volgore said:

Hello lovely people!

I was originally looking at giving Pillars Of Eternity a try, but then there is also Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Sword Coast Legends, Planescape Torment and probably other titles in that setting.
Are all these games and their respective stories independent from each other or do i have to play them in a certain order?
Thanks for any input!

If you want a real D&D experience the games you listed there are the ones I was going to suggest, I would add also Baldurs Gate 2.
And you don't have to play them in any particular order (It's not like Star Wars or Star Trek)
Though I am sure  a D&D nerd could will find the correct order, but they are not so intrinsically connected.

Dragon Age and Divinity don't have anything in common with D&D Lore as far as I know, though they are excellent games (Divinity has been directly inspired by Baldurs Gate).

alkarionlog

Volgore said:

Hello lovely people!

On my ongoing quest for epic adventures and immersive games i once again stumbled upon this genre that i never really paid much attention to, because it always gave me a hard time connecting to how these games work in general.

I would like to give it another try, but i'm totally lost and overwhelmed by what looks like a HUGE theme to me. Besides many games there seem to be a ton of books, stories, audiobooks and whatnot about the overall AD&D setting and i have no idea if/how everything is connected and where to start.

I was originally looking at giving Pillars Of Eternity a try, but then there is also Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Sword Coast Legends, Planescape Torment and probably other titles in that setting.

Are all these games and their respective stories independent from each other or do i have to play them in a certain order?
Can i jump right into any of these games or do i need to read certain books beforehand?
Are these games loaded with insider hints and stuff that only tabletop nerds get?
Which one would you recommend to play first?
Or should i rather go for Dragon Age or Divinity:Original Sin altogether?

I don't want to spoil this genre for me with starting out on the wrong foot. It happened to me once with another huge fantasy-IP to which every author seemingly released stories or books and i ended up rather annoyed by the confusion and never knew what to read first/next and where i was in the total theme of things. I feel like the insane depth of these IPs are pro and con at the same time.

Thanks for any input!

on gog had a promo of you buying all D&D settings for a cheap price check if that promo is still up, they was selling a lot of old games.

with your question, ther eis not really wrong foot, pillar of eternity don't use a D&D system though, the game is good but it have his own system, tiranny use the same system as the pillars, but I recomend you let that game cook for some time for now, there is some annoying bugs they need to fix,

if you want to start with anything, try planescape torment, pretty simple and a lot of heavy story based, like all game of this genre get ready to read a lot, the story is good and you are not out to save the world, and you are just supose to use 3 classes, so in combat term I consider a good intro for the genre, they have some rules who is only for this game but try it anyway

if you want more action, and a simple control on battle, try neverwinter nights, even though the builds are pretty forgiving in the game and you can choose a npc to help you out, you can kinda jinx your char if youa re not carefull, this one follows the player book more closely, both game are using the AD&D, it was the 2nd edition of the rules.

baldurs gate are also a good choice, but I consider it in more need in control during combats.

all of these they have they rules on it and they pop the hints helpers, at most you just need to mouse over a skill or right click on it for the rules to pop up and learn what it do and how to use it.

now if you just want a D&D based game but with pure action, knights of the old republic can do teh trick, its use a D&D 3rd edition, with was more simple to use, learn, calc using your head.

there is a lot more on AD&D games around but they are older and possible will need a work around on then to make then run, plus they are kinda hard to find now in a official way, and they a lot less forgiving then these games I mentioned

you can also try the dungeon and dragons online, its give a kinda of a feel of pen and paper, but its also use the 3rd editon of the D&D rules

Scorchien

 Gonna add this , if you are really wanting to get into Forgotten Realms , Steam has a Bundle on sale right now 30% off ..

  BG 1 and 2 all exp and Icewind Dale all are the EE with all exp and DLC ...\


http://store.steampowered.com/bundle/380/

ste2000

Scorchien said:

 Gonna add this , if you are really wanting to get into Forgotten Realms , Steam has a Bundle on sale right now 30% off ..

  BG 1 and 2 all exp and Icewind Dale all are the EE with all exp and DLC ...\


http://store.steampowered.com/bundle/380/

Sneaky Steam.....
If you buy them separately (but without the soundtracks) you save $15.

cheyane

Volgore said:

BarbieBoy said:

You can try Pillars of Eternity on Steam. It's pretty much the same gameplay with Neverwinter. I wasn't able to play the whole game (just a few main quest then I got bored) but it's worth the try. 

Yes, i tried it two days ago. I found it quite intimidating with all the depth to it. Everywhere i went the mobs where above my level and smoked my glass cannon wizard. I'm all new to this, so my first impression is like this genre requires 15years of studying the AD&D ruleset and lore.

I would rather start with sort of a light-version and work my way up from game to game.
So yesterday i tried Divinity:Org.Sin and today it will be Sword Coast Legends.

Got to find one that is a bit easier on this noob and then i'll go from there

With regards to Pillars play it carefully don't rush in and if you can stealth after you get the tank and the Wizard try stealthing and picking off one mob. You can sometimes split them by running away and rejoining the group which you leave further away. It is also imperative to pause and pick skills and don't rush an encounter by letting the combat run. I chose a chanter and found the game really a great deal of fun.

filmoret

alkarionlog said:

Volgore said:

Hello lovely people!

On my ongoing quest for epic adventures and immersive games i once again stumbled upon this genre that i never really paid much attention to, because it always gave me a hard time connecting to how these games work in general.

I would like to give it another try, but i'm totally lost and overwhelmed by what looks like a HUGE theme to me. Besides many games there seem to be a ton of books, stories, audiobooks and whatnot about the overall AD&D setting and i have no idea if/how everything is connected and where to start.

