unfair dramatic license?

[mellowtigger]

Has anyone out there played the pen-and-paper version of "Wrath of the Righteous"?  I have a question.

This new computer game will go down as one of the classics of the genre, I'm sure.  It does, however, have issues.  The lesser problem is the kingdom management timers.  You have to continue progressing at a pace determined by the programmers, otherwise you suffer negative consequences.  This tactic is still far better than Pathfinder: Kingmaker which would literally end your game if you failed to meet deadlines.  I can endure this lesser annoyance.

But I'm only halfway through the game (characters levels 10 of 20 max), and I'm facing opponents who are level 20.  In this playthrough, I deliberately chose the more difficult "Core" setting because there are some Steam achievements to unlock with it.  Here's what the game itself has to say about Core difficulty.  Emphasis also in the original.

"Your character suffers full damage from enemies and traps.  There are more enemies than usual, they have standard power and inflict the usual damage on critical hits."

The name "Core" suggests that they're following the original written version of the game.  So did the pen-and-paper version use enemies 10 levels higher than you to produce dramatic tension, or is the computerized version just being lazy?  They claim to use standard power, so why are my opponents 10 levels higher than me?

P.S.  I asked on Steam, and the consensus is that this mechanic is not representative, and it's out of balance.  And someone else has a good thread on the difficulties of making a game challenging for both experts and non-experts.

Comments

[foeclan]

I haven't played that one, but the Mythic systems in Pathfinder 1e were pretty unbalanced, so a level 10 character with enough Mythic tiers could potentially take on a challenge rating 20 critter (though it'd be a pretty extreme challenge).

I just got done with Tenabres, and haven't started the Crusade yet. Amusingly, I was wild shaped into a wolf when I finished, so I was still a wolf in all the subsequent cutscenes. I like to imagine I was being celebrated as Goodest Boy. :)

[mellowtigger]

LOL Yeah, the engine in general is really good. (Again, there are some issues, but they are minor ones.)

My magic casters were useless in Tenabres until I finally gave them both of the feats to overcome spell resistance. They would just spend turn after turn not landing anything. I think I may have to abandon this Core version and start over with an easier version of it until they release some changes to post-Drezen gameplay. I want those Steam achievements, but I also want to have fun doing it.