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N:R Roman Party Creation Questions


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I'm looking to replay Nethergate: Ressurrection for the first time in many years, this time as the Romans, on Torment difficulty. My previous playthrough (when the game first came out) was with the Celts on hard, but I've forgotten almost everything about the game mechanics in the intervening years. I've browsed through Strategy Central, but still have a few questions:

 

1) What weapon type (or types) are most effective (for a Roman party, if that matters). Are swords and spears equally good? Or is one notably better? How about the ranged weapons? Are they mostly a waste of time like in many Spiderweb games, or is it worthwhile have a dedicated Javelin thrower (or sling user)?

 

2) Is evasion an effective defensive strategy? E.g., can I pump dexterity (and defense?) and avoid most hits even in the late game, or does it get too expensive to pump these skills enough for this to be effective?

 

3) How do trainers work in this game? Do I need to avoid spending skill points on a skill if I intend to purchase training in it later?

 

4) With my old Celt party, I think I had two fighters and two druids. Is this a good mix for the Romans as well, or does their weaker magic make a 3 fighter/1 druid party more effective?

 

Thanks for any tips!

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I haven't played since release so I can't answer everything.

 

1) Swords tend to be more available so I used those. But you want one range weapon fighter for the early part where you have to fight in narrow corridors and face attackers on different levels where you can't reach them for melee. Also it is very useful to soften up melee attackers before they can reach you.

 

2) I know in the original game that evasion was an effective strategy. I think since this is based on the BoA game engine that it still helps, but the effectiveness decreases.

 

4) I ran as a joke an all druid party with bad traits during beta testing. Eventually you reach a limit in mid game and need to use weapons with buffing spells. Remember that you can recruit a druid character after the demo.

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Like you, I'm coming back to this game after a multi-year absence. Most of my previous experience was playing as the Romans, though I never got beyond the free preview section of the map.

 

1) I had one spearman and the rest swordsmen for their melee weapons. I used only javelins for the Romans (and only slings for the Celts). I found them to be very effective, but a considerable encumbrance.

 

Note that I resented that Celts had unlimited ammunition for their slings, but javelins run out very quickly, so after every fight I'd 'Edit Character' to replace the javelins I'd lost. I did limit the number of 'special' javelins to whatever I'd discovered. For example, after I found five blessed javelins, I made sure to never carry more than five around at once. I just assumed I was reusing ones I found lying around after the battles.

 

2) I found that evasion works better for my Celt characters than it ever did for my Romans. In the case of the Romans, I went for the best armor I could find for three of them. Note that 'evasion' is also a useful tactic, and if you aren't adjacent to your opponent you can often walk backward three or four spaces, then turn and fire. Your opponents might have to undergo two or three volleys before they come to contact and can melee with you. Sometimes (especially on the outdoors maps) you can retreat too far and exit the field of battle, which is annoying. I wish there was some sort of boundary marking so you'd know when you were about to retreat too far.

 

3) If you can afford trainers, I would pay for training rather than use skill points. I never had that much money, so I saved it to buy the training I wasn't allowed to spend skill points on.

 

4) My Roman party consisted of three fighters and one druid. Two of the fighters were melee specialists with heavy armor — one with a sword and the other with a spear. Both carried a few (c. 3) javelins for softening up. The other was a javelineer with the third best armor. He carried 10-15 javelins, including all of the 'special' ones. He used a sword for melee, but if he became engaged, that meant I was in trouble. The Druid also had a blade of some sort (blessed dagger, ceremonial dagger, whatever), but I used him exclusively for magical support. I think he only got into combat three or four times (fighting one of the Black Beasts, against the Fomorians who live under the bridge, and in the Crones' cellar — maybe against the Dragon).

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Thanks for the tips Randomizer and Curtis.

 

One more question - I've been reading the strategy central threads (and playing with the character building screen) to attempt to make a list of the effects of each of the stats, and from what I've been able to ascertain, Druidism gives you everything that Intelligence gives you, and also gives you magic resistance and enables raising the spell circle skills. If the threads I read were correct, both increase spell points by the same amount, both give identical mental resistance, both give a boost to the effectiveness of all spells, and both improve rune reading. Since Druidism starts cheaper, it would seem that it makes sense to raise Druidism until it's cost is higher than INT before starting to raise INT. Or am I missing something that INT gives you which Druidism does not?

 

For my starting party, I'm thinking a swordsman (initial stats 4 strength, 2 endurance, 4 melee, 5 armor use, and 6 roman training, and the mighty warrior and fast on feet traits), a spearman (initial stats 4 strength, 2 endurance, 4 spears, 4 armor use, and 6 roman training, and the mighty warrior and fast on feet traits), a druid (initial stats 7 druidism, 4 health circle, 4 war circle, and 2 armor use, and the druid mastery and limitless energy traits), and a ranged weapon user who will initially refrain from specializing in either slings or javelins and instead dedicate initial points to DEX and Roman Training (initial stats 6 dexterity, 2 armor use, 2 defense, and 5 roman training, and the mighty warrior and fast on feet traits). The ranged weapon user may specialize later if I decide I prefer one or the other - it appears javelins do more damage, but there are issues with running out of ammo. Or I may just have them use mostly slings, and switch to javelins for the toughest fights where the extra damage will be helpful. They will also be a test for the effectiveness of evasion from dexterity and defense.

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As far as your 'one more question' goes, I'd love to know the answer myself. For both my Roman and Celtic parties I spent as many points on characteristics as I could, then filled in with skills after. That made them pretty well-rounds to start, and they were able to rise quickly in relatively inexpensive skill levels as they went up in character levels.

 

I made a small exception for the druids, raising the circles, druidism and intelligence as high as possible and scanting all the rest. I think I remember my Roman druid also having some skill in first aid, but not to excess.

 

I like your choices for traits, though I usually only have one mighty warrior/fast on his feet. I can understand why you'd make it universal for warriors. I prefer a little more roleplaying than power gaming.

 

In my Celtic party the second warrior has faerie blood and faerie familiar, but that would hardly be appropriate for a proper Roman. I only vaguely recall, but I think my second Roman had toughness (resists damage) and good health (recover half your health once a day). It seems like my javelineer had strong back (to help him carry the javelins… and loot!) and beastmaster, but I didn't utilize his summoned beasts well, and that was a waste. If you're good at things like that, I'd suggest doubling up with beastmaster and faerie familiar, otherwise just leave them alone.

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