Reduced XP bug?

[Legacy_The_Reverend]

               

As a bit of background - I'm playing the GoG.com version of NWN - Diamond on a Mac through Wineskin, so I don't have access to the toolkit. Which could be part of the issue.

 

I've only just started playing the original campaign, and after rerolling a second character noticed that it was receiving MUCH less XP from kills than my first character. My first character made it to level 5 before I rerolled, and when I started playing Chapter 1 with the second character, I noticed it was receiving anywhere from 1/2 to 1/5 of the XP my first character was. Mobs from the Prison Break quest were giving less XP per kill at level 3 than the goblins in the prologue. By the time my character was level 4, they were giving only 7 XP each.

 

I rerolled a second character simultaneous to this, and it was dealing with the same issue at level 3 until I reached level 4, and then it started getting more XP per kill from the same mobs at level 4 than it did during the previous level - as if issues resolved on level-up. I ended up deleting both characters and rerolling again, and the same severely reduced XP issue happened again.

 

None of these characters were multiclassed outside of racial restrictions, and none of them were playing with henchmen/minions, so there's effectively nothing in-game that would cause a drop in XP, let alone an ~80% reduction in XP from kills. Quest XP seems unaffected. I'm wondering if this has to do with the challenge level registering improperly, since it almost seems like my version of the game is treating my character's challenge level as twice what it actually is.

 

Does anyone have experience with bugs like this, or any idea of a potential workaround? This could effectively making the game unplayable, since my character will always be far behind how strong/leveled it should be going forward. If there exists a mad genius whose sole purpose (for some reason) was to mess with CRPG players, this is more or less the exact thing they'd put in motion.

 

Any potential leads or solutions would be greatly appreciated, since entering Chapter Two at level 5 (if that) might be a fate worse than death.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

especially at lower levels, certain classes have a lower CR rating than others. This means more XP when you play a class with lower CRs. Including henchman with your character lowers XP as does familiars, companions and summons.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The_Reverend]

               

Awesome - thanks for the background. If this is an ECL issue rather than something wonky with my Wineskin implementation, then I could actually be in the clear with this one.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

Awesome - thanks for the background. If this is an ECL issue rather than something wonky with my Wineskin implementation, then I could actually be in the clear with this one.

The default XP settings are pretty generous, so the least little change in your PC/Group CR can seem like a large change as it reduces by percentages often.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The_Reverend]

               

The default XP settings are pretty generous, so the least little change in your PC/Group CR can seem like a large change as it reduces by percentages often.

 

Yeah, I just checked up on the ECL parameters for classes in the original campaign (http://nwn.wikia.com...character_level). My first character was a Barbarian 1/Druid 3 (Human), so it benefitted from the CR bonus from the druid levels. The one that seemed to match the XP gains from my first character once it hit level 4 was a monk - which gets 1 CR bonus at level 4. The characters that looked like they were lagging in terms of XP from kills were made up solely from fighter-type levels, which don't get the CR bumps that other classes get. If this is the case, then the CR bump is pretty impressive, since an increase in 1 can make the difference between a kill providing 17 XP versus 42 XP.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dilinar Tanel]

               

So is it norlam for me playing as a lvl 15 fighter to get 4 exp for a Draid that I kill with 1-2 hits as the same for an Elk Tribe wrrior that needs 3-5 hits to be killed an poses a much larger thret?

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Empyre65]

               

Yes, that is normal. Both enemies had levels that are "too low" for your level 15 fighter, so you get the minimum number of experience points for killing them.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Dilinar Tanel]

               

I have to admit that it sucks. When using the Dagger of Chaos I can leave  my character all by himself for 40 minutes to fight the Driads in the snowglobe but its har to handle 4 Elk Tribe Warriors with a weapon with hogher damage. Unles it because of my lacking specialisation in fightin with garte axes.