Player Immersion

There's been a thread over at the Bioware forums discussing ways to improve player immersion in Neverwinter Nights. As well as the obvious (the inclusion of cutscenes), it occured to me that I've been implementing an improvement to player immersion without even thinking about it. How? One of the things I wanted to avoid was the inclusion of standard magical items, such as "Longsword +1" or "+1 Ring of Protection". Such obvious references to the game system (ie "+1") yank the player back to reality. I don't mind such bonuses being listed, in fact, I think it essential that the player knows how a magical item will benefit them in game. I'm just opposed to such bonuses eing referenced within the item name.

As the Relbonian Chronicles have a rich mythology to draw from, I can take the opportunity in item descriptions to further immerse the player into the world they are playing within. Here follows just a few examples of how I've revamped items within the game:

Ring of Distortion
(Replacing "Rings of Protection")
This ring and several others of its type were originally crafted to provide protection to the young Druid apprentices known as "Runners" who deliver the Relbonian Chronicles. It was important that such protection be as light as possible so as not to slow the runner down. As to how the ring provides such protection, little is known, although it is rumoured that they are somehow blessed by the God Boreeshna resulting in a distortion of the air surroounding the wearer, thus making them harder to hit.

Mighty Flight
(Replacing "+2 Strongbow")
Mighty Flights are of exceptional crafstmanship, being fashioned by Dwarven smiths who specialise in the Faith of Rathna. As such they can be extremely heavy, and as a result only Warriors can use them.

With the power of Rathna imbued into the weapon, earth like forces put great pressure on any bolt loaded into the firing chamber, adding great strength to the shot when the bolt is released.

Desert Armour
(Alternative +1 Armour)
Favoured by mercenaries who protect travellers and merchants who travel the Kerem Sea, this armour offers comfortable protection in desert terrain, with heavily bleached leather to help reflect sunlight.

That's all the news for now. Npc info will have to wait a little longer while I figure out what happened to my image editing software!