Combat Pitfalls: A Refresher Lesson

[PanamaLane]

Intro:

On large scale events, I've noticed some players become very frustrated with others who endanger overall safety through their actions or inactions. At the root level, it is important to always just be able to brush frustrations off OOC or (better option) handle it IC.

That being said, it seems like a lot of the nwn combat knowledge and how its used in efu is kind of taken for granted as being known by other players. But how would they know? There are no guides, the game is old and many of its systems are plain broken or outdated at this point. So I wanted to touch on some of the more common mistakes made by players which tend to cause problems in an OOC guide. Every single one of us has made these mistakes, so even vets can use a refresher now and then. This will be mostly about larger events, but the tactics translate to just about every part of the game.

Unit Collision:

To me, this is the number one most frustrating thing about nwn. In addition to not being able to simply run past someone (even giants on your 24 dex halfing), unit collision will sometimes just push you into a place you do not want to be. While a lot of this is unavoidable, what leads to the most frustration for players is when your positioning blocks their PC's ability to survive.

Most often, this will happen in a small corridor or near a doorway. You have 20 people on a DM event, and two people stand side by side, sounds harmless? Well the 16 people behind those two are stuck. 2 more are ahead, desperately screaming for healing. No one can reach them and worse, if they need to fall back, now those standers are not only blocking them, but it becomes a pinball machine with everyone crashing into each other unable to find a place to maneuver.

This could be avoided how? Stepping to the sides and lining the walls of said corridor is one way. Maybe you can't fire your ranged weapon from there, but you must measure, is my 1d8 per round adding more value to the fight than giving the shields room to move? I would say that almost always being able to move is more important and you will frustrate other players less for good positioning than with low or no dmg output.

Another important thing to consider is if running forward makes more sense then running backwards. It can be panic mode when the shield wall breaks and they flee back down the hall toward you. However, if you can move a step or two forward instead of back, you are opening up a ton of space as others flee behind you. You may be able to reach the wall with heals, or allow for someone else to reach them just by taking that step forward instead of back. If the whole party pushes up as a unit, you may be able to breach into a hall where you'll have some space to run around.

Invisibility:

This one also ties into unit collision. Recognize the fact that while you are invisible, other PCs can not see you. I know it seems obvious, but then you get into an event, it turns dicey and lots of invisible PCs will simply stand still as the chaos erupts around them. People will run into you and be unable to get around you. Maybe you do the "shall we dance" where you step to the side as the other person steps to the same side. Meanwhile the monsters have caught your buddy in the back and now he's not only unable to flee, but taking AoO trying to.

Nine times out of ten if you are invisible and things are turning sour, you need to put your healer hat on. I'll talk a bit about roles later. But being relatively safe as you are unseen, you can spam heals on that guy trying to get around you. If you are invisible its likewise important to pick a good place to stand. Somewhere out of the way-ish but not too far, giving yourself plenty of space to move if you need to.

Summons:

Summons are great, but they can also get a lot of people killed because they are very hard to control. In tight spaces, they are generally a no-no. The exception is when they are out in front of your shield wall. Use them wisely. AND dismiss them wisely. Recognize when your summons are causing more problems then solving. That's really all that needs to be said about summons.

Aggro:

This is mostly in terms of ranged characters. When you attack something in nwn and hit it, that monster will notice and get pissed off. If that monster is an goblin archer behind the enemy line, great, you've just distracted him from attacking someone else and you can probably take an arrow or two before it becomes a problem. If that monster is a giant and he's between you and your shields, that's less great, because now he will run at you and put your back lines in serious danger. So basically, choose who you target carefully. Account for the fact it will turn at you.

Placeables:

Everyone steps on a trap now and again. But some traps are particularly deadly, not just to you, but to your whole party. Number one reason people will be upset if you set one of these off is...why weren't you looking? I don't mean you didn't make your search check, I mean, there was a giant burned spot on the ground. There is a sign which says "goblin mine field" there is a pile of bodies around an elaborate looking chest. I like to think the DM's put these placeables around as a kind of "awareness test". Are you looking at what is going on, or are you going through the motions? The warnings are there, heed them.

Roles:

D&D and EFU in particular is great because you don't have the hard set roles some other RPGs have. You can serve any role at any time. Say you are a fighter, but you lost a bunch of lvls recently and on a really tough DM event. You can switch from melee focused to ranged quickly. Yes, you won't be as effective, but if you are low lvl, you are probably counting on higher lvl melee to do the tough work anyway. Likewise, you can drink an invisibility an heal people with trinket. You don't have to be a priest or mage to save lives with heals.

The basic roles events need are: Melee (tank or dps), Ranged DPS (weapon or magic), and Healer. You can probably add a "support" type role too, if you are a bard, or buff bot who is really there only to make your other PCs better at what they do. But here is the crux of it all. Those roles are fluid. Figure out and adapt to the situation. If your party is lacking healers, you can pick up the slack for a few rounds. If you need more dmg, you can drop some AOE spells from a trinket in your bag. If you require more shields while your tanks back up to heal, use those items you have which summon something to free your tanks up for a short while.

Adaptability is not only good for the party, it will make you a hero in the eyes of the PCs whose butts you just saved by being smart. If on the other hand you are standing around doing nothing...I'm a wizard and my spells are spent, what can I possibly do? Probably a whole lot! Be adaptable. If you truly can't do anything, then you need to ask yourself why are you there?

Event RP:

I just want to add this in as a kind of bonus thing to think about. DMs will constantly try to remind players this, but for some reason or another it always happens. You've reached an NPC on an event with 20 people and you are communicating with him. Who is doing the communication? The answer is sadly almost always, everyone. That is hugely hard to control. The chat is filling up faster then DMs or players can follow. It is much better for all involved if one or two players take the lead and the rest listen quietly.

That doesn't mean it goes to the guy in the faction or whatever, but typically even large events have a leader or group which is leading the efforts. DMs will also "choose" in a sense who they are speaking to, if its not you, relax. Let that other person screw it up on their own haha. It is much more immersive story telling to sit and listen to how one characters decisions impact the whole group, then to chaotically shout back and forth and pick fights in the background and etc. I know you are a CE gnome and would ICly take off your clothes and run around hanging gnome dong, but its more likely all you are doing is making 19 other people go...ugh, I can't follow what is happening. Actually, I take that back, hanging gnome dong is about the only acceptable interruption I can think of haha.

If you absolutely feel the need to contribute and can't help yourself to just sit quietly, try to at least not ask too many questions. Because this especially leads to confusion, was he answering me or the guy next to me etc? Can't tell in nwn. Maybe instead emote how you are feeling. Pick your spot, maybe once or twice to interject if you really can't help yourself. A good one time zinger will leave a great impression on people. A long string of interruptions can come off as attention whoreish (even if its IC). It simply won't endear you to the people who are trying to be part of this particular immersive story.

[Pup]

Great job.  Well done on the guide.  Especially the note about only one or two chars speaking to NPCs in a large event.  Don't pipe-in, and don't emote.  When the villain is explaining his villainy, no one cares if you yawn or sneeze or anything.  Just relax your fingers for a moment and enjoy the show.