I was originally looking at giving Pillars Of Eternity a try, but then there is also Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Sword Coast Legends, Planescape Torment and probably other titles in that setting.

Are all these games and their respective stories independent from each other or do i have to play them in a certain order?
Can i jump right into any of these games or do i need to read certain books beforehand?
Are these games loaded with insider hints and stuff that only tabletop nerds get?
Which one would you recommend to play first?
Or should i rather go for Dragon Age or Divinity:Original Sin altogether?

I don't want to spoil this genre for me with starting out on the wrong foot. It happened to me once with another huge fantasy-IP to which every author seemingly released stories or books and i ended up rather annoyed by the confusion and never knew what to read first/next and where i was in the total theme of things. I feel like the insane depth of these IPs are pro and con at the same time.

Thanks for any input!

on gog had a promo of you buying all D&D settings for a cheap price check if that promo is still up, they was selling a lot of old games.

with your question, ther eis not really wrong foot, pillar of eternity don't use a D&D system though, the game is good but it have his own system, tiranny use the same system as the pillars, but I recomend you let that game cook for some time for now, there is some annoying bugs they need to fix,

if you want to start with anything, try planescape torment, pretty simple and a lot of heavy story based, like all game of this genre get ready to read a lot, the story is good and you are not out to save the world, and you are just supose to use 3 classes, so in combat term I consider a good intro for the genre, they have some rules who is only for this game but try it anyway

if you want more action, and a simple control on battle, try neverwinter nights, even though the builds are pretty forgiving in the game and you can choose a npc to help you out, you can kinda jinx your char if youa re not carefull, this one follows the player book more closely, both game are using the AD&D, it was the 2nd edition of the rules.

baldurs gate are also a good choice, but I consider it in more need in control during combats.

all of these they have they rules on it and they pop the hints helpers, at most you just need to mouse over a skill or right click on it for the rules to pop up and learn what it do and how to use it.

now if you just want a D&D based game but with pure action, knights of the old republic can do teh trick, its use a D&D 3rd edition, with was more simple to use, learn, calc using your head.

there is a lot more on AD&D games around but they are older and possible will need a work around on then to make then run, plus they are kinda hard to find now in a official way, and they a lot less forgiving then these games I mentioned

you can also try the dungeon and dragons online, its give a kinda of a feel of pen and paper, but its also use the 3rd editon of the D&D rules

Neverwinter Nights is D&D 3.0 and NWN2 is 3.5  Meanwhile Icewindale,Baulders Gate 1-2 are second edition.  Meanwhile DDO is based loosely on 3.5

Volgore

Thank you everyone for your comments and tips, i read every response with huge interest so far.

After i put Pillars aside, my search for sort of a "lighter" version lead me to Sword Coast Legends which i find has a very certain charme to it, but then again it's too light.
I basicly don't have to do anything in combat, as my group burns through everything on its own. So what is left for me is pointing my group from A to B and reading dialogue texts. I was also a bit disappointed by the few spells which also overlap alot among the archtypes, i.e. wizard and warlock.

However, i decided to give all your suggestions a serious try, as somehow i get the feeling that this genre is a hidden gem that flew under my radar. As with mmorpgs, most of them seem to be fun and immersive altogether but you have to find the right one that really "clicks" with you.

My next step will be "Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition", GOG also has a good deal on that and a bundle as well.

filmoret

That is a good start.  If you want to completely control the party with turned based combat.  Then the TSR games are the ones you want.  I believe they are called gold box.  I don't know which of the newer games have turned based combat.  I mean the ones made after 1995.

Scorchien

Volgore said:

Thank you everyone for your comments and tips, i read every response with huge interest so far.

After i put Pillars aside, my search for sort of a "lighter" version lead me to Sword Coast Legends which i find has a very certain charme to it, but then again it's too light.
I basicly don't have to do anything in combat, as my group burns through everything on its own. So what is left for me is pointing my group from A to B and reading dialogue texts. I was also a bit disappointed by the few spells which also overlap alot among the archtypes, i.e. wizard and warlock.

However, i decided to give all your suggestions a serious try, as somehow i get the feeling that this genre is a hidden gem that flew under my radar. As with mmorpgs, most of them seem to be fun and immersive altogether but you have to find the right one that really "clicks" with you.

My next step will be "Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition", GOG also has a good deal on that and a bundle as well.

Good choice , great game with a good story... Have fun

Volgore

Hey guys, back with some quick feedback and another question!

I'm currently still playing Neverwinter Nights and LOVE it. This really looks like a min-maxing game and i'm pretty sure i didn't get everything right with my 1st character (sorcerer). Combat was quite awkward in the beginning. I was fumbling forever how to prepare spells like the academy wanted to teach me and thought i had a UI bug, until i figured out that sorcs don't do that. Now that i have a couple more spells everything works much more fluid. I still haven't really figured out what affects the amount of spells that i can cast before i have to rest and which spells share the same "counter".

So much to find out, i like this alot.

To my question...i watched some early parts of two Let's Plays from two NWN veterans just to get an idea how other people approach this game altogether. Both guys suggested to no start with the basic game, but with the Shadows of Undrentide DLC which -according to them- would be a much better experience.

Has any of you played that DLC and can confirm this?

Thanks again!

therdre

I have a group that plays all the old isometric RPGs (baldur's gate 1/2, icewind dale, NwN 1/2) send me a friend request on steam (therdre) if you want to play sometime

filmoret

I would finish the original game then do hordes of underdark which is the official sequel.  The shadows of undrentide feels like a spinoff when you play it.